 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
Upstarts
Already in trouble up to his neck, the soldier dug himself deeper by calling me, an
officer in execution of his duties, nasty names, another criminal offense. He was still
doing it when a jeep rolled up with one of Van den Bark's MP sergeants in it. The
sergeant took charge of both the man and the carbine, which turned out to be unloaded.
I was a witness at the court martial, wearing my Class A uniform with all the
ribbons and decorations I was entitled to. I noticed that Capt Wilborn, a member of the
court, paid rapt attention while I was on the stand, and I wondered why my testimony was
so impressive. After the trial, he sought me out. "Bob," he asked, "did you know you had
your ETO ribbon on upside down?"
Captain John Klas had become the battalion executive when Major Doug Myers
came down with hepatitis at the time we crossed the Rhine. John was a big man with a
huge voice and a forceful but engaging personality. Nicknamed "Bear Tracks" by his
men, he was generally liked and universally respected. He did well in his new job, which
called for the rank of major, so Colonel Hughes put him in for promotion.
About that time, however, we got a new Division Artillery Commander. Colonel
Pyle, the new man, was an improvement over General Bixby, but he was cautious, and he
was not yet acquainted with the officers in the various battalions, so he held up his
approval of the promotion until he was sure that Klas was the most deserving, not only in
our battalion, but in the entire Div Arty. That took up some time, but eventually, a few
weeks after VE Day, he agreed that John was outstanding enough to deserve it.
Then, just as he was ready to sign the endorsement "Recommend approval," our
door opened, and here came Major Myers to rejoin us. Everyone, including even Capt
Klas, was delighted to see him, but wished he could have waited another week before
returning.
But all was not lost. It turned out there had been two vacancies for majors within
the Div Arty, so there was still one left. Colonel Pyle again studied and considered which
candidate was best qualified, and decided that Klas was the one.
At this point Major Robert Swatosh came back, minus the ends of a few fingers.
He had spent the winter months in Paris, sitting on a General Court Martial trying
soldiers in the supply branches for theft and black marketing government property.
Swatosh had never been accepted as one of the Battalion in group, and now he
was distinctly unwelcome. We did not have a spot for him in the 915th, already having
our full quota of majors, so he was transferred to the 344th; however, he still plugged up
the last vacancy for a major, and John Klas, a thoroughly deserving officer, went home as
a captain.
Occupation duty was dull, like the duller days of combat. For awhile we had a
PW enclosure in our area, little more than an open field with a fence of sorts, more to
indicate where the boundaries were than to keep prisoners from escaping. We held them
only until the Division cage could handle them, and I don't recall our having more than a
few of them at a time.
240
|
 |
|