7.   CZECHOSLOVAKIA

Our 8^th A.D. Hdqs was in Pilsen, but the satellite units were spread about the countryside. Company A took refuge in an old Chateau about eight miles from Pilsen in a town named Malesice. We certainly weren't very pleased with our new home, but Co. A always had a way to make things comfortable - we were loaded with talented men. There was one man I must tell you about who was part of our Hdqs. Squad. He is Bill Blevens of Indianapolis, and he was the driver of our fuel truck. He was short in stature, had an odd looking nose through which he must have spoken all the time, because he always sounded like a fog horn on a ferry boat. Bleven's job as the driver of the fuel truck often meant driving many miles over the highways, and I suppose this gave him time to dream up some great ideas; they were great as far as he was concerned. You see, he would get these great ideas, but he had a direct path to my front door, so that he could have me implement his ideas and plans.

One of his first ideas was actually a very good one after we got to Malesice. On one of his trips to the Nuremberg area, he located a very good diesel bus, and it was his idea to confiscate this bus, then bring it back to Malesice where we could use it for transporting our men back and forth to Pilsen where all the action was. I asked him what we would use for fuel? And, he assured me he would load enough 55-gallon drums of diesel fuel onto that bus to last us until the next war.

The idea progressed, and with the help of a couple of fellow conspirators, the bus arrived within the week. It was a truly good-looking, silver colored, 40-passenger bus, and yes, we had it loaded with as many 55 gal. drums of diesel as he could get on board. Tom Murray became our bus driver, and I established a regular route and schedule to accommodate even other companies of our battalion who were conveniently located along our general route. It was somewhat of a miracle to get a vehicle of this type under the circumstances which we lived. The bus held up very well despite the way Murray drove it, and we always had plenty of fuel.

The Pilsen Brewery was soon put back into production after hostilities, so Blevens thought we should have our own nightclub in Malesice. A fairly large garage type building was on our C.P property, and Blevens had visions of a bar, orchestra and a dance floor. The room about which he spoke had been used to bed down cows.

Blevens suggested that I speak with the Captain so as to get permission to bring some German was prisoners back to our company area, then put them to work on the remodeling of the barn into a night club. Permission was granted, and he brought about 25 P.W.s up the next day and meted out various jobs to each one. Actually, the P.W.s were anxious to come, because we would feed them better chow than they were getting at their compound. The place was soon cleaned, and then he found a paint supply somewhere, so paint brushes were put to use. Oh yes, he had about 15 of the P.W.s get down on the floor on their hands and knees, and for the lack of sandpaper, he gave each one a brick.

With these crude implements, they were able to get the floor reasonably smooth. Out newly assigned barkeeper, Hoss Thompson, Chicago, Ill. make a deal in town for a bar and beer coil, using several packs of cigarettes in finalizing the deal. Two of the P.W.s were fairly good as artists, so the white walls of the club were now being adorned with naked forms of women. Strangely enough, the musicians became available rather easily, and they played nightly for just a pack of cigarettes each. A pack of cigarettes sold for $50.00 on the black market in Pilsen.

Our 8^th A. Div. Took over the radio facility in Pilsen from which we heard all good recorded music. Blevens' mental wheels began turning again, and then I heard that familiar sound 'Hey Bopper, I got a great idea for a radio program.' I immediately said 'GET LOST!' However, he persisted, and then came up with the following 'I want you to write the radio script for a 'History of Company A'.' He continued, 'We will break it up into segments, and we will hire an orchestra to play during the breaks between segments.' It turned out that he already had me lined up with a Hollywood writer who was in Pilsen, and I was to corroborate or share in the composition of the history. He said that I knew all the facts, dates, etc. Yes, I allowed myself to be talked into the job, and believe it or not, it was presented on Radio Pilsen,

and then later, my script was published in the newly formed Division Newspaper, named "Buffalo Chips". I have often wondered what Bill Blevens might be up to these days, and the memories of this Company A buddy are now of a very tender nature. Maybe I honestly enjoyed the trust he had in my very limited ability as a high school dropout, but together, we made a pretty good team nonetheless.

