Aarre Suomela
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
SUOMELA, Aarre
Photographs: 1. Aarre Suomela in 1943
2. Aarre Suomela in Neufchatels, France, November 1944
3. Eino Maki Mr. Suomela served in World War II in the European Theater.
Aarre Suomela was born on January 4th 1920, to Arvo & Suomela in International Falls, Minnesota. He moved to Brookston and later to Duluth.
Mr. Suomela was inducted into the U.S. Army on September 16th 1943, at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. He served as a Technician Fifth Grade in England, Normandy, the Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe.
TEC5 Suomela fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was preparing to go to the Pacific Theater when the war in Japan ended. He was discharged on January 11th 1946, at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin.
He was decorated with the following:
- Good Conduct Medal,
- European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 4 bronze battle stars,
- World War II Victory Medal, -and-
- Three overseas service bars.
Mr. Suomela was honorably discharged January 11, 1946, at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin.
Mr. Suomela died on May 15, 2008, in Hermantown, Minnesota, at age 88.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The Saint Louis County World War II Project, page 315.
Albert J. Amatuzio Research Center | Veterans Memorial Hall (vets-hall.org)
Page 1 WWII Draft Registration Cards - Fold3
Source: Mr. Suomela’s recollections, below; Duluth News Tribune, May 22, 2008
D-DAY--Mr. Suomela was in England when the D-Day invasion of Normandy took place, and he has this recollection: "June 6, 1944, at 5:00 a.m., the ground was rumbling, and I knew the invasion had begun into France, 90 miles across the English Channel.
"I was 70 miles up at Weston-super-Mare with the 1st Army, preparing vehicles of all types for landing on the continent. That morning we went on alert to move to Southampton, then across the Channel to Omaha Beach, but a second phenomenal storm developed, preventing all ships from crossing for two to three days.
"Buzz bombs were ceaselessly bombarding England, some dropping near us. Our outfit made the landing after the storm subsided. For weeks, large invasion forces had been secretly hidden in the Bristol Channel. For 24 hours a day, the sound was like a walloping thunderstorm with the ground trembling. The incessant explosions gave the night horizon, from extreme left to right, a never-ending glow like lightning. Every nightfall,
“Bed Check Charlie” (a German Luftwaffe pilot) flew overhead to drop flares and bombs. Millions of tracer shells were a continual sight. Later, I was transferred to General Patton’s 3rd Army with an Anti-Aircraft battalion [Anti-aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion] supporting the 80th Infantry Division. Several times, in small groups, we spearheaded up to 75 miles into enemy territory."
A POST-WAR ASSIGNMENT IN EUROPE—Mr. Suomela also recalls an incident that took place shortly after the war in Europe had ended: "There was a rumor circulating that all SS Stormtroopers, when captured, would be sent to an isolated island somewhere in the South Pacific. Apparently, the SS was aware of this, perhaps believing it to be true.
"All SS members could be identified, since they had an SS tattoo in their left armpit. The Stars and Stripes military newspaper had an article that the SS refused to recognize the “unconditional surrender” and were ready to fight before surrendering. The U.S. military tricked them, by saying if they surrendered, the Allied Forces would discharge, them giving them their freedom. They fell for it.
"Shortly after Germany's surrender, I was detached from my 633rd Anti-Aircraft Battalion attached to the 80th Infantry Division (the Blue Ridge Mountain Division) 3rd Army, for their aerial support. I was on a temporary special assignment for several weeks, mostly transporting Polish and Russian POWs to centers where they would be eventually processed and sent back to their homeland.
"I really was on my own, no officers to listen to. I had a 6 x 6 GMC truck for my use at all times, I had my meals and overnight lodging at any nearest Army unit. I had a special identification to prove I was on a legitimate detail;
"I do not remember how I received daily reports of what I was supposed to do. Perhaps it came over the large military radio clamped to the dash. All track and wheeled vehicles had this radio. A week or two after the official surrender, I received a message to be at a certain area, a small country road in the Bamberg, Germany, area. I was to be there at 8:00 a.m. sharp.
"When I arrived, there were fifty 6 x 6 trucks; each truck had two enlisted men. I arrived alone and was later to be accompanied by a second lieutenant, who was already there. We had fifty trucks and 100 men, all strangers to one another. We were oblivious as to what this was all about, but initially we had received orders that we were not to have weapons with us. During the war, I usually had a Thompson submachine gun clamped on the side of my driver’s seat, the type Al Capone's gang used in the 30's.
