WEBVTT 1 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:16.879 Welcome to Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in 2 00:00:16.920 --> 00:00:21.000 this edition is Jack Moran, a US Army veteran of 3 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:24.719 World War II, serving with the eighty seventh Infantry Division 4 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:28.399 in the European Theater. He was cut off and surrounded 5 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:31.519 at the Battle of the Bulge for six days. He 6 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:35.479 also fought at the Sar Valley the Siegfried Line. An 7 00:00:35.560 --> 00:00:39.640 saw intense action while crossing the Rhine. We've spoken with 8 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:42.600 mister Moran before, but we sat down with him again 9 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:45.399 just a few weeks ago to discuss how he and 10 00:00:45.479 --> 00:00:50.240 his fellow infantrymen dealt with the immense firepower of German armor, 11 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:55.840 especially the deadly Tiger tanks, and we discussed how he 12 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:59.159 endured the brutally cold conditions at the Battle of the 13 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:04.640 Bulge and elsewhere. Jack Moran was born in Superior, Wisconsin, which, 14 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:07.359 as you could probably guess, is on the shore of 15 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:11.799 Lake Superior. Moran's father served in uniform during World War 16 00:01:11.879 --> 00:01:15.799 One but was never sent overseas. Moran enlisted in the 17 00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:20.480 US Army, thinking mostly about the educational opportunities it would 18 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:24.680 allow him to pursue, but that plan was quickly ruined 19 00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:28.760 by the military. Almost as soon as Jack Moran joined 20 00:01:28.799 --> 00:01:29.319 the service. 21 00:01:29.719 --> 00:01:32.840 The educational program they were projecting to go to the 22 00:01:33.159 --> 00:01:37.840 engineering school down at the University of Wisconsin. This sounded good, 23 00:01:37.879 --> 00:01:41.879 but that got canceled after about sixty days. There were 24 00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:45.680 universities all over the country that had the ESTP program, 25 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:48.680 and every single one got canceled, and all the people 26 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:51.680 in those programs all got put in the infantry. 27 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:53.560 Where did you do your training. 28 00:01:53.879 --> 00:01:59.000 Fourth Pende, Georgia and Columbia, South Carolina, Fort Jackson? 29 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:00.799 And what did they focus on there? 30 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:07.040 Just routine, routine infantry, nothing sensational, nothing new. 31 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:09.800 When did you get sent overseas well? 32 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:15.280 When we were to England and probably November October November of 33 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:16.520 nineteen forty three. 34 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:19.879 Now, from what I've read, pretty early on after you 35 00:02:20.120 --> 00:02:24.280 entered combat, you were taking on German eighty eighths and 36 00:02:24.439 --> 00:02:29.719 tiger tanks. Talk about how you attacked an enemy with 37 00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:30.840 that kind of equipment. 38 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:33.479 Well, the tiger tank was the greatest take in the 39 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:38.639 world at that time. It was probably impossible for any infantry. 40 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:42.199 You definite a zoo can get a side shot or 41 00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:45.439 back or we were end shot even slow one down. 42 00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:50.800 Fantastic piece of equipment. The eighty eighths were deadly. They 43 00:02:51.960 --> 00:02:55.800 we were going through open farm country, a dairy country, 44 00:02:56.759 --> 00:02:59.319 and so we could be seen from some distance, and they, 45 00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:03.680 the Germans, every day they picked us off with the 46 00:03:03.719 --> 00:03:07.280 eighty eighth. I wasn't in combat for fifteen seconds when 47 00:03:07.319 --> 00:03:09.759 the first eighty eight e floated about one hundred feet 48 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:11.560 of my right and three of our men were down, 49 00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:18.199 mounded or dead. It was quite an introduction to warfare. 