Charlie Battery, 455th AAA, 1 Sept. 1945

Do you remember back to 12 October 1942, when the train bearing the majority of the 455th pulled into Camp Stewart, Georgia? We had been riding all the previous night, certain that we would wind up somewhere in Florida. But no, Georgia is as far as our ticket called for. We were very hungry that morning, and had breakfast in the 'B' Btry. mess hall as we remember it. The breakfast consisted of creamed beef on toast (bottoer known as S.O.S. to GIs). Anyway, it tasted very good.

The Cadre awaiting us at C Battery were 1st Sgt. Lambert, Sgt. Refino, Sgt. Corum, and Cpl. Grantham, who would rather blow a whistle than eat, old "Fat to the heart" Miles, Cpl. Babb, remember how many times he sewed his chevrons on before he had them straigth, Chissom, and old Schroeder was there also. Capt. Baker was B.C., and 2nd Lt. Princle (now Captain), and Lt. Silliman (who left us to join the Bn. Staff and later went to the Air Corps. He is probably a MAjor by now.).

It took us about two days to get settled before we began to draw the equipment we had missed getting at the Reception Center. Shortly we were learning the identification of aircraft, drawing and learning the nomenclature of the M1 rifle. Incidentally, we often worked until eleven and twelve o'clock at night cleaning the cosmoline from those M1s. The best way to clean them was to take them to the shower and turn the hot water on them.

We then began to learn the nomenclature of a gun called the 40 mm Bofors, which was supposed to be a pretty good gun (which we found out for ourselves later on). This gun has a klunette, equilibrator springs, breech block etc., in fact it takes to bring down an FW 190 or an ME 109. By this time it was felt that we were ready to go out to the range and practice some dry runs, which we did. Plenty of them! First we were allowed to fire only one round, finally getting up to at least four rounds per course. It wasn't too long before that A-20 was having to go back to its base for targets. We were one of the best Batteries ever on the Camp Stewart range and ever will be.

During all this training, we had two men who learned the art of gold-bricking, it took Sgt. Thomason and Sgt. Quillen approximately eight weeks to build an ice box for the mess hall. Those times seemed very rugged, getting up at five o'clock, heading for the range and getting back into the battery at dusk, but we made it.

We took a trip to Fernandina, Florida, to practice on water targets. On the way down there, the acquaintance of several lovely frauleins was made. Correspondence is still carried on with those Georgia peaches by some of the men.

By this time we bagen to get hot, and we moved to Fort Benning, where you had to keep that Tiger button buttoned. After the Frying Pan, Sand Hill and back to the Green Huts, we were so hot they sent us to Camp Shanks, which we left on 5 September 1943. No one will forget that ride on the Simmonds and our turning back and transferring to the Queen Elizabeth. The march through Halifax will linger long in everyone's memory. Gourock, Scotland, is where we landed, then by train to Kettering, and from there to Watton, where endless gun drills and numerous alerts were held. We made a pretty good reputation as engineers there, also. Then there was the mobile training at Camp Blandford, where we made an excellent record, and then to Stiffkey, where one cours ew3as practically all a target could make without being pulverized. Finally on 6 July 1944, we started to practice the things we had been taught. Landing on the beach of Normandy we were ready to go into action. After de-water-proofing and being assigned to a 20 FABn we were on the first leg of our way to Germany. We waited for the breakthrough at St. Lo at an ammo dump near Carentan. those friendly bombers sure came over that day! Following the breaklthrough we went to Rennes, where the shrapnel from the ninety mm's at night sounded like humming birds; then up to St. Malo. Finally back through Rennes and on to Chartres, which was one of the hottest spots we were ever in. Baucom should remember that place well. From there to Fontainbleu. The two days we stayed there were wonderful. Then on to Verdun. That wasn't a pleasant spot. The Boche bombed every night we were there. Lt. Goldstein, crawling underv the jeep trailer for protection was bitten in the - - - by Reccy, the platoon mascot. Sgt. Miller and T/5 Smith came face to face under the jeep trailer during a bombing attack. Smith saying "Hi, Miller", Miller saying "Hi, Hell!" During the holdup at Metz, we stayed in Villacy for some time. Then the breakthrough at Metz, on to Vigy, Altforweiler, were S/Sgt. Connelly made 2nd Lt. by a battlefield commission. We arrived at Mainz, crossing the Rhine 30 March '45 and eventually arrived at Kassel where we found beaucoup of Three Star Hennessey. Shortly after this, we were placed with the Fourth Armored Division columns. It was on this drive that Sgt. Brown received credit for shooting down 3 German planes with a single cal. 50 MG, for which he received a cluster to his Bronze Star.

We were moving fast, and pulled into some pretty hot places. We saw a little action close to Chemnitz, and then we turned and backtracked with the 3rd Army as it shifted its attack from the East to the South towards the suspected Redoubt Area in the Bavarian Alps.

Towards the end of April we joined the columns of the 13th Armored. While waiting above Regensburg to cross the Danube we were visited by an Instruction Team sent over from the States by the AA Command to give us some dope on the 40 mm Gun. 'C' Battery welcomed this Team by shooting down an Me 109 practically at their feet the very afternoon they arrived. Question was "Who is teaching whom?"

Shifting from the Danube to the Isar, and finally to the Inn river as the XX Corps pressed on to Austria, VE Day found the Battery in Scharding, Austria. Moving to the Pocking Airfield for the rehabilitaition program which followed VE Day, 'C' Battery underwent one of its most disastrous experiences. An exploding field stove set an entire barracks afire, early one morning while all the Rabbs were still in their sacks.The fire spread thru the wooden barracks so rapidly that almost all the personal and government property in the building was destroyed. Loss of all records really had the supply section sweating it out too.

Moving to Gangkofen the Rabbs took over as MPs, and later transferred their talents to Mallersdorf. It was there that the magic phrase "Alerted for Shipment" reached us.

'C' Battery, the "Team within a Team", wishes each and every Rabb of the 'Team' the best of luck and a speedy return to civilian life in the U.S.A.