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Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE) Libraries MCoE HQ Donovan Research Library
Fort Benning, Georgia
Report date: 6 April 1944 Title: Interview with COL Robert B. Hutchins – Sicilian Campaign and
Initial Phases of the Italian Campaign: The General Subjects Section, Part 2.
Author: United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, GA. Abstract: This report is an interview by COL Robert B. Hutchins on the
Sicilian Campaign and the initial phases of the Italian Campaign. This is Part 2 titled: The General Subjects Section.
Number of pages: 23 p. Notes: From the MCoE HQ Donovan Research Library, Fort Benning, GA. Documents collection. Call #: D769.1 .U201 1944 Part 2. Classification: Unclassified; Approved for public release
D 76%.I.U 201
dU
Interview with
Part 2
DECLASSE. . . .DOD DIR..5200. 9
Phae I thetaliane wCamtig)
4 .Di you e anyt~ of t here we5 ia?~ th ~ h ubrte
A VNo.M.- ... A .. .
Q. Were any of the faoigpanines tsed?
A dog't .knom whether our eng ineers, used them or nmt.We d d M4n't . We did reeive inst ruc tionsa on them as soonasathe we re captured. r WOe ran.Int anometallio minesand had an portunity in the assembly area to study
Q %Dd you.put out any minefields?
A.~~~ Wedda aen not In Icily.,We laid out mines_, undersuper-eion of the A A-?p,-;n e omtaander. Wemade. anameurat.e sketch of where we aed them and thenube .rthntW. peve.10. placed We. .ennarties out at night nder.the sntitank officer with guitdes. Theylad' these mineso,.markedthe, . well. so we could locate them and eovered all the
Qio .Newriay wereinvolved how big a coveeragei?
A. couldn.t say withoutthe .ketoh but quite a f ew - as anaverete, around 1000#
Aftner yoU ctedo ack frfm eanon
A. Yes. When.we took upthe defense of Salerno veach. Wlif d
mi es h andfo Amnse a t, bang1-Oe , alogra1
and is alled barbed iree
Q. Teur wn it: ?
A. Ye s.
A., Cein gthe. sme avenue of apoahor differvot .avenues?
A. 1Ofeet ome mines and booby traps were placed in 'the-wiroe. ;When we left the are-a we sent back a detail to pi.ckthem.
Q2. Was 4 there any order froxamncrpsonr a-rmy to pn~ik them up
A. No. We formed the platoon from tke whole regiment -eachbattalim. furnished so m any men. T selected men rho wereinterestedIn that type of .ork. The en.gineer trainmdth e piatoon.lo
DO I 2Op, 52
* DECLASSIFIEO4" DOD Di, 52004
. Would you .0earoh al the way - p a0 you went alon or -would
You 3ust Olook1in he suspicious SpdoS
A., We se-arhed along the road. The. Mine detecing quad. worked
ith the avane guard. 14o veicle would pa.s'ahead. of them..
Q4 They actually s earched the road?
A. FuflCoverage along the road and4 especitally when they came:
... What was their action I n actual attack?
A.- theywr mpoe s th e battalion ommatnder directed.
,o Pid you have a great *deal of trouble with these detetors?
A. No we dldn. They wo e4 well. They wou, pi.c..4k .up metal
Q,. We had- dif.ficulty in keeping ours in operat.i., i don't
know t. the t.rouble io.o Ours apparently were new. They
came to u. after Siel!y,. )aybe they were a later model
than tihose you have. There may have been certalmn corec"_
tions mamd., Tey worked very suessfuly. -he ammunitionand pioneer platoons initially had .ourdetectors and-we
f1ound they were too busy to operate them.
Q. Couldn't that de tail .ome very easily from the nt.-tank
mine platoon"?
A., We didn' t take the mi.ne platoo.n.
.Ity din't you take them?
A. The platoon ofat t sisheededith .th0 gone.
( You. need the anti.-ta .mine platoon as a ompl.me ntto
yo U:-r g uns? 0
A*. Yes, they have to. b there .for protet.i n.
