The Day of Battle (114 page)

“
Let’s talk about tomorrow
”: Coffin, 91; Ladislas Farago,
Patton: Ordeal and Triumph,
311; Codman, xiv–xvi; Norman Lewis,
In Sicily,
1, 3, 39, 159 (
cruel city
).

“
Wars are not won
”: Robert H. Patton,
The Pattons,
266.

Meticulous and even finicky:
“Ordnance Operations in the MTO,” Feb. 14, 1945, AGF, CMH, Geog Files, Med 353, 5-6; Lida Mayo,
The Ordnance Department: On Beachhead and Battlefront,
167; Alfred M. Beck et al.,
The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Germany,
138; “Report of Visit to Sicily,” Aug. 16–20, 1943, NARA RG 407, E427, 95-AL1-40-0.2, box 201; memo, “P.A.D. and civil defense in Sicily,” Aug. 23, 1943, AFHQ, NARA RG 492, MTO, 290/54/25/6, 2191 (“
exodus of dock workers
”); JPL, 116.

“
It resembles a maniac
”: Churchill,
Surgeon to Soldiers,
238; Charles M. Wiltse,
The Medical Department: Medical Service in the Mediterranean and Minor Theaters,
165, 169 (
breakage
); “Field Operations of the Medical Department in the MTOUSA,” Nov. 10, 1945, NARA RG 94, E427, 95-USF2-26-0, 196–97, 202 (
only half the necessary number
).

Sicily proved unforgiving:
Albert H. Smith, Jr.,
The Sicily Campaign: Recollections of an Infantry Company Commander,
35; Russell B. Capelle,
Casablanca to the Neckar,
22 (“
Sicilian disease
”); AFHQ circular #55, July 7, 1943, MTOUSA AG 444.1, box 1424 (“
RNS
”); Tregaskis, 239 (“
Z.I.’ed
”);
Reporting World War II,
vol. 1, 607 (“
she missed out
”); JPL, 64 (
ink their names
); Norris H. Perkins,
North African Odyssey,
81 (“
one complete piece
”).

Surgeons operated by flashlight:
Theresa Archald,
G.I. Nightingale,
165; Gervasi, 473; June Wandrey,
Bedpan Commando,
55 (“
just checking up
”); J. A. Ross,
Memoirs of an Army Surgeon
, 148 (“
cindery masses
”); Dancocks, 90 (
morphine
).

“
horrid thing called
mal’aria”: admin monologues, “Operations of British, Indian and Dominion Forces in Italy,” part 5, UK NA, CAB 106/453, 4–5; Blanche D. Coll et al.,
The Corps of Engineers: Troops and Equipment,
456–57; James Phinney Baxter,
Scientists Against Time,
301, 306–8, 316–17 (
Atabrine
); Paul Dickson,
War Slang,
113+ (“
Ann
”); “Characteristics of Theater, Annex A,” HKH, LOC MS Div, box 8, folder 8 (
highest malaria rates
).

“
yellow gall”
: Albert E. Cowdrey,
Fighting for Life,
63; John Ellis,
On the Front Lines,
183–84; Wiltse, 173, 214; “Operations of British, Indian and Dominion Forces in Italy,” part 5, UK NA, CAB 106/453, 4–5; “Report on Malaria in the Sicilian Campaign, 9 July to 10 Sept 1943,” AFHQ surgeon, NARA RG 319, OCMH, box 250 (
some malaria control experts
); James Stevens Simmons, “The Prevention of Malaria in the U.S. Army,” May 1944, Medical Historical Unit Collection, MHI, 2–4; A.A.C.W. Brown, “364 Days Service,” ts, 1981, IWM 81/33/1, 10 (“
enjoyed it very much
”).

More than a thousand soldiers:
“Report on Malaria in the Sicilian Campaign” “Operations of British, Indian and Dominion Forces in Italy,” 4–6 (
first case contracted in Sicily
); Wiltse, 173 (
ten thousand cases
); Ronald Lewin,
Montgomery as Military Commander,
202 (
more malaria casualties
); Cowdrey, 132 (“
disease record of Seventh Army
”); “Characteristics of Theater,” Annex A, HKH, LOC MS Div, box 8, folder 8 (“
fever of unknown origin
”); Hugh A. Scott,
The Blue and White Devils,
57

“
a frail little fellow
”: James Tobin,
Ernie Pyle’s War,
107–8; Pyle, 35–37.

Under such circumstances Patton arrived:
memo, F.Y. Leaver, commander of 15th Evacuation Hospital, to Richard T. Arnest, II Corps surgeon, Aug. 4, 1943, DDE Lib, PP-pres, box 91; D’Este, “The Slaps Heard Round the World,” 64 (
message from Eisenhower
); diary, Aug. 3, 1943, GSP, LOC MS Div, box 3, folder 2 (“
smell of the dead
”).

Green light filtered:
James Wellard,
The Man in a Helmet,
113; JPL, 100.

On a stool midway through the ward:
report, Perrin H. Long to NATOUSA surgeon, Aug. 16, 1943, “Mistreatment of Patients in Receiving Tents of the 15th and 93rd Evacuation Hospitals,” GSP, LOC MS Div, box 3, folder 2, appendix 125.

