Saluki
New in Town
- Messages
- 1
- Location
- Saranac Lake, NY
(I know that a couple of these incidents have appeared in the Forum previously, but I include them here again for continuity)
My Dad, Ray Dudones, was just 18 when he was drafted into the infantry in the summer of 1944. He was sent to the European theater with the 94th Division in January of '45, as a combat infantryman, carrying a B.A.R. His partner, and ammo carrier, "Pop" Hansen, was a rancher from Montana. Somehow "Pop" got drafted even though he was in his early 40s, thus earning him the nickname. I guess they made quite a pair, the farm kid from Wisconsin and the middle-aged Montana rancher, as they both managed to survive the war.
In February of '45, around Washington's Birthday, Dad and Pop were picked as part of a reconnaissance team that was to cross the Saar River and scout out the German positions, in preparation for the allies attack. The squad was led by a 2nd lieutenant, one of the "90 day wonders" fresh out of officer training school. There were about a dozen men in all, that cold, clear night, as they climbed into the boat, to row across the Rhine. There was some concern amongst the men because the moon was out and the German sentries might spot them crossing the river. The lieutenant ordered the mission to go ahead as planned, regardless of the conditions. They had almost reached the far shore when a German sentry spotted the recon team and opened fire. With bullets whizzing all around them, Dad and Pop, who were at the bow of the boat, jumped out, and into the knee-deep water. They ran for the nearest cover - a partially sunken river barge, maybe 50 yards upstream, grounded on the muddy bank. They reached the barge and took cover, crawling thru a hole in the side.
The Germans were still firing, but Dad & Pop now had another problem to deal with. The recon boat and the rest of the patrol were paddling like crazy back toward the American side of the river. After a bit the firing stopped, and the recon boat shrank to a small dark dot on the silvery river. Dad and Pop were stranded in enemy territory, and they had no idea how long it would be before the allies would make their attack.. Cold and wet, they settled in to wait for their comrades to join them.
After a sleepless night, morning dawned , and with it, German soldiers. They were all over the riverbank area, and Dad could hear them talking as they patrolled the embankment. They came within a few dozen feet of Dad's hiding place in the sunken barge, but never bothered to look inside. Pop and Dad managed to hide out in that barge under the very noses of the German army, for three and a half days, drinking river water and eating moldy raw potatoes which they found in the barge. Finally the attack came, and the allies crossed the Rhine. Dad and Pop were able to join up with a unit , but not the same one they started with. They never saw the 2nd lieutenant for the rest of the war. Dad heard that the lieutenant was awarded a Silver Star for his action in leading the recon patrol that February night.
Almost ten years later, Dad ran into the lieutenant in a tavern. He went up to him, asked if he remembered him. No, said the lieutenant, should I ? “You're damned right you should! I‘m one of the poor S.O.Bs you deserted and left to the Germans back on the Saar on that night recon patrol back in '45.” The lieutenant offered to buy Dad a drink, but Dad said no thanks, he had no stomach for it, turned his back and walked away. Dad did eventually get a Bronze Star for his actions – god knows, he deserved it.
Dad, with the 94th Division liberated a Concentration Camp In March of 1945 in the vicinity of Ludwigshafen, Germany. The camp had been abandoned by the Germans as the GIs got within a few days march. Around the camp there were these mounds covered with snow – they were piles of bones – human bones, now covered with the spring snow. Leading to the camp was a railway spur off the mainline. This was used to haul material and prisoners to the camp. About 300 yards down the mainline, there was a tunnel, but both ends were blocked by what looked like bombing damage or deliberate explosive. The smell coming through from the blocked tunnel reaked of death. The platoon was given the job of clearing the tunnel. Using a couple of front-end loaders they got one end opened up and took a look inside. It was horrifying – hundreds of bodies - men, women, kids, old people - all jumbled up in a tangle at the tunnel mouth. The bodies were partially submerged and decomposing. What had happened here?
