European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 2, 1945, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Infantrymen discuss go equipment by Mack Morriss yank staff correspondent Western opinions on i equipment were picked up from some 20 men of an infantry division i asked them How they liked what they had and if they could make any suggestions As to i asked them if they had heard of anything the army had that haunt been issued to them but that they could item by this is approximately what they said the men like them All but theres some Gripe about the men said they  get them big some said the sole sizes were All right but the tops were so tight they  get the overshoes combat Only 40 pairs have been Avail Able for Issue in this entire infantry the men much prefer them to which Snag in fences and so theres much talk and laughter about Blue commandos sos and rear area troops wearing All the combat and paratrooper boots and combat combat none have been issued to this outfit the men understand these jackets Are Only for tank men and the air there seems to be some men who have been to Paris on the Beautiful equip ment of the aah in contrast to infantry the aah has a fur lined Field jacket with Hood that is the envy of the sleeping not Worth a Damn except for rear area this seems to be general Opin the men Are opposed to the sleeping bag be cause they say they cant get out of it fast others say if you squirm in the Zipper works around into your would rather have Jungle too big and too Many the thing rides your some men pre Fer the Musette bag to carry personal items inf with a Horseshoe others say the old Haver sack rides easiest of All on their what about mittens with a trigger Fin Ger the men say that present gloves Wool with leather Palms Are not warm the British socks Are no these Are Gray Issue socks obtained from and they Are very rough ribs Are hard on in Fantry Field As men have never been issued combat and Only a few of them have the new Field jacket with the draw they prefer this to the old Field jacket but say it should have a heavier even it is much warmer than the old and has More pocket for grenades and one Man a6 this is a lighter version of the old Light machine the gunners like it and liked it particularly in the hedgerow country because they could fire it from the hip by Means of a strap Slung across their it has a bipod instead of a the men have heard of a lighter mortar and a lighter and Are very much in favor of these if their firing efficiency Hast been Hurt by the lessening in weight naturally the infantry wants everything As Light As it can m2 ammo Carrier for the men dont like it has been replaced to a certain How by a better at this Point i would like to voice the Bitch of an infantry Supply sergeant about the i Way of expending in the Case of the old Field As in the Case of these improvements that have been issued for a Long time dont get to this infantry outfit until their old stuff has completely worn so the men go on freezing in their old Field jackets and getting Sway backed with ammo carriers simply because the Damn things Haven this Supply sergeant said that what replacements they were getting for tires for their jeeps were worn and but he was philosophical about they figure Well take pm up and get pm shot off he which May be for a while the jeeps in this outfit were taken away and replaced with this was Back in the hedgerow country on hard sur faced a company weasel lasted exactly 982 Miles and then the tracks fell worn the men the weasels would be Ideal for in the Snow they have Only they have their jeeps Back say you might get or Miles out of a weasel in Snow and but it just wont hold up of hard after talking to the i hooked the who has been company commander since and asked him if he had any he said that when a mans feet got cold in his Arctic it was almost impossible for him to get them so sometimes the men on guard and whatnot would take off their shoes and wrap their feet in i lifted an Eyebrow at but he said they did though Only in a Static situation when neither Side was doing much and men were on Security outpost and he also said although a company has never been issued the loader for the m3 machine pistol and for the Tommy gun is inferior to the German which we cant use because of a slight difference in the size of the he said that men who do have the loader say they would just As soon Load by the importance of a Good loader for Long magazines is especially during Street fighting when fire Power is needed in a hurry and an empty Maga Zine is a desperate he said that the men have found the mag Azine release for the grease gun m3 Loose and that when slight pressure is exerted on it As the gun is carried Slung on the the Magazine will fall consequently the men take a Ball Hammer and Bend the release slightly so As to make it More he certainly enlightened me on one he said that there were in House House fighting when we needed a weapon somewhere Between the hand grenade and the he said the Bazooka projectile would sometimes fail to explode if it hot too Light an object or if it didst hit solidly and scooted along the we needed a weapon to blow out doors and to shoot through spraying a room with v the men of a company do not claim credit for originating this but they have put it into practice and say it works like a they take a 60mm mortar Shell and remove the then they take a hand grenade and fit the fins of the mortar Shell into the prongs on the adaptation and wire them securely fired As a regular hand grenade from a this gives a Flat trajectory Range of approximately 135 Yards and an Arch Range of 300 to 400 the Range is increased by elevating the Rifle it is also increased by put Ting the butt of the Rifle against the thereby lessening the with this every Rifleman is a potential mortar Man and a com Pany goes into action with three mortar shells to each bringing the mortar to the very front when the infantry runs out of mortar they borrow from the mortar this saves Bazooka they started using the new Gadget at Maria Dorf around and it did a lot of work at the germans didst know what the hell they were getting there for a the co i assume they do Cpl Roy Jordan digs Ira for the night in Frozen ground of the ardennes t5 Nicholas Espusito and t4 Charles Lynch Secir some Frozen Bedroll