Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

This is a pic of Hitler's Berghof taken on May 5, 1945 in Berchtesgaden, Germany. .Joe and I were there, soldiers in the 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. The complex had been bombed a few nights before by British Lancasters. Then the SS troops posted there, burned it. It was a concrete building, but the wooden parts burned. The SS put up only token resistance.

I have another pic taken from the inside showing Hitlers big picture window, with 7th Inf soldiers wandering around inside. I will try to post that when I recover from the horrors of learning to post this one. I was able to do it only because of J3rdinf's persistent efforts to help me.

There were underground air raid shelters in which all kinds of goodies were stored including some of the best wines and liquors in Europe. We liberated that and drank to victory. War's end was announced 3 days later.

Russ:

You rule as they say. Your infantry training and perserverance have paid off once again. I KNEW you would succeed. What else would I expect from men who fought the nasty Nazi regime. Fierce determination got you that far and made you wade through the muck and mire of the "posting-hell"!

The photo is worth a million. Can't wait to see more. You don't know how much it means to this little woman to see and hear all about your experiences.

Love ya,

M

To the victor, go the spoils!

Russ -

You're not alone in the computer-illiteracy department! It was Marion who had to tell me how to post a link. I followed her instructions and it worked; trouble is, I forgot to write the instructions down and, well...you know what memory banks are like these days. So, I had to go back searching for her post, copy the instructions and now I keep them right beside me. So, it's new; it's frustrating. Big deal. It's also, in my opinion, the greatest thing since sliced bread or the invention of the wheel. Look how much fun we're having getting to know one another and learn from one another. Yes, it's all new but like Marion says, if you can lick the Nazis you can lick anything!

Joe, special thanks go to you for hanging in there and helping Russ. You should get the SUPER-DOOPER HELPER AWARD or something.

Okay, fellas. Now bring on the pictures!

Marilyn

I knew you could do it Russ. Will pick out a few of your pics and send you the URL's

with the pic names. Meantime E mail me some pic names. Just the names, no pics

as I have them stored in Comcasts pic storage .

WWII Pictures

When I went overseas in January 1944, I never thought of taking a camera, so I have no photos from the Anzio Campaign. I then remembered that we had a small simplistic camera at home (no controls other than film advance and shutter release). It was all plastic, probably a forerunner of the Kodak Instamatic. The picture quality was not great, but it was small enough to carry in my musette bag and the results were better than none at all. I asked my parents to mail it, along with some film, and they did while we were training in Italy for the D Day landing in Southern France.

We were prohibited by censorship regulations from mailing undeveloped film home, so a I had to find a photo shop that still had pre war photo supplies., so that I could mail the negatives home. They were few and far between! The few still in business were not anxious to use up their pre war chemical supplies so they wanted “an arm and a leg†to process the negatives. The occupation currency was not worth much, but American cigarettes would buy anything! I didn’t smoke, so my cigarette ration covered my photo processing expenses. The resulting prints could then be mailed home. They were precious and I still have the prints 60 years later.

The first picture below shows a couple of my men ((LMG on right) on the deck of our LCI and the smoke screen covering the beach as we went in. Smoke generators on small Naval craft raced back and forth to hide us from enemy view. Several LCI’s had struck mines in shallow water with heavy casualties among the debarking men. So my LCI threw rope cargo nets overside so we could climb down the cargo net into smaller shallow draft LCVP’s (Hold the verticals, dummy, or your hands will be stepped on!)

The ramp of our LCVP went down on the sand and I ran off with an OCS “Follow Me!†There was some incoming artillery and light small arms fire. I jogged across the sand to the tree line along the road. I looked back and saw that my men were following in single file, jogging in my footprints. If anybody was going to step on a mine, let it be the Lt! We took up positions on the bank of the parallel road and fired at the enemy in the hillside vineyard ahead.

The second picture shows a crude 88mm gun emplacement on the beach that was knocked out by our Naval gunfire. My four recon jeeps were brought in a few hours later on LCTs with their ignition parts sprayed with a waterproof substance and the air intake came through a flexible tube wired to the angle iron wire cutter welded to the front bumper. I was told to send out three of my recon jeeps (in different directions) to find the enemy. Two came back, but the third was still missing. So I went out with my jeep and driver to look for them. We found them in a melon patch eating ripe melons! (See picture 3 below). Cpl. Hollis gave me a melon and I led them back to the beach area. (I gave my driver half).

