The Independent-News, Volume 120, Number 3, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 1 June 1995 — Page 10

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THE INDEPENDENT-NEWS - JUNE 1, 1995

Veterans Recall World War II 50 Years Later Victory In Europe VE Day May 8, 1945 Victory In Japan VJ Day August 14, 1945 The following are stories that veterans from the Walkerton area have related about their experiences in World War 11. This is a continuation of many stories that will be published. Look for them to continue approximately every other week. There are many veterans who have called but as yet have not responded with stories — please call 586-3450. Information will be taken over the phone. CHARLES COPPENS United States Army 3rd Armored Division With Gen. Patton & Gen. Rose I was drafted on June 3, 1941 for one year only. But the outbreak of World War II at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, changed all that. I took my basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Later I was sent to the Mojave Desert for additional training, the temperature there was a sweltering 120 degrees. From there I was sent to Camp Pickett, Virginia, where the temperature was zero upon arrival. Talk about weather extremes of heat and cold, that was the ultimate! I was trained as a mechanic, trained to retrive tanks and other wheel vehicles from ditches and

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various hazards for continual repair. In September of 1943 we were sent to Europe and arrived in Elgland after two weeks on the Atlantic. The trip on the ocean made most of us seasick — including yours truly! Our water purifier went beserk and had to be fixed. We had to lag behind the convoy several kilometers until it was fixed. One destroyer stayed behind as a protective shield and left us just as the water purifier was finally fixed. We were engaged in five major battles, the worst of which was The Battle Os The Bulge. The following is an excerpt taken from “Spearheading With The 3rd Armored Division’’ which depicts the fighting in a dramatic way. “The great counter-defen-sive swept into the Ardennes on December 16, broke through Allied lines of communication and supply. This was the beginning of the Battle Os The Bulge. During some campaigns in this period evidence was discovered of German atrocities in the bodies of murdered Belgians, women, children and the aged. Heavy fighting ensued during the worst weather a Belgian winter had to offer. The Spearhead avanced 11 hard-won kilometers in six days, reducing village after village. In bitter, crisping cold, the combat commanders drove forward. There seemed to be a paralyzing ice mist over the entire battle front. All roads were glazed to slippery ribbons. Tanks skidded alarmingly onto the shoulder. Snow drifts covered

everything, and hard frozen ground made foxhole construction a nightmare when shells were falling almost continually. It was agony all the way. Finally a month later, on January 16, 1944, the Germans were retreating, and attempting to pull out of the rapidly closing ‘bluge pocket’ and streamed across the 3rd Armored Division’s direct front. Slipping and sliding on the icy pavements these columns were annihilated by the 3rd Armored Division.* A final checkup of enemy losses for the ‘bulge’ meetings with the 3rd totaled: 98 tanks, 20 self-pro-pelled guns, 76 motor transports, eight artillery pieces, 23 AA and AT guns, 1,705 estimated Nazis killed, 545 estimated wounded and 2,705 prisoners of war. Many German soldiers had attempted to infiltrate the American lines. (Our unit encountered a group of German soldiers, one wearing captured Lieutenant’s bars and insignia, and only Gl’s knew that they were not to be worn in combat as this would draw attention to their rank or glitter in the sun and become easy targets. The Germans didn’t know this and many were caught and gunned down on the spot.) There were few U.S. soldiers who had not only been asked for the password, but forced to name the capitol of their state, or give Sinatra’s first name or other similar spontaneous proof of nationality. The ‘bulge’ campaign was finished, it had been the hardest fight the 3rd Armored Division had ever engaged.’’ ♦ln the town of Mons, Belgium, we trapped over 40,000 German troops. The slaughter of the 15th German Army was terrible. They were trapped in the ‘bulge pocket’ the fighting went on all night, every night. They tried to escape but did not make it. We had them on the run & we would attack them everytime they moved — we moved with them. When it was finally over, we were relieved and glad. I was discharged on September 27, 1945. RALPH D. DIXON United States Army 11th Infantry Co. “L” I enlisted in the U.S. Army on February 12, 1930, at Fort Harrison, Indiana, and was discharged on March 5, 1935. Then I enlisted in Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, October 15,1935, and was discharged on May 17, 1937. I enlisted again October 5, 1938, at the

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Quartermaster Depot at Jeffersonville, Indiana, and was moved to Sheridan Illinois, and discharged November 16,1939. I enlisted again on November 17, 1942, at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in the Ordnance Dept., as Staff Sgt., and was sent to North Africa as Ist Sgt. of Ordnance Co. My knee became infected and I was operated on in North Africa. Because of the lack of medicinal cures in 1943 — this injury had never totally healed. I returned to the States and was sent to Nichols General Hospital and given a Disability Medical Discharge on February 3,1944. 1 am a lifetiime member of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and a 45-year member of the American Legion. GEORGE L. MATZ U. S. Navy I enlisted in the Navy on February 16, 1943, and attended Boot Camp at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Chicago. I was attached to the Medical Corp for six weeks training and then transferred to San Diego Naval Hospital for a couple of months. Then I went on to the Los Angeles Naval Armory for 13 months. While on the way to Pearl Harbor I was transferred to the sth Marine Division and was on my way to Iwo Jima. I contracted spinal meningitis and was in the Army Hospital at Saipan for recovery approximately four to six weeks. From Saipan I came back to Honolulu Naval Air Station until the end of the war and then was discharged on February 19, 1945.

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