When my son, Nate, was in college, we drove down to Kansas City to watch a couple of weekend Royals games. We visited Uncle Amos the afternoon before the Saturday night game (Red sox, I believe).
As we got caught up with each other's lives, Uncle Amos suddenly started telling us some stories about his time in WWII. Caught by surprise, we managed to both listen intently. First he mentioned boot camp and training (in tank destroyers) in the south. He and his company were to board a ship in New Orleans in 1944 and travel to Europe. For some unknown reason they weren't able to board the ship and it sailed with out them. They later learned that the transport they were supposed to be on was sunk by a German submarine!
Arriving in Europe, his company ended up near Bastogne in December. They were assigned a hill location overlooking Bastogne and the area around it. He remarked on the bitter cold and how his feet always felt cold in the winter in later years.
He then told the following story:
He and his men were gathered around the vehicles for breakfast early one morning. He wasn't clear, but I thought this took place after the Battle of the Bulge. They were on a hill and he, being a fidgety sort, was up and walking around. Suddenly he spotted explosions and plumes of smoke out in the valley below them. The explosions were "walking" across the valley right toward them!
Reacting fast, he yelled for the men to get to cover and pushed and pulled a couple of men to safety just as a German round exploded right where they had all been sitting. One man was killed, but the others, including Amos, survived. Amos suffered a minor wound to the elbow from shrapnel as he was diving behind the vehicle. This story is related in book 5, Capture, in Chapter 7 with Clarence Waters portraying the hero.
We were, of course, amazed by the story. Fast forward a few years.
When Uncle Norman passed away, we drove to Stover for his funeral. Afterwards, Nate and I were talking to Norman's 3 grandsons, my second cousins. They had a box of Norman's army stuff (post WWII, and also Amos's). They showed us the citation for Uncle Amos's Silver Star. It was for the story he'd told us! Of course, when he told us the story, he left out the fact that he'd earned the Silver Star. This, I believe, is a common occurrence by men who have performed bravely; the need to remain humble and not "brag" about their wartime experiences.
I tried to get the citation online, but it's not available, so I'll have to contact my cousin.
Here's the link to the site showing some information about the award:
https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/131116
Here's a screen grab:
Here's a couple of M-10 Tank Destroyers
Thanks for stopping by today.
