The Deserters: A Hidden History of World War II (54 page)

“an example of”
Samuel Eliot Morison,
The Invasion of France and Germany
, Boston: Little Brown, 1957, p. 91.

“I was hugged”
Steve Weiss, “Infantry Combat: A GI in France, 1944,” in Paul Addison and Angus Calder, eds.,
Time to Kill: The Soldier’s Experience of War in the West, 1939–1945,
London: Pimlico, 1997, p. 332.

“For the first”
Eric Sevareid,
Not So Wild a Dream
, p. 440.

On 17 August
Weiss, “Infantry Combat: A GI in France, 1944,” in Addison and Calder,
Time to Kill
, p. 332. Operation Dragoon, according to the American version, took its name from the mispronunciation of the town of Draguignan, an early objective of the invasion. Winston Churchill insisted he changed the name from Operation Anvil to Dragoon, because the Americans had dragooned him into it.

“more like a Broadway”
WD/Second Draft, p. 46.

the mayor invited
“GI Stories of the Ground, Air and Service Forces in the European Theater of Operations,” Orientation Branch, Information and Education Division, Headquarters, Theater Service Forces, European Theater (TSFET), 1945, republished at www.lonesentry.com/gi_stories_booklets/36thinfantry/index.html.

Called
maquisards
and
Clarke and Smith,
Riviera to the Rhine, United States Army in World War II
, p. 42.

“Many of them”
“OSS Aid to the French Resistance in World War II: Operational Group Command, Office of Strategic Services: Company B—2671st Special Reconnaissance Battalion,” Archives Nationales de France, Paris, File 72 AJ/84/I/Pièce 5, p. 9.

“[Jim] Dickson and”
WD/Second Draft, p. 47.

“Hordes of men”
Ibid., p. 48.

SIXTEEN

This was a serious
Article of War 86 stated: “Misbehavior of Sentinel. Any sentinel who is found drunk or sleeping upon his post, or who leaves it before he is regularly relieved, shall, if the offense be committed in time of war, suffer death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct; and if the offense be committed in time of peace, he shall suffer any punishment, except death, that a court-martial may direct.” Typical sentence for sleeping on post was five years at hard labor. See Memorandum from Headquarters, Western Base Section, SOS ETOUSA, “Subject: Discipline,” 26 February 1944, NARA, RG498, Box 362, Classified General Correspondence, 1945, 230.5–250.

Whitehead’s squad leader
Whitehead Diary, p. 86.

“We sometimes accidentally”
Ibid., p. 97.

“The last objective”
Robertson,
Combat History of the Second Infantry Division in World War II
, p. 48.

“bomb damage had”
Whitehead Diary, p. 100.

“the French people”
Ibid., p. 101.

“The tactic was”
Wood and Ashbrook,
D +
1 to D + 105, op. cit.

“Afterward, I was”
Whitehead Diary, p. 107.

Brest, where
Robertson,
Combat History of the Second Infantry Division in World War II
, p. 51.

BOOK II: OF SOLDIERS TO DESERTERS

SEVENTEEN

about twelve hours
Clarke and Smith,
Riviera to the Rhine, United States Army in World War II
, p. 155.

The 143rd had
Vincent Lockhart,
T-Patch to Victory: The 36th Infantry Division from the Landing in Southern France to the End of World War II
, Texas: Staked Plains Press, 1981.

“the 36th Division”
Hyman, “From the Riviera to the Rhine,” p. 5.

“Sure, but let’s”
WD/Second Draft, p. 49.

Two young Frenchwomen
Ibid., p. 50.

He had a more
Louis-Frédéric Ducros,
Montagnes Ardéchoises dans la guerre
, Vol. III:
Combats pour la libération: du
6
juin 1944 au 7 septembre 1944,
Valence, 1981, p. 351.

A Charlie Company
WD/Second Draft, p. 51.

They went to
Ibid. Article of War 107 states, “Soldier to make good time lost. Every soldier who in an existing or subsequent enlistment deserts the service of the United States or without proper authority absents himself from his organization, station, or duty for more than one day . . . shall be liable to serve, after his return to a full-duty status, for such period as shall, with the time he may have served prior to such desertion, unauthorized absence, confinement, or inability to perform duty, amount to the full term of that part of his enlistment period which he is required to serve with his organization before being furloughed to the Army reserve.” See
Revision of the Articles of War, 1912–1920
(two vols.), Hearing of the Subcommittee of the Committee on Military Affairs. U.S. Senate, 66th Congress, 1st session, on S.64. A bill to establish military justice, 1919. House Report 940, 66th Congress, Second session, Hearing of the Special Subcommittee of the Committee on Military Affairs. House of Representatives, 66th Congress, Second session, 1920, The Articles of War, Approved June 4, 1920, pp. 27–28.

