Sgtleo Here

Sgtleo. Glad to hear your doing better. Welcome back

 

"exalted" m kenny:-

The lack of respect is exactly what I expected from you.
Since you don't say you have been in combat how can you
evaluate what I was thinking when the FFI guys told me
this is a "Tiger" tank for which I had no prior knowledge. I
was very glad I didn't die that night at that spot!!! Ever
been in that type of situation at age 19 ???

I see that you have read about the war in books which in
your opinion are sacrosanct and without error as they quote
"Veterans" on the Kraut army. Can you verify what each and
every Kraut Veteran said as being the "Gospel Truth" or did
you just accept it ????? Latin Proverb states "To err is human
to forgive divine"

Try this for size on your ego!!!!

Stephen E. Ambrose quoted many Veterans in his "Citizen Soldiers"
book yet post publication there was/is a hue and cry by more
than a few of those Veterans that he had altered what he had
been told to fit his authorship. I cite the following as a gross
liberty he took to glorify the 101 AB Div.

Excerpt follows:-Quote "Unfortunately, the following
paragraph perpetuates a persistent mis-conception that the
3rd Infantry Division was not the first unit to enter Berchtesgaden.
Clive Irving said when units of the 3rd Division reached Hitler's
mountain top compound above Berchtesgaden, the French were
already there and were first. That is not true. The 3rd was first,
the French arrived four hours later, and Easy Co, 506 Parachute
Regt, 101st Airborne (Band of Brothers) arrived 16 hours after
the Third. The 101 has always claimed to be first. They were
third. We had years of trying to set the record straight, as
Stephen Ambrose in his book, Band of Brothers, had the 101 first.
Please read the true story of the 3rd Division's entry below by
Sherman Pratt and Russ Cloer from the 7th Inf. Regt of the 3rd
Infantry Division.

The memorial plaque visibly testifies to the division’s hard-won
battle honor of liberating Berchtesgaden, a fact erroneously
called into question in Stephen Ambrose’s book Band of Brothers
which inaccurately the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment with
that honor. Regrettably, the book’s 2001 HBO mini-series the
inaccuracy to the American public. Now, the Obersalzberg Marne
Trail ceremony sets the record straight". End Quote

I knew Russ Cloer and you can read his exploits on the Rutgers
University Site as they are rightly proud of his being an Alumnus
and highly decorated leader of the 3rd Division's Recon Unit and
the US Congress accepted his testimony re this "incident reporting".

Over and out!!!

Sgtleo

 

Sarge -- I know this thread has focused on one incident in your experience in the War. I am really interested in learning about other memories you have. Specifically, I am wondering what your best memory of the war is. Was there one moment that you can look back on that was not all the horror of War? Any memorable passes to Paris? Any moments that you can reflect on and chuckle about?

Hope you and yours are well today.

 

Some of you may know, I had a brother (a USN Tin Can Lifer)
that is in a nursing home(age 85+) but is as lucid as many
younger men. Yesterday he reminded me of an MP story that
I guess due to my age I had completely forgotten. (This took
place back in 2005 before he passed away)

-*The Sailor in Whites:-

One night in Metz France and when the Krauts had not
completely moved out or been taken prisoner, we had men
checking the town on roving patrols. Four of the men from my
Company came back to the CP and asked me to come out to
deal with a problem they had. During a sweep of the area
around the Brothels(a favorite hiding place for AWOLS of
either army) they had found a US sailor in "whites" and at that
time they said "we better take this guy back to the Top Sgt
and mentioned my name. On the way back, the sailor pipes up
"God I know him I went to school with his brothers".

He was as drunk as a skunk believe me. For those of you who
don't know Metz is a far way inland and not near the ocean.
When they arrived at the CP, I did in fact know this man but
he was in the Combat Engineers and NOT in the Navy. I managed
to get his head clear enough for him to tell me he had this
uniform and would put it on at times and thus got a lot of free
drinks and accolades from the French and GIs. Naturally I
stashed him ASAP and told him to stay away from that area
and then my men took him back to his unit.

What did the SOB do? He came back the next night,still drunk,
to thank me for not turning him in - BUT one of our Officers was
there and heard the whole idiot's story of the previous night.
The LT had been a noncom with me so he promised that if I got
rid of this Section 8 drunk he'd let it ride. For theatric purposes
I stuck a .45 cal in his gut and promised to shoot him if ever he
came near me again.

Little did I realize that about 3 weeks later he was KIA and I only
found out when I came back home after the war.

Maybe I should have turned him in and had him held and thus he
might still be alive!! So many times I have felt I had done wrong.

Strange the many things I have forgotten!!!!

Sgtleo

 

Guarding a cross road in France near an auxiliary landing
field for B-26s when a jeep went roaring through and one
of the Lts, gave us the horselaugh and waved his Jug at us!!

