Bob McCarty Writes

On the occasion of Memorial Day and in honor of all those who paid the ultimate price in service to their country, I decided to publish a series of war stories that hold a special value in my heart, because they were written by my father, Ted, who served as a low-ranking enlisted man in the U.S. Army during World War II. The stories appear in his 1992 autobiography, Some Events in One Life: Mine! Please know he captured these stories as a means to provide his children and theirs context for his participation in one of history’s most harrowing events, World War II, not for any commercial gain. This is part six of twelve.

During this time, Company A of the 407th Infantry – our sister company to our left – was hit with mortar fire and 88-mm artillery fire. An officer and five men exposed themselves to enemy fire in order to dig out three fellow soldiers trapped in the cave-in of their foxhole. For this brave deed, the rescuers were awarded the first Bronze Star Medals by the division commander, General Keating.

Orders had come down for the Allies to attack all along the front. History says the day we were to jump off dawned a cold, slightly cloudy sky but with fair visibility. The ground was still muddy from recent rains. The temperature improved and clouds lessened by noon. Our aircraft were now able to fly and deliver their bombs to the Germans.

First, Immendorf and two nearby villages, Loverich and Floverich, were attacked by a squadron of fighter bombers. Later, prisoners said that all this did to their men was to force them into their fox holes during the bombardment. Just after the noon hour, our artillery began shelling those villages plus two other nearby villages, Setterich and Prummern. I would guess this lasted about 15 or 20 minutes to soften up the opposition. Everyone around me had their rifles ready. We were to attack at 12:45 p.m.

After checking his watch again, the “Let’s go!” command of Captain Czajkowski boomed loud and clear, followed by a forward sweep of his arm. No doubt, this same order was given by all four of his platoon lieutenants at the same time as well as many other companies up and down the front.

Shouts of “Fire! Fire! Keep firing!” came from the commissioned and noncommissioned officers.

I have read since that it is hard to keep the common soldier firing since they often cannot see anyone at which to shoot. The objective is to make the enemy keep their heads down while we are rushing toward them.

Once the attack began, all doubts and butterflies in my stomach left me. Now, there was something more concrete to think about.

Company E, my company, attacked by swinging around from the southeast of Immendorf and pressing northwest toward the town.

After a short time, I was trying to find the Captain since I was supposed to stay near him. I stood up momentarily to look for him which was nearly a fatal mistake.

“Get down, McCarty, get down! Those are machine gun bullets you hear whizzing through the air around you,” someone yelled.

I already knew that, but I had been so involved in trying to find the Captain that I disregarded them. Now, I realized that I really could hear the bullets making their distinctive zipping sounds like a swarm of angry hornets in the air around me. I immediately dropped to the ground. My head was lying against the base of a small tree. I lay there listening to the little lethal messengers of death poking holes in the air overhead. Within a couple of minutes, I felt an instant sharp pain and my right ear went completely numb. It had a ringing in it, and I could not hear any other sounds.

“Have I been hit already?” Then a second thought: “How badly am I wounded?”

* * *

My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part One

My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Two

My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Three

My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Four

My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Five

My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Seven

My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Eight

My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Nine

My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Ten

My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Eleven

My Father’s War Stories From World War II — Part Twelve

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