Patton asked Kuhl:
ibid.;
PP,
330–31; JPL, 103; Farago, 326–27 (“
gutless bastard
”).

His rage spent:
Garland, 427; memoir, “Theodore L. Dobol, Command Sergeant Major,” ts, 1976, MRC FDM, 1991.24, box 469, 18; OH, Linwood W. Billing, former commander, Co. L., 26th Inf, Jan. 2006, Andrew Woods, MRC FDM; Arthur L. Chaitt, ed., “Taps,”
Bridgehead Sentinel,
vol. 30, no. 2 (summer 1971), MRC FDM, 25 (
dying of a heart attack
); JPL, 102.

A week later, on August 10:
93rd Evacuation Hospital movements, Donald E. Currier papers, MHI; report, Perrin H. Long to NATOUSA surgeon, Aug. 16, 1943, “Mistreatment of Patients,” 331.

“
What’s this man talking about?
”: Bess, “Report of an Investigation,” to DDE, Aug. 19, 1943, DDE Lib, PP-pres, box 91; memo, Donald E. Currier to Richard T. Arnest, II Corps surgeon, Aug. 12, 1943, Donald E. Currier Papers, MHI; Garland, 427–28; Henry J. Taylor, “The Patton Story: He Slapped, He Raged, He Sobbed in Anger,”
Cincinnati Post,
Feb. 28, 1947, 26, from MRC FDM (“
makes my blood boil
”).

As he returned to his car:
Bess to DDE, Aug. 19, 1943; Richard Collier,
Fighting Words,
146 (“
no such thing as shellshock
”);
SSt,
160 (“
couple of malingerers
”); Bradley Commentaries, CBH papers, MHI, box 1 (“
put a little guts
”).

“
inexcusable and asinine
”: corr, Donald E. Currier to Fred Ayer, Jr., Aug. 14, 1964, Donald E. Currier papers, MHI.

“
Don’t tell my wife
”: Kennedy, in
Reporting World War II,
vol. 1, 667–68; Bess to DDE, Aug. 19, 1943;
SSt,
160 (“
Lock it up in my safe
”); corr, Paul Harkins to Garrison H. Davidson, n.d., in Garrison H. Davidson, “Grandpa Gar,” ts, 1974, USMA Arch, 85;
PP,
333 (“
saved his soul
”).

A Great Grief

“
What a steep hill
”: Molony V, 154; letter, Joseph T. Dawson to family, July 30, 1943, MRC FDM (“
fight downhill
”); Brooks E. Kleber and Dale Birdsell,
The Chemical Warfare Service: Chemicals in Combat,
593 (
flamethrowers
); Peltier, 105; William A. Carter, “Carter’s War,” ts, 1983, CEOH, box V-14, VII-28 (
cork oaks
).

“
the whole damned bridge
”: Pyle, 40–41; Beck, 141 (
metal detectors
); msg, 0030 hours, July 31, 1943, “Operazioni in Sicilia dal 9 al 19 luglio” (“
Troops are tired
”); Johannes Steinhof,
Messerschmitts over Sicily,
237 (
pneumatic drills
).

Allied air and naval superiority:
“Lessons from the Sicilian Campaign,” AFHQ, training memo no. 50, Nov. 20, 1943, NARA RG 407, E 427, 95-AL1-0.4, 7; George H. Revelle, Jr., “Under Fifth Army a Division G-4 Operates,”
MR,
vol. 25, no. 3 (June 1945), 49+; B. Smith, “Waltonia,” ts, 1981, IWM, 76/254/1 (“
without even a sex life
”), Michael Francis Parrino, “Introduction to Pack Transport and Pack Artillery,” ts, n.d., CMH, 84–85 (“
what he is to die for
”); Elmer W. Norton, 1/157th Inf, ASEQ, MHI (
Trouble
); Darby and Daumer, 107 (
Rosebud
); C. W. Eineichner, “Assault on Messina,” in “2004 Reunion Program Book,” Fort Wayne, Ind., Aug. 25–30, 2004, author’s possession, 69 (
War Admiral
); Ralph G. Martin,
The G.I. War, 1941–1945,
114 (“
bite the ears
”); Guy Nelson,
Thunderbird,
51 (“
outstanding performance
”); “Training Notes from the Sicilian Campaign,” AFHQ G-3, Oct. 25, 1943, CMH, Geog Sicily 353, 18; letter, John M. Brooks [former 16th Inf officer] to author, Oct. 19, 2003, 7 (“
mule interpreters
”).

“
Hills and then more hills
”: corr, TR to Eleanor, July 23, 1943, TR, LOC MS Div, box 10.

With the British right flank still blocked:
Garland, 320; Stanhope Brasfield Mason, “Reminiscences and Anecdotes of World War II,” ts, 1988, MRC FDM, 1994.126, 181 (
ax-wielding enemy troops
); Kimball Richmond, 3/16th Inf, ASEQ, MHI (
wine and cheese
); corr, TR to Eleanor, Oct. 11, 1943, TR, LOC MS Div, box 10; Biddle, 82 (“
mumbled and rumbled
”).

