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I've searched for Easy Company in Hell's Highway - so you don't have too.

Hell's Highway: A Chronicle of the 101st Airborne in the Holland Campaign, September-November 1944 by George Koskimaki

Just before the jump: “Colonel Sink, who was in plane#1, had been looking out of the door when something shook the plane and he saw a part of the wing whip loose and dangle in the breeze. He turned and said: ‘Well, there goes the wing.’ But nobody seemed to think much about it as they figured by now they were practically ‘in’ it”.

The Son bridge. Oh, look who is here: “A few minutes after the first groups headed on their missions, a Dutchman approached 1Lt. NORMAN DIKE, the assistant S-2 for the regiment and informed him that the two auxiliary bridges had been blown by the Germans several days earlier”.

Eindhoven. T/4 Donald G. Malarkey’s recollection of the advance by the 2nd Battalion is as follows: “We came into the city from the northeast with scattered resistance but rounded up a lot of prisoners on tips from the Dutch people. In fact, at one time, we had so many men going after holed-up Germans that we had to stop following their leads.”

Easy’s 1Lt. Robert Brewer being wounded. Hewas ordered by Capt. Clarence Hester (S-3 for the 2nd Battalion) to flank some Germans. He questioned with his poor French the school kids who asked their parents in Dutch and then translate it to French again about German positions (what a comedy, lol). He’s learnt Germans were sitting in some orchard. As he said, he had a little time to study the route, so he had map and bincons out as they were approaching.

“At the moment I was hit. A round entered my right jaw and exited my left neck. Both holes, just below the third molar from the back, spouted blood immediately and blood flowed from my mouth like a fountain. I knew I was going into shock. (…) I heard one of my men yell ‘Lieutenant Brewer’s dead! Get going to those trees ahead!’ and I remembered feeling good about that order. Someone was taking over.”

Sgt. Al Mampre (surgeon from 2nd Battalion) was the one who patched him along with Pvt. Holland (from E). “I was in the process of administering plasma to Brewer, which was very difficult because his veins had collapsed, when we were fired. Holland shouted that he was hit in the heel and scooted back to E Company in the ditch. Dirt was kicking up around and I heard the sharp crack and thought the plasma bottle was shattered. I looked up and found it intact in my hand, so I lay down beside Brewer. He was yellow in colour and not moving at all. In my best bedside manner, I said to Brewer ‘Are you dead? If so, I’m getting out of here!’ He croaked back , barely audible and just understandable ‘No, but I don’t know why not.’ I said ‘Good, I’ll stay with you”.

Right after he was wounded too. Three Easy men came to help them but they were shot. In the end they were saved and taken to safety by some Dutchmen.

The 2nd battalion was sent to Helmond. Lipton: “When we got there it was seen that we were over-extended and outgunned, so after a forced march of several hours, we were immediately marched back toward Eindhoven.”

Generally speaking, there were a LOT of enemy tanks and they were fucked.

Don Malarkey: “We joined British tanks to attack toward Helmond where major German forces were reported. The German panzers and infantry had set up a semi-circle defence ,well concealed, on the west fringe of the city. The British tanks on the flanks and the 101st infantry were allowed to penetrate deep into the throat of the positions before the Germans opened up. We were well in front when all hell broke loose. We had several people hit – our platoon leader, Lt. “Buck” Compton, the worst. He took machine gun blast through the butt as we were told to pull back to Eindhoven. Compton, who had been a guard on the UCLA football team, was too big for a couple of people to move. He wanted to be left for the Germans and told us to get the hell out of there. However, we tore a door off a Dutch farmhouse, rolled him on it, and four of us dragged him up to the ditch along the road until we got him back to where he could get him on a British vehicle.”

Highway between Veghel and Uden

When the Germans cut the highway between Veghel and Uden, part of E Company was in Uden with Colonel Chase and Regimental HQ. Captain Winters and 1/Sgt. CLIFFORD Lipton (I always forget this was his first name XD) were part of the advanced element. Sgt. Don Malarkey, a member of S/Sg. Bill Guarnere’s platoon, was caught in Veghel during the heavy shelling.

