European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 23, 1950, Darmstadt, Hesse The stars and stripes thursday february 13, 4950 1st, 9th armies Lead jump across Roer River barrage water Cut off 60 yanks by a Ted Button and Andy looked stars and stripes staff writers with 1st army on the Roer feb. 24 in the red Light of bursting shells the Bat Talion moved out of the shadows and started to Cross the Roer. It was 3 30 am. Chemical smoke Hung Low Over the water and spread out the Glare of Jerry s mortars As they began to fall among the men of Paul Rickey s a co. The first medics came up and went to work while the first wave pushed its motorboats out into the flood Waters. One engine started the rest never did. The mortars came faster and while they fell the assault troops of maj Harry Beck Ley s battalion gave up the engines which would t Start and began to paddle against the 12-Miie-an-Hourcurrent. Gotta get there s of Piraux heard capt Fred the Valhalla . Commander b co shout. Carpiaux began to paddle and was swept into the cur rent. A handful of the boats got away from the Shore. The rest of them were held tip by the mortars and the Quick bursts of schmeisser crossing the Roer Roe Arnond a Sish a by Guiadat cd sweikf77 \ Dusseldorf Hildery assault awaited in Good humor by Ralph g. Martin stars and stripes staff writer with 9th army at the Roer feb. 24 the Hayloft was filled with the stink of dirty sweating feet but nobody seemed to notice it. The men of the squad were stretched in the Straw packed close together. Most of them were talking in Low whispers some were sleeping a few were just lying still smoking Cigar ets Star ing at the darkness. The 1st and 9th . Armies inn store the nazis Roer River line and fan out on the Cologne Plain for a drive to the Rhine. Village after Village fell late in february 1945 As fee two armies clawed their Way Forward along a simile front. Is men write letters As time nears for push off fire from buildings 60 Yards away on the River s East Bank or were swept out of wounded men s hands by the racing water. Jerries zeroed in in the up Mai Lou Dughi of Westfield . And the others talked a minute called the engineers. The darkness was fading and Dawn was half there through the smoke and the fog. The engineers went out into the fire of the mortars and the 88s and began to build a loot Bridge the Captain was hit a lieutenant took his place and was hit they got the Bridge finished in the morning and when it was done the Jerries zeroed in and blew it to pieces. Men trickled in through the night to a Brick walled factory on the enemy Shore until there were 60. What happened to the rest who started across and never got there we could t Tell sgt Charles continued on Page 8 � crossing 6led of by engineers by Ernie Leiser stars and stripes staff writer with the 102d div feb. 26 from the far Bank of the Roer on eastward it s the infantry and the tankers fight but the Battle of the crossing is the property of the eng Meers. The Job done by the combat engineers working with it col Rob Ert Anderson of the 102d, is typical of what happened All along the As Sault front their Story tells itself while the artillery started to Roar out its Prettack barrage at 0245 on a Day the engineers struggled Down the Slippery Muddy River approaches45 minutes before the first wave shoved off hauling the 450-Pound assault boats and equip ment for a footbridge. When the riflemen of the first company of the first wave capt poncho Lozano s c co of the 405thfiled Down to the Banks the engineers shoved them into the proper boats amid the no lie and confusion of their own supporting artillery and the beginnings of Jerry fire. 2 new divisions spearhead drive by 7th army by Wade Jones stars and stripes staff writer with 7th army feb. 23 delayed two Brand new . Infantry divisions the 70th trailblazer and the 63d blood and fire were revealed tonight to be spearheading the 7th army drive into Germany South of Saa Brucken. "6th to Forback the 70th, which first went into action on dec. 26 Southeast of Hagenau is fighting in Forbach just inside the French Border six Miles Southwest of Saa Brucken and was last reported in Possession of most of the the 63d, which preceded the trailblazers into the line by four Days is pressing up both sides of the Saar River North of Sarre Guen Iines after beating off counter attacks three mites North of the City and just inside the German Border. At this Point they Are Only six Miles Southeast of the German Industrial Center of Saa Brucken. A River s breadth away from Jerry