Speaker 1: Welcome to Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in
Speaker 1: this edition is Ernie Moger. He is a US Army
Speaker 1: veteran of World War Two. He served with the seventy
Speaker 1: sixth Infantry Division in early nineteen forty five as it
Speaker 1: crossed the Siegfried Line. He was wounded and evacuated just
Speaker 1: before his unit across the Rhine River. Mister Moger, thank
Speaker 1: you so much for being with us.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 1: Where were you born and raised, Sir?
Speaker 2: I was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. I was
Speaker 2: born at Shant Peters Hospital.
Speaker 1: And was there a history of military service in your
Speaker 1: family before you served?
Speaker 2: No, I was the youngest one in the family. Oh yes,
Speaker 2: I apologize. My brother Bill was a United States Navy
Speaker 2: He was much older than I was. I was the
Speaker 2: baby of the family.
Speaker 1: How did you hear about the news of the Japanese
Speaker 1: attack at Pearl Harbor?
Speaker 2: I I I was at home. We had the regio
Speaker 2: on and it was December seventh, nineteen forty one, that
Speaker 2: Japan bombed the United States. And shortly after that President
Speaker 2: Roosevelt said, we are at war. I remember that, and
Speaker 2: he said to the news media that we are at
Speaker 2: war the United States of America, and that's when it's
Speaker 2: all the services contributed to to men for Army, Navy, Marines,
Speaker 2: in the Air Corps.
Speaker 1: Now, you were drafted right after you finished high school
Speaker 1: nineteen forty four. Were you expecting that to happen? Not?
Speaker 2: Really. I thought the war would be over, and before
Speaker 2: I knew it, the war, the World's War two continued,
Speaker 2: and before I knew that I was drafted into the service.
Speaker 2: I wanted the Navy, but I couldn't get the name
Speaker 2: because when I took my examination for the Army, they
Speaker 2: found out that I was colored blind, and the Navy
Speaker 2: did not take a colorflying person. So I said to them,
Speaker 2: what do you mean? And I said what's left? And
Speaker 2: I said the Marines. No, I don't want the Marines.
Speaker 2: The Navy. Of course, I couldn't qualify for it. So
Speaker 2: after going through the sermies, they said to me, all right,
Speaker 2: they gave me a statement, they said United States Army.
Speaker 2: I didn't watch the Army because my brother was in
Speaker 2: the Navy, but I had no choice and I went
Speaker 2: into the Army in nineteen forty four.
Speaker 1: I guess how soon were you off to training. After
Speaker 1: you were drafted, I wound.
Speaker 2: Up in Camp Dix, New Jersey. Right after that, I
Speaker 2: wound up in Wisconsin with the seventy sixth Division. I
Speaker 2: stayed with them until we shipped out from Boston. We
Speaker 2: shipped up from Boston and I went over to England
Speaker 2: and I was stationed in England for a while, and
Speaker 2: shortly after that I was in combat.
Speaker 1: What do you remember most about training vigorous.
Speaker 2: When I was giving the M one rifle for the
Speaker 2: first time, I said, oh my god, this is heavy.
Speaker 2: And we went through basic training and before you know it,
Speaker 2: you become acclimated to the weapon, and after a while
Speaker 2: it didn't feel that heavy anymore. But in basic training
Speaker 2: we had field courses to go through under Bah Barr
Speaker 2: who used to climb under bab Bar. This was a
Speaker 2: face of the army had built you up so that
Speaker 2: you were ready for combat. Although if they didn't build
Speaker 2: us up, we would have had a problem.
Speaker 1: Now you mentioned that you left Boston, got to England,
Speaker 1: spent time there. Once you got to Europe, after you
Speaker 1: had spent all this time getting used to the M one,
Speaker 1: they changed on you. Gave you the Browning automatic rifle.
Speaker 1: The bar that is correct.
Speaker 2: I couldn't believe it because when they handed me the
Speaker 2: bar for the first time, I said, oh my god.
Speaker 2: I said, I'm not gonna be able to fight with
Speaker 2: that weapon. But let me tell you, I loved it.
