Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
10:05 | Byron Hale describes leaving England heading to Belgium in an LST filled with Artillery. The Battle of the Bulge is getting underway and Byron witnesses first hand being shelled by German 88's. Byron has to scramble to find medical attention for his 1st Lieutenant after receiving a shrapnel injury.
Keywords : LST German 88mm Shrapnel Belgium Battle of the Bulge artillery Forward Observer (FO)
Byron Hale tells stories of being raised on an apple farm in Virginia. Following Pearl Harbor, Byron enters the US Army and becomes a surveyor for the 898th Field Artillery 75th Division. As a result of volunteering, Byron's destiny is changed.
Heading to Europe to fight Germans, Byron Hale describes the trip across the Atlantic to the port in Wales. He learned the art of peeling potatoes for thousands of soldiers in a very crowded ship. Once in England, Byron witnessed racial issues between white and black American soldiers.
The Battle of the Bulge is raging and Byron Hale has several close calls when receiving incoming artillery fire from German 88's. Byron describes the amount of death and destruction caused by the war. Several months later, the war in Europe ends and expectations for being sent to Japan are a concern for all US soldiers stationed in Europe.
After the end of the war in Europe and Japan, Byron Hale describes the point system used to determine which soldiers went home first. Byron tells of the bombed out French cites he saw while driving to his departure ship to go home. Byron also tells about contracting Hepatitis, crossing the Rhine river and receiving mortar fire.
