Avatar of CaptainBritton

Status

Recent Statuses

6 yrs ago
Current "Out of every hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are targets, nine are the real fighters, for they make the battle. But one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back." -Heraclitus
3 likes
7 yrs ago
"I have resolved never to start an unjust war, but never to end a legitimate one except by defeating my enemies." -King Charles XII 'Carolus Rex' of Sweden, 1700
1 like
7 yrs ago
“Civilians are like beans; you buy 'em as needed for any job which merely requires skill and savvy. But you can't buy fighting spirit.” -Robert A. Heinlein
5 likes
8 yrs ago
"The soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country” -General George S. Patton Jr.
3 likes
8 yrs ago
"Wine has drowned more than the sea." -Roman proverb
6 likes

Bio

User has no bio, yet

Most Recent Posts


Throwing my interest out there.
I'll begin writing ASAP.
Sure, why not?
Cretteville, France
1900 hrs
July 17th, 1944
Partly Cloudy
71° F

Might as well start with the good news. The now-Captain saw it fit to frock me and then eventually get the paperwork to promote me to Technician Grade 5. It's no double stripes, but at least I'm moving up in the world. I sewed on my new chevrons last night after lights out. It's mighty nice to be wearing something other than a single stripe.

Now on to the melancholy news. First contact was today. Early rise at 0500, set out at 0600. I won't lie, a good portion of my buddies, and even the Captain looked hungover as all hell. Must've been from that Chateau 'wine-tasting' party. Everyone from the Sergeant to the Captain got their buzz. I'll admit, I took a few gulps from a bottle, and I was a bit tipsy. But by no means was I hungover in the morning.

Anyways, back to first contact. The 4th Infantry Division withdrew for R&R and we were on the advance by 0600. By 0900 we passed through the withdrawing 4th ID, and kept the roll going. 1000 hours and the Lieutenant reported that first platoon had contact, but we were moving again soon enough.

It's 1900 now and we've made camp at Cretteville. Our pickets and sentries are posted and thank God my name wasn't drawn from that hat. Don't wanna be up much past lights out. The next sentence is jotted down, as is the signature. Speaking of.

TCH5 Earl F. Ball
Co. A, 37th Tank Btn., 4th Armored Div.


St-Jores, France
2300 hrs
July 18th, 1944
Partly Cloudy
68° F

Today was the real first engagement on the part of the infantry. Our platoon spotted a good concentration of tanks and infantry just north of St-Jores. We held back till 1400 when what seemed like the whole battalion began the assault. The infantry and assault guns were in reserve for a good portion of the engagement.

This was until about 2030 when the infantry and assault guns were ordered to flank right and hit them in their left flank. We ran up on the entire force and caught 'em with their pants down. I must've scored about three Nazis and one of their halftracks before they withdrew.

By 2200 we'd whipped 'em and they were on their way south with their tail between their legs. We made camp at 2230 and of course I was drawn for sentry duty by the Lieutenant. My shift starts at 0200 and goes to 0300 before getting relieved. Better grab some shut-eye before then.

TCH5 Earl F. Ball
Co. A, 37th Tank Btn., 4th Armored Div.


Le Petit-Saint Germain, France
1730 hrs
July 19th, 1944
Sunny
81° F

Sentry duty was eventful. During my shift a patrol sighted at least a platoon of Wehrmacht and scrambled us picket teams. The squad of lucky sentries assembled and we plotted their courses on one of the Sergeants' maps. Didn't sleep after my shift ended. Heard artillery got called on them. Hope they burned in Hell.

Worse yet, the infantry platoon was sent forward with the 2nd platoon. Didn't seem to cease fire the entire time. Used half of .50 Browning ammo reserve. Two malfunctions sustained during the firefight. Will have to inquire with maintenance if cleaning doesn't fix it.

Just finished some A rations. Chicken and corn. Welcome difference from the C-cans or the overcooked whole chicken the Corporal tried to pass off as edible after getting it from a local and cooking it himself. Too tired to continue for today. Here's to welcome sleep.

TCH5 Earl F. Ball
Co. A, 37th Tank Btn., 4th Armored Div.


La Regnauderie, France
1600 hrs
July 20th, 1944
Sunny
83° F

Today was pretty uneventful. We continued the advance southwards and encountered little to no resistance in the push. Hopefully they've just given up, cut off their swastika armbands, and gone home. I guess it's just wishful thinking.

Finally got a good bit of sleep last night. Slept a lot better knowing that we sent the krauts running. Scrawling in this book gets me thinking about how long this'll go on for. Seems like every day's a year's length. The Lieutenant said we'd be home by Christmas. Damn do I hope so.