"Then the second lieutenant opened the first of three large manila envelopes. Each contained orders as to when and what time the lieutenant was permitted to open and read the enclosed orders to us soldiers. The lieutenant and I were the lead vehicle on this entire trip.
"The first envelope’s instructions: The 100 of us were to leave for a destination southwest of München [Munich], Germany, to a small nearby village. (I wish I could remember the name of the village, but we were not permitted to have diaries during the war). It was somewhere in the foothills of Berchtesgaden, Hitler's hideout.
"We were to arrive at that designated area by early evening. We were to take a 10 minute break every hour (for pit stops and to eat K-rations if we so desired); we would arrive at our destination at 1800 hours. The lieutenant then opened the second envelope and read further instructions. They were: You are to sleep in the field overnight, all areas around you have “Off Limits” signs posted. Stay put and do not wander off. You can't deter dogged soldiers from being “resourceful” when they’re free to roam.
"Soon after, some soldiers were driving German military vehicles, including motorcycles. I do not know where they found them, but leave it to a soldier to be in a position to reconnoiter, and he will do just that. There were no civilians to be seen. We could see planes here and there scattered at a distance. This led me to believe we were near a German military airfield.
"During our drive, I discovered the Luftwaffe was using the Autobahn as their landing strips, not the airfields, and those scattered planes were plywood decoys. The grassy-looking area between the double lanes was paved with concrete and camouflaged to appear as green grass. Every hundred yards or so, alternately on each side, were planes pulled under the dense evergreen forest, parked ready to taxi onto the “runway” for flight. Each plane was pulled into their hidden parking area backwards with a small tractor. At this time, I saw for the first time close-up, a Messerschmitt 262 Jet.
"We arrived near Gotha, Germany, at the area of Buchenwald Concentration Camp, first discovered that very day. However, that day I was driving alone with the 6 x 6 on an asphalt road. In the rearview mirror I saw a plane coming low and strafing. I steered the truck toward the shallow ditch, pulled on the hand brake, and jumped out the right side. The machine gun bullets just missed me; it was tearing up the asphalt-surfaced roadway, just ticked my buddy's truck box following behind me.
"Approximately 3 miles ahead, an armored tank outfit was taking a rest break, and I stopped to have lunch with them. The 262 Jet dropped a bomb, a direct hit on a Sherman tank, killed all in the immediate area of that tank.
"Now I must return to my original story: Early that morning, the lieutenant was to open and read the contents of the final envelope. The orders were to drive about 2 to 3 miles, arriving at a site at 8:00 a.m. and get the 2,000 SS Stormtroopers from this area. They were fully armed; we were not to get smart or hostile with them.
"On arriving and seeing all these tall handsome men in their classy, heavily decorated uniforms, it gave me a strange feeling that “now I am right amongst these cream of the crop, Hitler's crack troops.” It appeared they were all officers of various grades. They all appeared to be happy, smiling, and joking, and were ready to seat themselves in the truck boxes. We were warned in that last envelope not to push them into the truck boxes as we did the prisoners during the war.
"All fifty trucks were loaded, the SS sitting on the benches along each side. There were hundreds more who could not fit in the trucks, but they had vehicles of their own: refrigerated trucks, motorcycles, ambulances, automobiles, German Volkswagens. Thus, the balance of the SS troops joined our long convoy. I cannot remember what our destination was, but we were heading north along the Autobahn for several hours.
"Again we were to stop every hour for a “pit stop” to relieve ourselves and stretch our legs. Our guests were allowed to unload and relieve themselves also. As we drove along on the Autobahn, young Army Air Force [Army Air Corps] P-38 pilots were escorting us, swooping low over us continuously at terrific speeds, dipping their wings. It gave me a feeling of wishing I were flying a P-38. The pilots were my age and younger.
"The SS troops were enjoying the ride, laughing and joking–even singing. After several hours, we were to take a side road that passed through small villages with narrow streets. Civilians crowded the side of the street, telling the SS that they were heading for a prisoner-of-war enclosure and to give all their valuables for them to hold, otherwise they would lose everything when they reached the POW courtyard.
"The SS were real angry now. We were among them, wondering what would happen to us ninety-nine enlisted men and one officer, versus over 2,000 armed SS Stormtroopers. It had us worried; but once a person has gone through a war, it was not so frightening.
