CENTRAL EUROPE

The crossing of the great Rhine River came on the 26th of March. As the truck drove slowly over the swaying pontoon bridges the famous waters flowed deep and strong beneath them on all sides. Across the Rhine were visible the crumbled buildings which unerring American artillery had crushed. The once sturdy bridges which had crossed the Rhine banks were now a mass of twisted, broken steel. This crossing, routine though it was, marked a tremendous milestone in the Allied advance. The great, unconquerable, famous Rhine! … had been crossed! And beyond it lay only the already faltering heart of the Fatherland!

The Army rolled on … Sprendlinger … Partenheim … Weiterstad … Herbstein … Huesenstamm … Wachenbuchen … Sorga … Vacha … Viernau … Stutzerbach … Grafenthal … Ebersdorf … B1ankenberg … Schwarzenbach … Marktredwitz … Windischenbach … Oberviechtach … Cham.

The Allied armies were no longer marching on; they were steam rolling over the opposition. They were crushing everything before them with an irresistible force. No delays, no stopgaps. This was a march to Berlin, the race between America and Russia … a friendly rivalry of fierce competition with the laps on the course marked off by the Heinie cities and villages razed to the ground.

Only a few the villages remained unscarred by the havoc of battle. And from every house in these villages great flags streamed in the March wind … great white flies or surrender. As ordnance rolled on, groups of German soldiers would frequently march out of the outlying woods and fields, hand upraised, anxious to give themselves up. The infantry had bypassed him, or had had no time to bother with them. Ordinance sent them back to the PW cages. The Heinies marched off, grinning, joking together, happy to be safe and out of the fury of the flaming Holocaust which was their self created Frankenstein.

All service trains traveled the roads with armored escorts during the first part of April. Fanatic German SS Divisions that had been bypassed in the great forward were raising havoc with all supply trains. Fortunately the company suffered no casualties. Before the end of the month armored escorts were no longer necessary.

Daily more and more German soldiers were found wandering along the road, confused, anxious to give themselves up. A constant stream of them moved rearward, being evacuated to PW cages. German civilians themselves were hostile but helpless, and were terrified that we might do to them what their Armies had done to others. They couldn’t understand the lack of deliberate destruction, the way Americans didn’t commit brutalities or unnecessary butchery and murder; why their young women weren’t raped or made slave‑laborers. These American, they thought in bewilderment, are soft … and unbelievably mighty! They were baffled by this contrast of gentle softness and warring fury which could so completely overwhelmed their own ‘‘unconquerable’’ Wehrmacht.

And these soft, carefree Americans crushed inexorably forward, onward, sweeping everything before them like the grim, reaping machine they were. Rumors began to grow in strength – the Germans were giving up – the German Armies were collapsing – this Division had surrendered here – that Division had surrendered there –.

Onward. Onward. Berlin. Past the broken city. Forward, Breaking. Killing. Crushing. Destroying. Overpowering. The collapse of the German might as now evident. It was only a matter of weeks … a matter days, a matter of hours.

And ever on the move, Ordnance turned a volume maintenance, issue, recovery and evacuation work. Supply sections made long runs to the depots, but unlike a few short weeks before, the roads were in good condition, The weather mild. Supplies were rushed to the front line. In ever increasing quantities and in ever decreasing time limits.

On the 7th, the company moved to Zwiesel, and a day later to Markt Eisenstein. In doing so, the company crossed the 1937 border line of Czechoslovakia and Germany, the Sudetenland.

And the 9th of May was V‑E Day!

Here was no rousing hilarity, no riotous outburst, no drunken happiness. The cost of Victory had been to great. There was within each man a deep sense of thankfulness that he had lived through it, and a lasting inner satisfaction in having done his part. The War in Europe was over.

Back into Germany moved the company, to the small city of Weiden Maierhof. A large railroad warehouse affording sufficient working space for the Automotive, Supply and Armament section to operate under one roof, was taken over. Men were billeted, along with the C.P., in one large building. Here, was once again the almost forgotten comforts of civilization – hot, running water, shelter, cots instead of hard ground.

While routine Ordnance work was still accomplished daily, extra time was devoted to the erection of a separate shower-building, to the building of a ball diamond, to the creation of a Chapel of worship, to the construction of a volley ball court, to the stocking of a P‑X.

The war was over. Once again men could relax, could eat sitting down instead of on the run, could indulge in American sport instead of brutal killing, could worship in gratefulness instead of praying for succor. And as this is being written, the plans are being forged for additional entertainment, movies and USO shows, for education, in European universities, in unit schools and in correspondence courses.

The job of the 790th Ordinance Light Maintenance Company in Europe is done. It was well done as its many citations for efficiency and devotion to duty so clearly testify. Some of its personnel will soon return home to their families. Some of its personnel will return shortly to the States for permanent assignment there. And some of it personnel, along with the many replacements who have joined the organization, may go on to the Pacific Theater There they will carry along with them a tradition for “Job Accomplished” and “Work Well Done”. The job in Europe HAS been done. The job in the Pacific WILL BE DONE …