Am continueing 3-7-I Recon's posting along with my reply to it.
Posted Fri 16 July 2004 12:32
Crossing the Rhine (cont'd)
When we got back to the CP, I noticed for the first time, that there was a lot of pain in my upper left arm. I peeled off my field jacket, pile liner, wool sweater and wool shirt and found that the upper arm from shoulder to elbow was completely discolored in blues, purples, greens, reds and yellows and it was swollen and throbbing. I walked over to the Aid Station where I was told that I had probably been hit by a 'spent'shell fragment but it had not broken the skin because the blow was cushioned by my heavy clothing. No treatment was necessary. "It will go away in a few days" No purple heart!
I had little time to think about it. My CO had another assignment. Engineers were building a pontoon bridge across the Rhine at Worms, which was 10 miles north, where the 30th Infantry was crossing. I was to get another jeep and lead 4 conventional Sherman tanks north to the new bridge, take them across the Rhine, and then lead them ten miles south through the enemy held east bank to join the 7th Inf bridgehead, all during the remaining hours of darkness. (A tank driver's visibility is very limited, especially at night, and they need to follow another vehicle, I was told.) I was still technically on leave in Paris, but I thought it wise not to bring it up again! One of my most vivid memories of that night is looking back at the 4 Shermans following my jeep across the steel treadway pontoon bridge. The 35 ton weight of each tank depressed the rubber pontoons beneath it and the well spaced tanks looked like they were floating on water!
I acomplished the mission by daylight and felt good about having helped to get armored support to the rifle companies which were meeting stiff resistance in the battle for Sandhofen on the east bank. J3rdinf was there with the 3rd Bn, 7th Inf. He told me recently, that the troops were overjoyed to see the 4 Shermans coming up behind them, and he wondered at the time how they had gotten across the river!
3_7_I_Recon
Posts: 1020 | Registered: Wed 28 February 2001
j3rdinf
Member
Posted Fri 16 July 2004 13:14 by j3rdinf in reply::
Yes Recon. Remember it well. We later heard about the fate of the "anphibious? tanks" but wondered
just where our tank support got to . We were catching hell without tank support. Was a great thing when finally the Shermans showed up. We sure
needed them badly to survive. Actually we could have used a lot more of them. It seemed like the
Krauts did not want us on that side of the Rhine
River to say the least. River crossings are always
just plain hell. You feel like a sitting duck in a
shooting gallery. Which is exactly what you are.
And once you get across it is even worse as things
are always "confused" to say the least until they
get a bit straightened out. I guess that is why we recieved that extra $10.00 per month in Combat
Infantry Badge pay. Good pic and post Russ..
If you wiish anymore of Russ's (3-7-1 Recon) posts let me know till he can do it himself..