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325th Glidermen in Belgium, December 1944
Purple Heart Day
By Larry C. Gourlie
Sergeant, 1st Bn, 325 Gl Rgt, 82nd AB Div
      It was February 1st 1945. My unit in the 1st Battalion of the 325 Glider Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division had finally reached the famous Siegfried Line. We were in the woods which ended and there facing us from the East in the snow covered fields were two rows of dragon teeth. They were concrete pyramids varying in height from 2 to 4 feet. Their purpose was to act as a tank barricade. The rows ran to the left and to the right as far as we could see. There was a road, apparently with no barrier, coming from the woods and crossing both lines or rows of dragon teeth. About a quarter of a mile from the woods this road passed thru a small town called Neuhof. Another road branched to the left at the edge of Neuhof and led to the little town of Udenbreth about a mile away.
      It was cold and clear. Everything was covered with snow a foot to three feet deep. The enemy was in the underground bunkers running parallel to the second row of dragon teeth. We had no idea of their strength or disposition or location.
       In the afternoon three of us, myself as radio operator, Sgt. Gross as wire sergeant, and an anti-tank officer joined Lt. Col. Gerard, the Battalion commander, in a bunker at the edge of the woods and about 1/8 of a mile to the right of the road. The bunker consisted of a hole about 4 or 5 feet square and a little over 6 feet deep. The upper several feet was above ground and was built of logs with an earth covering of a foot or two. The lower 4 feet was wet and muddy. There was a gap in front 6 inches by 3 feet facing the dragon teeth. Thru this opening we had a fairly good field of vision of the area in front of us as well as the road to the left and the little town of Neuhof beyond. In the distance the hills were denude of trees and it was difficult to see anything in the snow and the bright sunshine.
      The four of us cautiously approached the bunker. Sliding down into the hole thru a small side opening we found we were in tight quarters. Sgt. Gross had strung phone wires to the bunker. I had to leave my radio outside and pull the hand set down into the bunker as there was no room inside.
       As we watched we could see German soldiers appear seemingly out of the snow. They were carrying their equipment and packs. They headed for Neuhof where a horse drawn wagon was being loaded. The wagon then departed for the other town to our left. It looked as if the enemy was evacuating the area. This would be good news as we were scheduled to attack this area early tomorrow morning. About that time we received word via phone that one of our probing patrols was under attack and because of casualties had to withdraw. Then the phone went dead.
      We did have a concern that the enemy may have cut the wires. At about that time we could hear a sound like bees outside of the bunker. Then we realized that somebody was shooting in our direction. Just as the other officer was reassuring Col. Gerard that it was indiscriminate fire and that the projectiles were totally spent, one came right thru the middle of the opening between our four heads and lodged itself in the log in the rear. With the phone out I had to change channels on my radio so we could have communications with Battalion HQ and the companies. This involved crawling out of the bunker as the set was along side of our entry hole. I crawled out, ignoring the Colonel’s plea not to go. The air was filled with bee-like sounds. Mission accomplished, I jumped back into the mud-lined hole. We now had communications.
       Some time later, the Colonel and I headed toward the road. While I was scrounging thru stuff that was on an abandoned German hand cart on the side of the road, Gerard used his field glasses and was scouting the road when a mortar barrage came in. I jumped under the cart and the Colonel went into a snow bank. A close explosion blackened his face and a small steel fragment cut his left eyebrow. We made a hasty retreat to the safety of our lines in the woods.
       The temperature fell below freezing during the night. Our Battalion CP was in a trailer. Gerard and his officers spent considerable time going over in detail the planned attack at day break. The attacking company was to have tank support and was to attack down the road into the town. I huddled in a corner and sitting on the cold floor, tried to sleep. The night before I had put my raincoat over my overcoat and pulling my knees up inside had sat against a tree trying to sleep. Needless to say, the accommodations tonight were better. However, between the tension in the trailer and the whining of overhead artillery all night long, I was only able to doze periodically. People were coming and going in the trailer all night long. I am not sure whether the Colonel got any sleep that night.