We did not use artillery on the bunkers because the shells would bounce off the concrete walls. Direct fire of tanks and tank destroyers was used instead. The pillboxes were scattered around, so Company F, 347th, was split into teams to clear them out.

I remember the excitement when word came that one squad had just disappeared. Several rumors were spread, but the way I remember it, the squad had captured a pillbox, then the kitchen had brought hot food to them late in the day. They all gathered in the pillbox to eat it without leaving a guard posted. Along came two German soldiers checking telephone wires, took them prisoner, and marched them off. But I can’t vouch for the authenticity of this version.

Another incident I remember was that after a few days of zigzagging around in the Siegfried Line, we ended up with Germans between Company F and our artillery guns. This meant adjusting artillery fire backwards from the normal situation of the enemy being in front of the forward observer. It turned out okay.