13. Germany Again

Germany
  August - October, 1945

83^rd Infantry Division
Co. C - 330 Inf. Regt.

The army transportation system worked with its usual skill and efficiency in transferring us from Klatovy, Czech. to the 83rd Infantry Division which was located in the Mountains north of Passau, Germany. I do not remember exactly where we got on it but we rode on a train down the Danube River. We went from Klatovy to Pilsen to Regensburg and down the Danube past Deggendorf until we got to Passau. The ride down the Danube was absolutely beautiful. I remember sitting in the doorway of the rail car watching the beautiful scenery pass by. It took us about 24 hours it seemed for the trip but it seemed like forever because it was mostly hurry up and wait type of traveling.

At Passau, we boarded trucks and were sent to Co. C., 330 Inf. Reg. in Grafenau, a small town about 50 miles North of Passau. We didn't know where we were going of course until we got there. After we arrived and looked at a map there was much groaning and bitching. It is about 50 miles from Klatovy to Pilsen by truck and only about 75 miles from Klatovy to Grafenau by truck. We probably traveled close to 300 miles to get the 70 miles to Grafenau. We raised so much hell about the long trip that they used trucks to move all the other people who were being transferred, and the trip took about 2 hours.

When we got to Grafenau, I was sent to Co. C of the 330th Inf. and John Anderson, who had been promoted to sergeant during the war, was sent to battalion headquarters. One of the first people I ran into in C Co. was the mess sergeant was Lincoln Snyder who had been in my class in high school. I had never even seen anyone else from home that I knew the whole time I was in the service.

Linc had a good thing going for him. He had traded some rations to some Germans for a 5 gal. jug of straight 190 proof alcohol. He also had acquired a big jug of some kind of raspberry juice to mix with it. We had some good parties with that stuff. One coke bottle full of the stuff would keep you drunk for the entire evening and then some.

I think it was a short time after we went to Grafenau that John Anderson came over to C Co. and said he could get me transferred to battalion headquarters as the Plans and Training NCO if I wanted to go. The S3 sergeant was being transferred home and they needed a replacement for him. For some reason the NCO's in battalion headquarters had many more points than the infantrymen and got to go home before the rest of us because of their hard work

John said it was a good job and I wouldn't have to work too hard because there wasn't either much planning or training going on right then. The only problem was that I could have been promoted to sergeant if I had volunteered to stay in Germany for an additional six months. I wasn't interested in that so I didn't get promoted but I did get to keep the job.

We got to spend the fall in Grafenau. It was a lot like West Virginia. While we were there, we went across the border into Czech. where a glass plant was located. For a carton of cigarettes you could buy an eight place setting of hand blown and hand etched crystal wine glasses. Cigarettes were used as money since the German money was no good. I ordered one set and went over a few times to watch them make and etch some of them. They packed them for me for sending home. After I saw how the first set of crystal turned out I ordered another set but we shipped out before I could get a jeep to pick it up.