9 World War. Stories from our Veterans Leo Blaskowski Leo Blaskowski was a medic with combat experience Blaskowski landed in Europe on June 6, 1944 in a later wave and was present at the Battle of the Bulge and at Remagen Bridge. I was in inducted in Eau Claire Wisconsin on the 8" of December 1941. From there we went to Camp Sheridan, Illinois over night. Then on the 9", they read us the articles of war. Now he says, you are under the articles of war, and if you leave, you're a deserter. We could shoot you. On the 10" we left Fort Sheridan for Camp Barclay in Texas. That was a mud hole and they didn’t have that camp finished. We got there in the night, slugged through mud, and arrived at our Nissan huts. We stayed there a couple of weeks, Our training continued at Fort Sheridan. T was in the 2™ Medical battalion of the 2" Infantry Division. I stayed with that unit the whole 11 months overseas, Twas in the same division and the same outfit for my four years in service. We didn’t have any rifle training. Iwas ina medical battalion. We learned how to bandage stuff, write out forms, and process everything regarding the patient. Our training included marching, inspections, field packs, bed checks, and all that stuff, We also received training for being stretcher bearers or litter bearers. We would have four people on each stretcher to carry the patient. We would do that by the numbers, you got to stand in line, and find a spot, and they would say, by the numbers now. Numberl, take your position, 2 take another position, 3, then 4, and then raise your patient, We did this over and over for six months. In November 1942 we ‘went to Camp McCoy and to maneuvers in Michigan, In October 1943 we moved to Camp Shank, New York for shipment over seas. We sailed on October 8" 1943 ona troopship and we landed in Belfast Ireland ten days later. We stayed in Ireland for six months. We had the same training that we had in the states. Then, after six months we were shipped as a unit to southern Wales to get ready for an invasion, On the 19" of April 1944 we were in Wales. On May 18" 1944 we embarked, We got on a ship in June and we were on the water for about 7 or 8 days. We sat on the ship waiting because all of the ships have to get in line. Finally it was D-day. You could walk across the ships because there were so many of them, Our battalion, from our division went with the engineers for the initial landing, which was on the 6" of June. It was at 5 in the morning, and at 6 that evening our battalion landed, On D-day, we had no idea what to expect. We went in ships that carried about 3-400 people. Then the bow would open up and you ‘would just take off. They couldn’t go right to the very shore because they would get stranded. If the tide comes in they have time. ‘They would get in there real fast and unload and then get out of there. We had to debark in the water and go straight ahead for the shore. There were bodies all around. Even if they were alive you couldn’t stop to pick them up, you have to just keep going. They wanted to get as many people to shore as they could. After we got on shore, there was a lot of shooting. Artillery was coming over head. We were on land at about 6 o'clock that evening. We had orders to advance about 300 yards inland for the night. I scratched out a hole to {©2001 D.C Everest Area Schools Publications 156World War I: tories from our Veterans lay down in so I would have a little protection. If anybody moves, you are going to get shot, even by your own men, No one knew who was who or what you were. They would simply fire ‘The weapons fire coming from the land to the landing beach was like no one could even imagine. We had a little more room by the seventh of June, D plus one, We were far enough in from Omaha Beach but we had no idea of where we going or what we were (o do. There were four people on the litter squad, I had three fellows beside myself and we were called the Polish litter bearers. We had great big pouches that we had to carry as well. We had a problem carrying those pouches. You couldn't get close to the litter. We got rid of those and got aid-men carrying the stretchers. The aid-men went right along with the infantry. When we went to holler for stretcher-bearers they would come and they did it by the numbers. After we got inland, we would organize each squad. Bach squad would go to a different place, Because there were four companies to a battalion, I was with the 2" Infantry. There was also the 23" Infantry Regiment, the 38" Infantry Regiment, the artillery brigade, and some other units, All the people in our company got separated into the different regiments. We didn’t have too many litter squads for each regiment. After we got inland far enough we didn’t have an aid station so when we got them in we patched them up as best we could. You had to stay down low so you didn’t get hit. By the second day we were organized and then we went with the infantry. We didn’t stay right close to them, When they hollered for an aid man, the aid man was right there, he would fix them up and then calll for stretcher-bearers and then we would go and pick them up and bring them back. The first week was a rough week for everybody