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THE STAKE AINU Si KimsJust Before the Battle, Brother:Don't Be Scared of Being Scared, Veteran AdvisesBy Charles F, KileyStars and Stripes Staff WriterSgt. Sammie Slusher has something to say to American soldiers. His message is aimed chiefly at men as yet untried in combat; men who are asking themselves the same questions he asked before he first saw action.What is it going to be like? Will I be frightened? How will I react to killing people? Is the Nazi as cunning, as fanatical, as ruthless as they say he is? Are his weapons as good as mine?Slusher. who wen'. ...^ einto the North I African landings a j wide-eyed private and came out ot Sicily months later a battle-wise, hardbitten veteran decorated with theSilver Star andPurple Heart, frankly says youwill be scared stiff.Your frame will tremble and yourknees will knock.The sweat on your hands will be cold and clammy. Your lips and throat will be dry, your stomach upset and you’ll -wish you were a couple of thousand miles away somewhere in America. It -will be like waiting for the kickoff.Chances are you’ll be surprised, how cool you are once you get “in there.”You will find you have a lot more know-how than you thought you did.You also may not have the desire toshoot and kill, but when you see your buddies—like the fellow sitting next to you now—bathed in blood and grotesquely sprawled in death, you are likely to feel differently than you did when you started.What about the German?Slusher knows him—to :be an efficient soldier, so don't sell him short. He is better disciplined, perhaps, than his counterpart in any other army. His weapons and equipment are first class, but no better than yours, for the most part. In fact, you have a big edge on him in that you have many times more in quantity and in more than a few instances in quality.Sgt. Sammie Slasher/erry’s Best W eaponsThe Nazi’s most effective weapons that Slusher encountered, and the kind you like to have on ypur side, are his 88mm. gun and his automatic machine pistol. The first time you hear four 88s sound off you will think they number 500, but you will get used to them—like a number of other things. If you get your hands on a machine pistol you will want to know how it operates so you can use it yourself.Americans,” others who had to be force to submit to medical aid.Most Germans, however, are divide into two categories: Those who are sic! sore and tired of war, but who w: give their besL until trapped and thlt; willingly surrender; and those you ha' to go in and dig out.The Nazis, according to Slushei calculations, probably are the mo ingenious in laying booby traps. He c: substantiate the reports that booby tra were placed on American dead in Afric They were found also on fountain per cigarettes, toilet seats, water canteer weapons, German cap badges likely to picked up for souvenirs and a hundr and one other things.Here are a few tips Slusher thin soldiers going into action for the fi time should paste in their helmets.Take all the cigarettes, matches a fighters you can carry. You aren’t liklt; to find a PX in a fox hole. You hs heard this before and Slusher says again—socks, foot powder, cleani patches and entrenching tools ; “musts.” If you can tote more than c entrenching tool, do so.Slit Trenches BestSlit trenches offer more protection a are more comfortable, if properly d than foxholes. Dig one whenever j stop foi more than an Hour.Never get up where an enemy can you. An artillery or mortar barrage evitably follows. Keep the chin st on your helmet open as often as possi to prevent concussion in a barrage. S away from trees during enemy moi fire. They are used frequently as aim points..Always keep your canteen filled v water and don't use- it to wash wout Sulfa powder and gauze bandage safely take care of a wound for as 1 as two days. In treating wounds another man, use his aid packet. 1 might have to use your own sooner t you expect.A 22-year-old ex-mechanic from 1 lard, Ohio, Sammie isn't a professk soldier. Well built, 'blond and ; spoken, he is as homespun as anyb could be who came from a Midwes1 town of 2,500. He wants to get hlt; like everybody else, to the wife he mar eight months before he came oversea And his message to fellow soldier sincere.He knows there are men who will as he did before combat. He is cer they will know what to do when have to.do it.Like the day at Djebel Marata Sedjenane Valley, when the main t of which' Slusher was a part was belt by a German machine-gun nest. Th Pfc, .Slusher volunteered to take five and endeavor to knock it out. One o men was wounded in the attack. A! 25 yards from the nest Slusher saw a J coming up from the emplacement, ordered a volley, followed by a ch with fixed 'bayonets.When they reached the position, i men, including a lieutenant, came oi the emplacement hands raised m render. The German _ whose curi-moved him to show himself was ft with his head almost blown off.The following day Slusher was wou: in tht: leg by shrapnel from an 88. I he was decorated by Lt. Gen. Pattc That's SJusher’s message and stor^ absorbed in the spirit with which it
Newspaper Details
Northern Ireland Stars and Stripes
Belfast, Ulster, GB
Fri, Feb 04, 1944
Page 2
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Dawson H.
USA 31 Oct 2024
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Northern Ireland Stars and Stripes
