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Ammunition
I told him what he could do with the propaganda shell and looked at my records
again. They did not show any red smoke in either B or C Battery. However, my records
had been wrong once: maybe they were wrong again.
But they weren't. There wasn't a round of red smoke in the entire battalion. Or the
Cannon Company.
I was ready to give up the project, but Don was already on the phone to Urban, the
343rd. They did have red smoke on hand, and were willing to spare us a round, because
they didn't expect to use it again. "Send a jeep over, and we'll give it to the driver." A
pause. "What do you want it for?"
Thomson gave a guarded reply, as brief as he could make it without actually
lying.
"Jeez," said Urban 3. "I'd like to see that. I don't think the Old Man [Lt Col
Reimers] would let us do that."
"Oh," said Don Thomson, "We haven't told Col Hughes. Keeping it as a surprise."
"Hmm. Maybe I'll come over and watch. What time did you say?"
On the morning of VE Day I noticed the local villagers talking, pointing up at the
target hill, and laughing excitedly. Apparently our secret was not so well-kept but that it
had leaked to the civilians, and they were looking forward to the fireworks.
A few minutes before noon, we had the battery executives on the telephone line
and were sending the firing data down to them when Lt Col Hughes, the battalion
commander, strolled in. We looked up, startled.
Apparently so was he. "What the hell is going on here? You aren't planning to fire
something now!"
"Well, sir, not really. Just a little harmless smoke to celebrate-"
"Bullshit! We're in a Cease Fire. Don't you know what a Cease Fire means?" "I
didn't think three rounds of smoke would-"
"Well, it's time somebody around here thought! What if some Czech peasant got
hit on the head with a canister?"
"But- "
"What do you want to do, start World War III?" "No sir."
At this point the A Battery Computor announced, "Number one is loaded with red
smoke. "
Hughes swung around to face him. "Tell' em to unload!" And that is how we
avoided World War III.
145, (146 blank)
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