nazis abandon Julich Citadel by rat Lee stars and stripes staff writer with 175th inf Julich feb. 24 delayed the Citadel which was expected to be the German Strong Point in Julich and which the 175th inf yesterday by passed in taking of the town today was taken by a unit of the 116th inf without a German being killed or taken prisoner. Only four were seen escaping through a Tunnel into a Small Patch of Woods at the rear. There was no sign of a up or anything that might indicate that it had even been occupied except a Small pile of equipment and a dress uniform near a swimming Pool it was assumed Early yesterday afternoon that it had been practically abandoned for there was Only occasional Small arms and sniper fire from the Walls. Gate blasted after 15 minutes in which the outer Gate Wes blasted from its hinges and the Walls raked with machine gun fire platoon Leader it Clay s. Purvis of Charlottesville va., and a demolition squad of four men a sol William Simpson of Hartford conn., sgt Wilmer Rogers of Milburn by. And pics Donald j Todd of Medina Ohio and Herbert i Puckett of Clinton n.c.,covered i by heavy machine gun fire dashed to the Entrance with Satchel charges. But they were not needed for there was no door at the inside end of the 100-foot curving Tunnel. In less than 30 minutes the Citadel had been secured and the Many j tunnels acid cellars were being searched in a vain Effort to find prisoner or a up. In a couple of hours this first squad of the 1st plat of Able co of the 1st in would be piling into an assault boat to Cross the Roer River in the first wave. I just wrote a Long letter to my Mother today said 18-year-old pvt Willard Ross of Arab Ala. The squad s bar Man. This was his first action. I just wrote her that i was feel ing Fine and that there was nothing to worry about he said. "that1 the trouble with mothers they re just so Yards from he enemy front the Roer River floods the Shell shattered town of Maria Ciler held by . Forces. Beyond is Duren where . Artillery fire can be seen. The flood waa caused by German blasting of the giant Schwam Menarvel dam. Of fetes nazi party air warfare against Germany yesterday kept Pace with the ground offensive As More than 5,000 planes made attacks including a powerful one on Munich where american bombs provided the fireworks for Hitler Ite services commemorating the 25th anniversary of the nazi party program. Billowing smoke livid Blaze cover City under . Attack by John b. Mcdermott United press writer frontline of overlooking Duren feb. 24duren was a grotesquely Beautiful City late this afternoon As american planes and artillery turned it into billowing geysers of living death Duren was in the process of being pulverized. Roaring Dave bombers swooped out of the overcast dropping eggs on the blazing City. It reminded me of Trout fishing Days Back in ver Mont when i used to lie beside a Brook watching fish darting at bait. Bombers Are like that they go through the hazy Clouds and Art darting like Trout. From every part of Duren ther Rose huge Billows of Black or Whit smoke jew bombs or shells hit to target. I watched one plane diving to Ward what appeared to be heavily fortified military Barracks. Then it burst into flames Plum meting to the Earth. Whether it a a Jerry plane or one of ours i an not sure. There Are i a a Jerry planes playing tag wit ii american in the Clouds. Always everybody in the bad written letters that Day that a partly because there was nothing else to do nowhere to go. The co had ordered All units to stay inside i their billets All Daj for Security reasons. One of the boys had an ancient Issue of a popular Maga Zine and it had made the round i everybody Reading every word in it before it was put id the squad toilet paper Supply. I we were playing Casino in the afternoon because i m the Only on who has enough dough to play poker said pvt Cletu Crawford of t a m a Iowa who if also 1c. Crawford just joined the squad last month. He s the assistant Bazooka Man. I be got 40 Bucks in my shirt pocket continued Crawford and i told the Guys that if i kick off in this show they re supposed to split the dough Between them and play at least one hot game of poker in my Well just Don t walk in fron of me bawled out pvt Harry Hosier of pen Shanken . You re m Damn Small that if they aim at you they re liable to hit the whole squad was wide awake now everybody laughing. That Crawford is the Sweet tooth peanuts Cluster kid of the squad said Hosier. When he s not talking about poker he s describing continued on Page s it Al t it o a ii a a k i to
