One Soldier's Story
Part Two
By Kernel Banks, Staff Writer

The Push To St. Lo

Once the 459 AA landed on Omaha Beach we started digging in. Every man, praying if they would live through the night, they would dig their foxholes deeper in the morning.

Being pinned down on the beach by German forces, we could not move. The only room we had next on the beach was for supplies.

We were in our foxholes, 88's pounding around us, the ground shaking like an earthquake. I saw an 88 round explode in Corporal Lowell's foxhole. It was wiped out. Things were bad then. We heard screaming noises coming towards us from far away. The enemy had brought out their new guns, rolled out of caves on the railroad tracks. The screaming Memi......when it fired everyone heard it. The projectiles would come screaming in on us.

For ten days we were pinned down on the beach. Finally allied forces cleared out the big guns and we were ready to move inland toward St. Lo, France.

We moved from the beach, pushing forward. As we traveled we would see a few elderly or handicapped people. We would not see any young or healthy people. The farm was deserted.

As we moved forward, we on occasion would have a special meal of beef or pork or whatever was left behind. An order came down that we were not to do so, that it could have been contaminated as a warfare plan.

Getting closer to St. Lo the skies grew dark with enemy aircraft bombing our positions. We came out with anti-aircraft weapons and 50 caliber machine guns. Fighting back, the ground shaking with bombs exploding and planes crashing from being shot down, we held our ground. We started moving forward again, getting to the hedgerows of the city. When we got to the hedgerows the 88's started again. Any way that we moved the bombardment of 88's would move with us. We were pinned down again. Five days had passed and we were losing men. Armored personnel carriers were hit. A driver and his assistant was missing in action for two days before they were found wounded.

A captain came to the front lines and gave us a plan. "Lay down machine gun fire and I will take a platoon with small arms and overtake the city of St. Lo." The platoon started out and was destroyed by enemy fire. That action broke the battle open. Our commander gave the orders. "A forward observer is in one of the buildings. Level every building." Our heavy artillery started up. After every building was destroyed the battle ended.

We started forward again, entering the area where St. Lo once stood, now nothing but rubble. We located the forward observer....a German soldier calling in the coordinates of every move we made. We made our successful mission to the splintered remains of the city of St. Lo.

Click here for "Soldier's Story, Part Three