Article 107 was less severe than Articles 58 and 75. Article 75 stated, “Misbehavior before the enemy. Any officer or soldier who, before the enemy, misbehaves himself, runs away, or shamefully abandons or delivers up or by any misconduct, disobedience, or neglect endangers the safety of any fort, post, camp, guard, or other command which it is his duty to defend, or speaks words inducing others to do the like, or casts away his arms or ammunition, or quits his post or colors to plunder or pillage, or by any means whatsoever occasions false alarms in camp, garrison, or quarters, shall suffer death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.”

Weiss and the others
WD/Second Draft, p. 51.

“[General] Dahlquist dispatched”
Clarke and Smith,
Riviera to the Rhine, United States Army in World War II
, p. 156.

A Free French intelligence
Arthur Layton Funk,
Hidden Ally: The French Resistance, Special Operations, and the Landings in Southern France, 1944
, New York and London: Greenwood Press, 1992, p. 167.

Dahlquist’s order to
Ibid., p. 168.

Just before dark
Weiss, “Infantry Combat: A GI in France, 1944,” in Addison and Calder,
Time to Kill
, p. 334.

Weiss found a spot
Ibid.

“Lying there, I waited”
Ibid. In WD/Second Draft, p. 58, Weiss wrote, “I rise and run ten yards before hitting the ground. As I do, a potato masher, a German hand grenade, explodes next to my waist, sending pods of earth and bits of metal skyward. Gulping air, I get up again, rush another ten yards, and slam into the ground. Wham! The second potato masher explodes by my right hip, tossing dirt and metal everywhere; I repeat the maneuver for the third time; the grenade explodes almost on top of me. My unknown and dedicated assailant tosses one more, but by now I’m out of range and close enough to leap into the ditch beside the road. Some squad members and Simmons have already taken cover.”

“As the C.O.”
WD/First Draft, p. 64.

Considering what to do
Ibid.

“Within seconds, men
Ibid.

“We stopped and waited”
Lockhart, op. cit., p. 76.

EIGHTEEN

The aborted battle
Lockhart, op. cit., p. 74.

“Morning came, clear”
Weiss, “Infantry Contact: A GI in France, 1944,” in Addison and Calder,
Time to Kill
, p. 335.

“We were angry”
Weiss, “Infantry Combat: A GI in France, 1944,” in Addison and Calder,
Time to Kill
, p. 335.

In Valence, the population
Lockhart, op. cit., pp. 78–79.

Back in the irrigation canal
Weiss, “Infantry Combat: A GI in France, 1944,” in Addison and Calder,
Time to Kill
, p. 67.

Weiss gained respect
Steve Weiss, interview with the author, Paris, 17 July 2010.

“There’s something else”
WD/Second Draft, p. 58.

When Gaston Reynaud greeted
Lockhart, op. cit., p. 79. Ducros,
Montagnes Ardéchoises dans la guerre
, p. 385.

“The hayloft, partially”
WD/Second Draft, p. 59.

In Valence, Louis
Steve Weiss, e-mail to the author, 3 August 2010.

Lévy belonged to
Ducros,
Montagnes Ardéchoises dans la guerre
, p. 385.

“Automobile tires grate”
Steve Weiss, e-mail to the author, 3 August 2010.

NINETEEN

“Passing slowly through”
Steve Weiss, “Infantry Combat: A GI in France, 1944,” in Addison and Calder,
Time to Kill
, p. 336.

Only a few hours
Ducros,
Montagnes Ardéchoises dans la guerre
, p. 348.

The four Americans
Ibid., p. 385.

Sergeant Scruby and
WD/Second Draft, p. 63.

Another black
Citroën
Ibid.

One of the boatmen
Ducros,
Montagnes Ardéchoises dans la guerre
, p. 385.

“twisted and broken”
WD/Second Draft, p. 63.

That morning at
Ducros,
Montagnes Ardéchoises dans la guerre
, p. 386. See also Lockhart, op. cit
.
, p. 81.

“Standing next to”
WD/First Draft, p. 76.

TWENTY

The guests at
WD/First Draft, pp. 76–77.

An impeccably dressed
WD/Second Draft, p. 66.

Homcy was a career
United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, Albert C. Homcy versus Stanley R. Resor, Secretary of the Army, 455 F.2d 1345, opinion by Circuit Judge George MacKinnon, http://cases.justia.com/us-court-of-appeals/F2/455/1345/168414/. See also File, Homcy, Albert C., CM271489, Office of the Clerk of the Court, U.S. Army Judiciary, 901 North Stuart Street, Suite 1200, Arlington, VA, 22203-1837.