L. We maintain ~hatp. here bu-t there have been itfeenes atop..ion on that. The rea reason is tht-we cank.At getenwsineers here at the sehoolt The preseat directive saysthey should recelve special training inevery¥ rifle
A. Thatlonl going to work -. you nee .thosCae -en toftight,Unless you have speeific personnel you oanOt accomplishthis taek. You should have men right in the regimentattahed to the battalion-as need., in our ca-e itw.orke4, splendid. If the regiment was .oing f orward andthe area was. thick with mines the i vieion cmmanderwoeuld take my mine detecting plato-n for It.o wee.,
%. Did they take ca8re of personnel mi.nesg too?$
A. Yes, they markedl them- w{ith the ase8isnee of t eninr..
(. Did they Just mark them or remove them?
4. They marked them ar?. if they had th.e time they w;oul d taket;hem out or else the engineers would. Tihat relieved the,engineers. to some extent.
STb return to the fild laid on the beach.,. p ke thatadIeliberate field? DEcIAS$IFI
2 DOD O 5200. 9Dot) ": 'a "
? DECLASSIFIED.DOD DIR'5200. 9
A. I ould cy i wa deibeate Carefully buried..
Did 014Uy-uhave any dif icly
AX. No report We were about five or six miles fr the beach.The ground. was l.ke -this. out here lo s ith sand
mixe in.They rais-ed melons on it. The fieldwa nveActually tested. -Some of the milnes were booby trapped.
q3. Did thegy u'se our standard devie?
A. We us edgrenasdes a IVrs
Q, Did they uaisegrenades with tr ivres?A. Yes..
.. P you have any warning fares?
A. No we dia n't, Our. pyrotechnics were limied to the Verypis toal and yellow smoke grend.els
Q. How-mth digng~ing di you do in defense of the beach?
A. We dug in bvt had no e.aborate def.enive OYSt-em. Wedit.. have the tvime.
VIM Wha k:i of foxhole did you use?
Q-6 Wa:r the Whole reiment?
A. Ye.
Q,. What kina, of barbed wire fence did they .use?
A76 Do uble Apron.
( ~ Di o Ight-it for final Prot ection?
A., Yea.
Q. W t te of stakes 4.id y'u use?
A. ron PIket.
. o sited your tr-oop in attac -osition within 100 to200 yaee?
A. That was eoordnated between battnalions. Iaeh batt alIoncomms&er o.vordinated vith the battalion on the rifhi and
Q., To retun.&. to the field laid on the beach again, y ou say.it, was mark,..ed? In what" way did they mark it?•
A. A aile .strand wire with tnr:s,. I believe,, to the onara]?ny.
A. Captain P i.ey of the Anti-tank (oT.,pany. Mtajor G'.ibbons ofthe 36th t'::ngineers attached ass!sed.
,,2. Did..you, hwoe ay occasion 'to breach the eny flelds?
A. e I had ae,,reas ti hc we had tr 2h bu t nobreaching. t0. 9
DOD D OR
-11 S ldo Ze~rS?
A., Yee .., Did you notie any differen~e In mine deteetola in Si01Y
Amd&It aI.y 9
A. No. The v.erman laidmines in al! ikely places they kneW
the troops would go.
. e they cover their fiel4.ith ftre?
A., Theyu would initlly -util we drove them out, but with-
drwngaong the roads, no. They wuld4 blowv thebideand m ine the area.
. There's. a conception in ou~r-asnu.ale where y. u have a pr-:
tetiSve fire, then ve have a field oo rreeo n.ig to pr-
tecoti've barbed wire, did you run into tacticeal barbe.A ire?
A No. They ran into it. after I left. We. had them moving
beack too10feat.
.: Did the .ins platoon lay mine armund the position-?
A., Yes.
A. ould hey be lose in or soee @itance out?A. e. ohink dual to protec he ans.
4. Wha t abt your supply of TNT? Was that, limited?
A*. We got everythiAng wneeded,
.,Did you do muc demolitionworkyoursol.fe h
Q. How .about the engineers -. i.d they do u Very muerh?
A. IoulWdnt answer that.
'. Did you have to for any rivers or streams Of.anysize?
A. No we didn't*.All of ours -were easily bypas. Themost dtiutWas the Oslore River -, 10*0 feestwde
If the Germans blew a, bridge, were you rouz bud in thatco unt ry?
