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W. Earl Hall World War II stories, 1944

Letter #25

slug-Nazis Hard Put-4
(Note:  Further observations on Normandy are disclosed in the following, which was delayed in reaching the Glove-Gazette.)
By W. EARL HALL
Globe-Gazegge Managing Editor
Letter No. 25
Somewhere in Normandy--(Army Bomber Transit)--How hard put Germany was for arms and armor even on D-Day was made evident to me today when I visited an army motor vehicle storage park not far from the beachheads where Americans made their initial landings.
One tract of approximately 5 acres at the giant establishment was given over to the vehicles and field pieces captured from the Nazis.  They ranged from field rifles up to 45+ ton panzer tanks.
And what a motley collection it was.  While most of the guns and vehicles were of German make, there was a considerable representation of products from Belgium, France, Poland, Czecho-Slovakia and even England.
Some of the equipment had the appearance of having been on hand since the fall of France and the evacuation of the British at Dunkirk.  The French tanks in the smallness of their guns and the thinness of their armor are in sorry contrast with tanks in use today, by both the Germans and the allies.
On at least 2 of the captured field rifles were pictures serving a purpose like the notches on the revolver of an early day badman in America.  These pictures were of the allied tanks supposed to have been destroyed by their crews, and presumably on the Russian front.
All of the captured craft in the large field have been stenciled in large letters:  "Property of the U.S. Army."  Across the front of one Mark IV tank, in still bigger letters, was this work of a real American wag:
"BERLIN LEND LEASE!"
It was notable that German-manufactured trucks and tanks were far more war-worthy than those taken from the occupied countries.  In fact, and this was an observation by Lt. J. H. Armantrout of Anaheim, Cal., who directed our inspection, the German vehicles compare most favorably with America's best.
"It's our mass production rather tha superior quality of our mechanized weapons that's winning this war." he asserted.
Appropriately enough German prisoners in considerable numbers are engaged in road work, under adequate guard, in the immediate vicinity of the captured Nazi weapons.
"Are you sure this work isn't for the benefit of the French?" they ask when they're assigned to a job.  When amply assured that it's strictly an American project, they turn in with sledges, picks and shovels and do a job comparable with a like number of our own G.I. workers.
For a half hour I stood by and watched them.  If there's any sadness in their hearts over their fate, it doesn't reveal itself in their behavior.  They laugh and joke.  Some of them appear to be no older than 15; others are nearly 50.
Under the Geneva convention, they draw pay according to their rank--which is far more than they received when facing death for Hitler--and they are fed regular army rations.  There's no Sunday work for them--again under the Geneva convention pact.
En route from this ordnance parking area we passed a German burying grounds containing 6,000 bodies.  German prisoners were doing the work--filling the graves, leveling the ground, erecting and painting the crosses.
Our next stop was at an ammunition depot where we saw the immensity of this not much publicized side of the war.  It's an organizational problem of tremendous dimensions.  The techniques for maintaining maximum safety while expediting the transmittance of the ammunition from ships to battlezones is nothing short of amazing.
Last on our day's schedule was a leisurely jaunt by army reconnaissance car the length of one of the beaches where history was made on the morning of June 6.  (illegible)
The crater-pocked countryside and wreckage which still litters the beach area stand as reminders that our boys won against heavy odds.
--  30  --

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slug-Nazis Hard Put-4 (Note: Further observations on Normandy are disclosed in the following, which was delayed in reaching the Glove-Gazette.) By W. EARL HALL Globe-Gazegge Managing Editor Letter No. 25 Somewhere in Normandy--(Army Bomber Transit)--How hard put Germany was for arms and armor even on D-Day was made evident to me today when I visited an army motor vehicle storage park not far from the beachheads where Americans made their initial landings. One tract of approximately 5 acres at the giant establishment was given over to the vehicles and field pieces captured from the Nazis. They ranged from field rifles up to 45+ ton panzer tanks. And what a motley collection it was. While most of the guns and vehicles were of German make, there was a considerable representation of products from Belgium, France, Poland, Czecho-Slovakia and even England. Some of the equipment had the appearance of having been on hand since the fall of France and the evacuation of the British at Dunkirk. The French tanks in the smallness of their guns and the thinness of their armor are in sorry contrast with tanks in use today, by both the Germans and the allies. On at least 2 of the captured field rifles were pictures serving a purpose like the notches on the revolver of an early day badman in America. These pictures were of the allied tanks supposed to have been destroyed by their crews, and presumably on the Russian front. All of the captured craft in the large field have been stenciled in large letters: "Property of the U.S. Army." Across the front of one Mark IV tank, in still bigger letters, was this work of a real American wag: "BERLIN LEND LEASE!" It was notable that German-manufactured trucks and tanks were far more war-worthy than those taken from the occupied countries. In fact, and this was an observation by Lt. J. H. Armantrout of Anaheim, Cal., who directed our inspection, the German vehicles compare most favorably with America's best. "It's our mass production rather tha superior quality of our mechanized weapons that's winning this war." he asserted. Appropriately enough German prisoners in considerable numbers are engaged in road work, under adequate guard, in the immediate vicinity of the captured Nazi weapons. "Are you sure this work isn't for the benefit of the French?" they ask when they're assigned to a job. When amply assured that it's strictly an American project, they turn in with sledges, picks and shovels and do a job comparable with a like number of our own G.I. workers. For a half hour I stood by and watched them. If there's any sadness in their hearts over their fate, it doesn't reveal itself in their behavior. They laugh and joke. Some of them appear to be no older than 15; others are nearly 50. Under the Geneva convention, they draw pay according to their rank--which is far more than they received when facing death for Hitler--and they are fed regular army rations. There's no Sunday work for them--again under the Geneva convention pact. En route from this ordnance parking area we passed a German burying grounds containing 6,000 bodies. German prisoners were doing the work--filling the graves, leveling the ground, erecting and painting the crosses. Our next stop was at an ammunition depot where we saw the immensity of this not much publicized side of the war. It's an organizational problem of tremendous dimensions. The techniques for maintaining maximum safety while expediting the transmittance of the ammunition from ships to battlezones is nothing short of amazing. Last on our day's schedule was a leisurely jaunt by army reconnaissance car the length of one of the beaches where history was made on the morning of June 6. (illegible) The crater-pocked countryside and wreckage which still litters the beach area stand as reminders that our boys won against heavy odds. -- 30 --