An exceptional amount of recovery and evacuation work was accomplished after moving into
Luxembourg and Belgium as this was the territory over-run by the Germans in their breakthrough, and a
tremendous amount of Ordnance equipment had been abandoned. All sections worked long hours under the
adverse conditions caused by lack of a shop sheltered from the snow and cold. In the areas in this section most
of the buildings had been destroyed by the fierce fighting that had taken place here.
In February the snows began to melt. The heavy traffic moving constantly along softened the ground and
the snows turned to water and the clay-earth turned to a sticky quagmire. So torn up did the roads become that
Supply section trucks were forced to make runs of 160 miles round trip to the Ordnance Depots. The Engineers
were working continuously on the roads to alleviate the condition.
S/Sgt Clipp, Wrecker Crew Chief, was discharged from the Army to accept a direct commission as
2nd Lt. in recognition of his outstanding efficiency and devotion to duty. He was reassigned to the company to
head the Recovery Section.
In March, the company crossed the border into Germany, bivouacking first in Hollnich. From then on it
was one series of moves … to Giesdorf on the 7th, Birresborn on the 9th, Mullenbach on the 10th, Allenz on
the 13, Lingerhalm on the 18th, Seibersbach on the 20th … Sprendlinger on the 21st …
The 21st of March ended the Rhineland Campaign. In this period, too, was the brief Ardennes
Campaign lasting from the 16th of December to the 25th of January. The 790th Ordnance Light Maintenance
Company received official recognition for its part in both campaigns. And in less than a week, the company
was to cross the famous Rhine River...
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