A.Yes. Yo.u had to stick to the roads. NVarrow defiles withhht iontainas on Oeaside.s
'4. Weve heard a lot abouit the use. of tho Bailey Bridge
A. W4Ie usedthat in Sloily.,
Q Zen WM $Q*1# pat outieaet
A.Te.W had-t~ onnec#t with the frttttix norrgt
4. a t1120. n npuatttha tme
4,~~We Whn ta sof,A. Jst nrthast f O si ucst, Fi41y Th e ise7
co .7hv ul sbt tynAht t~tlne
thusce4p-s ee a e 0e4neaog
A. ttitafl wehadso ny ttahedto uas.oTheywOdune
4VIfA Uo. a :tfatlo*p?
4. Wt upbeb thefrnt0i6s
A. Yes0, b Nswvtdbttrwe, a'tlt v oten
flA ht enhd ee orthm
we eJ4 ate sed 1.m nce.0t1 te teniners sppie uwith~-uf tols ramfl thnk thy b",4s mc
the4e4iton 44 twih wernge mf ihtin, e 4td1t.ee6tem
. Tu
brigehetatstththew.e
4. Wht-or a om, hsAl yo hae? yts t
Ai fm0 T..We hadtthe.prisAatic chep.ss
A.Weh a lt ofdifficulty Ihneaadv hv h li
• . . : ...
tapS n*44oh toraphsA.g
9psitm ~nn elosa nt~tosi
were eapeetafy g00 aOtsprtigadarwi.Ormp
weretin. W muhtte mapsta zeoe.tol
thngit artllarin indthtth eng 0er trais# hol
A. ~ 4 yVhud oltIn Y i1wlude1 411ofthat-mnt,1araetoi1e64s: 1 4 Ottotonrmnlo.ie
statinthathI-platoon joldemorptr
4lSow abot~evs
V.tistik vr man shs toaeesea htA. Yto y .Oao~lato
4. oh thseud t/zoootIoooA an /0,0 as eete o Ofth
0flpt? it tuylA.0 We used t the thutsY i h O rit .at.s.e..ome
o. 1)5tyu ave a seh4d in hw to rest maU
Z a~ hatquestion. a0Y04 to dete0ti"ehow. long it4to.
AW4 te on thm at f. The h4 w4m ailte
4. 044 you hate++ aeia photgrap intepresn a )mw a
A. e.e Wme t in+ diin e hada godintrprte
(4. Win the hatopb that y~eou + remeied+m what you cal
at14 b4fl at~
A. e te o NOenU
A. I'm: sun the fld.o +, + eime enlfo
(. Then. oz4$a le a pes Me diffmio+tty min piOting upo mine
A. tea but thbointe1rpfretear$A.d do .
(. 0 o4 you rsrhe Alosla to ese e,: a e.
likes aer pair:! us:ed by th+en Aie Corp men oan oomaA.,W 444M n on+$ 4*' " $ ,,i eA i Th++ +e tl. artilery am+ ante
bad+ofl0
.01 you.te e gwet aft the ntr .
A, d-iat nWta .dakasketch ap4 sendIt bek'to ae
You Won aoafte of"tonispbli oalte lenty fo
40 Diiyanhave o bed thewire
A. iko 4d:ant oayhngwt h wi r tIelf.
A.~ ~ L Attr Ibt bitw. tatdf be ie
A. ~ V Ye"Aeret)nwiththItoy
o. What*pUofoa t rp in.the e boaesy ue0
A -- ,U" W ott o ytoiolege
A. g No..th
4.~ ~ Myhoddlok
A. They blmatednro o aa tvto twsmsl
weete fir thi".an ane
4.~~~ t etodid yuseforn~n mns
A. We used a1.4ttl11 la .ike aenn. emred them withstrpsofblth oaything owe.eott4d get.,
4.~us Ddortoptisany st-andard atersabout 5fee thh
4.Did youll 0AXAnd orvePls
A ,o, eswe id Jeep.4. ou entone eghtee,, mine detectors, aecord, t h
A. Y, t w e did uetemple. o~u
A.
A. Xk .-.Q.Wrete ranmpa bete than t
A. They - aspe .0erthn hetas eh4 hywrezeefh.Y, h1-lnt. The one1-s044 o w0"0.ltte oei eal4. ttrertcle
EAL
(Siaf~ianeCam~pagnad I tinadPhoAssol he ta-ian Campaign)
8 Ae)~n o1944.
e. Ba on .theoconfooncen h.cOh IOUstted tha-t yrou. ltoy r.154 among ther mmbers -fyoursf m", .m, "OURto know wht e ff t .-Ithaothad they next dayo ionsupp ad.wete he aotere oirwasprepWed to t ake over?
