Post by floydragsdale on Nov 15, 2013 20:05:52 GMT -5
Thanksgiving Dinner Invitation missed 
Out of 191 Soldiers my name was chosen to have Thanksgiving Dinner, at Buckingham Palace in November 1944, by invitation from the King and Queen of England. A hundred or so American GI’s, from various American Army installations in England, were to have this honor bestowed on them.
To say the least, this Soldier was excited about that event which would be in another two weeks. Yet, my anticipation was soon to be shattered.
Our Division was ordered for duty on the Continent. The destination was Belgium and Front Line action. That very Thanksgiving Day the 106th Division was located on ships in the English Channel . For five days, the seas were so rough the Division could not board landing craft to go ashore at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France.
Though the seas were still turbulent, the Landing Craft ultimately came to take us ashore. When the operation began, an Officer yelled, “Make your aim good, men; if you miss (fall between the ships) we can’t help you.” A large rope ladder was used to disembark the ship.
This was scary to me because of a bad bruise in my left leg; the one I would use to push myself away from the ship far enough to drop into the Landing Craft.
Consequently, I hesitated, waiting for the vessel and the Landing Craft to be about the same level.
An English Officer yelled at me, “Get moving soldier, don’t you know there is a War going on?” That Englishman irritated me and I yelled back at him, “How in the hell would you know?” just as I dropped into the Landing Craft. That was the only time I could talk back to an Officer and get by with it. We didn’t lose a man; nor did we get a Thanksgiving Dinner.
War debris was abundant everywhere, yet pushed to one side, where we waded ashore. The landing site was Omaha Beach where the “D Day” invasion on the French Coast took place several months earlier
Ahead of us was a five day journey through France and Belgium to the Front Lines on the Belgian/German Border. However, our Division was to experience a delay of several days before a convoy of trucks took us to the font lines several miles inside Germany.
In route to our destination some men laughed and joked about sunny France (it was cold and damp) while others sat in silence.
As the solemn sights and sounds of war came closer to our eyes and ears we realized the purpose every one of us had trained for was almost at hand. In reality, there was really nothing to laugh about.
In a few days the men of the 106th Division would be introduced to the art of warfare faster than any other outfit in the U.S. Army.
Floyd,
424th Regiment
Out of 191 Soldiers my name was chosen to have Thanksgiving Dinner, at Buckingham Palace in November 1944, by invitation from the King and Queen of England. A hundred or so American GI’s, from various American Army installations in England, were to have this honor bestowed on them.
To say the least, this Soldier was excited about that event which would be in another two weeks. Yet, my anticipation was soon to be shattered.
Our Division was ordered for duty on the Continent. The destination was Belgium and Front Line action. That very Thanksgiving Day the 106th Division was located on ships in the English Channel . For five days, the seas were so rough the Division could not board landing craft to go ashore at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France.
Though the seas were still turbulent, the Landing Craft ultimately came to take us ashore. When the operation began, an Officer yelled, “Make your aim good, men; if you miss (fall between the ships) we can’t help you.” A large rope ladder was used to disembark the ship.
This was scary to me because of a bad bruise in my left leg; the one I would use to push myself away from the ship far enough to drop into the Landing Craft.
Consequently, I hesitated, waiting for the vessel and the Landing Craft to be about the same level.
An English Officer yelled at me, “Get moving soldier, don’t you know there is a War going on?” That Englishman irritated me and I yelled back at him, “How in the hell would you know?” just as I dropped into the Landing Craft. That was the only time I could talk back to an Officer and get by with it. We didn’t lose a man; nor did we get a Thanksgiving Dinner.
War debris was abundant everywhere, yet pushed to one side, where we waded ashore. The landing site was Omaha Beach where the “D Day” invasion on the French Coast took place several months earlier
Ahead of us was a five day journey through France and Belgium to the Front Lines on the Belgian/German Border. However, our Division was to experience a delay of several days before a convoy of trucks took us to the font lines several miles inside Germany.
In route to our destination some men laughed and joked about sunny France (it was cold and damp) while others sat in silence.
As the solemn sights and sounds of war came closer to our eyes and ears we realized the purpose every one of us had trained for was almost at hand. In reality, there was really nothing to laugh about.
In a few days the men of the 106th Division would be introduced to the art of warfare faster than any other outfit in the U.S. Army.
Floyd,
424th Regiment