Russ Cloer

Getting the pictures posted may take longer!

Russ: Posting a couple of your pics.

Prior pic was "melons". This one is your pic of beach 88's.

While I am at it Russ, puting in the one of you in your jeep with driver. You will have to write the post.

Joe,

There is no buddy like an old buddy from WWII! Thank you for posting those pictures! This is my second attempt to express my thanks for the latest. The first disappeared into the mire.

The pic of PFC Perrault and me in the jeep was taken during a brief training period after the Anzio Beachhead Campaign in Italy, in preparation for the D Day landing in Southern France on 8/15/44. Driver Perrault is writing a letter home and I am just getting my picture taken to send home to my wife.

I had four of these jeeps in my platoon used for I & R missions. They were terrific! Each jeep had the driver’s name on it and no one else was allowed to drive it. The driver was responsible for all maintenance and care. They had four wheel drive, an optional low range transmission and would go anywhere. Each had a 50 cal. machine gun mounted on a central pedestal. The windshield was kept down and waterproof canvas covered to prevent light reflections, danger of broken glass, and above all to serve as the driver’s foot locker. He kept his belongings in there, usually including a bottle of vino which was sure to crack the glass. Not shown is a large Mercedes Benz emblem, taken from a German truck, and wired to the front of the jeep. Also an angle iron wire cutter welded to the front bumper. Some had ignition keys, on the rest the driver would remove the ignition rotor and carry it in his pocket.

One short story: After the War, while on occupation duty in Germany, we were driving down the Autobahn at about 55 MPH, when we heard the unmistakable sound of a GI 2 ½ ton truck horn behind us, wanting to pass! We were already “flat out†but he kept beeping! He finally passed us slowly on our left. The pilot of a Piper Cub observation plane was waving wildly from an altitude of about 15 feet! To keep himself amused, he had obviously installed a 2 ½ truck horn on his airplane and fought his boredom while waiting to be sent home, by chasing (and passing) vehicles on the Autobahn. Boys will be boys!

Russ

While I am on a high, let's try one more:

This is a pic of my 5 squad ldrs, Corporals Hollis, Miller, Adcock, Raksi, and Nessman: Top notch non-coms! They served me and their country long and well!

I have tried to make post war contact without results.

Russ

Thanks for the pictures, Russ. I'm still laughing at the idea of you finding your missing jeep with the boys in a melon patch.

Marilyn

Love these photos Russ and Joe. Thank both of you for taking the time to post them.

Marilyn, I too am still laughing at the melon and lost jeep story. As soon as I read that one, I went into the store and told it to my hubby. He got a big kick out of it too. Makes you appreciate what they went through even more huh? I mean, look how excited a few guys were over a melon patch. That patch had to seem like a million bucks. The photo was priceless.

One of the things that make your stories so good, is that they cover the smaller things in the war, such as your paragraph regarding the jeep. That gives me a real feel for the everyday and I for one love reading about it.

And of course the Autobahn story. Ah, the kinds of things that the guys did during the war to keep themselves amused. These are all real treasures Joe and Russ.

Hey Russ, you never know. Maybe someone one will see these stories and the photos and get in contact with you. It's happened several times on this site. I've had the pleasure of getting some old buddies back together and/or getting them in touch with the children and grandchildren of their ol' friends.

I find so often now that people will sit at their computers and just start typing in their units and the names of men they fought with. Some are so surprised when they come up with results. That's one of the BEST things about the Internet!

At the last Repple Depple in Italy, before being assigned to the 7th Inf, 3rd Inf Div,

on the Anzio Beachhead, we replacement officers were given a choice of weapons. I had a carbine which was standard issue for Inf. officers, but my eyes wouldn't leave the Thompson sub machine gun on display. I traded my carbine for it.

When I was assigned as platoon leader of the I & R platoon on the Anzio Beachhead, one of my men, PFC Bigler couldn't take his eyes off the Thompson. It was heavy and bulky and I soon got tired of carrying it and its ammo, even though it would be ideal in a closeup encounter with the enemy. So I gave it to PFC Bigler in exchange for a carbine.

Bigler was my platoon runner and he was at my side throughout 6 campaigns in Italy, France, and Germany. The carbine was convenient and I later acquired a .45 cal pistol in addition. But Bigler and the sub-machine gun were always there beside me. I was able to "have my cake and eat it too."

I tried often to locate Bigler after the War, all to no avail. He was a good soldier and I don't know if I would have made it without him.

Russ Cloer