Speaker 2: It loved me and I loved it. And after a
Speaker 2: while it didn't feel like a var automatic. That's what
Speaker 2: I liked. THEB one rifle was somewhat automatic, but you
Speaker 2: had to pull a trigger each time. With the bar
Speaker 2: held twenty rounds in the magazine, you put that on
Speaker 2: the bottom, you pull the trigger, and if you hold it,
Speaker 2: twenty rounds went right off. I loved the weapon.
Speaker 1: How long did it take you to get used to it?
Speaker 2: Not long? Oh, I'd say a couple of weeks old.
Speaker 2: Another thing too, if when you had your weapon, I
Speaker 2: remember this and basic treating. If you dropped your weapon,
Speaker 2: that was perishable because that was to save my life.
Speaker 2: And if anyone dropped their weapon, they had to sleep
Speaker 2: with it. Now, if I had dropped that bar, I
Speaker 2: would sleep with that weton for maybe several days as
Speaker 2: punishment for dropping my weapon. That was a no note,
Speaker 2: you don't drop your weapon.
Speaker 1: You mentioned that you thought the M one was heavy.
Speaker 1: How heavy was the bar.
Speaker 2: Voice is heavy. I trained with it, I learned it,
Speaker 2: and it was my baby. Of course, when I went
Speaker 2: into combat with that, it was that weapon that could
Speaker 2: save my life.
Speaker 1: So on your very first day in combat, you crossed
Speaker 1: the Sour River. What was happening that day? Explain how
Speaker 1: you were able to do that?
Speaker 2: Well, we had to wait for flat bottom boats and
Speaker 2: a flat bottom boat. There were ten of us in
Speaker 2: each boat to cross the Saur River. We were under gunfire,
Speaker 2: under artillery fire, and I remember I got into the
Speaker 2: boat and what we had to do was paddle across. Well,
Speaker 2: I used the butt. We all the tenement used the
Speaker 2: butt of our rifle for oars, and that's how we
Speaker 2: got across. And there was a butty of mine, Joey Goulo.
Speaker 2: We were buddies together. Joey was in a different boat
Speaker 2: than I, a flat bottom boat. Joey never made it
Speaker 2: across first day of combat. He was killed the first
Speaker 2: day in combat. His boat was hit by artillery. The
Speaker 2: boat went down, and I think most of them went
Speaker 2: down with it. We were both nineteen years old at
Speaker 2: the time. At times, I've saying to myself, what am
Speaker 2: I doing here? I didn't get killed. Well, I didn't
Speaker 2: need kills. I was wounded. I survived, and I was
Speaker 2: wounded the lucky ones. And here I am ninety eight
Speaker 2: years later. Remember what had happened to me? I lived
Speaker 2: through the whole thing.
Speaker 1: How many men were on these flat bottomed boats.
Speaker 2: About ten minute in each boat?
Speaker 1: And how heavy was the German resistance?
Speaker 2: Very heavy? I don't know how many number of boats
Speaker 2: got hit? Was either rifle fire or was artillery? Like
Speaker 2: I said, I was lucky. I made it across. In fact,
Speaker 2: when I crossed the Rhine River, I crossed that like
Speaker 2: point A, and before I reached the other side, point
Speaker 2: B could have been half a mile downstream, because I
Speaker 2: remember the Rhine River was very not only wavy, the
Speaker 2: current was very movable. So if you got in a
Speaker 2: point A, you want to down point B, if you
Speaker 2: made it.
Speaker 1: Across, How would you describe the sound of that? When
Speaker 1: the Germans are shooting artillery and rifle shots? What does
Speaker 1: it sound like? What does it smell like? And how
Speaker 1: do you endure that?
Speaker 2: It sounded like you were gonna get hit. Boats around
Speaker 2: me got hit. I was lucky. Did I pray going across?
Speaker 2: I certainly did I think I asked God. I said, God,
Speaker 2: spare me, and I made it across. The other boats
Speaker 2: I can remember went down. Uh it was very frightening.
Speaker 2: I was only nineteen years old. Uh, I knew of combat,
Speaker 2: what combat was like. I knew you could get killed
Speaker 2: in combat. And I said to myself, I again I prayed,
Speaker 2: and I said, Lord, spare me. He did. I finally
Speaker 2: made it across and continue to fight in Thord in
Speaker 2: the war.