TCH5 Earl F. Ball
Co. A, 37th Tank Btn., 4th Armored Div.


La Regnauderie, France
2130 hrs
July 21st, 1944
Partly Cloudy
76° F

Yet another day with no Germans. Better yet, we didn't even move. They had us on standby but there was no push. They even had us dig some shell-scrape fighting holes to sit in. Maybe the Germans giving up isn't too high of a hope.

One of the tank commanders had a set of grill bars on his Sherman's engine earlier. Some local'd given him a chicken, some booze, and he'd acquired some seasoning from the battalion mess unit. Now this man was Cajun as Cajuns come. He laid to that bird with beer and seasoning as it cooked. I could've sworn I was back home when I bit into it. His crew and our squad all enjoyed a bit of it and we all joked with the Corporal about his terrible cooking skills compared to the Cajun.

There's a massive amount of fire and artillery coming from the south. From ear it sounds like our guns, but what do I know? I just shoot the Browning.

TCH5 Earl F. Ball
Co. A, 37th Tank Btn., 4th Armored Div.


Saint Sauveur-Lendelin, France
2000 hrs
July 22nd, 1944
Mostly Sunny
79° F

Third lazy day in a row. Really pulled a lucky hand on this one. We resumed the push, though. Not enough to write about today. Got a few replacements from battalion, apparently. Haven't met 'em. Oop, lights out.

TCH5 Earl F. Ball
Co. A, 37th Tank Btn., 4th Armored Div.
CS and first post up. Hope you all like it!

@CaptainBritton Welcome! I figured you would have taken a tanker with your cavalry experience.


I debated it, but ultimately I went with my gut on making a rifleman doubling as one of the M2 operators on one of the M3 halftracks. I do hope that's acceptable.


St-Mere-Eglise, France
2100 hrs
July 16th, 1944
Overcast
66° F

The 37th finally shipped five or so days back. We're in France now, liberating it from the Nazis. When we drove ashore at Utah Beach, I was astonished at the fact that the battle looked like it happened just yesterday, sans any corpses. Shell craters, shattered stakes, torn barbed wire, and dented hedgehogs were the most of what we saw until we rolled inland. We passed a lot of villages and towns, some of them almost completely destroyed. It's unthinkable how much damage those flyboys did. All's fair, I guess.

Every night we made camp, and even while we made the drive to the front, French citizens frequently walked up to thank us or offer cigarettes and alcohol. Some stayed back and just flashed "V"s with their pointer and middle fingers at us while speaking from afar. Sometimes kids walk up and we hand give them our fudge disks, gum, and sometimes some sugar cubes. We never get to know them much aside from that night.

We're in St-Mere-Eglise tonight, just a few miles from the front. We're due to relieve the 4th Infantry Division starting tomorrow, and are apart of some op starting in a week. I think the Lieutenant called it Operation Cobra. Either way, I'll be taking the M2 on our third halftrack and have been instructed to only dismount when the halftrack is damaged. A further sentence is heavily scribbled out by graphite marks.

The Lieutenant just gave us the lights out order, according to the Sergeant. Here's to an early morning and a well-fought victory.

PFC Earl F. Ball
Co. A, 37th Tank Btn., 4th Armored Div.
Name:

Earl Franklin Ball
Age:

19
Rank:

Private First Class (PFC)
Position:

Rifleman (MOS 745)
Background:

Earl F. Ball was born on June 13th, 1925 in the municipality of Greeneville, Tennessee, in the similarly named Greene County, noted for being the birthplace of David 'Davy' Crockett. Born to the proud owners of a tobacco farm among the Tennessee Valley's rolling hills, Earl spent a great deal of his time as a farmhand, assisting his father and the hands he hired to till, sew, and harvest the fields.

He attended the local schoolhouse nearby to the modern day Ottway Primary School, receiving a rudimentary education by modern standards. He graduated in mid-1942 and immediately sought enlistment. As soon as his parents signed the waiver, he was shipped to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for BCT, which was completed and he was mustered into the 53rd Armored Infantry Battalion at its formation, shipped to Watertown, New York for advanced training.

At Camp Pine, Earl was trained as an operator of one of the M2 Brownings on one of the M3 Halftracks. He bided his time and underwent training as it came. By the time the unit left for England, he had no strong connections or attachments in Watertown.

Once in England, he eagerly anticipated the unit’s deployment, and was promoted during exercises in preparation for aforementioned deployment. Once in mainland France, Earl began to keep a journal starting July 16th.

© 2007-2024
BBCode Cheatsheet