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sDay's Reconnaissance Turns Into8-Day Battle For Lost BattalionBy CLINTON B. CONGER United Fmi War WriterWITH SEVENTH ARMY, Oct 31 (Delayed)—-Survivors of a lost battalion, which held a hill inside German lines for. a week while the rest of 1 he Army caught up, filed out through the line* to a rest area today.They limped from wounds or swollen trench feet and they stili were gaunt and weary from going the first five days of their isolated battle without food.Tbay Still SmiZaBut beneath rugged growths of beard they could smile and they waved bits of orange Silk parachutes which saved their iives with food, ammunition and plasma in the last two days of their gallant stand.The First Battalion was ordered out Oct 23 to make a reconnaissance in force five miles over a trail to the wooded hill. That was its last contact with the base for a week.Under command of Lt Col. William A. Bird of Barberton, O., the battalion advanced about two miles and routed a German patrol before heavy shelling forced them to pull back 100 yards and consolidate for the night. Tile next morning they jumped oil' again and met fire in the first 200 yards but they moved on down the frail and out of sight.Trapped At NoonAt noon, the Germans sprang a trap, running a line behind the batallion and isolating itMeanwhile the Germans movedup reinforcements in front and by night had massed nearly 1,000 men with well prepared machine gun nests, mortars and artillery.The battalion had started with rations for only one day. Their food ran out and their ammunition ran low but they continued to fight.Nothing was known of the lost battalion until the morning of •Oct 25 when word came out by a radio carrier:“In position; orders please.” Meant Position ReachedThat meant the battalion had reached the hill two miles inside German lines.When it became apparent it would be a major .task tu.relleve the battalion, attempts were made to drop food, ammunition and medical supplies. The battalion saw food tanks and parachutes dropped Friday but they landed too far away for recovery.Then supply officer Lt. Col. Raymond A. Lynch of Houston, Tex. asked ammunition officer Maj. Frederick Decker of Ingram, Tex., to try modified shells. A cylindrical space, 11 inches long by three inches in diameter, was packed with emergency bars of chocolate and water purifyingJudge Davidson To Receive Tech DegreeFederal Judge T. Whitfield Davidson of Dallas will receive an honorary degree of law* from Texas Tech and addicjs members of the faculty at Z p. m., Nov. 28. Pres. Wm. M. Whyburn said.President Whyburn will be master of ceremonies and Judge Davidson will be presented by Mark McGee of Fort Worth, vice-chairman of the Tech board of direclors. Dr. Clifford B. Jones* president emeritus, will confer1 the degree.Judge Davidson will open a term of court in Lubbock Nov. 27.Filipinos Learning God Bless America• iPANAUAN, Leyte, P. I., Nov. 8. (tf*)—Filipino second grade schoolchildren today began learning thewords to “God Bless America” as the first school opened in liberated territory. The little tots sat at badly battered desks and repeated the words in unison, line for line, after their Filipino woman teacher.It was the first time they had been allowed to speak of America publicly since the Japanese occupation over two years ago.Men Lose Fewer Days At Work Than WomenWASHINGTON, Nov. 6. (S’) — Men on the average lost two days less of war work in 1943 from illness or injury than did women, the Office of War Information reported today.The average man was away from industry 11 days for such reasons, the average woman 13 days, OWI said. • *tablets and fired toward the men.Planes Also Find MarkThey .landed about the same time planes began successfully dropping supplies by parachute.“We ordered all the food brought to a central point for distribution,” said company commander, Lt. Martin J. Higgins of Jersey City, N. J. “The men were plenty hungry but they didn’t so much as nibble a cracker carrying in the food before distribution .”Fed, the men continued to hold their hill until a relief force made contact- Tuesday night and they started back down the trail up which they began a “one day rs-connaissance eight days before.Be Quick To TreatBronchitisChronic bronchitis may develop if-Vmir nnrnrh rhorl nnl/4 — - *MessSentThruLubb those i:the Phi portuni' through the loci ed.Mess; to the form m to Uni; censors] able atThe i by the to be s oners c civilian is knoftMesa-; for free though antee d forts v? dresses lish din ilies as PhilippiGreei Box lt;HOLl Red-ha-Garson fice ch Office indepen tion p commeiFolio1Crosby,IngridGrant,BogartLead* Roy R runner-
Newspaper Details
Morning Avalanche
Lubbock, Texas, US
Tue, Nov 07, 1944
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Library O.
DC, USA 15 Dec 2016
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