Memories of an American G.I. in Wales

By Robert Bradicich of New York

 

 

My name is Robert Bradicich and I was born on 23^rd January, 1925 in Brooklyn New York. I entered the U.S. Army right out of High School in March 1943. I had basic training at Camp Blanding, Florida with the 66^th Infantry Division. After basic training, the 66^th was split up and the men were sent to different divisions. My buddies and I were sent to the 28^th Infantry Division, 110^th Regiment, 2^nd Battalion, Company E, which was the National Guard outfit from Pennsylvania that was mobilized.

 

In September 1943, the 28^th Infantry Division were sent to Pembroke Dock, South Wales. They took us by train to Boston where were going to debark from. The train stopped in New York for a very short time and I remember some of the guys from N. Y. wanted to get off and see their families one more time, but the M.P’s were all over the place. Remember that many of us were going overseas and would not be coming back. I don’t know if anyone got off or not, but the train started again and this time we stopped in the Boston area by the docks. As we got off the train with full back packs we had to go out of the door sideways. We marched to the docks and they were playing “Over there” and the flags were waving – it lifted your spirits. As we went through the checkpoint, we were greeted by the Red Cross with coffee and doughnuts.

 

The ship that we were going over on looked like a freighter, but we knew it better as a “Banana Boat”. We were double decked, some of the guys below the deck while others were on the deck. This we would reverse every twelve hours. It was a sad sight for the guys on deck, of which I was one, to see the United States skyline disappear in the background. As the hours dragged on and the guys all got settled, I was tired so I stretched out on the deck and went to sleep, it was hard to sleep when the guys were walking around and stepping over you, but somehow I managed to sleep a little.

 

The next day we joined a convoy but came into some rough weather and this “Banana Boat” really pitched in the 50ft. waves. At times when the boat was in the bottom of the swell, you could look up and see a wall of water. Then the boat rolled and you could feel the boat being lifted up to the top of the wave and roll over the other way and slide down on the other side of the wave. Shortly after that, the order came down that all army personnel were to go below deck, the seas were getting too rough (I don’t know how much rougher it could have gotten). There must have been about 95% of the men seasick. I am happy to say that I was not one of them.

 

Now it was time for us to eat (they must be kidding !!). Well, the mess hall was down on the second level. There were long tables and you stood up while you tried to eat your food. A lot of the guys that were brave enough to try to eat, got sick and threw up. They managed to leave the mess hall and get to their bunks (the hammocks were five high, attached to the wall of the boat) They left their food trays on the table so when the next wave came, it sent them flying to the floor. This was certainly the “Mess Hall”. I managed to get some food down and keep it down. After about a day and a half the seas became much calmer.

 

About the fifth day there was an attack by a German Submarine. The U.S. destroyers were all over dropping depth charges and I guess drove them away or sank them. By the way, those destroyers could really move. The rest of the “Cruise” was uneventful except for the time we passed some mines. The sailors used their machine guns to fire at them and blow them up. If we hit one, it would have been over for all of us. Even with all this, they managed to keep us active. They had us assemble in groups on deck and do callisthenics, clean your rifle and inspections. While this was going on, they used a fire hose to wash down our sleeping quarters and mess hall. If there had been dirt on board they would have had us dig fox holes.

 

On the 7^th day we saw land. I think I know a little bit of what Columbus felt like when he saw America. After seven days out on the high seas with 95% of the men sea sick, I was glad to see land. We disembarked at Newport without a fanfare and went immediately onto trains which were waiting for us to take us to Pembroke Dock.

 

Pembroke Dock was a quaint looking town on the Southwest part of Wales. The people there were very friendly and thankful that we came over. The barracks were on top of a hill overlooking the bay, where the amphibious aircraft took off in search of German Submarines.

 

Once there, we got assigned to barracks and cots. We had out GI blankets but for a mattress, they brought straw bales which we had to put into a cloth bag to make it look like a mattress. This was out bed and it was changed periodically. Once we got settled we started the usual army routine like getting up at 5 am and hiking about 5 miles. This was for starters. Sometimes we would walk about miles and they would bring us breakfast in the field, then we continued to walk. Some days we would walk 20 or 30 miles. They also took us out by truck (which we thought was great) but then they got us out after about 30 miles from camp and made us walk back.

 

Other times we would go on manouvers for weeks at a time. When they did this the kitchen usually came with us and we would eat in the field. On these manouvers they gave us blank ammunition for our guns which really got them dirty. At times, they would tell three guys that they were wounded and to lie on the ground and call for the medics. This was training for the medics to treat them and get them back to the field hospital.

 

Once in a while we had dances on the base. The dances were held in our hall which was also used as a chapel, meeting hall etc. This one night, we were having a dance, my buddy (George Miles from Altoona, P.A.) was on guard duty at the front door. The brass allowed some British Soldiers to attend the dance. At the beginning of the dance they played our National Anthem followed by God Save the Queen. Some words were said and before we knew it, a brawl started. I heard one GI say to a British Soldier “Get lost, we had to come all the way over here to save your ass again.” Well it really started to get nasty. I saw George at the door and told him that he had better do something. He asked me what he should do and I told him to call a sergeant of the guard. As luck would have it, the sergeant was making his rounds and was going to check in the dance anyway. He saw what was going on and he called the MP’s. They came immediately and broke up the fighting. Amazingly, order was restored and the dance went on. I found out what one British Soldier said “You Americans are over paid, over sexed and over here”

Remember we were Americans dancing with British girls and it did’nt go over too well with the British soldiers.

 

At most of the dances, the British soldiers were not invited, but some guys would find something to fight over.

 

When we got passes to go to town we usually headed for the best watering hole in the town at the bottom of the hill. Here we drank warm larger beer, played darts and then tried to make it back up the hill to camp. Some guys were in town without a pass and when we got to the gate, the guys with passes kept the guard busy whilst the guys without passes went through. I really think they knew what was happening but didn’t say anything. They didn’t want to put their buddies in the guardhouse.

 

This went on for the winter months and as the weather got a little warmer, things changed a little. We got into trucks and went to a town called Cardiff, where we did some amphibious  manouvers with the navy. We would climb into a little boat called an LCI (Landing Craft Infantry) and storm the beaches of Wales. These LCI’s held only 30 men crowded together. We knew what we were training for and it wasn’t very comforting. In training the navy knew where the sandbars were, so they brought the LCI’s right up to the beach. They did not want to lose any men on manouvers. If this was the real thing they would come in and hit the beach, the ramp would come down and the entire platoon was to run down the ramp to the beach. If it was a sandbar and the water was over your head – that was tough. With all the gear you had on, there was no way you could swim or stay afloat.

 

On another occasion, they called reveille at about 5 am. We got washed and dressed and assembled for roll call at 5. 30 am. Then instead of having chow, we got onto trucks and convoyed out of the camp. We did not know where we were going, but then we never knew. The convoy was quite large, trucks as far as you could see. This could be what everyone was waiting for. Invasion talk started to spread. When we saw the names of the towns we went through, we felt better because we were going north. We just stopped outside Fishguard, got out of trucks and they had breakfast for us. Just think – powdered eggs, home fries and coffee. This we ate on the lawn with the morning sun. Of course, we had no chairs – we sat on the lawn. They did not have any plates so we ate out of our mess gear. We had a full half hour to stand in line for the food to eat and then rinse out our gear in clear hot water. The first one to clean their gear had good hot water, but if you were last, it wasn’t so hot and clean.

 

When we were finished, we thought we would get back on the trucks, but they were nowhere in sight. Then we knew – we were going to march back to camp (Pembroke Dock). We estimated out mileage to be about 30 miles, this could take about 10 hours. Well, we marched and marched and marched. In some of the small towns we went through, I don’t think they had ever seen an American Soldier. They appeared a little frightened. They thought we might have been German soldiers. When they found out we were American, they were happy and waved to us. Remember, there wasn’t any television in the homes in those days.

 

After about the fourth “Take 10” (10 minute break) everyone just plopped down on the side of the road, took off their packs and laid down flat on their backs. As we got closer to Pembroke Dock you saw the medics treating some guys on the side of the road for blisters. My feet were hot but I was fine.

 

We got to Pembroke Dock at abour 7 p.m. When we approached the place where all the brass was watching, the sergeant got us all whipped up, marching by numbers, shoulders back, chest out, so when we passed them we looked like soldiers instead of how we really felt. When we got back  to barracks, I found that there was a dance in the hall, so I quickly did the three sss’s and went to the dance. I can say that I was really in good shape.

 

The next day we fell out for reveille, all were reported present, however the daily sick call was quite high. The guys still had their blisters. After reveille we went out behind the barracks where we got instruction on the BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle). When you hold the trigger, it will keep firing as long as you have ammunition in the clip, which held about 20 to 25 rounds. This can be fired from the hip if at close range, or it had two legs at the front so it could be shot from the prone position for more accuracy. That way it was used like a light machine gun. Usually, another rifleman was always with the BAR man and he carried more clips so he would not run out of ammunition.

 

While in South Wales, we ate most of our meals in the Battalion Mess Hall. This was different from the Company Mess. Company chow was much better and we had the best cooks, because our cooks did something to the powdered eggs which made them taste almost like eggs. But when it came to powdered potatoes, there is nothing they could do to make them edible. The only meals we ate outside the Mess hall was when we went into town. Pembroke Dock, which was at the bottom of the hill. Well, the Battalion Mess Hall got really bad and I got sick. I was sick enough to go on sick call in the morning, which means you cleaned the barracks that day. I could not eat anything for three days, but somehow I managed to clean the barracks, except for the last day. Oh yes, each day that I went on sick call, they gave me two aspirins and sent me back to the barracks. The last day, my buddy cleaned the barracks for me and told me to eat something. I tried to, but could not keep it down. When he saw how sick I was, he went out and luckily he saw a jeep with a doctor riding in it. I say lucky because this was Sunday, when almost everyone was in town. He asked the Doctor to look at me, which he did. He saw my yellow eyes and yellow skin and he went out and called an ambulance to take me to the hospital. I had yellow jaundice. I was in the hospital for about two weeks, and while I was there, I heard that one day the guys took their soup bowls that had a quarter inch of grease on the top, and turned them upside down and walked out of the Mess Hall. Well, this brought the Officer in Charge of the Division Mess to our Battalion Mess Hall, inspecting the conditions and he promptly closed it down. It was still closed when I got out of hospital, so we had to go over to the 1^st Battalion Mess Hall to eat. They eventually opened our Mess Hall after it was all cleaned up, painted and passed inspection. However, the best meals came from our company mess when it was open. We also had the best cooks.

 

I remember another episode where a few of us went to a dance by the NFS (National Fire Service) on some small island just off the coast of Pembroke. We were taken there by a small British boat and were told that the last boat would leave a 11 p.m. sharp – Be There. We had a good time and when it was time to leave, some of us, including me, took too much time and got to the dock after 11 p.m. – so we missed the boat. The guys said they were going back to the party, but I was going to try and find a way back. I knew that if I didn’t get back that night, I would miss reveille in the morning and be marked AWOL. This meant that, when you returned – you went to the brig. Checking around I found a National Fire Brigade Boat with some guys aboard. I told the guys my story and that I had to get back to the mainland or I would be AWOL. They said they could not take me across at night because of the curfew. They also told me that a British Patrol Boat was on the other pier and I should try them. After identifying myself to them, that I was indeed and American Soldier, the guy called someone, then told me to hop in and they would take me across. When we got to the other side, I was immediately detained by British Guards. Here I had to identify myself all over again. I was kept there until they called my base and got clearance. I thought “What did I run into”. My pass was up at midnight and I thought I would be thrown into the guardhouse anyway. Well, to my surprise, I got cleared and they not only let me go, but drove me to the camp in a British Lorry. (I guess they wanted to make sure). We got out and the British Soldiers escorted me to the guard on duty and I presented my pass to George Miles, who was on guard and was my buddy. He told the British that everything was Okay and they left. Do you know that, the British never let me out of their sight all the time I was with them. Even though I was about an hour and a half late, George let me through without any problem.