Speaker 1: How serious were the casualties over all that day?
Speaker 2: Far as I can remember, it was severe. I think
Speaker 2: it was our whole division cross and the division consisted
Speaker 2: up as I remember, at least four platoons, and each
Speaker 2: pla had four squads, and each squad had ten men.
Speaker 2: So if you want to do the math, you can
Speaker 2: do the math.
Speaker 1: Now. You said you were using your rifle as an oar. Yes,
Speaker 1: So did you have any way of defending yourself?
Speaker 2: Well, I had my rifle, that was all.
Speaker 1: So shooting sometimes and using as a paddle at others.
Speaker 2: Well, we couldn't shoot because we couldn't see the enemy.
Speaker 2: A lot of it was artillery and gunfire. The enemy
Speaker 2: was there, we couldn't see it before we got hit.
Speaker 2: I was lucky. We had on a steel helmet, we
Speaker 2: had on a shoulder gear, shoulder pack, we had her
Speaker 2: combat boos, we had her rifle. And if the boat
Speaker 2: got hit, if you were not aware of what was
Speaker 2: going on and held on to the helmet and everything,
Speaker 2: you would drowned. So if the boat got hit, we
Speaker 2: would throw off our helmet. We dropped our gun to
Speaker 2: save our lives if you him. And that's how a
Speaker 2: lot of us got across. We got across with no ammunition,
Speaker 2: with no rifle, with no steel helmet, because the weight
Speaker 2: of all that equipment just pulled you right down.
Speaker 1: So describe what it was like then to get to shore.
Speaker 2: I couldn't swim, However, I was lucky my boat didn't
Speaker 2: get hit. Oh, there were two friends of mine. Harry
Speaker 2: Gody was my buddy, and from what I remember Harry
Speaker 2: told me, I think I saw the action at the time.
Speaker 2: Harry got across and there was a GI was foundering
Speaker 2: in the water. He needed help, and he jumped in
Speaker 2: the water, swam out to the GI, pulled them ashore
Speaker 2: and saved his life. And he got an award for
Speaker 2: saving the life.
Speaker 1: That was Harry Gody was combat. What you expected it
Speaker 1: to be like No, it.
Speaker 2: Was scary as healthia. It was a nineteen year old
Speaker 2: pin and I'm there. And one of the things I
Speaker 2: always said to myself, hurry, you can be killed. I've
Speaker 2: thought of that often.
Speaker 1: That's Ernie Moger, a US Army veteran of World War II.
Speaker 1: He served in the seventy sixth Infantry Division. Survived the
Speaker 1: harrowing crossing of the Tsar River, but was wounded three
Speaker 1: months later, just before the US crossed the Rhine River.
Speaker 1: Still to come, mister Moger's emotional return to where he
Speaker 1: fought nearly eighty years ago, and he'll tell us about
Speaker 1: three straight months of combat. But up next he tells
Speaker 1: us about the day he was wounded and his days
Speaker 1: of combat came to a close. I'm Greg Corumbus and
Speaker 1: this is Veterans' Chronicles sixty seconds of Service.
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Speaker 1: This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in
Speaker 1: this edition is Ernie Moeger. He is a US Army
Speaker 1: veteran of World War Two and a recipient of the
Speaker 1: Purple Heart. Still to come. In this edition, mister Moger
Speaker 1: will share the details of his very meaningful return to
Speaker 1: where he fought and bled during the war. But right now,
Speaker 1: he explains what was the most effective way to fight
Speaker 1: against the Nazis. Where the US went after crossing the
Speaker 1: Tsar River and how he was wounded.
Speaker 2: One of the most effective ways for safety safes hit
Speaker 2: the ground. I remember we used to take the butter
Speaker 2: of our rifle and the way you hit the grounds,
Speaker 2: you go down and used the butter of your rifle
Speaker 2: to break the fall for you going down on your knees.
Speaker 2: And it was amazing that how they trained us that
Speaker 2: when you went down and hit that ground, the rifle
Speaker 2: order my went this way. You were in a prone
Speaker 2: position and you were ready to fire. And I did
Speaker 2: that several times. I remember both went over my head.
Speaker 2: I stayed down.