He said “The E Company members wondered about Winters and the rest of Company. The size and depth of the attack was so heavy we thought the rest of the company on the Uden side of the block would be wiped out as we assumed the enemy force had also sent a column to the north. Captain Winters, in Uden, thought a similar fate had befallen us. He had positioned the rest of the company near a street intersection in shop buildings on the south side of the town waiting for the German tanks turn to the north. They had been able to view the assault on Veghel from a towering church steeple located near their position. Winters thought Veghel might be overrun so he discussed the possibility with the remaining elements of the company. Winters then decided they would make their stand, even if it was their last. Although the next 24 hours were tense, the Germans forces were routed and a last ditch defence of Uden did not have to be made”

Lipton recollected: “We set up a defensive plan and set booby traps and kept up fire from different positions so the Krauts would think we were a large force. Some British were there, too. Captain Winters told me to organize as many men I could find into one defensive position. I tried to manhandle one Britisher into the defence when he seemed to be reluctant and he stopped me short by pointing out that he was a major and not accustomed of being ordered by a first sergeant – even American.” – that’s our mama Lipton, people xD

St. Oedenrode

Lipton remembered how they were sent to find main Germans body. They were in a spread formation and were fired on in the middle of large open field. “We hit the ground, which was slightly rolling, and gave some cover to the men. I heard Bill Guarnere yelling and setting ip the 2nd Platoon machineguns and mortar in the middle of the area to fire on the woods. The tank fire was skipping right over me so I crawled for the woods we had just left when suddenly I saw someone standing right by me. I looked up and It was captain Winters, trying to pinpoint where the Kraut fire was coming from. Feeling somewhat foolish, I stood up and together we tried to evaluate the situation.”

Behind Americans, were Sherman tanks manned by British troops.

Lip continued: “The tanks could see the German positions and three of their tanks on the far side of the field, we yelled to our tanks to come up to fire on them. The British lead tank left the road and came forward through the trees.”

They yelled to the British tanks the Germans were right across the field, but for some reason the Shermans continued to move forward to open field.

Lip: “Within 15 seconds, a 76 mm shell from one of the German Panther tanks slammed into the British tank, hitting the shield around its 75mm gun and deflected up without penetrating it. When it hit, I was standing right by the tank and I must have jumped six feet and dove for cover in a ditch. I knew there would be more shells right away. They weren’t long in coming. The second shell came about 15 to 20 seconds later. The Sherman was open throttle in reverse to back into the woods again but it was too late. That second shell hit below the 75mm gun shield and penetrated the armour. The tank’s commander hands were blown off and he was trying to get out of the hatch using his arms when the third shell hit the tank, blowing him out and killing him and setting the tank on fire. It burned all night with its ammo exploding intervals.”

The same situation from Don’s perspective: “We had five tanks attached to us. We got the tank commander and took him to a sandy knoll where the Tiger could be seen clearly through a small opening in the trees. He brought a tank up, spun the tracks into the knoll so they could lower the 75mm cannon enough to get on the turret of the Tiger."

"When that was accomplished he suddenly decided he didn’t want to fire from that position because he would only get one shot and, if he missed, the Tiger would take him. About a hundred yards to the south there was a finger-sized trip of 25-foot tall pine trees. The strip was about 40 yards wide and ran for a distance of 200 yards. The tank commander decided to line his five tanks behind the trees and move through them together with all the Shermans opening fire from the edge of the pine trees prior to breaking out into the sandy field.”

“The 2nd Platoon spaced themselves between the tanks moving through them assaulting across the field to the Veghel road. (…) The Tiger, in rapid succession, poured 88mm shells into the woods, knocking all five tanks out in a minute or so. We were able to pull some of the crew members out of the tanks. Several were on fire and we threw sand and blankets in them to douse the flames. When the first machine gun fire rattled, our new platoon leader stuck his head in the sand and so ended his career with the 101st.”

“Platoon sergeant Bill Guarnere and squad leader Joe Toye controlled the men and completed the crossing. I had the mortar squad and was busy getting fire on a German machine gun position. Once the Shermans were knocked out, the Tiger jauntily pulled out. Its machine guns were of no use as they were below the crown of the road, which was fortunate for 2nd Platoon.”