Most of the local towns people professed to know nothing of the camp or what went on there, but Dad said you could smell the camp for miles – the smell of death. The Captain had one of the guys who spoke German question a local farmer.
“These people were prisoners at the camp – Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, other types too . As you Americans came close to this place, the Camp Kommandant had all the prisoners marched out of the camp and into this tunnel. They strung rolls of barbed wire across the openings to keep the people in – some were shot trying to get through the wire. Then the Germans blew up the holding dam that formed the lake just above the camp. The water from the lake pored down the hillside and began flooding the tunnel from the south end. Naturally, the people in the tunnel ran to the north end – where you GIs have opened it now. But the water came too fast and they couldn’t get beyond the wire. The few who did were machine-gunned by the Germans. The whole tunnel filled to the top with water until both entrances were overflowing. When the water finally stopped coming, the Germans used explosive charges to seal both openings to the tunnel. That was three- four days ago, before you GIs arrived. Much of the water has drained out of the tunnel now, so it is as you find it now.” .
Once the G.Is saw what had to be done they rounded up the local towns people and forced them to drag out the bodies from the tunnel. The stench was terrible. The bodies were decaying and the flesh would come off the bones like it was made of clay. Dad was one of the GIs who were to guard the site and make sure the towns people didn’t run off before the job was done. The bodies were loaded into front-end loaders and dumped into a long trench the bull dozers had carved out. Then the bodies were covered with lime and finally buried in this mass grave.
Later on as Dad’s outfit was making its way through Czechoslovakia, they came to a village near the town of Netolice. The local people welcomed the GIs with open arms, cheering and waving, girls running up and kissing and hugging the soldiers. The troops took a rest in the town and while they ate K-rations and sat around the town square, they heard a commotion off one of the small streets leading to the square. A large group of several hundred local people were dragging several men and women along to the center of the square. . One of the GIs from Chicago could speak Czech, and he asked an old man what was going on.
“These traitors worked with the Germans! The women give themselves to the Germans for money! Now they pay!” Several ropes were thrown over light posts and a large tree in the center of the square. Nooses were put around the necks of the four men and as many women. Then one by one they were hauled up by groups of men, until each was hanging from a pole or tree limb. This was not the hanging of the Western movies, with the oxbow noose and a slap on the backside of the horse to quickly bring justice to the condemned. No, the victims here were hoisted up by the neck with a length of rope and left to kick and flail as they slowly strangled to death. The bodies were left hanging all that day and into the next before the Captain of Dad’s unit ordered them cut down and buried. The towns people wouldn’t allow them to be buried in the local cemetery, so the bodies of these eight turncoats were buried outside the town in an unmarked grave.
At the end of the war in Europe, Dad’s unit was stationed in a village near Düsseldorf. It was May 7th - and they'd just gotten the news that Germany had surrendered. The war was over and the entire platoon was celebrating. They were getting some hot food that was set up on a big flatbed truck. The soldiers were eating, relaxing and just sitting around in the warm spring sunshine. The company captain , known as "the Old Man", was standing alongside the flatbed, talking with the First Sergeant. There were lots of kids around, begging the G.I.s for food - especially chocolate. Some were still dressed in the uniform of the Hitler Youth. They were kids of maybe 13 to 15 years old or so. One of these boys standing at the rear of the flatbed, pulled out a hand gun, took aim at the captain and shot him in the back. The captain crumpled, dead in a moment. The First Sergeant, seeing the kid with the weapon, grabbed, him, and disarmed him. He dragged the boy down through some brush along- side the road, and down an embankment. Dad said the Sergeant was like a crazy man- just in a rage - at seeing his captain, who had led his company through the war, shot dead, now that the war was over. Dad and the others heard a couple of shots ring out from beyond the brush, down the embankment. The First Sergeant came back alone. He picked up the handgun the boy had dropped, and hurled it out into the brush. Then he looked at the G.I.s and said something to the effect of "Anybody got a problem?" Nobody said a word. They carried the captain to the morgue. His war was over.
