World War Story #1 The Padre
One time when we were attached to Intel they put two of us with an MP traffic control location because the Kraut stragglers had been mixing in the convoys after dark and then disappearing when the time was right.
This was a real small town,nothing more than the cross road and an auberge(inn),which the locals visited and we knew some of them were sympathizers. We would scout around at night and early morning looking for "stragglers" that would come out at these times and had some success getting some for Intel data.
Each morning the Parde would come down the road so far,stop and yell out who he was and ask permission to go to his church for a Morning Mass. We got to know him pretty good and he was very happy the GIs were taking over the area. I always spoke with him in French (as a door opener and so he would be partial to us) and as he said "now I can feel safe" - he told us even the Gendarmes were Kraut sympathizers.
One morning he asked me to walk along with him to the Church and although puzzled I went along. When we got to and area that nobody could hear us he asked me "Do you know that you are being watched day and night?". My ears perked up quick as a wink. When the Bikie that picked up the messages came by, I told him to pass the word to the CP ASAP. A much larger detail was sent and we rounded up the "watchers" before they knew what hit them. The Padre had given us the location of the farmhouse they were living in.
Much to everybody's surprise two different idiots from Intel had each assigned a team to do exactly what we were doing and they were planning on getting help to take us out. Thus a catastrophe was averted. I was NOT KILLED!!
WW II Story #2 The Bikie!!
At this same cross road as I said above a Bikie came by to pick up messages etc. and to see if we needed ammo etc. Myself and the other man were talking to him when "ZIP" a shell went between us and lodged in the tree. We had no idea where it can from so we decided to take off ASAP. The Bikie had a rack over his rear wheel so my buddy and I squeezed on to that(almost flattened the tire) but we got the hell out of there. We stopped about a mile down the road and the Bikie started to laugh like a fool and comes out with this remark "I'll bet the Kraut that shot at us is laughing his a** off at what we must have looked like getting the hell out of there". Never did catch that b**s***d!!
Sgtleo 