WWII Diary of Chick Bruns – 70 Years Ago

We are moving today. They have the Jerries on the run again. I like to move every day, that way I know I am getting close to home. We are waiting to move now. We moved and got on the wrong road. Ran into a town that the infantry was just taking. Some day we are going get ourselves hurt. We then got back to our area and had no sooner pulled in when we started getting shelled. I would dig on my foxhole between shells. Boy was the shrapnel ever flying. We were shelled for about an hour. Things quieted down and we pitched our tent as it started to rain. We received some mail and papers. I read a letter and then wrote some letters. The long Tom’s are moving in as I guess they did get that gun that was shooting at us.

German Prisoners taken at the Volturno River

Things were very quit here today. They are still fighting up in the hills. Only a few shells came over and landed a long way off. I got out a few requisitions and that was about all. The British and Americans laid down a large barrage from about 7 to 8 PM tonight. We could see the shells bursting up on the hills and hear them whistle over our heads.

The ditch to take cover in

Boy what a night we spent, all night long the Jerries shelled us. We were about a mile and a half from the foot of the hills that the infantry were fighting in. we watched the tracer bullets fly all night. It sounds so funny to hear the German machine guns fire. They fire twice as fast as ours. This morning a large group of fighter planes came over. We counted 32 planes and thought they were ours. But soon they peeled of and came in to bomb and strafed. Wow! Did every thing shake. When the concussions shake your pant legs that’s close. We have a ditch to lay in so its pretty good. Joe Watters and I joked about it even though we both were scared to death. One plane was shot down and burst into flames. The rest of the day we spent in the ditch. The Jerries were sure trying to get us. Shrapnel went everywhere. They stopped shelling at about 3:30 PM. I washed my clothes, took a bath. My first in two weeks; and then wrote a few letters.

We moved the first thing this morning. We are crossing the Volturno river. It was some battle last night. “B” company put up the pontoon bridge we crossed and they lost 15 men in the engagement. We lost one and one fellow caught some shrapnel in the rear end. Planes came over and bombed and strafed this morning early. A “Cat” fell through the bridge so we had quite a wait to get over the bridge. Finally we crossed; Dead were laying all over. We just pulled into our bivouac when out of the clear sky came an 88 to greet us. We high tailed it to the other side of the road and waited to find out if we are going to stay here. We are so we pitched our tent and went to bed.

Well it started last night. I have never in my life heard anything like it. It was just one continuous roar that lasted from 7:30 PM until 1:30 AM. For about the first hour the Germans were throwing shells back at us, but it soon stopped. It was like a story book war. The company is still working, they worked all night. We are to tear down the camp and prepare to move. We moved at about 4 PM and arrived at our bivouac at 5:30 PM. We ate chow and went to bed. They are shelling the hills just in front of us. Every now and then a shell will come flying over.

I slept pretty good all night until about 4 AM this morning. Then the enemy artillery shells started landing in our area and going over the top of us. I just laid there, and sweated them out. Some fellows went to their fox holes. Most of the shells were aerial burst and a fox hole would do you no good. We worked around all day and in the afternoon we got ready to make the big push over the Volturno river. I am on guard; on the 2nd shift.

Well they shelled until about 12 o’clock and then quit. Lt. Makepeace was listed as missing in action today. He had been out with an infantry patrol 5 days ago and never came back. He was either killed or captured. Not much to do around here now all the roads are fixed up to the river and until we cross the river there is little to do. I wrote a few letters and then played cards. The artillery was still laying down a large barrage and enemy shells were lighting about 1/2 mile away.

We still haven’t crossed the river. The artillery has been firing all day. We still are eating “C” rations so we cook our own meals. Peppers and onions. Things begin to happen at about 7 PM. Our artillery opened up and so did the Jerries. To bad that we are in the middle. Some shells hit not far from us but they did light all around us. I slept right at the side of my fox hole.

Cooking Chow – Melguard, Badali, Welman, Sassin

It rained all night. The artillery shelled the hell out of the enemy all night but we made no advances. We got in a few clothes and issued them out till it started raining. We cooked us up some chow. Meat and bean, onions, garlic, peppers, and butter and cheese. It was really good. Tried to write a few letters and then went to bed.