50 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:19.360 Scared the hell out of me. 51 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:23.560 So how did you combat that? Could you get side 52 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:26.439 shots against the tanks? Could you figure out a way 53 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:28.319 to get around those ados? 54 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:32.919 Almost impossible? Almost impossible? Say, did infantry protecting the tanks 55 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:36.479 if they were stationary or fourth or fifty in commed 56 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:39.280 I saw one of our one o fives, which is 57 00:03:39.319 --> 00:03:42.719 a pretty good sized shell, explode on the hood of 58 00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:45.759 a tiger tank, and I thought to myself, see that's great, 59 00:03:45.800 --> 00:03:49.599 they knocked that guy out. Well, when the smoke and 60 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:52.120 the dust had cleared up, this tiger tank just backed 61 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:55.319 into the woods and took off. Because the hood of 62 00:03:55.400 --> 00:04:01.639 a tiger tank is four inches six solid steel. That's 63 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:04.240 what makes them weigh a ton. It's a very heavy tank, 64 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:08.879 very difficult to stop. Our Sherman tanks for no contests 65 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:13.639 could not fight a Sherman tank and a tiger coming 66 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:16.839 in at each shutter. When the tiger got about fifteen 67 00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:19.319 hundred feet from the Sherman, they could start firing. Against 68 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:22.720 eighty eight, the Sherman could not fire at the tiger 69 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:25.040 until they got within five hundred feet of the tiger. 70 00:04:25.399 --> 00:04:30.399 By that time the Sherman is in deep trouble. There 71 00:04:30.439 --> 00:04:33.000 was a saying in the in the tank order, there's 72 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:35.199 a saying, if you want us, if you're going after 73 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:38.519 a tiger, send four Shermans and hope to get one back. 74 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:41.079 A deadly, deadly combination. 75 00:04:41.399 --> 00:04:43.720 So how did you make progress against them? 76 00:04:44.199 --> 00:04:47.519 At first? We didn't make any progress against them. We 77 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:50.480 fire a big as heavy air chillern as we could 78 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:52.879 at them. Like I said, I saw one and get hit. 79 00:04:53.959 --> 00:04:58.240 The first month of combat, I never saw a disabled tiger. 80 00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:02.839 I never saw a tiger knocked out. And of course 81 00:05:02.839 --> 00:05:06.120 that's a little bit discouraging that if the enemy's got 82 00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:08.720 to got weapons, that you don't have better weapons. And 83 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:11.079 they had better tanks and we did. The eighty eight 84 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:16.399 was what's far superior to any field or Childing. We 85 00:05:16.439 --> 00:05:19.879 had you if you put an eighty eight in position 86 00:05:19.959 --> 00:05:24.160 on a battlefield, they could dominate that battlefield. It was accurate, 87 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:28.560 it was fast, and we had nothing to combat it 88 00:05:30.199 --> 00:05:33.519 except for the throwing one of fires at them. If 89 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:36.839 you if we could locate their battery, you know, or 90 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:40.000 they where they were located. Their machine guns was much 91 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:43.920 better than ours. It fired twelve hundred rounds a minute. 92 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:46.600 Every second, twenty bullets are coming out the end of 93 00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:50.720 that barrel. That's that's that fantastic rate of fire. Ours 94 00:05:50.759 --> 00:05:54.519 would fire about four hundred rounds a minute. I don't 95 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:57.879 remember the Air Corps being called to fight hit any 96 00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:02.000 of the tigers. Later, when we got into areas like 97 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:05.920 the Rhyine River the Battle of the Balls, there were 98 00:06:05.959 --> 00:06:09.720 no tanks involved because of the woods. The tiger tanks 99 00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:11.560 can't operate in the woods, so we didn't see any 100 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:14.319 tigers in in in the Battle of the Balls, and 101 00:06:14.600 --> 00:06:17.600 at the Rhine River was too hilly and the tiger 102 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:23.199 tanks couldn't operate in the hilly country. But in the 103 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:28.360 Star Valley the tigers were deadly and and hurt us badly. 104 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:33.079 And in the thick free line we had the tank 105 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:36.319 chassis was the ninety was the ninety millimeter gun on it. 106 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:40.360 We took took through the seventy five middle so we 107 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:44.160 had a chance to fight a tiger with with a 108 00:06:44.279 --> 00:06:47.800 ninety that that was more effective that that idiot was. 109 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:51.040 Was was was the course. It was a great weapon 110 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:53.480 on the battlefield. The tiger tank was a good only 111 00:06:53.920 --> 00:06:56.079 in the Shar Valley. As far as we were concerned, 112 00:06:57.199 --> 00:06:59.079 we were surrounded in the in the Battle of the 113 00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:02.439 Balls six days. That's that hurt us. We were out. 114 00:07:02.519 --> 00:07:06.800 We were just pinned down tight. We couldn't move. We 115 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:10.240 were in the Shar Valley when the when the