My Dad, Ray Dudones, was just 18 when he was drafted into the infantry in the summer of 1944. He was sent to the European theater with the 94th Division in January of '45, as a combat infantryman, carrying a B.A.R. His partner, and ammo carrier, "Pop" Hansen, was a rancher from Montana. Somehow "Pop" got drafted even though he was in his early 40s, thus earning him the nickname. I guess they made quite a pair, the farm kid from Wisconsin and the middle-aged Montana rancher, as they both managed to survive the war.
In February of '45, around Washington's Birthday, Dad and Pop were picked as part of a reconnaissance team that was to cross the Saar River and scout out the German positions, in preparation for the allies attack. The squad was led by a 2nd lieutenant, one of the "90 day wonders" fresh out of officer training school. There were about a dozen men in all, that cold, clear night, as they climbed into the boat, to row across the Rhine. There was some concern amongst the men because the moon was out and the German sentries might spot them crossing the river. The lieutenant ordered the mission to go ahead as planned, regardless of the conditions. They had almost reached the far shore when a German sentry spotted the recon team and opened fire. With bullets whizzing all around them, Dad and Pop, who were at the bow of the boat, jumped out, and into the knee-deep water. They ran for the nearest cover - a partially sunken river barge, maybe 50 yards upstream, grounded on the muddy bank. They reached the barge and took cover, crawling thru a hole in the side.
The Germans were still firing, but Dad & Pop now had another problem to deal with. The recon boat and the rest of the patrol were paddling like crazy back toward the American side of the river. After a bit the firing stopped, and the recon boat shrank to a small dark dot on the silvery river. Dad and Pop were stranded in enemy territory, and they had no idea how long it would be before the allies would make their attack.. Cold and wet, they settled in to wait for their comrades to join them.
After a sleepless night, morning dawned , and with it, German soldiers. They were all over the riverbank area, and Dad could hear them talking as they patrolled the embankment. They came within a few dozen feet of Dad's hiding place in the sunken barge, but never bothered to look inside. Pop and Dad managed to hide out in that barge under the very noses of the German army, for three and a half days, drinking river water and eating moldy raw potatoes which they found in the barge. Finally the attack came, and the allies crossed the Rhine. Dad and Pop were able to join up with a unit , but not the same one they started with. They never saw the 2nd lieutenant for the rest of the war. Dad heard that the lieutenant was awarded a Silver Star for his action in leading the recon patrol that February night.
Almost ten years later, Dad ran into the lieutenant in a tavern. He went up to him, asked if he remembered him. No, said the lieutenant, should I ? “You're damned right you should! I‘m one of the poor S.O.Bs you deserted and left to the Germans back on the Saar on that night recon patrol back in '45.” The lieutenant offered to buy Dad a drink, but Dad said no thanks, he had no stomach for it, turned his back and walked away. Dad did eventually get a Bronze Star for his actions – god knows, he deserved it.
Dad, with the 94th Division liberated a Concentration Camp In March of 1945 in the vicinity of Ludwigshafen, Germany. The camp had been abandoned by the Germans as the GIs got within a few days march. Around the camp there were these mounds covered with snow – they were piles of bones – human bones, now covered with the spring snow. Leading to the camp was a railway spur off the mainline. This was used to haul material and prisoners to the camp. About 300 yards down the mainline, there was a tunnel, but both ends were blocked by what looked like bombing damage or deliberate explosive. The smell coming through from the blocked tunnel reaked of death. The platoon was given the job of clearing the tunnel. Using a couple of front-end loaders they got one end opened up and took a look inside. It was horrifying – hundreds of bodies - men, women, kids, old people - all jumbled up in a tangle at the tunnel mouth. The bodies were partially submerged and decomposing. What had happened here?
Most of the local towns people professed to know nothing of the camp or what went on there, but Dad said you could smell the camp for miles – the smell of death. The Captain had one of the guys who spoke German question a local farmer.