Speaker 1: It was scary, believe me, it was scar so after
Speaker 1: you crossed the Sour, Yes, what came next.
Speaker 2: Well, after the Sour we moved. We kept on moving
Speaker 2: through different towns. Several of the towns that I went through,
Speaker 2: the army had already gone through and I came after them,
Speaker 2: and the army leveled the town to the extent that
Speaker 2: we could march through. We went through many, many towns,
Speaker 2: many towns that way, so that we could advance rapidly,
Speaker 2: which we did. And then we had we had these
Speaker 2: bridges that we had to cross, and they were bridges
Speaker 2: that were destroyed by the enemy, so Army gen engineers
Speaker 2: came along and built upon tomb bridges so that we
Speaker 2: could cross. Otherwise, the Germans destroyed all the other bridges,
Speaker 2: and that's how we got across the bridges to different towns.
Speaker 2: I remember when we went through a different town there
Speaker 2: were Germans in the town and we would go into
Speaker 2: the buildings looking for Germans to either take the imprisoner
Speaker 2: or whatever.
Speaker 1: So how long was it between when you crossed the
Speaker 1: Sour River to the day you were wounded?
Speaker 2: Around three months? I was in combat three months. We
Speaker 2: were billeted in this building on the Rhine River. We
Speaker 2: were getting ready to cross the Rhine River and I
Speaker 2: was builded in that building and Harry Goldie was on
Speaker 2: guard duty. It was my buddy again, and I went
Speaker 2: out to relieve him from guard duty. So Harry and
Speaker 2: I are talking, and before you note there was a
Speaker 2: well that was the bullets that hit me. There was
Speaker 2: a castle on the Rhine. I remembered as we crossed
Speaker 2: or not, I didn't cross, I never might died across.
Speaker 2: There was a castle on that river, and I'm sure
Speaker 2: that the sniper was in that castle. The castle would
Speaker 2: right here and I was right here upper mountain, and
Speaker 2: I'm sure he fired up the mountain and he got
Speaker 2: Harry in the leg. And I was standing behind Harry,
Speaker 2: and the trajectory of the bullet was upward, and I
Speaker 2: went through a care for his leg into my groin.
Speaker 2: I went down. My steel helmet flew off. I dropped
Speaker 2: my rifle. It was ironic that immediately I was not
Speaker 2: in tained my body went numb. I knew I was hit.
Speaker 2: I wasn't sure where I was at. And that numbers
Speaker 2: state for quite a while. Had that bullet moved an
Speaker 2: inch or so away, if the sniper had that, there's
Speaker 2: a federal artery in your body. And I think that
Speaker 2: bullet missed it by about a half inch. Had it
Speaker 2: hit that federal artery, I wouldn't be here talking to you.
Speaker 2: I would have died out of bled out right down
Speaker 2: in the air. I didn't. They called for medic. The
Speaker 2: medics came. It took a while. They came down the
Speaker 2: hill to that building. I was leaning I U on
Speaker 2: the Florida building. They picked me up, put me on
Speaker 2: a stretcher. They took me up to the battalion aige
Speaker 2: station where the doctor examined me, and he said, ooh,
Speaker 2: you're unlucky GI. And that's when he explained to me
Speaker 2: how close I was to death at that instant when
Speaker 2: I bullet hit me. Then they took me from there
Speaker 2: to uh another station where they addressed my wound, took
Speaker 2: X rays and everything else and confirmed where the bullet
Speaker 2: hit me. They addressed my wound and all and from
Speaker 2: there I went to a hospital in France and I
Speaker 2: was there for a while. Then after that I came home.
Speaker 2: The the war was over for me, I.
Speaker 1: Said, I so thankfully it missed your femeral artery. How
Speaker 1: serious was the injury though.
Speaker 2: Very sis. I was rehabilitated for quite a while. I
Speaker 2: remember I couldn't get up the walk for quite a while.
Speaker 2: I always laid in a position that was the least
Speaker 2: amount of injury to me that I was a little
Speaker 2: bit comfortable with. I couldn't straighten out my leg for
Speaker 2: a while. And once I was able to straighten out
Speaker 2: my leg, I think about six weeks or two months later,
Speaker 2: I can straighten out my left leg. I was a
Speaker 2: little bit better. I finally got up. I think it
Speaker 2: was about a month before I could get up out
Speaker 2: of the bed where I was wounded. After I got
Speaker 2: up and I could walk a little bit, I think
Speaker 2: I was close on my way home.
