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| 105mm Howitzer used by 15th FAB |
Information from Sgt. Glynn Raby, Jr.
9th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division
Although Hill 192 was ours on July 11 (I believe that is the date) going was still tough. On July 25, the day of the big air strike, we were still in hedgerow country not far south of St. Lo. Our Armored units began their offensive to the south, east and west (toward Brittany). We continued to the south, took the town of Vire, after crossing the river known as River Vire (although the full name is "Souleuvre"). That was early August.
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| NORTHWEST FRANCE - Saint Lo and Vire on top right |
Somewhere in France
Aug 2, 1944
Dear Mother,
I know you worry because I'm not sending more mail. Wish you would not as the big reason is I can't find the time or I am just too tired. It's now the middle of the afternoon and I should be taking a nap as things are a little quiet but I realize you always watch for the mailman to see if he hasn't just a note from across so I'll try to pen a few lines. Hope I can keep my eyes open until it's finish.
At first, the weather was very bad, mostly rain and when we needed planes the weather kept them from flying but now that we have moved inland the weather is much better. Today, it is quite warm so I've moved backed from the gun behind the hedgerow in the shade and breeze. Also for a little protection as a Jerry seems to be trying to drop in a few rounds someplace.
When I wrote your other two letters we were at a standstill but now we're on the move and right on "De Master Race's" a --. We were moving so fast the one day we got too far front and it got plenty hot. You see Jerry is just like a jackass and at times hard to move so you fight for what you gain.
Seems to me that I've dug holes enough to hold all the water of Sebago Lake but then won't always be. Many boys have already given their lives so we should be thankful even though at times we work hard.
Today, is the first time since we started to drive that I've seen any French people. It seems the Germans are driving them back so they retreat. These people don't know how to act when they see you coming down the road. One man clapping his hands hold two fingers up in a V sign, he had a big smile. They all run to the road and wave as you pass. We're so far front it makes us among the first to pass through. By the looks I guess these people have been through a lot. Most all wear heavy wooden shoes. When at first we would pass through a little place like Gag Corner and stop just on the other side you could hear the church bell in the little old church begin to ring as the people would return from the woods to their homes. Every little place has a church and once, we learned it was the first time in four years the bell had rung. They just kept ringing it all day long. Many homes are burned or blown down as we advance. They have a lot of cows here and you see and also smell many dead ones. Saw one today not far from this place that had received a direct hit from a shell, there was hardly anything left of her, it just blew her all over the place. Many have chickens, pigs, ducks and sometimes twenty or more rabbits. When we come to a place like this and the people have gone we open all the doors and let all the animals out so they won't starve. Gee, I wish I could speak French.
Gosh, Mom, I don't know what to make of the news back home. Some of the things you write sound like a puzzle.
How is Joe's foot now? Hope it didn't lay him up. Looks to me he was one lucky boy. Tell him I was asking.
Funny but after awhile you can tell the sound of different things or should I say the difference between German's and ours such as planes, guns, whistles of shells etc. What made me write this is, that I can hear the sound of a German machine gun. Boy that thing can fire fast about twelve hundred rounds per minute.
I received the two pictures you sent taking down the snow fence and Gene with two children on a tractor. You seem to be the only one writing now.
Oh yes, did you ever get my watch? You never did write any more about it. I'll send the money for it or even send it to her.
Well, I must close and dig a hole to dive into. I see a haystack not far away and if there are no booby traps I'll have plenty inside that hole after I get it dug. I'll write soon or always when I can, even if it's just a note.
Love to all.
Son Charles
Soldiers digging foxholes
This letter brings chuckles and tears as I write it for this post. Tired Uncle Charlie seems to share his thoughts and feelings more freely. Describing the sights, the sounds, the smells of war with raw openness. He doesn't mince words and his mother must shiver knowing what his son is seeing and doing. Also, to think if it has been four years since the church bell has rung in some of these towns; can we even imagine what these French people have gone through because of Nazi occupation!
My uncle shares about Sebago Lake when he mentions about digging foxholes. It is just a few miles from his home and mine in Maine. Sebago Lake is the deepest and second largest lake in the United States in the state of Maine. The lake is 316 feet (96 m) deep at its deepest point, with a mean depth of 101 feet (31 m), covers about 45 square miles (117 km2) in surface area, has a length of 12 miles (19 km) and a shoreline length of 105 miles (169 km). It is in Cumberland County, Maine, and borders by the towns of Casco, Naples, Raymond, Sebago, Standish and Windham.
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| SEBAGO LAKE |
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