"Somehow, we and the SS troops learned we were being surrounded slowly by the 130th or the 103rd Infantry, putting us in a pocket, although no infantry was in sight that we could detect. Now we really were in a predicament, hoping the Stormtroopers [SS] would not attempt something drastic.
"We arrived at a former Nazi prisoner-of-war enclosure flanked by a river on the left; the ends and the right side had [a] high cyclone fence with barbed wire curving inward at the very top, such as is seen in penitentiaries. At the entrance was a large cyclone gate manned by GIs holding the gate open when we arrived. The complete convoy was directed to drive in through the gate. This was a large enclosure capable of containing all these vehicles.
"After all the vehicles were in, the soldiers closed the gate. Then there were so many soldiers, like ants, all over the place. They had no compassion and really got rough with these guys, pulling them out of the trucks. I think the SS were really scared for a change. Enlisted men were allowed to frisk the prisoners, but it was a no-no for officers to frisk.
"I had lost my watch earlier during the war, and I needed one. An older SS officer, who appeared to be a colonel (oberst), was yanked off the truck with his large German Shepherd guard dog on a leash chain. I signaled to him to take his new Helvetia military watch off his wrist. He attempted to have his dog attack me. Instantly, an infantry soldier grabbed the leash, kicked the dog in the groin, causing the dog to run off yelping. The soldier grabbed the watch and threw it to me.
"It was an insult if a German officer was taken prisoner by anyone of lower rank; it had to be an officer of equal or higher rank. It really must have been a disgrace to be taken prisoner by an enlisted man. At the far end, at the right, was another gate manned by infantry soldiers, where we made our exit."
RETURNING HOME--Mr. Suomela gradually made his way home after the war:
"Shortly after the hostilities ended in Europe, the 633 Anti-Aircraft Battalion was disbanded. It was originally the New York National Guard. Most of these men had been in Iceland and North Africa, so they had a lot of time serving overseas. Men that had high points (100 or 120) points to their credit, they would be sent home immediately and get discharged from the service. You received so many points for each six months overseas, and so many per year in the service. I had 65 points, as did many others, so men came from various units, and I was sent to the 895th AAA AW Anti-Aircraft Headquarters Battalion.
"The other four field batteries were all in different villages. We were all new men. That is when and where I met Eino Maki from Duluth. He was a member of the 895th AAA Battalion. I knew the Maki family since 1930 in Duluth, when I was age ten.
"We were all being trained to make the invasion of Japan. A few men from the field batteries were already on the Red Sea heading for the Pacific area. The soldier that had the job I now [had], parts clerk, he was sent home as a “high pointer.” I [had been] trained as an infantry combat mechanic at Camp Roberts, California.
"Now I was assigned as the parts clerk, I was to see that all vehicles are in good running condition. We had eight mechanics in Headquarters; the field batteries had their own. Eino was assigned as the dispatcher. When problems occurred—other mechanics were baffled—officers came to me. I would have to find the vehicle out in the field with the officer, and in no time I had the vehicle back and running. I was the troubleshooter plus the parts clerk.
"The war ended in Japan on September 2, 1945. Now we all had it easy, of course. I had my daily work traveling to Nuremberg every day on business. Eino Maki was corresponding with a girl named Dorothy, in Detroit. Later they got married, so now her name became Dorothy Maki (my wife’s maiden name). Eino died in Detroit in October 1976.
"I drove to Nuremberg each weekday on business for over five months. I was responsible for all the vehicles, equipment, parts etc., for the 895th AAA Battalion Headquarters plus the four field batteries, 119 vehicles in total.
"After breakfast in the morning, I chose any vehicle I desired, mostly the 6 x 6’s, because usually I had tires, tarps, and other vehicle parts to bring back. I dealt with an ordnance supply depot in Nuremberg. There I met Ray Backstrom from Duluth. I knew him from the 1930’s when he worked at Northern Drug, in the shipping department. Now he was in charge of the ordnance depot. Nuremberg was about 50 miles away. Mostly I drove on the autobahn.
"I returned for suppertime. Nobody gave me orders, I was my own boss. In the spare time, I drove the countryside just to check the sights. I was the purchaser; only difference, money was not used. I had to make all records of the equipment, five copies of each.