Lipton concluded: “We set up a defensive position for the night and Captain Winters told us that he would personally see that anyone who knocked out one of the German tanks that night would get a silver star. We couldn’t find them, however, and the next morning when we attacked the German positions, we found they had all withdrawn.”

Meanwhile:

When General Tylor was wounded, after picking himself from the ground he said: “The sonsabitches got me in the ass!”

It was also mentioned when Major Oliver Horton was killed by a shrapnel as he approached the railroad station near Opheusden in the midst of the heavy fighting in the morning of October 5th. I got an impression from the book that he was really liked among the soldiers.

Operation Pegasus

Screaming Eagles were aided by British airborne engineers and Dutch underground members – jfyi.

E Company men were in the most suitable position on the line, that’s why they got the job.

David ‘Mad Colonel of Arnhem’ Dobey was absolutely fucking mad: wounded, taken a prisoner, escaped from hospital, contacted the Dutch underground, crawled the German lines at night and swam across the Neder Rijn to reach allies.

Malarkey: “In mid-October I was taken to Division HQ by my company commander, 1Lt. Fred Heyliger, for a meeting with G-2, the purpose unknown. We were escorted into a room that contained large wall maps and aerial photos. There were several British officers, together with our G-2 personnel, Lt. Heyliger and myself.”

“At the time of the meeting, I was the sergeant of 2nd platoon, having succeeded Bill Guarnere, who had been injured. Part of our platoon responsibility during the period included the night-time out-posting of an orchard and complex of farm buildings on the bank of Rhine, due north of the island village of Randwijk. It was one of the few areas the Division occupied that had Rhine River concealment. I was asked if mall British assault boats could be concealed in the orchard, so as not to be visible by the Germans across the Rhine of from the air. Also needed information on whether these boats could be brought in one night and used the following night. I responded to both questions in the affirmative and explained that there was a deep, high water overflown ditch that circled the south edge of the orchard. It was 6 to 7 feet deep and 8 to 10 feet across. The bordering fruit trees spanned the ditch with their limbs, blocking visibility from the air.”

“Following the preliminary discussion, a somewhat dishevelled red-bearder British colonel was brought into the room and introduced. It was explained that he had worked his way through German lines and swam the Rhine the night before into the Division sector. He related that he had been working with and aided by the Dutch underground. They had a plan to effect the escape of as many as 140 allied soldiers, mostly British paratroopers, from German territory west of Arnhem. He laid out a detailed and elaborate plan that was to culminate in a river crossing through the 2nd Platoon sector a week later.”

“Dobey stated that all the troops were secreted in various Dutch homes, barns and buildings, some as far as fifteen miles from the projected crossing point. They would move each night toward the Rhine, led primarily by Dutch women. The line of direction was to be identified by firing each night, at midnight, of ten rounds from British 40mm gun from atop the dike, across the orchard, into the high ground west of Arnhem. The British assault boats would be placed in the orchard ditch the night before the crossing, which would occur at 0100 hours, the following night signalled by a flashing red light. Two men from 2nd Platoon, with rifles and tommy guns, would ride in each boat in the event German opposition was encountered.”

The following Monday night was set as the rescue attempt. Further precautions called for a machine gunners and riflemen from the 3rd Platoon to be positioned both east and west of the orchard on the banks of the Rhine for additional supporting fire. Two machine gun teams would accompany the rescue craft and set up position on both flanks on the enemy side of the river, to ward off any German troops who might rush forward to interfere with the landing operation.

Don: “All personnel were to be positioned in the orchard before midnight, at which time the Bofors gun would be fired for the final time. Following this, a corps of British artillery would blast the high ground west of Arnhem with incendiaries which would provide background light for the boast making the crossing. Then they were to be abandoned on the bank of the Rhine.”

“Colonel Dobey was asked how many soldiers could be oved in weeks’ period, to a specific assembly point. He stated it would be done by Dutch women travelling at night by bicycle. German forces were apparently not very suspicious of the Dutch women. Driving to our company area, I remarked to Lt. Heyliger that the plan seemed almost too perfect to have a chance. He said the British were exceptionally resourceful when they were concerned.”

