European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 16, 1945, Darmstadt, Hesse                                I i i i night patrol in Italy its a Job for silent footwork and soft breathing and perfect timing behind the Jerry by George Barrett yank staff correspondent with the fifth front in Italy was last night a 30 Man night patrol appeared in the mount Grande Twenty two men in the Small beamed ceiling room in a building somewhere on the fifth army front pick up three grenades apiece from the stack on a five of with slight suck on pills to Clear their the men test and retest the 10 three three mommies and five carbines they Are one too is each Man quickly studies a crude sketch of Kraut positions across the one i grumbles about wading through a hard awed private checks to see that his hand grenade will not get caught another private moves his head slowly under his Parka Hood to note any telltale Russell 27yearold patrol Leader from dec Man who got a Battlefield commission three months straight to the their he is to bring Back a Kraut for recon Naissance has spotted a couple of krauts in a machine gun position some 600 Yards inside the Jerry and the patrol is to get in and grab when you get there Obure Gonna go in shooting like youre getting out Mckelvey the members of the patrol Are Battle veterans of the 91st and All but four have purple hearts two have three there Are eight Silver stars and Bronze and every Man wears the combat infantryman patrols for these men Are an old and dirty and they make cautious preparations for the night they Are hard bitten but they dont like going out on wed rather make a front attack against that Hill than go on patrol out says Elmer a Bronze Star and purple heart who is the assistant patrol a i who is staying behind says hell have a Nice fire blazing to warm them up when they dont one of the patrol if i come Back ill just sit up All night and the chaplain gives communion to both catholics and and most of the patrol is present to receive there is some joking but it is pretty a bar Man with thick Lerise glasses gets his and someone i thought you were Goin Home on Dis charge each Man puts a White Parka Over his ods and straps Sharp ice cleats to his shoe a Long knife is fastened under Cartridge belts within instant no member of the patrol takes along any but some of with their leaders slip into their pockets pictures of their or for it is almost dark when Mckelvey lets move one i who is not going wishes them Good Luck and the company co Calls bring Back a fresh Snow has fallen during the fourteen inches is the official but it is considerably deeper than that in most of the Mountain passes and the sky is Gray with fog and Snow air is so solid there is no horizon and it gives the patrol a feeling of deceptive in single behind they Cleat across packed tank guns to the right rear open up and fire four rounds in Quick succession like a rapid burst from a Mammoth machine shells from heavy guns Are Over and the whole Snow front flares in Brilliant whiteness from the eight seconds later the Roar Rolls across the draws like summer it is full night when the patrol reaches the each Man Steps into icy it comes past his shoe Pac and puddles inside the Marvin assistant squad Leader from Green stumbles and spills into the freezing the Jerries Are not close by and he swears my cans across the the the water on their legs already Heads in a wide swing for the German the Wireman silently a reels his Telephone line from an Oil soaked Twentyfive Yards out from the River Francis Niemczewski of fumbles and a single shot cracks from his they Crouch lower but it is just another Rifle blast to the krauts and nothing the patrol keeps Twenty minutes after leaving the River Yards Mckelvey connects his phone at Check Point 1 the distance to the Jerry position has been divided into three Check Points and reports to the battalion High on a in a gutted building strafed intermittently by Kraut machine the of listens in artillery officers stand ready to Lay Down a barrage if the code cry barrel ass indicates the patrol is having trouble anywhere along the the men stay quietly at Check Point 1 for nine two Are detailed As Security and a third joins unable to Advance any then the patrol moves out this time for Check Point which is 150 Yards our 60mm shells fire a Pride signed bracket beyond the the going gets tougher now the Snow is knee deep and the terrain wide there Are no Trees and Only a few scattered weighted heavily by crouched Over and struggling through the the patrol slows two More men reel and drop heading Back for the jump off the fanning sparkle of rises from the nearby slopes and a phosphorus Shell from one of our guns lands directly on a House to the strands of fire like Christmas tinsel Cut through the a Jerry piano drops a White the flare and the flaming House again stands vividly against the Black four artificial Moon Light searchlights Are streaking High across the but the patrol pays no As the men approach Check Point Jerry drops a smoke Shell 25 Yards every Man ducks deep in the Snow until the Flash it is 28 minutes since the report in at Check Point and Mckelvey cuts in his phone again and All is quiet and going he two Security guards Are left at Check Point 2 and the patrol moves separated now into two assault More 60mms form a fire bracket beyond the a and far to the right a Kraut machine gunner blazes away the patrol has found a 14 inches of Snow and the men try to get on the outside so they wont be but a Steep Bank drops from the and the men find themselves in Snow hip they re turn to the Trail and move Forward very slowly the Trail the two groups this time 20 Yards each covering the the right assault group advances 15 Yards and halts the left group advances 15 then another 15 and it the Man Euver is repeated and Mckelvey cuts through the deep Snow from one group to another to keep them in line for one of the groups keeps moving too far As if impatient to get the business an owl first a Lon drawn and steady then a deep comes clearly through the frosty the Jerries Are signalling to each other up front Mckelvey stops Short a strange noise sounds sharply through the mortar fire and machine gun for 20 minutes the patrol but there is no and the men push Forward somewhere in the distance a Kraut snipers shot echoes in a Lazy the intelligence and reconnaissance unit has made a faulty reconnaissance and at Check Point 3 Mckelvey Calls Back to ask for identifying fire on the Kraut one explosive then a smoke Are dropped on target and Mckelvey next Calls for 81mm defensive fire on the arc beyond the the assault party moves Forward at 2240 while 12 rounds of 81s explode in a perfect arc beyond the the patrol is close to a couple of the men Start to sticking their Heads Turtle like inside their hoods to muffle the a 2345 the assault every gun advances cautiously up the final slope to the at the height of the Small arms fire and machine gun bullets Echo from the High ground above them but As they close in on the direct objective they realize from the silence that Jerry has slipped bitter Over losing his Mckelvey searches the area 150 Yards As Well As All the surrounding but finds suddenly German voices come from a machine gun position on the other Side of the the patrol tries to get Over but the first Man slides part Way Down the draw and lands in Snow up to his it is suicide to try to get across and the patrol is forced to the men turn heavily to the River cutting the Telephone wire in sections As they go and rolling it on their although they Haven captured their the men have harassed the and the Jerries will be trigger Happy for a few the six hour thrust into their lines will Force them to set up new machine gun positions and Send out ambush patrols during the next four or five mortars and heavies Are still bursting beyond the patrol As it re crosses the bed Check the Jerry plane that flies Over the sector every night at putters the men crunch homeward on the packed the coating of ice on their legs crackling As they it had been another quiet with Small patrol action on the italian Page 17