PFC Burkett Moore Sims, 7th Army, 14th Armored

[Walt's Daughter]

Marion,

 

I was on line, looking for information about the old division books and I came across your site. On your site, one of the engineers, Arthur DeAngelo, mentions being sent to rebuild a pontoon bridge that had been bombed by the Germans, near Worms. Actually, my father crossed the Rhine on that first bridge and it was not bombed. A German officer got hold of one of our supply trucks. He pretended to be an American and drove the truck back across the bridge and blew it up in the middle, killing himself. My father was PFC Burkett Moore Sims, 7th Army, 14th Armored (infantry), 62nd Battalion, B Company, First Platoon, First Squad, one of the Liberators. He and the other soldiers were trapped on the other side of the Rhine after this happened with unknown amount of German soldiers surrounding them. I believe he crossed that bridge on Easter Sunday morning. They had twelve tanks which they put in a circle and dug in around the tanks, expecting to be attacked that night. My dad thought the German soldier, who blew up the bridge, must have been an officer because they were not attacked. Without an officer to lead them, the other German soldiers would not attack tanks. In the morning, the mail arrived to cheer up the men. I think he said it took them three days to rebuild that bridge.

 

I was trying to post this information on your site, but I’m not sure how so I thought I would send you an email and let you decide if it should be posted. I don’t know if Arthur is still around, but I wish I could get this information to him. My dad was the only one in his squad who came back without ever having being wounded or killed. He was 5’5” and had a uniform with a 29 inch waist, probably due to invading and walking across Europe. He was an expert marksman. We have his medal. He was very religious and said the rosary every night for the rest of his life to thank God for bringing him back alive and unhurt. I hope Arthur can read this and hear about a few soldiers on the other side of the Rhine that he helped to save by rebuilding that bridge.

 

Thank you,

 

Mary Sims

 

 

Dear Mary:

 

What a wonderful letter. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

 

The name Arthur DeAngelo sounds familiar, (the site is so immense now), but I could not find anything related to him on the site this morning. Can you please send me the link showing where you found said info. Thanks SO much.

 

I look forward to hearing from you, so we can explore this further.

 

Warmly,

Marion

 

------------------

 

Dear Mary:

 

Aha, no wonder I couldn't find it on my site, for it wasn't on my site! ha-ha! That's my buddy Rod's web, which ranks right up there with the best of them.

 

I recommend you contact Rod directly, for he would be able to answer any questions you might have.

 

Warmly,

Marion