Each town took a toll:
“Battle Casualties,” HQ, 1st ID, Aug. 1, 1943, MRC FDM; Jarvis Burns Moore, 2/16th Inf, ASEQ, MHI (“
started swearing
”);
Time,
Aug. 9, 1943, 30.

Wagging his cane:
Biddle, 75; corr, Joseph T. Dawson to family, July 30, 1943, MRC FDM (
white-flag ruse
); William E. Faust, 1st ID artillery, ts, n.d., ASEQ, MHI, 73 (
bomb Etna’s crater
);
Time,
Aug. 9, 1943, 30 (“
shaking lice
”); Martin, 76 (“
paying taxes
”).

Bread trucks:
“Report of the Division Quartermaster—Sicilian Campaign,” n.d., 1st ID, 11, and “Official Diary, 1st U.S. Infantry Div, Office of the Quartermaster,” July 24, 1943 entry, both in Harlan W. Hendrick, 1st ID, ASEQ, MHI (“
jumping at any excuse
”); Tregaskis, 37, 47; corr, Joseph T. Dawson to family, July 31, 1943, MRC FDM.

“
loss of riflemen and fatigue
”: “Comments of General Patton,” Aug. 27, 1943, Palermo, NARA RG 319, OCMH, 2-3.7 CC2 Sicily, box 250; V-mail, TR to Eleanor, July 22, 1943, TR, LOC MS Div, box 10.

“
like ragged caps
”: Romeiser, ed.,
Combat Reporter
[mss], 212; MEB, “Axis Tactical Operations in Sicily,” ts, n.d., OCMH, #R-144, MHI; author visit, Sept. 1996; Eberhardt Rodt, “Studie über den Feldzug in Sizilien bei der 15. Pz Gren. Div, Mai–August 1943,” n.d., FMS, #C-077, NARA RG 319, OCMH, box 245, 20–21; Garland, 325–29.

Five miles to the west:
Biddle, 76;
SSt,
150 (
classroom walls
); Tregaskis, 51–52; Kenneth T. Downs, “Nothing Stopped the Timberwolves,”
Saturday Evening Post,
Aug. 17, 1946, 20+ (“
stubborn as any resistance
”).

the enemy would counterattack:
Andrus, notes on
A Soldier’s Story
; Garland, 325 (“
lightly held
”); Steven E. Clay,
Blood and Sacrifice,
176–77 (
pare back the attack
); OH, R. W. Porter, Feb. 8, 1961, Albert N. Garland, and Oscar W. Koch, Dec. 15, 1960, James A. Norell, both in NARA RG 319, OCMH, box 250 (
printed photos had not yet returned
); Biddle, 83 (“
You give your orders
”).

“
a very disagreeable job
”: corr, TdA to Mary Fran, July 29, 1943, TdA papers, MHI, box 2; “Commanding General’s After Action Report,” in Smith, 125–35 (“
our moral obligation
”).

He sank to his knees:
radio broadcast, Quentin Reynolds, June 8, 1944, TdA papers, box 7; Reynolds,
The Curtain Rises,
216 (“
stop worrying
”).

“
Every time I have watched
”: Romeiser, ed., 184.

Coordinating the attack:
ibid., 182.

He was a big man:
JJT, II-4, 9, 14–21.

“
It is very nice to read of a battle
”: Another Medal of Honor was awarded for the same action near Chattanooga to Arthur MacArthur, Jr., father of Douglas MacArthur. “Medal of Honor citations,” www.army.mil/cmh/; JJT, III-14-16.

Young Jack Toffey:
JJT, VII-1, VIII-12; Will Lang, “Doughboy’s Beachhead,”
Time,
Feb. 7, 1944, 22; Robert W. Black,
Rangers in World War II,
101 (
seven thousand prisoners
).

Nine months at war:
JJT, V-17-20, 24–26; VI-2, 6; VIII-19.

The next six days:
Garland, 336–37; “Commanding General’s After Action Report,” in Smith, 125–35; “Terry Allen and the First Division in North Africa and Sicily,” n.d., TdA, MHI, 45 (“
hell of a lot of stuff
”).

“
bravest goddam soldier
”: Codman, xviii; “‘Anything, Anytime, Anywhere Bar Nothing’: Remembering ‘Paddy’ Flint,”
Periodical: Journal of America’s Military Past,
spring 1967, 52+; “Keeping Faith,” ts, n.d., USMA Arch, 3–4 (
apparent stroke
); “Comments of General Patton,” ts, Aug. 27, 1943, NARA RG 319, OCMH, 2-3.7 CC2 Sicily, box 250;
SSt,
153; Henry Gerard Phillips,
The Making of a Professional,
122; Harry A. Flint, DSC citation, NARA RG 338, ETO, 7th Army awards, box 2; OH, William C. Westmoreland, 1978, Duane G. Cameron and Raymond E. Funderburk, SOOHP, MHI, 104–5; “History of the 26th Infantry,” 100 (“
spend another million
”).