A. 1,thnefe.t whatseever-. z tted sbod:inates twep fOutor eposi ti on vn the sta n e *upeyofficer who too vrwsmreta ulfed. Re ihad,b.een the regim e nt al-1transopor. ..tquarteratr nmknte i i in Say an I yand was wll quafi
At ha sbeoe in his ourse Ofpre Ant1o6"tmttioneoffie "r, commanding offic* o. tOs.service o y, andonOcan he had *be enused. assupply: offier
4.At the4time, hat was hi assi.m00 t
A Athe timehe .s is.
4.When hestepped up, his assistant,the warran t oio?cld eay eon?
A. Yea. thUts.what he di.. Cayou tell ho ecls t ahonsestabis shed sup y
A. Our division pushed up very laose behind arun to 10Vies owllwihintheoo' etfl* fthe r*egint
4. Didy hbave occasi1on to Use16packboarde?
psek* bor d, :-no0t the 'standard pack..boardt. Th ey. worke d
very wll, h espec iafygoingaeross q.eounty.W" .. rp"4. Wre-hey asid originally7toth heavyh weposcpayAYes, theh dcert Ain0nMbe.hnkte1rpoto was
aibout 30 In communicatilons, 50 in0 the rifle omanies and175to10 in, the a .0mmv matns.
' o A. 1 NO t1!h e men were taught how to. lash and put equipmenton pack-boarde.
a. ou etoe"04 inecfmetiot ithle opnet
A. That aybe eoesi e
A. Ye.st.I irI May be aistakenin that u nb0r(00-perrif le IoMPa)
4. 1he know heav weaons hs75
A. Ire umer 30f totooeueoaston but I'm nterta about
Di. 4 - haveoc.as.on 0.to uav s?
A. tOee in Stefly.Wegtt.foth tls
. Ydou dida t use iilian sfr that?
A. Teby assste. .
4T M r."eie0" mae those aal gemoets?A.Yey eito made the arranemets . , WO.. he h.. fTdSandhied the mes troughhoemayrs.Ae
.They didn4t go W houg.t
A.6 NO. Yumigh-tobe int er ested to k now that the04haa
large amoqunt a! of eytoemen a he saw ofi-te fore hN
inspple.
4.d Wh let e toues, ntebah ~ig es
A. There were no voucher." They requred only etetements.
A. o I think, he rec-eived #000. and was suthdrivnd to spend.that1without any71quesin Asked. % ATh nthing a oe
With IShe h asgVen a crtinamunofmey4. Didayoamuseoan0pact mules
A. -.eus, arunuwet lwtine_ reimnt
4.? Wht er te es used.fot?
4, o ourenecmab er what weigt hyoldcry?
A.k 5 to 200 pouns.
0spcill wee toenon shore."When we hdthoprtnyin l ti., the 5.4: elivered both the #AR and 0 bags to thomen. They extracted what they needed and the bags were olot:O,*-.#d and jrfttoredtothwahos.
Q D n h a i
.4 Do Youfl 111that Was Sal umeaaumioal way to do it?A. VerYudrahthe e Aste
clthing as n~r e ded. It h -in w hol train or soldteroto useen a i.. tpack . isted of the e a. k and have.a
e+.e:+t.+ee .,+ +it. "
f el al -c.nsistin. of she ter rhal.,ab .n,-extrapoir 6of shos, eto4 to be moved up w iththe rtosanight foru e en. Wn th e auitenis dimnisAed itoldbereeupted bythe ua tater.
4 in repa emenat -of .inVidu0a clothin andeuio pe- didtherirA rmmt start sending this up soonor after -Some:
A. As soon a we were ba in the bi*ouAareanotwhfl eacal cmbt
. Amm ntion. whati th e e. .Onditure of.smtnnttnin, n heSeprOations do you recal' the daily avea oe?
A. don't recall, VSes tabiIshed a unit of fir based on our
4. 1 undere mtanfd it'"s .About hAlf of theest.imxae.
A. ot xaclya~. e o .the untit of fire we arried. Int iywas not s ufficient In morar aunitioi, on-sequently, -werevised i41t to 1inorea se -th e amount of tmortar m iltio ncried. We decreased theamount of' 30 aibr 45caie
ando 0e or twO Otheortyps
h. id a4e a su non coma ny?
