We reached our destination about 1100 the morning of the 21st and found it a pathetic little rural community. which had suffered considerably from the enemy. The English whom we were relieving, were already in the process of moving out. Our Troop was split up and quartered in widely spread out farm houses. Our welcome here, as elsewhere in Holland, was cordial.

February 21 to February 26

We had come to Posterholt to undertake our first mission, so from this point on, this account, thus far written in more or less narrative form, will become more detailed, and endeavor to give our military activity from day to day.

Our mission was to protect the right flank of the combat command and maintain liaison with the friendly unit on our right. A platoon of M-18 Tank Destroyers was attached to us for protection. We relieved the Ninth Durham Light Infantry Battalion of the Seventh British Armored Division. Troop Headquarters moved into the quarters vacated by the English and the Second and Third Platoons with the TD's attached, took over the defenses of nearby Borg, Holland. The First Platoon established outposts generally south of Posterholt. The TD Platoon, under Lt. Todd moved into the Headquarters where the British were shot up by some Germans just a few days before. Lt. Collins established his CP in the easternmost building of Borg, this building being 100 yards inside Germany. This was the first Troop installation inside Germany. The entire relief of the British in our area was accomplished by 2100 this night of February 21st.

Through information passed on by the British forces we were warned that German patrols infiltrated through the town of Borg, now occupied by the Third Platoon. At 0230 of the 22nd a small German patrol was spotted at the Eastern outpost. moving towards the village. The outpost, manned by T/4 Wolfschlag and Cpl. Stone, fired on the patrol causing it to withdraw.

The day of the 22nd was spent in getting settled and orientated to being in the midst of mortar and artillery fire. The men became used to this new atmosphere quickly and by nightfall showed considerable coolness and good fire discipline under trying conditions, as friendly troops of infantry were constantly moving up through our outposts.

The Third Platoon set up its OP and from there Pfc. Young spotted Germans digging in around the end of town. Lt. ColIins contacted our artillery support and ensuing fire directed by Lt. Stegert of the 36th Tank Battalion, destroyed all enemy installations and personnel. This OP proved instrumental in successful attacks made by element of the 79th Infantry Division and was used throughout by the artillery attached to the 79th commanded by Lt. Gagnon. From this position Generals Devine and Colson and Colonels Kimball and Harrington got their first view of Vlodrop, which was to be attacked by CCB.

The next day, the 23rd, was the day on which reports on the beginning of the great drive appeared in newspapers and were heard over the radio. The night of the 23rd was important to us as we sent out our first patrol. Sergeant Schmiedeler took Cpl. Wilkerson, T/5 Gutziet and Pvt. Miller to reconnoiter a route toward Vlodrop, an enemy strong point in our zone west of the Roer River. The patrol's mission was as follows:
1. Check suitability of route for tanks.
2. Check mine fields and other obstacles.
3. Make note of defenses along route.

The patrol accomplished its mission traveling 4,000 yards in 2 1/2 hours, and the information was reported to Major Van Houten, Task Force Commander, who praised the patrol for its work.

Going back to the morning of the 23rd, 'K' Company of the 314th Infantry in their attack on End, were held up by machine gun fire which left the men pinned down and unable to advance. Capt. McKenna, commanding the attack, requested mortar support from 'B' Troop and the mortar section from the third platoon consisting of T/5 Beam, Pfc. Caccia, Pvts. Neitz, Marable and Pershing. Pfc. Luttenton, Pvt. Pappas. T/5 Bartos, Pvt. Parker and observers Sgt. Schaad and T/5 Fishman, fired 42 rounds, 38 of which hit the target area. Major Corley, observing the fire from the OP pronounced the firing excellent. Our TD's commanded by Lt. Todd scored direct hits on assigned targets.

The next day, the 24th, was uneventful, many of the men resting and getting organized and used to the new surroundings. One interesting fact was noted, this being that the Germans had apparently found out our feeding habits, as mortar fire was dropped near the chow line at Borg each time it was formed. At night, by Division order, a combat patrol was sent out towards Vlodrop, with the following mission:
1. Reconnoiter defenses in southwest Vlodrop.
2. Bring back prisoners.
3. Check mine fields.

This patrol was made up of men from the First Platoon under Lt. Ryan as follows: Healy, Buschmann, Da Ponte, Jordan, Della Puca, Perillo, Rockel, Denend, Swain, Swoverland, Layton, Paulson, Strycula, Kowalczyk, Ferris and Vollmer, also three men from the Second Platoon that had been out the night before, and two engineers. The patrol left Borg 2030 the 24th to return by 0200 the following morning. They encountered resistance about 2345, 500 yards outside Vlodrop. Each time they tried to move away a machine gun would open fire making movement impossible. The entire patrol was pinned down for at least an hour, by four machine guns and scattered riflemen on the flanks. Lt. Ryan called for artillery fire and got it. With this protection the men began to move out. Upon arriving at the assembly area eight men were missing. Lt. Ryan, accompanied by second in command Cpl. Healy, radio operator Perillo and Pfc. Dennend, returned to the area where they had been pinned down to search for the missing men. In the meantime the outpost checked in that the eight men had missed the assembly area and had come on in. There were many words of praise and commendation for Lt. Ryan's leadership and for his and the other three men's returning to help the eight temporarily missing men.