Cpl. Walter S. Gordon was one of the machine gunners involved in the flank operation: “One day while positioned on the bank, 1Lt. Fred Heyliger called a company formation and asked, or rather stated, he needed men to accompany him on some sort of mission. I don’t recall him asking for my volunteers but rather pointed to a number of us and that was that. He required two machine guns and a number of riflemen. PFC Francis J. Mellet was designated as one of the gunners and I was selected as the other. I recall we were later transported to a rear area and introduced to the canvas boats which were part of the British equipment. They were fragile and had plywood-like bottoms. We were asked to familiarize ourselves with the operation of the boats by paddling about on a small pond.”

48 hours before the operation the Dutch informed Dobey that Germans had ordered all able-bodied men in the village to report Monday morning to dig defences. For the British and Americans to appear for this detail would mean almost certain discovery and capture. Dobey decided to set the rescue ahead 24 hours.

Malarkey: “So far, all the pieces of the British colonel’s puzzle had fallen into place. ”

“At about 0100, Ed Joint who was with me on the boats, and I were sitting with our backs against a tree on the edge of the orchard, looking intently across the Rhine. Ed remarked that he did not see how everything could work without a hitch. I said he might be right. About two minutes later, Joint said ‘Look Sarge, a light!’ The red light was flashing as planned. I yelled at the crew and we shoved the boat into water. We were the first boat to cross.”

“I was in the bow with my tommy gun, fully expecting that some kind of opposition would be encountered. I was crouched down, so that my eyes could see over the bow. The fires in the distance provided a good background for any silhouette that appeared. About ten yards from the north bank of the rhine, I saw figures milling in the water and above them, a huddled group. I jumped in the river and met a British sergeant. I told him we would take ten men in each boat that was to be in the crossing.”

Sink: “Heyliger was in charge of fanning out his troops after he reached the other side, gathering in the fold, or inside the box, these people that were over there, corralling them toward the boats, putting them abroad, getting them back across the water, then gathering his men and getting them back, also.”

Cpl. Walter Gordon: “The idea was to establish two lateral outposts flanking the route which was to be used by the men rescued. The machine gun I manned was set up and rifle-men were stationed nearby. We lay there quietly and guarded the front which had been assigned to us. I do not recall how long we were posted but eventually we were summoned back to the boats which had transported us over the river.”

Malarkey: “I brought ten paratroopers in my boat. The most interesting one was a sergeant from the British 7th Armoured Division, who had escaped from German prison camp. He said, ‘Sarge, I’m all through. My wife has been a widow five times now, and she is not going to be again. He was from the famed ‘Rats of Tobruk’ and had been reported MIA several times in Africa and for the last time on the continent”

Cpl. Walter Gordon: “In spite of the fact we had been admonished to be quiet, we did a bit zealous on our return and paddled like demons. Each time a paddle made contact with the wood frame of the boat, it had the sound of a kettle drum. I was astonished that we were not heard in Berlin. Not a shot was fired.”

Malarkey: “The next morning all hell broke loose at the orchard and the bank of the Rhine as heavy German artillery devastated much of the orchard, buildings and all of the boats.”

And there is a nice memory of Sergeant Taylor from F Company about Strayer.

Taylor and a few other soldiers were on a patrol that went bad, they ended in the water on cold day and when they rerurned to the S-2 Battalion: “Gosh, it was cold riding back in the jeep as we were soaking wet. Colonel Strayer was back there. He gave us a cup of coffee and I think it was the best cup of coffee I ever had in my life. We were told to take off our wet clothes. Strayer threw a blanket around us.”