Speaker 1: That's Ernie Muger, a US Army veteran of World War
Speaker 1: Two who fought with the seventy sixth Infantry Division in
Speaker 1: France and Germany. Still to come. In our conversation, mister
Speaker 1: Moger reflects on his service and sacrifice. He also tells
Speaker 1: us about his powerful trip back to where he fought
Speaker 1: during the war, finding the grave of his dear friend
Speaker 1: in what he said while standing there. But up next
Speaker 1: we'll hear more of Moger's story of service and his
Speaker 1: other combat experiences fighting town to town against the Nazis.
Speaker 1: I'm Greg Corumbus, and this is Veterans' Chronicles. This is
Speaker 1: Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in this edition
Speaker 1: is Ernie Moger. He's a US Army veteran of World
Speaker 1: War II, fighting in the seventy sixth Infantry Division from
Speaker 1: the crossing of the Tsar River until he was wounded
Speaker 1: just before he was about to cross the Rhine River
Speaker 1: in nineteen forty five. In just a moment, mister Moger
Speaker 1: takes us along as he revisits the places he fought
Speaker 1: and finds the grave of a close friend who never
Speaker 1: made it home. But we pick up the story with
Speaker 1: Moger reflecting on the German sniper who wounded him and
Speaker 1: ended his time in war.
Speaker 2: The best of my knowledge, one shot. You were saying,
Speaker 2: one shot, one kill. Well, I kept saying, you shot me,
Speaker 2: but you didn't kill me.
Speaker 1: So it's not like there was consistent sniper fire happening.
Speaker 2: No, because there was a Germany in that castle, and
Speaker 2: I was building in this building with the rest of
Speaker 2: my squad and what have you. I went out to
Speaker 2: relieve Harry on guard duty and there was only one
Speaker 2: shot fire, So I was out of the war. Now,
Speaker 2: the rest of my outfit, I don't know how I'm
Speaker 2: pure it went to cross the Rhine River into Germany.
Speaker 2: I was not there because of my injury.
Speaker 1: Now, that narrow miss of the of the artery means
Speaker 1: you've had nearly eighty more years to live than if
Speaker 1: the bullet had been slightly different. Do you think about that,
Speaker 1: and if so, how do you think about that?
Speaker 2: I certainly do, and how do I think about that?
Speaker 2: The man upstairs, he governed he told me, hurry, I'm
Speaker 2: with you. If you need help, ask me, And boy
Speaker 2: did I ask him for help. You wouldn't believe it.
Speaker 2: And he helped me. He helped me to survive. He
Speaker 2: helped me to live to ninety eight years old, which
Speaker 2: I am now thanks to him. If he calls me
Speaker 2: today or tomorrow, what have you, I'm ready to go.
Speaker 2: Of course, I've lived my life and I feel that
Speaker 2: I was one of the fortunate ones to live all
Speaker 2: these years when I lost my buddies. On the first day.
Speaker 1: Of combat, Sir, you mentioned a moment ago that you
Speaker 1: fought in about three months straight, yes, before being wounded. Yes,
Speaker 1: between that crossing of the Sour River and the day
Speaker 1: that you were injured. Talk to me about the combat
Speaker 1: that you experienced in between. What was that like?
Speaker 2: Okay, several times we were under German fire and one
Speaker 2: thing that we learned in the army, and they taught us,
Speaker 2: if there's an enemy out there, like a sniper, what
Speaker 2: have you. My whole squad, in fact, the whole platoon
Speaker 2: would stand up and take their rifle and all we
Speaker 2: did we couldn't see the enemy, we would fire because
Speaker 2: we knew that the enemy was there and if the
Speaker 2: enemy was there, they would surely duck their heads. And
Speaker 2: we took a lot of prisoners that way. Because you
Speaker 2: figure out a line of men all firing at the
Speaker 2: same time, you're not gonna wanna stand up, cause you'd
Speaker 2: be dead. That was what what's called line of fire.
