They Put My Nose Back Together

So my officer just called me up and told me to get ready. He wanted, needed a runner that the “arty observer” that we had with us, there was always an artillery observer with us and he wanted to get coordinates back to the guns. So they could bring in artillery. And that’s when the Germans decided they were bringing in their artillery. And I had just crossed the road when I woke up they were taking me back. But I woke up there was someone turning me over, rolling me over and I was saying my god I was sweating something terrible and I didn’t realize that I had, I was bleeding all down on my hands and stuff like that. So no I didn’t know where they were taking me or didn’t know where the hospitals were... No they had wonderful doctors, put my nose back together and they told me that I wouldn’t even have a scar when it was through, wouldn’t even have a scar. But I was there around three weeks, I came back and they told me I was going on two weeks of R & R. I got into the camp and I met one of my friends, my buddies that I had known in action down in Normandy and I asked him what the set up was and he told me that you’d be here for about a week or so and then they’d put you together and where ever anybody, whatever regiment, whatever division needs people, that’s where you go. That’s not for me. I went to the sergeant major and I said, “Look, I reported in. I’m reporting out.” I said, “just down the road about two miles there’s a town” and I said, “I seen our regiment sign on the side of the road, I’m heading back to my regiment.” When you’re assigned to a regiment it seems to be like you’re home. It’s gonna be your home. That’s where you’re gonna be and you didn’t want to leave it and it happened to so many of our fellas. They never came back to us. They went to other regiments.