Another story by Art Cook - 36th Combat Eng

[Walt's Daughter]

A, as I so affectionately call him by, has contributed yet another wonderfully warm story regarding the war. It sure will be a fine additional to the documentary. This is just the thing I wanted!

 

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Hi M.

 

1: 15 AM and I'm awake - thought of a story. haha!

 

Co "E" had just made the invasion of Sicily July '43, and we had moved from the beach into Licata to upgrade our operation getting supplies ashore.

 

One of my men had learned that, up in the hills North of Licata there existed a gentleman (Italian) who owned an ice cream making set up, but long ago stopped making iced cream cause he had no electricpower.

 

Now my wonderful outfit - a long time (2 years), no ice cream .

 

Wouldn't it be great to have some ice cream?

 

So I hatched a plan with my Mess Sergeant to see if we ciould we make a plan to send our portable generator up there and make ice cream just for a surprise for our troops.

 

About a 12-14 hour trip to get there, make the cream, freeze it and bring it back to our bivuoac at LICATA.

 

Sent a couple of guys with a jeep, the liquid, and the generator early in the morning. Plan to be back with a treat for evening Mess.

 

End of day we are eating with great anticipation and hoping to have our treat for dessert, the treat was not in sight and we delayed in every way possible hoping against hope that our plan would bear fruit.

 

Finally here comes the jeep covered with dust and roaring, snorting and a couple of smiling soldiers, and they had the ice cream with them.

 

The cooks took no time getting ready to serve this treat.

 

The first man up to get his ration of ice cream took one look at the goodie he had just been served - a disappointed look on his face and he said "WHAT, VANILLA!".

 

Yours A.

[206thmpco]

Great story and a great guy to use his ingenuity to get an ice cream treat for his men!

 

My dad was an "ice creamaholic". How he must've missed it while overseas! I believe he'd have crawled through barbed wire to get it.

 

After the war, he made up for lost time by knowing the locations of every homemade ice cream stand in Eastern Mass. How he maintained his 6'2" 180lb weight under the ice cream compulsion is an unsolved mystery.

 

Another mystery was his favorite flavor: frozen pudding. PEEYEW!

Second on the list was black raspberry and third was butter pecan.

 

I 've many vivid memories of my father pulling up to an "ice cream oasis" in our '57 Chevy, he'd turn to my brother Fran & me in the back seat & ask what we wanted.

I'd say "chocolate!" and he'd say: "Don't you want something else Mary Ann?

You had that last time!" (but - no, I always wanted chocolate). I can still see him standing at the take-out window with his plaid shirt & khaki pants, ordering our cones. Somehow I never could manage to eat more than a third and would stick the cone in front of his face & say: "Here Daddy, I can't eat anymore." He'd eye me with mild

disapproval, but accept it. I can still see him sitting behind that big Chevy steering wheel, placidly consuming 2 ice creams (he'd have consumed a 3rd if it was to be had).

 

Good & happy memories those!