Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
5:03 | George Jordan was a squad leader on a halftrack, but he recalls a time when he was tasked with reconnaissance on an enemy spotter plane. Most of the time, his unit was an antiaircraft outfit. His light armored vehicle was no match for a German tank.
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Like so many, George Jordan tried to enlist in the Army Air Corps but his eyeglasses blocked that path. Instead, he found himself in biting sand storms at Fort Bliss. The Army recruit was trained in light armor, a halftrack with a 37mm gun. It was, primarily, an antiaircraft weapon.
While in basic training training at Fort Bliss, George Jordan befriended a sergeant who had an idea for some recreation. Why don't they go over the border to Juarez and get a steak dinner? It didn't work out so well for the sergeant.
George Jordan deployed to England where his first duty was guarding a paratrooper base, not against infiltration but against deserters. Once his light armor unit was transported to France, it made quick progress to the Moselle River, where they paused to await resupply. He recalls seeing the legendary General George Patton direct traffic, just like in the movie.
In Arlon, Belgium, a nineteen year old George Jordan opted for some ice cream instead of warming whiskey. He still can't believe he made that mistake as he recalls the advance on Bastogne by his light armored unit in support of the 101st Airborne. As he rolled to a stop and stepped down from the halftrack, he was in a frozen stupor, and the next thing he knew, he was coming around in a hospital.
George Jordan recalls the German execution of two clergymen and the retribution of General Patton it engendered. As the war wound down, he was fortunate enough to relax at a Bavarian resort with a German girlfriend. That almost caused him some trouble.