because nobody knew where to go. The landing beaches were filled with all kinds of obstacles. ‘The first bunch of people only had carbines and rifles, they didn’t have any heavy equipment so things were tough. We had a lot of casualties and everyone was busy but after the second day we had enough of a foothold that we had some shelter like barns and houses. You could still get protection from them. When we got to the next town, Trevieres, we set up an aid station where ambulances could come in, We never picked up any dead people. They had a quartermaster who went by and picked them up in a ‘truck and brought them back. Alll we picked up was wounded. For that job you had to have a little understanding of where you were going and when you are coming back and a good strong back. Those people were heavy and if we carried infantrymen back we had to leave their rifles with them, They didn’t want to give up their rifles and the medics ate not supposed to have any firearms. Why weren’t you allowed firearm We were medics. You put a cross on your helmet and the enemy is not supposed to shoot you. If there is a cross on your aid station, they are not supposed to bomb that. That was part of the Geneva Convention, ‘There were some funny things that happened and some terrible things that happened as well, We had a lot of hedgerows to go through. Farmers had great big mounds of ground dividing all the fields. The Germans would have machine guns set up on each corner of the field. You couldn't get through because everything was zeroed in, Somebody in the engineers or in a tank outfit had an idea that you could put big prongs on the front of the tanks and they would go and plow right through the hedgerows. with the infantry would follow the tanks through the hedgerow. We were moving along pretty good and then we found an open area where we set up our aid station, We got set up and anti-aircraft guns came and set up in the same field. They no sooner set up and German planes came through strafing the whole place. The commander got on {©2001 D.C. Everest Area Schools Publiitions 157World War 11: Stories from our Veterans the phone and said get the AA guns out of there because they had no reason for setting up there, My litter squad dug in the hedgerows so we wouldn't be strafed. One guy from Texas put a raincoat in front of him so he wouldn't be seen, We thought it was funny because that raincoat wouldn't stop a bullet or anything. Were you in the Battle of the Bulge? Iwas in St. Vith and we got a pass to go to Paris at that time because everything was quiet. The fellows were getting passes and the army would get trucks and take them to Patis and bring them back. We were there one night and the MPs were going around getting every GI that was in town and we knew something was up. We asked what was going on but we had to get back to camp. The Germans were coming through with everything they had. They were coming through the thick woods in Belgium through the snow and you couldn't hear anything moving. You could hear just a little rumble of tanks but we had no idea that the Germans had so much firepower, We got back on the 15"" and the breakthrough came on the 16" of December. ‘There were so many rumors flying around about paratroopers and other things. The Germans took our outposts and were wearing American uniforms so the people on crossroads thought they were Americans. They spoke English and they had them come out and told them they were relieved and they changed the road signs and everybody was going in the wrong direction and nobody knew where they were, We were in a house in St. Vith on the first floor and upstairs there was a German with a radio. He was giving out information, The commanders were confused and they had us pull back. It was not a retreat, just a pull back. So we went way back. Everybody was running out of gas, The Germans were using our gas and equipment they had captured. After a number of days we started pushing the Germans back and by January we had regained the land we lost, The 2 Medical Battalion was assigned to the 9" Infantry Regiment, The 38" Regiment had its own battalion but I was with the 2, Each company had their own ambulance drivers, Our ambulance drivers were in St. Vith at the time. A German tiger tank came into the town and shot up the ambulances. It was a good thing there were no patients in the ambulances. We were sent more equipment after the army regained the lost territory. We pushed the Germans back to the Rhine River. At Remagen there was a bridge. The engineers of the 2 Division were on the attack of the Remagen bridge and the Germans did not have it completely wired up for demolition, ‘The soldiers ran actoss and got control of the bridge. This was a big thing because we could cross the Rhine River. There were high banks on the other side. We got a foothold on the other side. We went across and other infantry came. up and others followed. ‘We had the 29" Division on our right and we were in the middle and the 1" Infantry Division ‘was on the left. We got all three divisions across with a lot of casualties and there was a lot of work for us and the litter bearers, {©2001 D.C. vert Atea Schools Publications 158