Lt. Col. Munson returned to the Battalion on the 18th of March. We were in position at
Gensingen where General Bixby, Division Artillery Commanding Officer, had dinner with the officers,
celebrating the return of Colonel Munson. In this position we had our first chance to see the Heinie jet
propelled plane in action. He was apparently interested in the bridgework in rear of us, for he kept
flying around. Scorning all the flak that was thrown at him. Liberated eggs were becoming a very
frequent item on our diet, and each position that we went into, eggs were on everyone's mind.
Off again on the 20th for another series of leapfrog moves. Close to noon we were attacked by a
group of Heinie planes. They dropped sticks of antipersonnel bombs in A Battery’s position, wounding
five. Cpl. Stryker died later of his wounds. We have been seeing more German planes of all types,
more than ever before. The situation was at this point getting very tight for the Germans. They were
throwing everything at us, trying to stop the drive. The closer we got to the Rhine the more planes we
saw.
We march ordered to the fairly modern town of Finthen, where we stayed for four days, while
our combat team attacked and cleaned out Mainz. We were there from the 21st through the 24th.
Germans had observation on the town from their positions on the east side of the Rhine, and an
occasional round would whip into town. Several targets in Mainz felt our power, as the Doughs mopped
up completely to the river's edge. Big plans were under way, for it was obvious that the Rhine was to be
bridged pretty soon. On the 23rd the 26th division took over our positions, and we were to follow the
5th across, farther upriver. On the morning of the 24th we went down to the vicinity Neirstein and
waited while the 5th crossed, followed by the 4th armored and then us. The big news during the day
was that the 5th Division had reached the other bank without opposition.
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