The French people stood all along the roads, encouraging us with eggs, flowers, signs -- ''Welcome to our liberators,” and ''Vive 'Americans,” and with kisses on both cheeks.
All at once we were told to “dig in.” We had caught up with the fleeing enemy by going behind him into “no mans land.” There Germans were between the British and us. What I saw were Germans 4 or 5 abreast pulling, pushing, riding on cars, bicycles, and carts filled with spoils of war. They were an easy target, but some got away before the Generals could make up their minds to stop them!
If it sounds like I'm repeating, it is because that is the way it was the same old same old, but by now we are real close to Paris. In fact we are cleaning out Evreux, street by street, next on to a town called Gauciel, along the Carn & Paris Highway. We also cleared Hardencourt, Cocherel, Vaux-Sur-Eure, Jouy-Sur-Eure, Croisy-Eure,Fontaine-Sous, Jovy, St. Cequiline de Pacy, and it was here during a rain storm that I was taken in the jeep with Lt. Springfield of the anti-tank platoon to find a place to set up one of his guns near the Seine River .
We were going down a street next to the river and came upon a German 88 anti-tank gun and crew. They had just set up and were eating supper in a small park. We all were surprised to see each other up so close and I could see they had soup, and that we were too close. If the jeep had a 50 caliber in the back seat I would have not been so scared, but I grabbed the driver by the shoulder and said, “do not turn around, back up,” and he did for 3 blocks. We found a nice yard in front of a large Chateau next to the river for his gun. I sent my men up and found the carriage house with a bed upstairs with white sheets laid down soaking wet and fell to sleep. I never saw that Lt. again!
On the 26th we went into assembly area near Mantes Gasscourt. On the 27th on to Breual, and the 28th to Porcheuille. On trucks we passed Paineaux, Soindres Nonganville, and Mantes where we crossed the Seine River. We pushed the enemy back to Mevlan. With the 6th Parachute Division and the 18th GAF Division we cleared the towns of Jouy-Le-Moutier, Vincourt, Cheuerchement, Triel-Sur-Sane, Glatigny, Choisy, Maurecourt, Andresy, Beaulieu, Chanteloup-Les-Vignes, Pisifontaine, Tresiant, and Denoval. All these townes are on the North side of Paris and for 9 days I could see the Eiffel Tower. On the 30th we captured Condecort, Menucourt, and took 40 prisoners and by the 31st we had captured 24 towns like Champagme, Blaincourt les Perecy, and Le Columbier. All on foot, all 8 miles, and by the end of August captured 750 prisoners alive. I do not have a count of dead Germans!