A. v Teone 6,platoon llof 105's andA two lans. of 75s el
HO. 41 -40111u 'e.nrsziin o h l t
A. - they crried. wh'at they old"n0rmemtesan0he 1tneed Of morewnttr ough th e munitions.6 offIceR IO911ot ItUP fro4,m the munition d4ump
4.Normjlly your .105 amm u Ition t, was al ong with the 57 and
0. OngaolneandA oil, wa theomethod onf reple nishment fas
4. Dd r~snt have Aa6an4
A. They issed us eatra cans hen We went ino Itay.
4, Wetankveht~s ofany tpe
A.t No,1utthecansandwe idn' hae a y oublae. aA
A* Yes w.d.W.hadOne pesudwhichi.tsI think we shouWldhae at Ieast wo ad po-sil three
~OV54f~d~Wit a qua icluinga goupof weve youhavent eqipmen enogh to het enouhcofe. e
twelv 1.en"Athe91i'. ll rafl01.1 tht'stoo %any to bunch, Up.
Q. Thtt brings up the point of where thoey re to be earried,
A. Couldn't they 'be0c Ared in a light pack and ahng heK
4. ouwoud avo oe ianinthesquad c aigit rateta aytit On tkt ce tuk?
A.U es.4. The ol.y.: angle is, there be times wen you can feed,
A. We. moved. the kithens up very close many ties. wh eneverit w*, .possible to do so.
4. You mean -the-kitens th0selves?
A. e..fvgehtpi the rese.re se as. - .....
. Zn-the r.esefle compant
A,. YeS, ere we-weren't in the front l.ne. but clss to it.Whenever paosible !we sd h ithn
Y4.4That wa s al iude cvero.f gu6ar? bo~~tA. Y*.,
4. oWhat about min.tainng sp.,are0:Parts for veiclswieapos
A. There was some la.g in supply but not excesesve. Replaeent
generally was very good and. withn a reasonablyshort period.
4. Yu metiond Scily- wa tht trueduri-ng the tla
A. Ye.&4
4. Was the cferman gaseoline the saeme octaene as ours?
A. t don't know wh.ether it. was or not: but we operaed on it.
4. In connect ion wit.h train bivouac, did you use any meansother than organi protect.ion of servi.ce company?
A. We h d .anSOP in the shape of a hub of a heel for th train
. "n other wor.d 0$ the resere battalions were never ask to
A.. No. .- eerletthetraina v etea get that f..A-40.".....go.40 0..
4.What00abotrvers?%4id you hae o gh
A. Wie Vettver15%ovs-srenthand we 4.ddhate-enough drite*0fortetnus
.. .e~~~e e o motor moement involved sbuttltg
. our own o.a
4o. 114y"el" move using your "oy
A.: No.,4. Did you ue i tem Ve e tukn poits?
A4. xo,oe rks rere ack to theointrakt poits.
4. You ~,~tn t. t o t to mOt thV
4. Novequeny edoublebankg prhi
A. neersa a wa y e on it, butI thin eVerybody- was iUstrt#*e4 that there wouldbe noe. It daid ocurho1ugh.
00. Did the afoottroopsiterferewith motor: m oveets?
A. No o.Wematched in singl 0 Oneithe sideof the ra.
'.Di d.visio shuttle aaholeor, woAd O each r egiment.move
A. We moedby. rement
6. Wth ntheave eg. .rrates.of mnt? a and fight?Wht was the pe fthemnotor colmns
A.w We traveled sowherelbetweean 5 and 55 miles and at night
A. We.1e blcout ig t -4 .lWho fished the c ,#* Ontrl0n1 herods
Q ' .r4yur Ot8tae ueOf terahnplaflniog toop
0"oteuhti00nt6stA., No.
A. W!e 4 rt #', Sy
.Ld YOU hae rel*cnasUorut 'e e by a Party of
A. 7*5f. lf1Vreteve avdby 1vehi0les.
Q. Yeto uc hads ht
A. Noraly -an hourr a e vhead of thee totE.t
How 00.aou the qizOArtti* rop
A. xtwet. Wih th e- guids, a pptottmattt nhour ahA
4 du hve your otwem unito organisedin mar baser, ials
A, A h te
y.u. 1attl00 ers
A.