"On Thursday, November 16, 1945, the battalion received rush orders to be ready to board a troop train. Early Saturday morning, the troop train would head for Camp Philip Morris near Verdun, France, then from there to Le Havre, France. The Queen Mary will be waiting there to take us home for Christmas.
"Headquarters, plus the four field batteries, hurriedly got rid of all the large artillery pieces, etc. We were able to get rid of all the other miscellaneous equipment by Saturday. Captain Johnson, a large red-faced, burly Swede, was the Headquarters Motor Pool officer. It was his duty to have charge concerning all the vehicles, parts, and equipment. I was supposed to take orders from him, but he didn’t have any knowledge about his job, so I was my own boss and enjoyed it.
"Friday, the 17th of November, 1945, Captain Johnson explained: He does not know how or where to dispose of all the 119 vehicles of all the five batteries and all the associated equipment, parts, tools, etc. “The troop train will be here at Gößweinstein, Germany, tomorrow morning early (Saturday). We will all board that train and leave.” He said to me, “You stay here and get rid of all the vehicles and all the equipment associated with the trucks.”
"Each of the five batteries—Headquarters, A, B, C, and D Field Batteries—had enclosed parts trucks loaded with bins for parts, etc., such as auto parts stores back home. They included office supplies, a typewriter, on which I used to hunt and peck my orders. Captain Johnson told me to pick another soldier to stay with me. I picked Eino Maki, also from Duluth.
"Eino was about three years younger than me. He was the dispatcher. Early Saturday morning, the long troop train arrived at the deep valley just down the steep hill from Gößweinstein. This valley, which extended for miles, was perhaps a quarter mile wide. In that long narrow valley there was a narrow river, railroad, and an asphalt road extending from Bamberg to Nuremberg and beyond. Early Saturday morning hundreds of soldiers boarded the troop train.
"About 20 fräuleins were crying, standing with Eino and me alongside the tracks. The train slowly began chugging off. As the train was picking up speed, soldiers were calling to Eino and me, left standing there with the fräuleins, calling, “Hey, you should be on this train!” I don’t think any of the other soldiers were aware that we were to stay here, amongst the girls.
"Next morning (Sunday the 19th), I told Eino, “Let’s take the Jeep and drive to Nuremberg. I have sixteen vehicles there at an Ordnance having new motors installed. I must make arrangements to take them off my hands.”
"The vehicles included 6 x 6’s, Dodge weapons carriers, and Jeeps. German prisoners did the new motor installations. The colonel in charge of the ordnance—lucky I found him on a Sunday—I asked him if he would agree to take these vehicles from me. At first he refused, but when he heard my “hard luck” story, he softened and agreed to take them from me. We drove back to Gößweinstein. I had to hunt and peck the typewriter, fill in the official forms (five copies for each vehicle), serial, license number, etc., and take the papers back to him for his signature.
"Early Monday I contacted the 103rd (or was it the 130th?) Infantry Division to see if they could use good military vehicles. They said they will take thirty vehicles. I had to fill out all the official papers of each vehicle (five copies apiece), get their signature on each.
"Now I had about seventy-three vehicles left. I found that I can take these vehicles to Kitzigen, Germany, near München, Germany, to a large salvage depot. I asked the infantry division if they could provide drivers for me, to drive the balance of vehicles in a convoy. They agreed. It was a day's drive to arrive to our destination. We arrived about 8:00 p.m. There were tens of thousands of army vehicles of all types, rows and rows, all bumpers neatly lined up, as far as your eye could see.
"First entering this yard, it reminded me of the scrap yards in Duluth. Two soldiers were sitting on five-gallon oil cans smashing—using 8-pound sledge hammers—a pyramid pile of 17-jewel watches that were given to non-commissioned and commissioned officers for the duration of the war.
"No military equipment was allowed to be returned to the States. I had ordered over 700 gallons of Zerex antifreeze. I was informed to order Zerex only (politics here). They were still in the 4-gallon cartons, to be put in each vehicle by the mechanics in each battery [so they could] withstand 20 below zero; but with the hasty orders, I still had all the 700 gallons, 4 gallons to a carton, in my possession. I had to make official papers, filled out, and return this as well.
"The infantry drivers returned that night. I do not remember when Eino and I left this area. We had a Jeep that was in our motor pool. I don’t know why we had the Jeep, but I could not get rid of it because it did not have the “895th AAA AW Bn.” stencil on the bumper. The stencil on the bumper of the Jeep was “80th Infantry Division,” the division I was attached to during the war.
