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Upstarts
One day I called my opposite number at the 343rd FA Bn and asked him for the
situation in his sector. "Well," he said, "the 357th Infantry jumped off in place this
morning, and they've been jumping up and down ever since." ["In place" means without
moving in any direction.]
And so it seemed to go with the 359th also. Probably that's why they lost Colonel
Fales.
When a military unit does well, the commander gets the credit, whether he
deserves it or not. When it does poorly, he takes the blame. If it does too poorly, he is
relieved and replaced by someone his commander thinks can do better. The 90th Division
had been doing poorly: our commander, Brigadier General McKelvie was relieved only a
week after D-Day, the commander of the 357th Infantry Regiment was relieved the same
day, and the 358th Infantry lost two CO's to wounds during the month of June. In mid-
July, our assistant division commander was also relieved. As you can see, job tenure was
not secure in the higher command.
Our organization called for three Liaison Officers, one for each infantry battalion
of the 359th. It did not provide for liaison with the regimental headquarters, which was
also essential. Since much of the time only two of the infantry battalions would be on the
front line, I suppose it was expected that we could use the spare liaison officer for that
purpose, but it never worked out that way. There was also some thought that the artillery
battalion commander would spend a lot of time at the infantry regimental CP, in what is
called "command liaison." But that did not suit the temperament of either Costain or
Peach, so the gap had to be plugged with temporary expedients. I was one of the most
frequently used plugs, alternating with Lt Troxell, one of the Hq Battery officers.
That is how I happened to be present when Colonel Clark Fales was relieved by
Colonel Robert Bacon.
Col Fales was one of my personal heroes. A big, calm officer of about forty, a
West Point graduate, he always seemed to know what he was doing. And he certainly
commanded the loyalty of his men.
I think Col Fales must have gotten word over the telephone, but he didn't say
anything about it that I heard, until the arrival of Col Bacon, who had been the Division
Chief of Staff. Then, after a short colloquy, they announced to the stunned staff in the CP
tent that the change had been made. I broke the silence that followed by asking, "Sir, may
I say something?"
Fales nodded, and I quavered, "We're going to miss you."
"Thank you," he said. Col Bacon shot me a strange glance, but afterward he asked
me to go with him to visit the CPs of his battalions, where he hoped to get the situation
and establish himself as the new boss. He always seemed to like me after that.
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