%e..
4. wa td
.715 to 100 ynds Ne'ver c l-oserthn$0 y.ards.-
q oo W#A stnvflore used fordylgt
As .0 tu, t dpae nthe s11 tation.0
A. No Idi wth m mn edqatr opn....
4,Do you resmembr havhicles were used tor the advoaote
trooks of thergmet head, qurte-rs co:pafl7
Q.Whatcotionwas tkn ythe t ruck colu1n hen attce
A. W* were trined to-a0 v0e the oolumn stop and men det4t
but that l-isn'-t tha hapened4A,. PU, the coia at
A. 1N,- Thet coln -m otinued and t s. seemed to work betterth At~ptt~
Q. id yout ino.oeae the speed orc continu1e a . A non. arate?
A. . Whypbs yicrae t a ttle bit, I couldn't sy
they un mintained their ditane
. 0 fracti c of marc dscerevilate&fA. her w a con tn oubl akigad Ins t aceofgettin too close teten.
4. What ation was taken when ou ran itto a mad block?Moving b$ motor?0
A. Od iv ril e never moved where then wa tead bock.We e~nniitrs aout time o isure there was no lock.*
tt. idyou ever l hve one b O41:0 en m Atg a move.?A.. We nmvar did.++
4. li the biUa4 ao area, were batto lon motors assUned pafts?A. Teya ere atssigne bttaion pcrs and dispersed at certain
4. Didey e digor nhi4l i?
A. No, 0 wetried to get ce06"r undero trteeo an mouflae.
4. Did you #ee sandbags?
A. Yes, e sandbagg-Oed on1i/4 tons. The mine didn't seem to,.affect personnel in tons but in the ep it was
4. In. foot .marches,. did the platoon leaders march. in rear. orat the. head?
A. In the. rear of their' plat.%oons.
4. What were the nonnal rates of foot marches., day and night?
A. In most of' our marchng we wer e going against; the enemythey¥ aver.aged about 4 mil es per hour day and night.
4. P14 you bte any et di.stanes a++. 80? flet:aneet between
A. - 5:0san pi Sm !ti tflay whad to go,90tt' the road.
4. D yo4 have your Men dig toiles o sit t e hes
A, Bot*0. h o~e bt SOPltrnce mst4
.4 yo 4ha+ vea 80? bvoua taraaftt? *m A
A.th esag tnterwas coet4ote0od then t he -tenlt0centeredWith respoto t he83,p $04 and0.00te,
4. Ws t hereo setlomatin fr battalion1A. Ordinriy I. tried to locate them ith regmenta headquarters
in the eeer.
%4 Ddyou tr$ to maintin lt 1Ar"t0dprotection?
A. Yes.4. flow ere you in+onsed it on+ movmenttm by lack of control
A. UIsull ough the. dvision NP Ooi1y.
O. flw ab1lt. rgA'ni. d. n ,oorganto Units when they- OrganOu tedwth t h* +! epsnfi+ " ...
serialS to1.personneldcant eno .v .0 04
4 . id 0 you hv tem At the head of the organics '
\ A. Y ee,
4.; DIA You hre any u~e tor radioon patrols?A.. we used ,radio extense.¥
4.When feeseaty to conVtnuemarch from darknes to* dafi ghthow didyou arrange a.t when t raveling in close co4lumn at+
A. Wone *t 0or movements were extended from da. knes into .a'Y4ligtxt++ We +moved lma .es n+trely at nig+ht:.
4. The mOber of eases of psychiatric disorders irn elation tOleadership of Junior oficers, id:e.L ou. it ,nd there was an.inorease in the number or di you have an opp ortuni.ty to:ob~sere that?
A. I don ' t thin I can answer that. We had quit e a few o f*iheae o asee, We-handled them by sendi.ng the first tothe reffmental aid station where they ga~ve shot ofmorph e, and¢, a day's rest. If the doctor iH<++:.a they were
* 8
ovrit'.he wold sendthem back to their ttiifo, thepati"Lent as eautdto tecollectin sAtinadsaethereqhne, He .either retue fm there orW as evauate. .to the wer.