"The next day Eino and I left the Munich area. Along the autobahn, periodically, we saw B-17 Flying Fortress bombers—thousands, rows and rows, perfectly lined up, as far as your eyes could see. Other areas had B-24 Liberator bombers. Other areas we saw P-51 Mustangs, P47 Thunderbolts, P-38 Lightnings and P61’s (the Black Widow) fighter planes, all in perfect rows, as were the heavy bombers along the sides of the autobahn.
"The next day Eino told me, “You know what, we haven’t been given any traveling orders.” This is very important in the military; otherwise, when stopped by the Military Police, if you can’t present traveling orders, they place you under arrest.
"Eino began calling the infantry division, Core, and others [to see] if they could furnish us traveling orders. They all answered that our outfit should have furnished us with the orders and replied, “Sorry.” I told Eino, “You are the dispatcher; you write us a dispatch ticket. Perhaps it might work.” Now, over a week had gone by, so we thought, “What’s the hurry? The others are on the high seas, by now, perhaps in the States. Now we’re on our own.”
"We stayed the last night at a family home. They gave us a bedroom to stay overnight. It was cold. We were given 100% down bedding, very comfortable now. They fed us breakfast in the morning. The evening before, we had a German upholsterer sew the pup tent halves as curtains on the sides of the Jeep to prevent the cold breeze from coming in. We gave him a pack of cigarettes; he was happy. Cigarettes were 3 cents a pack. I didn’t smoke.
"November 28, 1945: At 6:00 p.m. we left Pottenstein, the little town we first lived about three months, 8 kilometers from Gößweinstein. It began snowing lightly, getting cold. Eino went into his sleeping bag, lying between the two seats. He fell asleep. At first, the Jeep wasn’t going to stay on the slippery new wet snow. Suddenly, I remembered to put it in four-wheel drive. Now it stayed on the road. We did not have a map or know what roads to follow in the dark, a cold night. I knew we must head west, the direction to Verdun/Rheims, France area.
"In the meantime, segments of the 80th Division were heading towards France in convoys, separated from their other convoys by several miles. We kept passing them up, as they were driving at a slower pace. We came through many small villages. The 80th Division MP’s were at street corners waving their long flashlights, signaling to turn onto another road.
"It was now past midnight, I was getting tired, but I let Eino sleep until daylight, then he can take the wheel. I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere in the dark. Suddenly, the road ended. There was a “landing-ship-tank” at the mouth of the dead end road, its loading ramp down. The ship’s diesel motor was idling. A German called out, he wanted to know if we wanted to board. I answered: “Ja! Ja!” Up the ramp I drove, the washboard sound was so loud, Eino got frightened and woke up.
"I thought we were crossing the Rhine River. We were on the River Mainze, landed on an island. I had to return to the landing ship, have the German return us back where we came from. Now it was getting twilight. Daylight was breaking. We came to a long bridge. We noticed there was a large river far below this long bridge, the river banks were deep, cliff rocks. I knew we were now at the great Rhine River.
"Two MP’s stepped out of the building to our right. We had to stop here for inspection. At this time, we expected to be arrested for not having proper traveling orders. An MP stepped on each side of the Jeep. We could smell their breath of hard liquor. They asked us, “Where you boys heading?” We said, “Into France.” They waved us on. We had one more obstacle to face, the French gendarmes on the other end of the very long bridge. These were uniformed French police. They said something to us in French. I answered, “Oui! Oui!” They waved us on. We felt we now were safe from further searches.
"Eino took the wheel, it was daylight now, the weather appeared a little warmer. It was perhaps one or two o’clock in the afternoon. We were now approaching what we believed was Verdun, France, because we could see the WWI battleground trenches in the area. The grass was green in the area. The trenches could be detected with a small contoured dip, where the WWI battle trenches had been years ago, where many lost their lives.
"We saw a gate to our right, with the sign “CAMP PHILIP MORRIS.” Who happened to be at the gate entrance? To our surprise, there, standing at the gate, [were] the first sergeant and Captain Johnson! We thought they’d be in the States by now. The first thing Captain Johnson asked, “ Where have you guys been?” We told him it took a lot of time getting rid of all that equipment. The first sergeant said they believed we had been arrested. I asked, “Why?” He said, “You are driving a stolen Jeep.” He said, “The 80th division MP’s are looking for the Jeep you’re driving. Our MP’s of the 895th had found it the day before the troop train left. It was in our Headquarters Motor Pool.”
