INTERVIEW

From: 1st Lt. Michael T. Sands, CO, Company B, 53d Armored Engineer Battalion.
Extracted from After Action Reports by: 1st Lt. Howard L. Oleck (Hist Off).
At: Venlo, Holland, 1630 Hrs, 16 Mar 45.

Subject: After Action Report.
To: Commanding Officer, Combat Command B, 8th Armored Division, APO 258.

4 March: Maintainence of vehicles, weapons and equipment, removed several aerial bombs in the vicinity of Alderkerk.

5 March: Maintainence of vehicles, weapons and equipment. Air Compressor assisted Corps Artillery by cutting down trees so that they could use that area for emplacements.

6 March: Departed Aldekerk enroute to Lintfort. 2d Platoon attached to Colonel Roseborough's Task Force and by-passed a blown bridge enroute. 3d platoon maintained 1 mile of bad road and filled a blown bridge.

7 March: Maintainence of vehicles, weapons and equipment.

8 March: 2d platoon attached to 1st Battalion, 137th Infantry, 35th Infantry Division, under the command of Major Frink. Cleared roads of mines, west of Rheinberg, and maintainence. Company minus one platoon departed Lintfort at 0600 enroute to Rheinberg. One Anti-tank gun destroyed enroute. Two squads from 1st platoon put out fire in Rheinberg which threatened to spread in that sector.

9 March: 1st Platoon checked roads for mines and captured 8 prisoners during operation. 2d platoon cleared mines, maintained roads, assisted in taking Bauern and Millingen, destroyed artillery sighting tower, shelled heavily (no casualties). 3d platoon, two squads went forward and assisted in recovering a tank and dead bodies, checked 1 mile of road for mines, blew a steel tower which was impeding the progress of tanks in support of infantry, removed knocked out tank from road, checked one block of homes believed to be booby-trapped (none found). While checking and coordinating work between platoon Captain CASERIO and Sgt Tinker became casualties, between Rheinberg and Ossenberg. (Results of enemy mortar fire).

10 March: 1st platoon, two squads checked roads for mines and were pinned down by artillery fire (no mines found). 2d platoon, two squads maintainence 5 men sent out check possible mine field reported by prisoner of war (none found). Bull Dozer dug 10 gun emplacements for Artillery unit near Rheinberg, struck mine while returning.

11 March: 2d platoon returned to company control, company moved from billets 2 miles south of Rheinberg to Grefrath.

MICHAEL T. SAND
1st Lt.,
53rd Armd Engr Bn,
Commanding.