I made myself a promise that if I had to stay there for 2 days
I'd get him when he came back through the check point.
Sure enough a couple hours later the same jeep came down
the road and I just knew they were about to run the blockade.

I decide to stop him for good so I put a clip of AP rounds in
my M-1 and when he got kinda near I hit his radiator and
engine which ruined the jeep. I had shot from behind so the
shell went between the driver and the Fly Boy. They took a
nutty and wanted name,rank and serial number etc so I gave
them to him and said I would drive him to our CP for the report.

Back at the CP our BN Commander(a Ring Knocker) listened
politely to the Air Corps Off's. story and turned and yelled at
me "Sgt. put yourself on report and you may lose your stripes
for this. You know you are supposed to shoot the driver not
the jeep - are you that lousy a shot?"

Turning to the Air Corps guys he told them to get the "F" out
of his CP if they valued their lives.

Never had another Air Corps runner again - but then we moved on up!!

Sgtleo

 

Well, after seeing this last post from Otto - I went back to read the rest of the thread since I'd not been here since a day or so after my own welcome to Sgt. Leo. My own blood pressure rose dramatically as I read the argumentitive nature and disrespect shown to a Veteran. To those who wish to argue with specific details from this gentleman's memory - start your own thread in the appropriate part of the forum. You can cite all the reference material you like there without starting an argument or being disrespectful. This thread is meant to introduce us to Sgt. Leo, to welcome him, and for us to thank him for being willing to share his memories with us.

To Sgt. Leo, I am appalled that you were treated in such a manner. I appreciate you being with us, hope you and your wife are doing well, and certainly hope you continue spend time with us. Please know that most of us here value both your service to your country and our freedom, as well as you contribution to us here by letting us share your memories of what were momentous and difficult times in your life. As you said in one post - you left the army 22 going on 202. My deepest regards, Michelle.

 

Thanks to all who have made SgtLeo welcome. Most unusually, I am lost for more to say so will just say 'Thanks, again'.

Steve W.

 

I am humbled to say the least by the comments of
Otto, Jeff, Michelle, dgmitchell and Steve Wright and
to know that they now have declared quite emphatically
that I am NOT a Wannabe or a Troll.

Two things have been paramount in my life and my children
would verify this (1) You will never LIE!! and (2) You will
never STEAL!!. Had I been a Wannabe/Troll I would have
been doing both of these NO/NOs!!!

When my integrity was challenged and in fact I felt vilified,
I have to admit I was utterly crushed to say it nicely. I wonder
if some of my detractors had my lot in life would they be able
to contend with it.

To those of you who don't know my personal circumstances
I'll just say I'd have had no time for pretend. I will leave it
with this - MY WIFE is my life and she needs me now so that
is my duty exclusively.

Don't know where or when but I'll be back as time permits.

Sgtleo

 

And we look forward to your return. I know that each day with your wife brings you joy.

 

Your integrity was not challenged. Your memory was. You posted conflicting information about what Unit you were in and when you transfered from the Infantry. They could not both be right and one version meant you could not have even been In Rennes. You said you did not realise this until you checked back.
The other lapse was the identification of a certain type of tank. There is no point in going over it again.

 

Kenny -- Exactly. You have beaten this horse to death so please drop the subject. You do not need to get the last word in this discussion.

 

dgmitchell et alia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VNA is here with my wife so I'm momentarily free.

If you don't find this one funny "I QUIT"

Prelude:-
This particular NCO was so hated that I had to assemble his
Plt. and order them to cease and desist their actions. In the
staging area, prior to sailing to France his men would yell at
him and every time he turned around they'd "Dry Fire" a round
while pointing the weapon at him. We had been taught from
day one in Basic that you only point a weapon at someone
you intend to shoot and he knew that and was scared
****Less for sure.

Story:-
I'm sure you know that at times there is a sort of perverse or
almost sadistic humor among the troops but it was used at
times as a safety valve and here's one such incident that
involved the NCO mentioned above.

In Normandy,near ???(senior moment-I forget where - we were
moving so fast),we decided to spend the night in a nearby
farm house that was virtually intact. With us was the "so-called"
Plt.Sgt. that had reached that rank in the National Guard
through political influence back home. Most of the guys
requested that they be allowed to be behind him when
advancing because he would fire at anything he was so
scared. Believe me he wasn't a leader!! I tried several times
to unload him to no avail.

A couple of my "real NCOs" came to me with a proposal they
wanted to put in effect but to protect me they asked that I
not get any details of said proposal. Knowing these men, I
knew it would be much better if I truthfully could say after
the fact that I had no knowledge of the "prank".

Naturally, since this was a farm the house had no indoor
plumbing so a "slit trench" was dug in a sort of a grove of
trees for all to use and it was out of sight and dark here.
(Have to properly set the stage)!!