Speaker 2: And we did that several times. We went through farms
Speaker 2: where they had land mines. That was another thing we
Speaker 2: had to endure. Now, what we had to do with
Speaker 2: land mines, we were taught this. We would take our bayonet,
Speaker 2: get on her hands and knees and probe the ground,
Speaker 2: and all of a sudden you'd hit something. You say, oh, oh,
Speaker 2: sure enough, it was a landmine. Then we would go
Speaker 2: around it. But we would market so that the man
Speaker 2: behind me is coming up and you can see that
Speaker 2: market and say, oh, oh, there's a landmark there, and
Speaker 2: he'd do the same thing and go around it. However,
Speaker 2: when you're crawling or when you're walking and you don't
Speaker 2: see that landmine, and I've seen it happen, you step
Speaker 2: on it. The action of the landmine is going up
Speaker 2: as you're standing and walking over it. And a lot
Speaker 2: of men were killed that way. The burst of the
Speaker 2: landmine was upward, and just picture yourself walking along and
Speaker 2: all of a sudden the land mine goes off, and well,
Speaker 2: the best particle of your body was lost.
Speaker 1: And how frequent were those land mines?
Speaker 2: Quite frequently, especially in the beginning when we first went
Speaker 2: through Germany, well and actually in France, because I was
Speaker 2: in France and Germany quite frequently. But we learned what
Speaker 2: to do and if there was a way of avoiding it,
Speaker 2: would we would go around the landmine. I think those
Speaker 2: three incidents where we were told where the landlines were.
Speaker 2: The first time they didn't because we were experienced it
Speaker 2: by ourselves. Then after that they w w they we
Speaker 2: would mark the land mine. So whoever came behind us
Speaker 2: were free and they they they knew that the landlines
Speaker 2: were there, and they walked through cautiously and safely.
Speaker 1: Now as you went from town to town, were there
Speaker 1: were there separate battles at each town.
Speaker 2: Uh we had the sniper was the worst one. Then
Speaker 2: there was artillery. As I remember, most of the towns
Speaker 2: were under fire. But when we liberated the town, maybe
Speaker 2: a company before me liberated the town and it was safe.
Speaker 2: Then we walked through that town. But if the town
Speaker 2: was not liberated. We were ready for action because the
Speaker 2: enemy was in the buildings and we were outside in
Speaker 2: the field and we're advancing the town. They just could
Speaker 2: see us and shoot us and kill us. It was
Speaker 2: difficult for us to see the building and where they
Speaker 2: were at the window. So there was a lot of that.
Speaker 2: They had the advantage.
Speaker 1: They definitely had the advantage. So how did you counter that?
Speaker 1: How did you defeat them despite that advantage?
Speaker 2: Well, most of the times we'd go around the buildings.
Speaker 2: If there's enemy fire from a particular building, instead of
Speaker 2: advancing for it, we'd go around and infiltrate through either
Speaker 2: the side or go all the ways around the back.
Speaker 2: Otherwise you were a dead pigeon, believe me.
Speaker 1: And then did you have to confront them and climb
Speaker 1: stairs and that type of thing? Was it kind of
Speaker 1: around corners as you fought them.
Speaker 2: Well, I took many prisoners. Fortunately were a group together. Well,
Speaker 2: there were human beings, and if they felt that they
Speaker 2: were under the advantage, we would approach them and first thing,
Speaker 2: they dropped their rifle and threw their hands up, and
Speaker 2: that means surrender. I don't know how true this is,
Speaker 2: but I heard of stories they threw their hands up.
Speaker 2: But there were some gew eyes would not take them prisoner,
Speaker 2: and you know what would happen then? Oh, I took
Speaker 2: several prisoners. There was an incident where I was dug in.
Speaker 2: I had a foxhole and I heard this line with
Speaker 2: two There were two men talking and I was in
Speaker 2: a foxhole. We got many men in the foxhole and
Speaker 2: they're talking German. And I said to myself, oh, well,
Speaker 2: white man talking, So I said halt and I forget
Speaker 2: what the German word. World was?
Speaker 1: Well up?