Many great and wonderful things happened with we men of Company A during our time together, and it suddenly dawned on us one day that the redeployment program was being instituted, and our Co. A would soon become past history. Each week found more and more of us leaving according to the amount of points each of us had accumulated. Points were awarded for time of service, marital standing, awards, etc. We were now in September/45, and with my accumulation of 72 points gave me hopes of being back home for Christmas. My point group was sent to Bavaria where I joined the 83rd Infantry "Thunder Bolt" Division. I was fortunate to have been sent there because I had a great C.O. with whom to work, and the Bavarian Alps weren't too hard to take either.

While I was there, I enjoyed taking a three days pass to Paris, but I foolishly passed up a chance to go to Bern, Switzerland. I refused that pass because I felt that my number would come up, and I wanted to get home as soon as possible. While with the 83rd, I still had some friends with me who were from my old 7^th Armored Infantry Battalion. My C.O. made me the Acting 1^st Sgt. Of the Company, and he tried to persuade me to reenlist in the permanent army. I would have instantly been made a permanent 1^st/Sgt which wasn't all that bad then, but I am a very family oriented person, and after all I had been through the last two years, getting back home was my prime target now.

There was just one story I neglected to tell while I was still in Malesice, so allow me to regress a moment. I had been in touch with my brother-in-law Capt. Frank Tworzydlo of Kennett Square, Penna. who was in the O.S.S. (Office of Strategic Services), a part of Gen. Mark Clark's "Fifth Army". Frank, my wife's brother, was a 1940 graduate of the U. of Penna. Law School; passed his bar exam; got married, and when he returned from his honeymoon, learned he had been conscripted into the army. As a private, he trained with a broom handle (for a rifle) at Fort Dix, N.J. Because of his degree in law, he was sent to Wash., D.C. for F.B.I. Spec. Training, and he was promoted to Sergeant. He soon became a member of the O.S.S., was sent to Africa (days of Gen. Rommel "The Desert Fox), and he received a "Battlefield Commission" of 2^nd Lt.

He was later sent to Cairo to track down Mr. Himmler, one of Adolph's a right hand helpers. Later he received a furlough back where he saw my wife and our twin children. During the month of August 1945, Frank invited me to visit him; he had returned from furlough and was now stationed in Salzburg, Austria. I had Capt. John Travers, St. Louis, MO, as my C.O., formerly of the 94^th Inf. Div. And he gave me permission to hook a ride with a convoy of Displaced Persons (D.P.s) going to Austria. He armed me with a book of passes that I would make out on a daily basis so as to be covered from the M.P.s. I would have to hitchhike back to Malesice on my own which was quite a distance.

My meeting with Frank became a reality, and we were together for my 5^th wedding anniversary. I was a T/5 (Corporal), but he got me into the Officer's Club by having me wear one of his Captain's jackets. We had a great time together for four days, and I was glad to hear first hand how my family was doing. He gave me a 35-Millimeter Kodak Camera that was G.I. to him being in the O.S.S., and for that time, it had advanced features such as a built-in range finder. Time to return to Malesice so Frank drove me back as far as Regensberg, Bavaria where I picked up a supply route over which trucks drove steadily. I would have gotten closer to my destination, but the old Mercedes that Frank was using had broken down. I started to walk toward a small army base where I received some food, and then began hiking again.

I teamed up with a young German soldier who was on his way home from a P.W. Camp. Believe it or not, we got along very well. Nightfall found us wondering where we would find a place to sleep, and in a wooded village, we found some homes. I was packing a P-38 pistol in my shoulder holster for any emergency. The first two houses he tried to get a room, the family would welcome him, but when they saw me, they declined. He refused to take a room unless they included me. I said I would knock on the next door, and when it looked like I was about to be refused, I opened my jacket, revealing my P-38 and at the same time, I stuck my foot inside the door.

We both had a good night's sleep, and we continued our trek northward early the next morning. Our paths finally parted, and soon I was on an active highway where a speeding jeep saw my need for a ride and stopped to pick me up. We were about 100 miles from Pilsen, and would you believe that was exactly where the three occupants in the jeep were headed. Capt. John Travers was very happy to see me make it back as he knew my time was getting short for moving out. Indeed it was, for in three more days, my orders came through to move to the 83^rd Division.

November had arrived, and with it came my orders to be moved to the Port of Debarkation at Marseille, France where the so-called Cigarette Camps were, such as: Camp Lucky Strike, etc., also City Camps. I was sent to Camp Chicago where quite a bit of processing took place on my behalf. Final medical checks were made, and our final shots were given. Next move - all aboard for home.