"I was not aware of that; here we were driving the 80th division stolen Jeep right under the 80th Division MP’s noses. Captain Johnson asked me, “Have you got all the official papers for all the equipment you got rid of?” I handed him a large folder of papers of all the equipment which I turned in. Captain Johnson had a sigh of relief.
"He said, “I’m sure happy to see you. If I didn’t get those papers, I would never be released from the Army. I am directly responsible for all that equipment. If lost, I’d be in the Army for the rest of my life; they would take it out of my pay.”
"We were at this camp perhaps another week. This Camp Philip Morris was perhaps a one-mile square area, so there were many different “mess halls” for eats. There was a camp mascot, a crow. During line-up for chow time, the crow would fly onto soldiers’ shoulders, begging and cawing for bits to eat. There was a large long building where there was a bar (for drinks) at each end, and a large dance area in the center.
"One night there was a scuffle (a fight) among soldiers, there was talk [that] someone was killed. MP’s swarmed in. Eino and I left the building. New recruits had just arrived from the States, replacing the original 82nd Airborne Rangers. These young soldiers were real cocky and macho, now that they were carrying the 82nd Airborne shoulder patch. I believe they were involved in the scuffle with some battle-experienced veterans, perhaps involving a French girl.
"Finally, one morning, we had orders to board 6 x 6 trucks and [were] taken to a countryside to board a French troop train that day, the destination: Le Havre, France, a large port city on the English Channel. The weather was very rainy, damp and cold, waiting there along the railroad tracks. Perhaps two days slipped by, no train in sight. Then someone got the bright idea to check why the French troop train had not arrived as yet. Finally, contact was made with a Frenchman in charge of the train which we all were supposed to board. The Frenchman said he had not been contacted to have the locomotive arrive at the designated day to pick us up and board the train. The locomotive was to be fired up to heat the boilers. That would take several hours’ time.
"Finally the train arrived. This was, indeed, a happy time for us all, so we can get out of the cold. It wasn’t so: The train arrived with many modern French coaches, but the windows were all shot up from the war. The train was speeding toward Le Havre. We were freezing in the strong breeze that entered the coaches through the broken windows. It was night during most of our ride.
"We were taken off the train and had to board 6 x 6’s to the port of Le Havre. For miles around the perimeter of Le Havre, Germans had heavily mined the area. Only a certain road was open for traffic. Along the shoulders of the road were signs, “Do not enter the road shoulder area: heavily mined.” Since the hostilities ended in Europe in May, the Army Engineers had continuously placed explosive charges on these mines. Every minute, night and day, you could hear the explosive charges go off. During our time there, we still heard the explosions every minute of each 24 hours.
"Finally, us combat veterans were boarding a Liberty ship, not the Queen Mary as first promised to us, [for] the return home for Christmas, 1945. -----"
Mr. Suomela also composed a verse poem about his experience of crossing the North Atlantic and set it to music (www.angelfire.com/mn/fogey/aarres.htm).
Aarre Suomela
Inducted into the Army on September 16,1943, at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Home at entry: Hermantown, Minnesota.
Served as a Technician Fifth Grade in Enland, Normandy, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe.
"June 6, 1944 at five a.m. the ground was rumbling and I knew the invasion had begun into France 90 miles across the English Channel. I was 70 miles up at Weston Super Mare with the First Army preparing vehicles of all types for landing on the continent. That morning we went on alert to move to Southampton, them cross the Channel to Omaha Beach, but a second phenomenal storm developed preventing all ships from crossing for two-three days. Buzz bombs were ceaselessly bombarding England, some dropping near us. Our outfit made the landing after the storm subsided."
"For weeks large invasion forces had been secretly hidden in the Bristol Channel west of Weston Super Mare... For 24 hours a day the sound was like a walloping thunderstorm with the ground trembling. The incessant explosions gave the night horizon, from extreme left to right, a never-ending glow like lightning. Every nightfall 'Bed Check Charlie,' (German Luftwaffe pilot) flew overhead to drop flares and bombs. Millions of tracer shells were a contitnual sight. Later I was transferred to Patton's Third Army with an Antiaircraft battalion supporting the 80th Infantry Div. Several times, in small groups, we spearheaded up to 75 miles into enemy territory. I was in Austira when the war ended."