Speaker 2: Want their arms? Believe me when I said ole, they
Speaker 2: just stopped in. They dropped their rifle rifles and we
Speaker 2: took them as po ws prisoners of war. And that
Speaker 2: was a happy day from me, rather than be getting
Speaker 2: shot of what have you?
Speaker 1: What did you do with them after you took them prisoner?
Speaker 2: After I took them prisoners, We took them down to
Speaker 2: I forget what depot. It was for t interrogation In
Speaker 2: other words, e w we W. I would turn them
Speaker 2: over to other GI's. Okay, there were per POW's and
Speaker 2: they w W. They was questioning him to get all
Speaker 2: the information that they can. Where did they come from?
Speaker 2: Did they come from a German army or platoon or
Speaker 2: what have you? Where's the enemy? Uh, that was very
Speaker 2: helpful because they were afraid and they would do all
Speaker 2: the information that will be w We were two scouts
Speaker 2: of what have you? And behind us was my platoon,
Speaker 2: my German place. So we got the scouts. Now, when
Speaker 2: you get the scouts, they're in front of the platoon
Speaker 2: of what have you? You get those scouts and get
Speaker 2: him out of the way before the soldiers behind them
Speaker 2: get to know that their outfits was behind them. And
Speaker 2: what you do is get the two gis out of
Speaker 2: the way, try to make it as quiet as let
Speaker 2: the outs, the German offit move up. Then we will
Speaker 2: take them prisoners. Of course they didn't know we're there.
Speaker 1: That's fascinating, absolutely fascinating. How did your friend do, the
Speaker 1: one that you were relieving on guard duty who was
Speaker 1: shot in the leg. Did he make it?
Speaker 2: Yes, he did. In fact, Harry just died about two
Speaker 2: years ago. Oh wow, we were buddies. He was from
Speaker 2: the state of Washington. Corresponded with him for many many years.
Speaker 2: If you asked me to write the correct question, I
Speaker 2: will tell you a little bit more about Harry and myself.
Speaker 1: Well, How did you get to meet Harry and how
Speaker 1: did you become close?
Speaker 2: I met him in basic training and we just paid
Speaker 2: it off together. We knew what it was all about.
Speaker 2: When I first went in the army and they gave
Speaker 2: me my uniform, I was eighteen. I'm laughing now. I
Speaker 2: took the attitude man, I got beautiful uniform here. I
Speaker 2: was a kid. I was eighteen and nineteen, but I
Speaker 2: was proud of it. And then when I got overseas,
Speaker 2: the words I said was what the hell am I
Speaker 2: doing here? I can get killed. But in the beginning
Speaker 2: in basic treatom when I got my uniform, I'm so
Speaker 2: proud of it, not realizing what was ahead of me.
Speaker 1: And how did he react to it all?
Speaker 2: Harry was the same way. Harry was wounded. We were
Speaker 2: both wounded serious enough that the war was over for us,
Speaker 2: and we both came home and I met him after
Speaker 2: the war. He was in the Washington state and we
Speaker 2: met New Jerseys together, Harry and I. I had some
Speaker 2: still pictures of Harry and I shaking hands and hugging
Speaker 2: each other after the war. After we met again.
Speaker 1: How did you hear that the war had ended?
Speaker 2: Probably on the radio other than that. I don't recall.
Speaker 1: Were you back home by then or still in Europe? Oh?
Speaker 2: No, I was home by then.
Speaker 1: Last year you had the chance to return to Europe
Speaker 1: and visit the graves of people you fought alongside, including
Speaker 1: your friend Joey Guloh. Yes, what was that like? I've
Speaker 1: seen the video of you saluting his grave.
Speaker 2: You have no eyes ere I knocked down, and I said, Joey,
Speaker 2: just as Ernie. We were basic training together, we were
Speaker 2: in the war together, and Joey, I remember first day
Speaker 2: in combat. You never made it across.
Speaker 1: I was lucky.
Speaker 2: I made it acrosse. And I said, I'm here kneeling
Speaker 2: for into you that you were wound. Instance the world
Speaker 2: was over for him, but we're dear friends again. I
Speaker 2: thank god that I made it across. He didn't, and
Speaker 2: I continued to fight as a young man. Scared. Damn right,
Speaker 2: I was scared. Did I want to die?