balls 116 00:07:10.279 --> 00:07:12.480 broke through. The balls broke through on the sixteenth and 117 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:16.920 December about four thirty in the morning, and if youcame 118 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:21.360 very serious. I Bradley got in touch with with Patten 119 00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:24.800 and Montgomery said, tell us, I need some help up 120 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:28.439 and Belgium. I need some help here. What can you 121 00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:30.399 do for me? Patton said, I can be up there 122 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:34.199 in two days, and the English general said I can. 123 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:36.199 I can be up there in three days. So Bradley 124 00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:38.879 gave pattern the Java coming up and going up to 125 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:42.160 Belgium to help out. And I was involved in that 126 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:46.000 we were fighting in the Star Valley and that's where 127 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:49.319 we saw tanks involved. When we left the Shire Valley, 128 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:52.040 we were trucked up to Belgium and I never saw 129 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:53.800 another Tiger tank the rest of the war. 130 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:57.800 So you mentioned that the tiger tanks were primarily at 131 00:07:57.839 --> 00:08:01.160 the Sar Valley. What were they presenting you with at 132 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:03.439 the bulge? What weapons were you facing at the bulge 133 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:04.199 from the Germans? 134 00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:06.759 A lot of mortars. Well, we were surrounded, of course, 135 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:11.720 and we were we were not being aggressive and we 136 00:08:11.759 --> 00:08:16.279 didn't have any room for any tanks or any mount 137 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:19.720 of guns. So we were pinned down and the Germans 138 00:08:19.800 --> 00:08:23.040 just for days, they just lobbed mortars in us. You 139 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:26.160 could hear. We were about a mile west of bass 140 00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:32.159 Stone and our circle in which we were in was probably, 141 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:35.960 you know, two hundred feet long and one hundred and 142 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:40.240 fifty feet wide, and we had foxholes all around and 143 00:08:40.279 --> 00:08:43.840 the Germans would fire mortars at us, and you could 144 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:46.360 hear the motar going off. You could hear the ping 145 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:50.759 as it left the barrel of the mortar, but maybe 146 00:08:51.080 --> 00:08:53.679 half a mile away, a mile away. It took twenty 147 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:57.039 nine seconds for that shell to land on us. And 148 00:08:57.440 --> 00:08:59.320 when it got up to twenty seven or twenty eight. 149 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:02.639 We pulled your help, went down and get tapped down 150 00:09:02.679 --> 00:09:06.039 deep in the fox and hopeful they didn't didn't guess 151 00:09:06.039 --> 00:09:07.840 you if they hit the fossil, of course you're gonna 152 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:11.399 be you're gonna be dead. But partially they didn't hit 153 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:16.840 my fox. They hit hit some others. They they killed 154 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:21.000 some other people with the mortar. Siga Free Lion was 155 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:25.039 tank destroyers, a ninety elevator weapon on on a tank chassis. 156 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:27.320 That was good, that was efficient, but we know there 157 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:30.000 were no tiger tanks. That was very hilly country. But 158 00:09:30.039 --> 00:09:34.480 they were grateful for hitting these cement bunkers, the big 159 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:37.600 cement bunkers in the in the Seek Free Lin we 160 00:09:37.720 --> 00:09:40.320 get to the at the end, we get to the 161 00:09:40.360 --> 00:09:43.799 top of the hill through all these bunkers. One day 162 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:45.840 we get to the top of the hill and looking 163 00:09:45.879 --> 00:09:48.440 down into a valley, here's a little town called Armon 164 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:52.480 down at the bottom of this hill. And it happened. 165 00:09:52.519 --> 00:09:55.159 Did that want us going down this hill which is 166 00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:57.679 wide open, there's no trees, nothing hide behind it, and 167 00:09:58.039 --> 00:10:02.320 have the Germans have tanks or artillery in that town 168 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:05.720 and they could slaughter us. So he called for cores 169 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:11.600 artillery corner artillery. Each corps has several divisions under each 170 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:15.720 division has several artillery regiments underneath it. When you call 171 00:10:15.799 --> 00:10:18.840 for corn artillery, you're gonna call for every gun of 172 00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:22.360 these all these artillery regimens to fire, so that the 173 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:27.039 shells all arrive at the same time. So about a 174 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:29.679 minute after the captain gave the order for the core 175 00:10:29.799 --> 00:10:32.759 ar chillerry over the horizon, you can hear the rumbling 176 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:35.440 of the big guns back ten or twelve miles, big 177 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:39.639 big two forties. They throw a big battleship sized shell. 