“These people were prisoners at the camp – Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, other types too . As you Americans came close to this place, the Camp Kommandant had all the prisoners marched out of the camp and into this tunnel. They strung rolls of barbed wire across the openings to keep the people in – some were shot trying to get through the wire. Then the Germans blew up the holding dam that formed the lake just above the camp. The water from the lake pored down the hillside and began flooding the tunnel from the south end. Naturally, the people in the tunnel ran to the north end – where you GIs have opened it now. But the water came too fast and they couldn’t get beyond the wire. The few who did were machine-gunned by the Germans. The whole tunnel filled to the top with water until both entrances were overflowing. When the water finally stopped coming, the Germans used explosive charges to seal both openings to the tunnel. That was three- four days ago, before you GIs arrived. Much of the water has drained out of the tunnel now, so it is as you find it now.” .
Once the G.Is saw what had to be done they rounded up the local towns people and forced them to drag out the bodies from the tunnel. The stench was terrible. The bodies were decaying and the flesh would come off the bones like it was made of clay. Dad was one of the GIs who were to guard the site and make sure the towns people didn’t run off before the job was done. The bodies were loaded into front-end loaders and dumped into a long trench the bull dozers had carved out. Then the bodies were covered with lime and finally buried in this mass grave.
Later on as Dad’s outfit was making its way through Czechoslovakia, they came to a village near the town of Netolice. The local people welcomed the GIs with open arms, cheering and waving, girls running up and kissing and hugging the soldiers. The troops took a rest in the town and while they ate K-rations and sat around the town square, they heard a commotion off one of the small streets leading to the square. A large group of several hundred local people were dragging several men and women along to the center of the square. . One of the GIs from Chicago could speak Czech, and he asked an old man what was going on.
“These traitors worked with the Germans! The women give themselves to the Germans for money! Now they pay!” Several ropes were thrown over light posts and a large tree in the center of the square. Nooses were put around the necks of the four men and as many women. Then one by one they were hauled up by groups of men, until each was hanging from a pole or tree limb. This was not the hanging of the Western movies, with the oxbow noose and a slap on the backside of the horse to quickly bring justice to the condemned. No, the victims here were hoisted up by the neck with a length of rope and left to kick and flail as they slowly strangled to death. The bodies were left hanging all that day and into the next before the Captain of Dad’s unit ordered them cut down and buried. The towns people wouldn’t allow them to be buried in the local cemetery, so the bodies of these eight turncoats were buried outside the town in an unmarked grave.
At the end of the war in Europe, Dad’s unit was stationed in a village near Düsseldorf. It was May 7th - and they'd just gotten the news that Germany had surrendered. The war was over and the entire platoon was celebrating. They were getting some hot food that was set up on a big flatbed truck. The soldiers were eating, relaxing and just sitting around in the warm spring sunshine. The company captain , known as "the Old Man", was standing alongside the flatbed, talking with the First Sergeant. There were lots of kids around, begging the G.I.s for food - especially chocolate. Some were still dressed in the uniform of the Hitler Youth. They were kids of maybe 13 to 15 years old or so. One of these boys standing at the rear of the flatbed, pulled out a hand gun, took aim at the captain and shot him in the back. The captain crumpled, dead in a moment. The First Sergeant, seeing the kid with the weapon, grabbed, him, and disarmed him. He dragged the boy down through some brush along- side the road, and down an embankment. Dad said the Sergeant was like a crazy man- just in a rage - at seeing his captain, who had led his company through the war, shot dead, now that the war was over. Dad and the others heard a couple of shots ring out from beyond the brush, down the embankment. The First Sergeant came back alone. He picked up the handgun the boy had dropped, and hurled it out into the brush. Then he looked at the G.I.s and said something to the effect of "Anybody got a problem?" Nobody said a word. They carried the captain to the morgue. His war was over.
Last edited:
