Part 8
15 FAB Yearbook
2nd Artillery Battalion p. 79
The Diary of Staff Sergeant Hanford Maurice Rice
On November 11 the Division observed
Armistice Day with a barrage of small arms, mortar, and artillery
fire at 11:00 am. The Germans, after recovering from their surprise,
made a feeble retaliation. Thanksgiving was observed with a barrage
of turkey- which was not fired at the Germans. The men looked forward
to spending Christmas amid their pine-log luxury, but this was not to
be the case.
November
11, 1944 (Saturday) “Worked all day on hole and cut wood. It is
Armistice Day and it sounded like the whole corps fired one round. I
wrote Vicky.”
November
12, 1944 (Sunday) “I got 2 letters from Vicky. Cut wood all day. It
is snowing again and cold. Wrote Vicky.”
November
13, 1944 (Monday) “Cut wood all day. It is snowing pretty hard.
Sent $100.00 home. Wrote Vicky and mama.”
November 14, 1944 (Tuesday) “Cut wood and coughed all day. I hope my cold gets better. No mail.”
Somewhere in Germany
November 10, 1944
Dear Mother,
Enclosed you'll find a card and I want to let you know how come I'm sending it. First you can't help noticing the card is just the same like those Uncle sent you when he was over here during the last war. There was a little fellow in our section who was at one time a little hard of hearing, he stayed around the gun but never put cotton in his ears when the firing was heavy. In this way it just pounded his ear drums until I could see he was growing harder of hearing every day. After they would call us together and give a lecture on the situation of things, he'd always ask me what they said. Many times he and I would travel in pairs. He was thirty-one years old, smaller than Scott Grant, name Charlie Hoffmeyer and from Ganado, Texas. One night while on guard he failed to hear the phone which was right beside him so next morning reported on sick call. To-day he is far to the rear in a hospital. I received a letter from him in which he sent me this card saying I could send it home if I like it. Wish there was an American Flag in it but that sure was thoughtful of him.
Rare Color WW II Firing Gun
Finished a letter to you the other morning while outside it was snowing and it snowed all that day which left quite a bit of snow on the ground. To-day it has been snowing and raining and with all this snow laden Pine trees you may realize from seeing it before at home how much of a mess it has made.
No mail as yet except for the three I received the other morning, but they'll be plenty when it does come.
Well, Mother, guess this is all for now.
Love
Charles
David Anderson was Uncle Charlie's mother's brother. He was my great uncle. I remember him well. He served in the Great War later called World War I in the 72nd Artillery Regiment from August 6, 1918 - April 5, 1919. The 72nd Artillery (Coast Artillery Corps) Batteries A and B organized in June 1918 in Portland, Maine, with its headquarters at Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Batteries C, D, E, and F were organized at other forts, such as, Fort Preble and Fort McKinley. The regiment went to Montreal, Canada, and then departed overseas for England on August 14, 1918 arriving on August 25. They crossed to Le Havre, France on August 29, 1918 and were stationed at St. Leonard (Haute Vienne) and OTC No. 2 at Limoges. The regiment arrived back in the United States in New York City on March 29, 1919. They were processed through Hoboken, New Jersey to Camp Upton, New York, and was transferred to Camp Grant, Illinois, where it was demobilized April 19, 1919. They received the France Victory Ribbon.
Armistice Day 1918
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