178 00:10:40.440 --> 00:10:43.919 Two forty rifles fire, then the two forty Hollisers fire 179 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:48.080 a little bit later than the one fifty five long rifles, 180 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:51.000 then the one fifty five Hollishers, then the one oh 181 00:10:51.159 --> 00:10:55.360 five long rifles, the one oh five Hollishers. All these 182 00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:57.039 shells are up in the air at one time. Right 183 00:10:57.039 --> 00:10:59.000 In fact, looking up, I can see the flickers they 184 00:10:59.159 --> 00:11:01.879 as they went over, and they all landed on a 185 00:11:01.960 --> 00:11:05.200 target at the same exact moment, almost to the same 186 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:08.360 exact second. Five hundred and forty shells exploded on that 187 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:12.919 town in one burst, and that town just erupted, and 188 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:16.120 every starting it was the greatest sight of my life. 189 00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:20.519 As soon as they smoke desks to start to settle, 190 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:24.600 we all were all racing down the hill. All about 191 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:27.039 seven or eighty of us was firing from the hips 192 00:11:27.080 --> 00:11:29.679 was our amb once and we had the tank destroyers 193 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:34.279 running along right beside us, firing their nineties into the tire. 194 00:11:34.120 --> 00:11:37.440 We ruined, We destroyed that talent. We knew that there'll 195 00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:40.120 be no resistance from the Germans. It was just absolutely 196 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:44.519 they'd be absolutely shocked. So we got down there. They left, 197 00:11:45.159 --> 00:11:48.879 taking their wounded with them, left their dead behind, and 198 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:53.960 just an amazing, amazing sight. I'll tell you one thing 199 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:59.120 about the tiger tank. I had documented report as we 200 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:02.279 indeed a plus nts plus three or four. We were 201 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:06.480 off the beach and inland, moving inland. Now the British 202 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:10.759 anchored one end of our advance line. It is a 203 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:15.799 British ar Chillery division, a whole division which consisted of 204 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:20.559 a lot of Cromwell tanks, shoop carriers and our support vehicles. 205 00:12:21.799 --> 00:12:26.519 So there's a tiger tank driver named Michael Whitman. Michael 206 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:30.799 spotted this British ar Chiller version division coming through the 207 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:35.679 woods and he tanked. He attacked them that afternoon, one 208 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:40.639 Tiger tank knocked out fifty four British tanks and tank 209 00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:44.879 carriers and vehicles, all kinds of He knocked out fifty four. 210 00:12:45.240 --> 00:12:50.480 He paralyzed that English our chillry division. They had to 211 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:54.159 stay there for weeks while England resupplied them with new 212 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:58.279 tanks and new new trucks, et cetera. Plus maybe one 213 00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:02.879 hundred and two hundred men to use that equipment. And 214 00:13:02.919 --> 00:13:06.480 they're all killed. So it was a real disaster for England. 215 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:10.080 But it demonstrated how accurate and how good this Tiger 216 00:13:10.120 --> 00:13:15.080 tank was, how dynamite it was. It's just very impressed. 217 00:13:16.200 --> 00:13:19.320 And I think I told you that the tank in 218 00:13:19.399 --> 00:13:24.279 the tank field, the tanker said, if I think going 219 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:27.679 out after a tiger, send four servants and hopefully get 220 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:30.399 one back. It was. It was dynamite. 221 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:32.399 So you talked about this a little bit when you 222 00:13:32.440 --> 00:13:36.960 talked about the simultaneous explosions throughout the town that was destroyed. 223 00:13:37.559 --> 00:13:42.120 But talk about the Allied weapons, the American tanks, artillery 224 00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:43.200 that was most of. 225 00:13:43.480 --> 00:13:46.240 Well, well, well that was the first Well that was 226 00:13:46.279 --> 00:13:48.399 a good example of our our chillry power to throw 227 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:50.840 five hundred shells in on one, not one. I mean, 228 00:13:50.840 --> 00:13:53.639 that's using a lot of tax fairs money, and and 229 00:13:53.639 --> 00:13:56.039 and but it did the job. Now we used we 230 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:58.159 were using the one of fires back in the Saar 231 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:02.399 Valley and uh, I can remember we attacked a hill 232 00:14:02.440 --> 00:14:06.279 three sixty one day and it was a bad, tough battle. 233 00:14:06.519 --> 00:14:08.720 In fact, we lost. I lost my four best friends 234 00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:11.840 in that battle. That afternoon and we got to the 235 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:13.639 top of the hill. There was there was a rock 236 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:17.960 pile up there, and the rock pile had been hollowed out, 237 00:14:18.840 --> 00:14:21.759 so so I jumped into this rock pile. Was one 238 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:25.320 of our guys. The Germans were only about fifty yards 239 00:14:25.320 --> 00:14:28.240 away from us in the woods. There were woods at 240 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:31.399 the top of hill three sixty. So we called in 241 00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:34.799 our artillery and and our one oh fives started coming 242 00:14:34.840 --> 00:14:37.440 in very close to us. They were landings right just 243 00:14:37.480 --> 00:14:40.039 in front of us to keep the Germans away from us. 244 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:46.919 But but but in the process they the kid who 245 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:49.919 was in the foxhol in the rock pile with me, 246 00:14:50.279 --> 00:14:54.639 he was he was bleeding bleeding blood. This this the 247 00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:58.759 concussion and shock was so great. So that was that 248 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:02.759 was good protection. I appreciated that. And they did some 249 00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:07.440 counter counter battery stuff. The Germans from several positions were 250 00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:15.440 firing at so are our chillery people somehow could determine 251 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:19.720 where that where that battery is located and they could 252 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:23.080 fire into it and hopefully destroy it. We used no 253 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:28.039 artillery in the bulls at all. We didn't of course, 254 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:30.879 we were pinned down for a couple of weeks. On 255 00:15:30.919 --> 00:15:35.159 the Rhine River. We used We also did not use 256 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:39.639 any artillery on the Rhyan River. Some are chillery. Some 257 00:15:41.320 --> 00:15:44.279 artillery have been thrown from our side of the Rhyane 258 00:15:44.360 --> 00:15:50.679 River over into into the east banks. Uh, but that 259 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:56.240 was just random shooting. They were not supporting us in 260 00:15:57.120 --> 00:16:02.480 the field at all. But our chillar it was good. 261 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:08.720 It was good and help when and when we needed it. 262 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:10.120 We used more. 263 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:13.039 As of course, what did you have on you? I? 264 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:16.279 I used an M one, As I told you, it's 265 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:20.159 a wonderful rifle. Wonderful rifle. I didn't like the BA 266 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:22.840 r is too heavy, It wasn't any more effective than 267 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:23.440 an M one. 268 00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:25.159 Why did you love the M one? 269 00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:27.360 It was the best rifle in the world at that time. 270 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:30.279 Of course it because it because you can fire so 271 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:33.519 fast and just reloaded in two or three seconds. Bang 272 00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:37.159 bang bang fire you can fire. We crossed the Rhine 273 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:40.519 River one one night, very very bad battle. We lost 274 00:16:40.559 --> 00:16:41.960 a lot of the men out in the in the water. 275 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:46.159 About seventy of us survived. A one hundred and forty 276 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:48.879 left in little tiny wooden boats. About seventy of us 277 00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:53.320 made at theater side. And we're we're advancing inland and 278 00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:55.799 we're we're walking in the dark, middle of the night, 279 00:16:55.879 --> 00:16:59.120 twelve o twelve thirty at night, and we're firing from 280 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:02.039 the hip with our M the fire right rounds stick 281 00:17:02.039 --> 00:17:05.279 a new one in fire right rounds. Seventy of us. 282 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:08.160 US were throwing a tremendous amount of lead into the dark. 283 00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:13.480 Wish I and we captured some Germans. And one of them, nicknames, said, 284 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:16.279 you guys made so much noise last night. I thought 285 00:17:16.279 --> 00:17:18.440 there were at least seven hundred of you, and there 286 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:22.400 were just seventy of us. But that was the greater 287 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:26.839 belieability of the M one beautiful weapon. I wish I'd 288 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:28.720 taken one hole as when I left. 289 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:32.680 That's Jack Moran, a US Army veteran of World War 290 00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:37.119 II serving in the eighty seventh Infantry Division. In just 291 00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:40.440 a moment, Moran tells us about the intensity of German 292 00:17:40.519 --> 00:17:44.160 snipers and how he and his fellow soldiers tried to 293 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:47.319 cross the Rhine. And then he takes us into the 294 00:17:47.359 --> 00:17:50.960 inhuman conditions that he and his platoon faced for six 295 00:17:51.079 --> 00:17:55.319 days surrounded by the Germans and cut off from resupply 296 00:17:55.599 --> 00:17:59.440 at the Battle of the Bulge, in brutally cold conditions. 