Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
3:09 | There was no way paratroop trainee Al Mampre wanted to be a medic. So, naturally, he became a medic. On his first jump into Holland, he had an unusual experience under fire involving civilians and cherries.
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Medic Al Mampre was wounded when he went to the aid of a soldier who was in the open, with no cover at all. He was impressed with the Dutch civilians who ran, unarmed, out to help him. He recovered and stayed with the Allied push all the way to Bastogne, which he allowed was, "A little chilly."
It was the best duty he ever had. Al Mampre was in charge of health care for visiting dignitaries in a luxury hotel in Berchtesgaden. He learned to love the speckled trout and how to dodge MP's in a big Packard.
He knew it was somewhere and he found it. In a tunnel under a hotel, Al Mampre found hundreds of bottles of booze hidden by the Nazis. What he didn't expect was when a woman flanked by two MP's came in and pointed to a seat cushion he was using.
Al Mampre says the medics were fastest on the mountain, fastest on the obstacle course and better on the firing range, except for him. He tells how a sergeant in his outfit inspired the story of the Band of Brothers. And he reveals his parting comments to his commanding officer and his girlfriend's premonition.