The patrol accomplished number 1 and 3 of its mission. The men in the OP helping to direct the artillery fire, had the experience of receiving one round of fire, believed to be 105, close enough to shake the building violently, knock Lt. Smith over backwards, severely jar Sgt. Flannery and Sgt. Sullivan, and tip over a table. The OP was disrupted for several minutes. All the men returned safely and had hot coffee and food, and were questioned. They were disappointed at not having taken any prisoners. The rest of the mission accomplished was appreciated by S-2.

The next day, the 25th, was quiet and the patrol of the night before had a chance to rest. At 0200 on the 26th, Lt. Ryan took out another patrol including three more of his men, Sergeants Harms, Ackerman and Renko, but less the three Second Platoon men who were with him the night before. This patrol took off towards the southeast part of Vlodrop with the following mission:
1. To get prisoners.
2. Check defenses in the southern part of town.
3. Observe, aided by 60 mm. illuminous mortar flares of the Third Platoon, defenses which had held them up by fire the night before.

The patrol reconnoitered the entire area and found no enemy defenses in the southern part of town. With the assistance of the flares they saw nothing in the area where operating the previous night.

The 26th was a quiet day with no particular activity. There was a certain tenseness in the air however, as word came down that we were again about to move. The necessary packing was done and the men again assumed an expectant air. We did not move the 26th as thought possible, and that night the Third Platoon under Lt. Collins, sent out a patrol. Their mission was to enter and reconnoiter, Vlodrop. Completion of the mission was made impossible because of enemy fire. As the patrol approached the first house of Kirchberg, 400 yards south of its destination, sounds of shuffling feet halted the patrol. After observing a few moments, the patrol started to by-pass the house and continue on its mission. The leading scouts, Sgt. Schaad and Pvt. Boyce, followed by Lt. Collins, moved across the road and were fired on by a machine gun and small arms. Lt. Collins, Cpls. Healy and Buschman, returned the fire and moved to a nearby ditch where they continued to fire and throw grenades. Another machine gun opened fire on the left flank of the patrol, pinning it down and trapping Schaad and Boyce. Cpl. Fishman, Pfc. Cooperman, Cpl. Stone manning BAR's and Sgt. Tipton's machine gun section consisting of himself, Cpls. Eberly, Carceo and Beam, laid down covering fire allowing the trapped men to withdraw to a safer position. Lt. Collins then called for Artillery fire from a position less than 50 yards from the house, the first round of which was a direct hit. A three minute barrage was laid allowing the entire patrol to withdraw without a casualty. It was impossible for the patrol to complete its mission.

February 27 to March 4

The 27th was another quiet day but by early afternoon most everyone knew that sometime that evening or during the night we would move. It had been thought that our move would be toward Vlodrop, where the various patrols had been working, but suddenly we found quite a different venture was in store for us. The whole Division was to move back, then south, then east and north, finally after such a round-about route, reaching a point only about eight miles east of Posterholt and across the Roer. This movement to the south and across the Roer was made possible by the 35th Infantry having broken through and being in the process of clearing the way.

By early evening we were ready and on the alert so that when the order came to move out, about 0100 the 28th, we were in formation in a very few minutes. We, as a small part of a great convoy, moved out under blackout and proceeded slowly over the rough, rutted and muddy roads. We traveled all night and on into the next day with frequent stops and delays caused by the tremendous quantities of men, equipment and supplies being moved up and into Germany. As we left Holland and entered Germany it was at once evident what stiff resistance had been met with as the Germans were pushed out of the border towns and villages. Every building was either partially or totally demolished. Not a civilian was in sight and each town was occupied by American Soldiers. The going was tough with the roads broken and almost impassable in spots, because of shell holes, heavy traffic and soft, spring, terrain. Were it not for the excellent work of the engineers in making road repairs and repairing and replacing bridges, no progress would have been possible.

The crossing of the Roer was a disappointment to everyone. It seemed that each man had expected an impressive expanse of water with signs of great barriers or fortifications. At our point of crossing however, it was such an unobtrusive little stream that half the men never noticed it.

The area into which we were moving was so recently penetrated and not yet cleared of all Germans, that it was necessary for us to send forward patrols to make our way. During this forward movement we captured our first prisoners. Three German Soldiers, without any resistance, surrendered to Cpl. Healy. By the middle of the afternoon of the 28th we had reached Wilderath, only three or four miles short of our original destination, Arsbeck. Here we pulled off the road, had supper, and spent the night. During our stay here there was an endless procession of vehicles passing by with their loads of men and equipment moving into Germany. At this time our role seemed to be that of awaiting our cue for joining the parade.