297 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:04.480 That's all. Next, I'm Greg Corumbus and this is Veterans 298 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:07.279 Chronicles sixty Seconds of Service. 299 00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:10.519 This sixty seconds of Service is presented by T Mobile. 300 00:18:10.759 --> 00:18:13.720 T Mobile offers exclusive discounts for a veteran and military 301 00:18:13.759 --> 00:18:17.240 families and are proud supporters of the National Defense Network. 302 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:20.559 Visit tmobile dot com slash military to learn more about 303 00:18:20.599 --> 00:18:24.240 how they support our military community. The Knoxville, Tennessee Community 304 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:28.319 Development Corporation opened its first housing site specifically for veterans, 305 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:30.839 providing a lifeline to those who are homeless or at 306 00:18:30.920 --> 00:18:34.680 risk of becoming homeless. Liberty Place has thirty two furnished units, 307 00:18:34.680 --> 00:18:37.880 half of which are fully ada accessible. The US Department 308 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:40.039 of Veterans Affairs will have an on site office to 309 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:43.599 offer case management services to residents that include coordination of 310 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:47.240 medical services and community resources. It gives them the ability 311 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:49.480 to live a dignified life where they can make choices, 312 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:53.279 live independently, and have a home for themselves. Today's sixty 313 00:18:53.319 --> 00:18:56.440 seconds of Service is brought to you by Prevagen. Prevagen 314 00:18:56.519 --> 00:18:59.720 is the number one pharmacist recommended memory support brand. You 315 00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:03.279 can find Prevagent and the Vitamin Aisle in stores everywhere. 316 00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:07.839 This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in 317 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:11.720 this edition is Jack Moran, a US Army veteran of 318 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:15.400 World War II. He served in the European Theater and 319 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:18.720 saw action at the Battle of the Bulge, the Tsar Valley, 320 00:19:19.240 --> 00:19:23.599 the Sigfried Line, and crossing the Rhine, among other locations 321 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:26.720 in Europe. We'll take a closer look at Moran's service 322 00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:28.960 at the Battle of the Bulge in just a moment, 323 00:19:29.799 --> 00:19:32.839 but he also gave us some insight into the difficulty 324 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:36.359 in crossing the Rhine in the spring of nineteen forty five. 325 00:19:37.079 --> 00:19:41.240 He says, deadly German snipers made any movement in the 326 00:19:41.240 --> 00:19:43.920 towns near the Rhine almost impossible. 327 00:19:44.119 --> 00:19:46.920 You couldn't run across the street from one building to another. 328 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:54.000 You were engagered one of our own tennis running, you know, listen, 329 00:19:54.279 --> 00:19:58.680 even shorter distancing from here that wall running. He started 330 00:19:58.680 --> 00:20:02.119 to run. Sniper from six hundred yards away hit him 331 00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:04.680 behind the air the bullet. The bullet came out here. 332 00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:09.000 That sniper had to be laying on a firing platform 333 00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:12.599 with his eye to the telescope and his finger on 334 00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:16.079 the trigger and just moving his scope looking for somebody 335 00:20:16.119 --> 00:20:19.200 to do something over there. He couldn't do it any 336 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:23.880 other way. Another kid found a motorcycle. We had plenty 337 00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:26.599 of gasolines, so we got the motorcycle going. And he's 338 00:20:26.720 --> 00:20:29.880 in the back of a town called Meersbay. The town's 339 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:32.200 at about two hundred and fifty yards wide, the river's 340 00:20:32.200 --> 00:20:34.920 two hundred and fifty yards. Then you got another X 341 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:38.279 number of yards to the right from the shooter. This 342 00:20:38.359 --> 00:20:41.839 kid was riding along on the bicycle doing about twenty 343 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:45.039 miles an hour, and this sniper knocked him off the bicycle. 