Speaker 1: No?
Speaker 2: I didn't want to die. I was sent there for
Speaker 2: a reason, and the reason was my country. My country
Speaker 2: called upon me. They needed help, and I was young
Speaker 2: enough to help them, and I did help them. My
Speaker 2: country's been good to me all these years since I
Speaker 2: was wounded. They took care of me my wound for many,
Speaker 2: many years. But the United States Army Medical Corps never
Speaker 2: turned their back on me. They knew what I did,
Speaker 2: and they were They said to themselves, he did all
Speaker 2: this at a young age. Well, we're gonna do as
Speaker 2: much as we can to help him and get him
Speaker 2: physically fit for civilian life.
Speaker 1: In addition to what you described at Joey Gulo's grave, yes,
Speaker 1: what else stood out to you from the visit to
Speaker 1: that cemetery or your overall visit to Europe.
Speaker 2: When I stood by Joey's grave, Jojie greave was a
Speaker 2: single grade. As I stood up and I looked around,
Speaker 2: I I tell you it was unbelievable. That was Joey's grave.
Speaker 2: In fact, I saw my General General Patton's grave. His
Speaker 2: graver was at the head of the cemetery, d General
Speaker 2: George S. Patten Uh. He was a general of the
Speaker 2: seventy sixth Division, which I was a part of. And
Speaker 2: there was Joey. On the first day of combat, there
Speaker 2: was his grave, Joey Gulo with his Army saval number
Speaker 2: on it. I now down there and I prayed, and
Speaker 2: I said to Joey, there's thousands of white markers crosses.
Speaker 2: You wouldn't believe you stand there, no matter how far
Speaker 2: you looked straight ahead. If you look to the left,
Speaker 2: you look to the right, nothing but graves. So my
Speaker 2: country sent a lot of Gis there, and they went
Speaker 2: there to say my country. I know that before they
Speaker 2: came and bombed our country, they all gave their lives.
Speaker 2: And there's a favorite saying of mine, and please pay attention.
Speaker 2: I want to say it correctly. All gave some some
Speaker 2: gave or do you understand that? And that been with
Speaker 2: me all my life. And I looked back on these
Speaker 2: grades and I said, you gave, you gave all, you
Speaker 2: gave your life.
Speaker 1: What are you most proud of from your service?
Speaker 2: My country called for me, and it was honored for
Speaker 2: me to go. Did I know where I was going? Yes?
Speaker 2: I did. The war was on before me. Many Geniis
Speaker 2: were killed, and now they called upon me. I knew
Speaker 2: that I was going into the same aspect of what
Speaker 2: they went through. They fought for their country, They died
Speaker 2: for their country. And I said, here I am, and
Speaker 2: I and I repeated I s said to the Lord,
Speaker 2: save me if you can.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: I was young, I wanted to live, and he did
Speaker 2: save me. I guess I'm one of the chosen ones
Speaker 2: that survived. You have no idea again, how many cemeteries.
Speaker 2: There's not only one cemetery. There's several cemeteries with GI's
Speaker 2: young men, middle aged men, and even older men that
Speaker 2: never came home. It kept our country free. I remember
Speaker 2: that we did what we had to do, and I did.
Speaker 1: What I had to do well, mister Muger, I thank
Speaker 1: you so much for your patriotism. I thank you for
Speaker 1: your time with us today, and I thank you most
Speaker 1: of all for your service to our country.
Speaker 2: Thank you very much. I appreciate men like you pursuing
Speaker 2: all o the men like me to tell their story
Speaker 2: so that other people can hear it and listen to
Speaker 2: it and say, you know, war as hell. If we
Speaker 2: can avoid war, we should. Thank you very much.
Speaker 1: Thank you, sir. Ernie Muger is a US Army veteran
Speaker 1: of World War Two. He served with the seventy six
Speaker 1: Infantry Division in early nineteen forty five as across the
Speaker 1: Sigfried Line. He was wounded and evacuated just before his
Speaker 1: unit crossed the Rhine River. I'm Greg Corumbus and this
Speaker 1: is Veterans Chronicles. Hi, this is Greg Corumbus and thanks
Speaker 1: for listening to Veterans Chronicles, a presentation of the American
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