In the barn we found a Kraut bicycle,weapons and camouflage
capes etc. left behind when we moved up and into the farm.
The "real NCOs" fashioned a figure in the shadows that from a
distance was a work of artful deception that appeared to be a
Kraut sniper who did travel on bicycles for obvious reasons and
some did travel alone. The bike,rifle,camo jacket etc. were all
there.

After eating and before bedding down the "real NCOs" suggested
a check of the perimeter and the slit trench area with the
"Plt. Sgt." as the leader but this was was after suggestive stories
about hearing noises in the barn,across the road in the Hedgerow
field etc which scared the living you know what out of our friend.

Off they went and in a few moments I heard ungodly screaming
about a sniper in the grove so everybody went down ASAP. Not
knowing any better,the Plt. Sgt. threw a few grenades and shot
the daylights out of the make-believe sniper with a Thompson
while the rest of the patrol was rolling on the ground with laughter.

From that day on until he managed,and I don't know how,to
be transferred back to England accompanied by his nickname
"Sniper".

The Company CO. was not amused but did admit he was glad
he was gone.

Sgtleo

 

Sarge -- Great story!

 

But just for the record despite what Otto et alia said you had
to put your oar in again to prove you are the ultimate you just
could not let it go as it was. Man I truly feel sorry for a poor
excuse for a man like you. You must have a P Poor life always
waiting to say "Gotcha".

Sgtleo

 

The Padre and the Bikie Stories

Story #1- The Padre
One time when we were attached to Intel they put two of us
with an MP traffic control location because the Kraut stragglers
had been mixing in the convoys after dark and then disappearing
when the time was right.

This was a real small town,nothing more than the cross road and
an auberge(inn),which the locals visited and we knew some of
them were sympathizers. We would scout around at night and
early morning looking for "stragglers" that would come out at
these times and had some success getting some.

Each morning the Padre would come down the road so far,stop
and yell out who he was and ask permission to go to his church
for a Morning Mass. We got to know him pretty good and he was
very happy the GIs were taking over the area. I always spoke
with him in French (as a door opener and so he would be partial
to us) and as he said "now I can feel safe" - even the Gendarmes
are sympathizers.

One morning he asked me to walk along with him to the Church
and although puzzled I went along. When we got to and area that
nobody could hear us he asked me "Do you know that you are
being watched day and night?". My ears perked up and when the
Bikie that picked up the messages came by I told him to pass the
word to the CP ASAP. A much larger detail was sent and we
rounded up the "watchers" before they knew what hit them.
The Padre had given us the location of the farmhouse they were
living in.

Much to everybody's surprise two different idiots from Intel had
each assigned a team to do exactly what we were doing and they
were planning on getting help to take us out. Thus a catastrophe
was averted.

Story #2 - The Bikie
At this same cross road as I said above a Bikie came by to
pick up messages etc. and to see if we needed ammo etc. Myself
and the other man were talking to him when "ZIP" a shell went
between us and lodged in the tree. We had no idea where it can
from so we decided to take off ASAP. The Bikie had a rack over
his rear wheel so my buddy and I squeezed on to that(almost
flattened the tire) but we got the hell out of there. We stopped
about a mile down the road and the Bikie started to laugh like a
fool and comes out with this remark "I'll bet the Kraut that shot
at us is laughing his a** off at what we must have looked like
getting the hell out of there". Never did catch that b**s***d!!

Sgtleo

 

I concur so if you please gentlemen, lets keep on topic and move on. I am sure we are all interested in finding out more about Sgt Leo's experiences.

Regards,
Ike

 

My Reluctant Resignation:-Effective Immediately!!

The World War Two Forums could have been a therapeutic
tool for me given my circumstances. NOT SO!!!!

Subsequent to a somewhat elaborate review by qualified
professional individuals, I have been advised that the interaction,
with a specific individual - initiated entirely by him and which has
become his mantra so to speak, has caused the interaction to
be counter-productive medically. Sort of like shoveling S***
against the tide.

In summary,the assessment was that if I said Black he'd say
White ALWAYS adding the caveat that the tank was not a Tiger
and that I should be dutifully reminded of that every time I post.
He just cannot/will not let it go.

Despite the remedial steps taken no solution resulted therefore
I have no alternative other than to say Adieu tout le monde!!

I refuse to deal with an individual whose persona requires that
he ALWAYS has the last word ad nauseam.

Sgtleo

 

Sgtleo, You shall surely be missed.

 

Sgtleo,I am sorry that you had to leave the site.
I totally understand why you made that choice,sad as it is.
Having been a member of many different forums over the years,I have seen this situation many times unfortunately.
I wish you and your wife all the best and many will miss your very interesting input here.

Yours,
Django