And that’s all about Easy and other familiar faces but there are some memories of other paratroopers that caught my attention:

Before jumping. “Pvt. C.D. Kreider had a feeling of impending doom. Sgt. C.D. Edgar related: Kreider gave me his watch and wedding band and told me to send them home to his wife as he was not going to make it. I told him: If you don’t make it, I’ll be with you and I won’t make it either. Kreider responded: Sarge – you are too mean to die!” It seems he was indeed too mean to die, because he survived the war xD

It was never mentioned in BOB, but a lot paratroopers came by gliders. Cpl. Michael J. Friel, medic for the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, was in the co-pilot’s seat of Hillyard’s glider. He wrote: The pilot gave me instructions on how to land a glider in case he, the pilot, was disabled. This lesson occurred while the fight to Holland…

In Eindhoven, memories of Bert Pulles, a young Dutchman. He noticed soldiers passing by and asked ‘Are you English?’ Someone said: ‘No, we are Americans!’ My answers was ‘Even better!’. “I was so excited that I did not notice anything – just so happy to see American paratroopers that I could talk to. I am sure that I never noticed their ranks, if they had any, I just saw 12 or 15 young ‘gods’ who came to liberate us. The only thing I noticed was the proudly-worn Screaming Eagle patch on their left shoulder – a badge I will never forget”.

Cpl. Pete Santini: “Pvt. Floyd Ankeny, a man who has been in the company almost since its beginning, gave his foxhole to one of the new men who had never been under fire before and calmly began to dig himself another hole. I questioned him later and asked him why he did it. His answer was: I thought the new man was a little frightened.” Who wasn’t?!”

Veghel

Cpl. Chester E. Otsby: “I felt a tug on my leg and there was a little boy with a red wagon. He was trying to tell me to put my radio in the wagon and he’d pull it alongside. I was trying to tell him as the best I could that I had to carry the radio. All of sudden it dawned on me that since the radio was broken what the heck,, it wasn’t doing an good on my back so I obliged him by putting it in his little agon and we marched along. He was about the happiest little Dutch boy in entire country”.

Eerde

Pvt. Jesse Garcia, form G Company: “We were dug around a perimeter and I was short distance from the captain Kraeger. Evidently I was dug in too deep. I didn’t hear him calling me. He crawled out of his foxhole and looked down in my position. I remember looking up and seeing the captain. He said: Garcia, if you dig that foxhole deeper, I’ll consider you AWOL!”

Another memory of that Captain. Pvt. Garcia accompanied him to the HQ, where the Captain talk to Colonel Ewell and Colonel Griswold. They came under a fire. Garcia wrote: “I don’t know if we were spotted by a few Krauts or not but they opened small arms fire. I hit the ground immediately. Neither Captain Kraeger or the Colonels ever flinched or jumped. I remember Colonel Ewell saying in his southern twang ‘Well, I guess we better take cover.’ They were real men in combat.”

PFC Monaghan: “Warren Reudy and I were down in a very small ditch when a shell exploded so close it covered us with dirt. After seeing that neither of us was hurt, I looked up and there on the road, just as calm as could be with not care in the world, was Captain Kraeger. I said ‘Hey, Captain, when are we going to get out of this mess?’ He replied very calmly ‘Don’t worry Monoghan, I got you in and I will get you out’. Well, that was all I needed, and he did get us out. He was one of the greatest leaders I ever met.”

And now, my fave story form the entire book:

Sergeant James E. Breier and the most hilarious action during whole Market Garden. He and a few other soldiers were on a patrol and noticed Germans waving a white flag, like they wanted to surrender. The Americans approached them to realize that the flag only appeared in the sun as white, but was orange in reality. They were taken prisoners but… they started to argue that the Germans were the prisoners not them xD Breier even argued with a German lieutenant xD He was even warned they were going to shoot him, if he would not shut up. The best thing? He bitched so hard, the Germans finally decided he came to them voluntarily and was not really a POW. So the next day, they took him to American lines and let him free xD

Conclusion of the whole Market Garden operation:

„The cost had been high again, just as in Normandy where 1,098 had been listed as killed. The KIA’s numbered more than 858 in Holland, 2,151 were listed as wounded and 398 were counted as missing or captured during the campaign.”

It's a very good book and if you are a fan of military non-fiction and memories of soldiers - highly recommended.

I've also read book 1 -> here.

#band of brothers #Easy company #screaming eagles #101st #my shit #bob #market garden #WWII

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