40 D1 o hav att0h t4o0ble withmesdciln ori*Po-ttion Ofgarbage?-0
A. NWO didntt; we wer.e t.tng m osly on 0 a K rations.Theyri-ed afltegrae
40 Did you hte tromuble ith flies?A. we had lot of flies.
A. We gave the men atabrine one eaolh da for tour ds,kipp a daz, then four more ce titvxe mays. we......ound the men ould*fogetgo about it in. the frtont ines.Pia ny we had to have an offteer supe se thm t
A. Yesa+.
4.Did they hate osquito bars?
A. Yes
4. 1vstO was your+ met hodof ctral of rV?
firs~t pao ad were es.tri ct0d to the aea.
4., Did o nd y ou had to reinforce your mealt troopswi tth littrbeavers?
A. one a6oion4I ent some beasfrom the rgmtalSection, and on another oc asJon took a etion fm tireein.btt alion to reinforce another secoa n.
4. You took a m e section d reinfore your other
A. Yes.
t. flow frtthte rreyour t ai UaiosA.ZoflayhnfrIom 1000 yardS or mo-re to the rear.We f und that satiefactory. Theywre contantly callinback for something in the way of +mea suplieS.
4. Did you establish any aid posts in the company area orPdid they ke ep it i-n one aid s tation? . . .
A. Generally in the bamttali.on aid, st ati.on,.
4,. Do you+ think the ii+son was rretty good between themedical offi cers and unite?
A. It was very fine +. I can't give, the. medical c orps toomuch ced.+i t....
MSS
Q. P24 you have ocas..on to. use pack aimals for evacuatio
A.A. Notwh ileAZ as .It t * We used thejepascou l d g
Q. Would y"ou. tell us Mvw you. acoinp! shed burial?..A. Whn we went into Sicilfy we had not gven a great deal of
thuh o the buralofthe dead4 and we had our ch .alsi1,nchare -of burii. Inmy ase -I uset he ban o
digig hegaves.1 They didnt have any transportatcfl.We.hadto get I t when wecolanitdntwrknis.
ftory:ys toWe changed an %t oe the spe s 1erveofficer head ofthe graves reistaton sand gavehiL
on X tiru and "njeep. Ogtially h ey ent ba todi-ision and. Opertedude ivsongat reitrtooffcer. ,This proved usiaty vo -che thesyste6,m Anid made burial' the -responsibity f h1rgmetwh etafl of a specaln srvOie of l 44r an the ban,icluding agrav s.e etrationN.Theyewere given . 4ton trac and4ax400 j toe oerae ewith-. O ah t ,.theregimen't wa s -gagdio combat th is ade ata&IlI.mmediaLt elywen t. Out over. the area andcoleta.e t he bodie .sethe ceetXer rtred to divi:ionad did thebThis: yht mroted much ber €Thoy moved4rig tinbehnd h-e attacking troops. IT understand later thetYw*.ad A-syst em wheedivision would14establish cemetere nthebuyndetafltturned the bodies8overtodin.vision for
th actlburyingj. Division had a labor company attachedto itbfr digging thgrvs
Q.What type of graves registratndidthey have?1
A. A pltoon I understan ithey vere asking for a i.many.
q A Did yo ttmpt to ina!us-e ofamntion vehicsles
A. No.,,We had- a s.,pecial veil whic-h was ampe.1
It Bur ia. lAin gneral was acompgished at the di Vision cemteryA. -Lae. Iiilywe sel, eted the emetery and reported4itsaloationt ivision.
Q.: You didto gio.-ve y-ourchaplans anysea l training?
A. Ye did,1 bu6tdd %tse to work too: wll ThOhapainshavevAbetter use workin.g through h i ttoa~mniserig frst aid and 1last rihs
H.fow wa's asseOmbly, did the- litter bearers carry the dead backto the aid tationsI
A6 .4.o. .If he y died t hey werele-ft where t%.hey fell. Theyarri ed back only t he. wounded. The burying detail. combed
tooor. bringing captured enemy
Q DDiR5209
4.Wasi, an y captUredmaterial booby trappA. Y:es, ante of it.
A. YOU hatd a sp0,0ial s4a adetal?
A.W.Te84wouldgthr It up and take0 i tfakThe diison engineers diAddo a 1tot of t.4. R(w oten dii you see your -4 n the nt lin es?
A.Teway t woiked t, T requireda rep reseiatatin Of the 8-4to be at my OP at all.im.es and the ,lw4 himelf was to bethere sometime dur Lng the afternoon of each day. Zn thA-Way Ikp ota ihthe:sup-ply 9sectio.4. P4 you ever M have to change a task plan due t the spysituation in the regiment?.. .
