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Description
Mr White recalls his unit finding a group of civilians holed up in Ortona, having been too scared to even step outside for two weeks. He then explains how important it is for youth to understand that war doesn’t only involve and affect soldiers.
Transcription
We arrived in, in Ortona and one of the first buildings that we entered we could hear people in there, and of course we don't know if it's Germans in there or, or civilians. Anyhow we told them to come out in German, you know, they were hollering in German, "Kommen Sie heraus". And nothing happened so we blew the door off and there was twenty-one people in there, civilians. Kids, women, old, old people, and they were dirty and it stunk in there, and they said they had not been out of that building for two weeks. They were hiding in there eh.
Interviewer: Wow. What do you do?
This is the bad thing about war, you know, it's not soldier against soldier, the civilians have to suffer and man do they suffer. You know, little kids, you know, it just tears you up, ya know, but...
Interviewer: So what do you do at that point?
Well first of all we, we a, if anybody was injured or anything we helped them, you know, dress their wound or whatever, and give them water, and give them some food. You, you have to do that eh because they were literally starving to death, they were scared, and oh it was just, you know, you think, you know, this is people and they could be your family, you know, so you have to think about that. That's one of the things that makes it so bad about war. For the kids have to know, you know, it's not just soldier to soldier, it's human beings. Well I think what should be impressed on the young people more than just soldier to soldier, is the civilian people that are involved. The mothers, and the kids, and the grand, you know old people that, cause they are just as much involved in it as soldiers, and, and that wasn't their choice by any stretch of the imagination. And these kids have to know that, they're people get killed, I mean civilians get killed. I've seen mothers holding their kids in their hand you know, dead. They, they have to know this.
Interviewer: That's difficult.
Yes, yes it is yeah. I think most kids, you know they're, when you're talking to them, they're thinking soldier against soldier and it, I think they have to know that there's mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters that are involved.