344 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:46.960 I did a lot of honey. I could ever shoot 345 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:50.000 that well. A couple other guys got killed by on 346 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:52.319 the river, and of course on the river itself, we 347 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:56.279 lost tons of guys. I had bullets go through my 348 00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:59.160 pants and another bullets skin me here and killed the 349 00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:03.279 kid behind it. I was number one man in the 350 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:07.960 voat My assistant was number two, number three, four, five, six, seven, eight. 351 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:13.000 Just before we left the West Bank, the captain came 352 00:21:13.079 --> 00:21:15.200 up and he said, Jack, I want I want to 353 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:17.119 radio in your boat, so give me one of your men. 354 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:20.440 So I took this number three men, gave him to 355 00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:23.799 the captain. He gave me a guy from another voat 356 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:26.920 ten fifteen seconds later. That kid is dead behind me. 357 00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:29.519 The bullet just skinned me and you nailed him in 358 00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:32.480 the heart. That's there's so much luck. There's luck and war, 359 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:36.359 good luck and bad luck. It was that kid's bad luck, 360 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:38.319 and it was good luck for that kid that the 361 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:40.480 captain took. Wasn't because he survived that night. 362 00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:42.359 Well, let me take you back to the bulge for 363 00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:45.680 a couple of reasons. First of all, I'm amazed at 364 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:49.839 how small the area was when you were surrounding. 365 00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:55.519 Yeah, there always had thirty five foxhols. You could wasn't 366 00:21:55.559 --> 00:21:58.000 a much choice. The Germans attacked us one we were 367 00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:01.599 in the woods. They attacked our little of our group. 368 00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:04.079 We were going through the woods, so we knew we 369 00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:06.880 were pinned down. So that's a pretty good, pretty good 370 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:09.640 piece of real estate. One fifty by two or two 371 00:22:09.640 --> 00:22:12.799 fifty's that's a pretty good fiece of real estate. And 372 00:22:13.160 --> 00:22:17.519 to have thirty five foxhold, one foxhold every seven or 373 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:21.599 eight yards or six or seven yards. We couldn't have 374 00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:23.440 two spread up. We had to have some of them, 375 00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:25.920 you know, kind of bunch up a little bit in 376 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:28.079 case that there's a sack from that area. We had 377 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:32.319 to have enough firepower to throw at them. So they worked, 378 00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:35.440 it worked out. We finally finally got out of there. 379 00:22:35.559 --> 00:22:38.000 How did you push him back? How did you stop 380 00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:39.400 them from overrunning you? 381 00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:43.319 Just by killing them? They would they would send patrols in. 382 00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:46.240 We would kill them. We could see them in the woods. 383 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:50.440 We were down on the ground so were they couldn't shoot, 384 00:22:50.440 --> 00:22:52.599 They couldn't hardly hit us. And we're banging away with 385 00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:54.720 them and knocking them down. 386 00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:56.359 Were you getting resupplied? 387 00:22:56.799 --> 00:22:59.599 We got nothing for the first three days we had. 388 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:02.119 You have to have water and rest. You don't need 389 00:23:02.359 --> 00:23:05.559 you don't need food. Food is not as essential as 390 00:23:05.640 --> 00:23:11.160 water and rest, and so we had. The snow was 391 00:23:11.160 --> 00:23:16.000 our water and the rest. You try to get some rest, 392 00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:20.519 but at night time it's dark from seven three m 393 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:23.119 till seven am the next day. So you got you 394 00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:26.640 got twelve hours of darkness, and so you and your 395 00:23:26.680 --> 00:23:30.920 partner to each stake. You take two hours on your 396 00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:33.559 two hours off, two hours on, two hours off. You 397 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:36.599 lay in the bottom of the foxhole and try to 398 00:23:36.599 --> 00:23:43.359 get some rest. But you're exhausted, you're hungry, you're tired. 399 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:45.640 So you lay down to the bottom of the fossil 400 00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:47.480 and try to go to sleep and FI. You're laying 401 00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:51.519