A4. vo e didn't,. We had a lot of di1,f fioul ty in getin the".proer ration.* The 8-W4 kept a ration du mp a.t the riarea of Cand K rations and Se Me 5in1" so tha-t If_' o~aniordeor:and versa' t equipe wtmroe atosheolis.ue tht :0 hout dl, Ay e inb movis upl om xt-h r n w e v w I.Itisue b hghr edqureswithout togtofrtos
4.: Did yMu have any ex v ruksd tehere?A oe w uone notw o w e ctured.w4.0 Wstat in ry-seimentr ms as
I dt u have anytn.th l of er have u thin to do ih ta
A. Ye1a.-VIA e S~ ofdo v t,1
4. id they crrt a dseve et
A. Yes.
4U Di 4yu v er drmaw vonth?
4. bt Vh t propo#ti.on of the three rations w o hav
A.~ ft I hnz eytndy'etra altogether 3 or 4 '15 i ,00O and 2 ". t worked out nicelay.
A.I actual combat: did you ever feed "S" ra-tions?
actual ombat. Do the men care, or will they eat aenything?
--l DEO.ASSFIED.
• DOD tA:R 5230. 9
A. Tey illeat nytingthe y an. gettheirhasonThey ha, these 1-ittle -toI I of to heat cofee.tIn alrno we had nothing for eten days. but 0,an
4, Wa hanypar t of yourhe re00,gimenteveruppied4 bydr t
A. N. ,
-,. ROw, d4-6e-06ourkitchen equmentr are with the t-10a4
A. romw hat T saw of the erman equipmet, o Ura b Uhett
Q, Didyo, -OU o 0han eto fam t
, PU yu u ndard gasoline i Youkt
4. thourpresenot T/6wehven cco etdo you thiktadviabl, that thes ye be retume4?, T
A. Yes Tdo
4. Di you hae. the batti n,entrenment ehtt
A. Wehad regimental entrenching tools. %f: we. Are goi.. nin0defeklve positione do sei wthy the engineers antdeliver these toos. Jene-ver n use them. I thk a they auereeusu.hv wh e wated too. then g ners brouht
thtem to us O.
4. 4 .you ,ha n ue for flamMtro e.s
A* No ft a throwers.
. 3d you have a; nit squads?
A.I; Not when IT l-efte.
. To nwhat tut was the amuttto, dump up here?
. W'eried toe kee it obile
D1. Ddyou find. that the vehicles of Your ti'n wee sfiien
A.w We ha-d to put ammuntion en everything.
4.140dYOU rind any- roads mined?
A. The roads were always mined
thrif we wer e going aorosit 0eou-ntr the menoe ,...along and sea.rched as they went a.og. 0DECL
D02,- 1R5200
Q. -0 thedre Anyplcew ere eould out. d on o v e s
A. NO.-I&oT tthiz*Awe hould.1
4. 1 waS ~~thinni of, the heavy achine gn a heavy weapofmpany, coUld they get aong with fewe r eeps per quad?
A.* don' It think so. They, are all overloaded as it is. Noone took into consideration all the paraper a to becarried and as a resu lt hen were alOt f broken e.
4. whatouvemire were al ovmd to be plckd iap?
other-,than to prevent the menfr om lteaugi atohead personal. equipment tr omprisoners and ,ad. ou.would find a lot ofthat: before the -gravesrgStrationdetai ' got up. We required that al caaptured wepons betur ned in.*They did keep kniVes and.oomPfts.
4. 11vr about replacement ot troops and weapons, did you hMveany SOP?
A.o NO.SOP bttwe did au eat the evoepn opn bY9iving them addition persBonnel
.Wha t it a machine gun was kwoed out, how did you securero leZ, sentv.
A., We requisitied replacement throuh division oxtnanae
4. Nor .ly-you wvoul sen a vehicle bae to et it?A.+ Yes. Soutetirna we got It and sometizes0 We ,in't.
4. YoU diit o perate a s.pl poit, We tea tt that hero.we thi thts a solution..". .
A. is that re entt
4. W the schol hs been teaching it ow t .year,
DfiCLASS FIED.
DOD DIR 5200. 9
1 15-
