The Kitchen Crew consists of Mess Sergeant Gamboa, 1st cook Tec 4 Smets, 2nd cook Tec 5 Kristie, assistant cooks Pfc. Manzione and Pfc. Salvatore. Our truck driver is Pfc. Joe Ramirez.

Smets and Salvatore have been working together since May 1944. Kristie and Manzione have been fellow workers since September 1943. Ramirez became our truck driver overseas while we were in Tidworth England in December 1944. Gamboa has been mess sergeant of Service Company since they formed the 49th Service Company.

All of us are on one team with one main objective: To produce and get out to the men the best meals they'll ever have in the Army. Poorly produced meals can cause much harm to a fellow's morale. We know that if a man enjoys a meal his morale is higher. Therefore we put every effort into our cooking to make our meals appealing, tasty, and appetizing, and in that way making chow time, morale building time.

We don't like to brag but we wouldn't be doing justice to ourselves if we didn't say at this time that we have received numerous compliments and commendations from different inspectors;

SOME INCIDENTS WORTH MENTIONING:

The whole kitchen crew cooked on the train from South Camp Polk, La. to Camp Kilmer, N.J. Smets and Kristie cooking on the HMT SAMARIA.

In Tidworth England we cooked in a tent surrounded by mud.

From January 7th, 1945, until April 25th, 1945, we did all of our cooking while travelling on the road from the back of our

It all began back at Wolfenbuttel. Since our KP work was always a problem (as it must be in all Service companies) Lt. Dziejma told me to try and pick out a Polish DP, who would go along with us and act as our KP.

Standing around the kitchen truck one morning, were a couple of young Polish boys about 14 years old. Being able to speak Polish I began inquiring if they knew anyone who would be what we were looking for. This one kid assured me he knew a boy 19 years old who'd be just what we were after. The two boys brought this boy to our kitchen truck, around dinner time. I guess that was the best time for them. We fed the three of them with leftovers. After talking to the boy, he seemed like a nice chap, so we agreed he'd be O. K.

Manzione gave him a pair of his fatigues and we got him a helmet so he was all set to go with us as we moved out that afternoon.

I asked the boy his name. He said it was Zigman Parada. I knew then and there that we needed an easier name for him. We all started thinking on the subject. Mr. Laird suggested "Gismo", but we let it go for a few days. In the meantime, I called him Joe, and Manzie called him Polski. Then one day, Smets said, 'Tell Polky to light the stoves.' I had to laugh, thinking of our old mascot, but ever since that time, Polky was his name.

After Polky was screened, and he got clothes from everybody plus a haircut, he looked almost like a G. I.

Little by little, all the fellows took a liking to the kid. All of us in the kitchen crew besides Ski and others kept Polky well supplied with cigarettes, chocolate, razor blades, soap etc.

Perhaps no one knew Polky better than I as I was one of the few who could talk to him. Many a chat we had about his life. Needless to say things weren't too rosie for him under the Nazis. I was also surprised to find out that he never had gone to school.

Back in Uslar, we took many pictures of Polky. Since I worked in the dark room quite a bit at that time, I made quite a few pictures for him. He was really proud of all the pictures he got.

By this time everyone considered Polky as one of us. There were always smiles when he came in contact with someone.

Then came the day when Lt. Dziejma decided it was time Polky was on his way home. So, a full set of clothes was gotten for him. An advance date of about five days was given as to when he would leave us. By the lime the day had come, a huge amount of Cigarettes and chocolates had been given him by most of the fellows.

The day had finally arrived on which Polky was to be taken to a DP camp for the start of the trip to his home. I could tell when we shook hands and said Good Bye, that he loved the Americans.

Thomas Kristie