Dan The Road Trip Guy
Join Dan the Road Trip Guy as he explores the adventures, memories, and life lessons of diverse guests from all walks of life. This podcast goes beyond the road to celebrate the journey of life by uncovering stories of passion, resilience, and the pursuit of happiness. Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or simply love a good story, Dan the Road Trip Guy will leave you inspired and ready to embrace your own adventures. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!
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Dan The Road Trip Guy
A Journey from D-Day to the Battle of the Bulge: Tales of Courage and Camaraderie
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Step into the shoes of a World War II veteran as he brings to life the raw and riveting experiences from Utah Beach on D-Day. You'll feel the adrenaline as he recounts navigating the perilous waters on a motorcycle amidst enemy fire, and the poignant moments that followed, like forming an unexpected bond with a stray dog in war-torn Germany. Through his vivid storytelling, you'll grasp the chaos, the courage, and the camaraderie that defined that fateful day and the days that followed. His tales offer a window into the heart of a soldier, marked by the resilience and humanity found even in the darkest of times.
This episode takes you deeper into the complexities of war through strategic maneuvers, unexpected surrenders, and the harrowing tasks faced by soldiers. Our guest shares insights into tactical prowess, highlighting the ingenuity of officers and the stark realities encountered, from booby-trapped bodies to the unforgiving conditions of the Battle of the Bulge. We also glimpse the lighter side of military life, where discipline and presentation lead to unique opportunities and recognition. Join us for a compelling exploration of the spirit and adaptability demonstrated by those who served, reminding us of the enduring human stories behind the headlines of history.
Obviously a big part of your life and a big part of the world. The history of the world and our society is World War II. I know you growing up. I know you didn't talk about that a lot. It was a tragic and traumatic time, but some stories maybe that you'd like to share including how you encountered, randomly and surprisingly, your brother, brother Art you want to share. We were shipped to Ireland.
Speaker 2:We stayed in Ireland for three months before they got us all ready to hit the beach and you were in D-Day right, yeah, june 4th 1944, Utah Beach. They put us on a big boat. We didn't know where it was going. We crossed the English Channel from Ireland and we were hit the beach. We didn't know we were hit the beach, but we did.
Speaker 1:They didn't tell you what was you were going to do.
Speaker 2:They didn't tell us nothing, and so all three of us had all fully packed everything we needed to survive, plus our vehicle and intake and exhaust to keep running in the water.
Speaker 1:You, your motorcycle.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and they had landing barges along side of the beach where you came down and you used to get your whole outfit. You sat in that landing craft that he took off for the beach. But anyhow, we come in with these big boats and we stopped and it just kept rocking. All of a sudden we got all the okay, you guys, it lined all up and this, and that they got great big ropes, ropes Over the side. How are we going to get down to Hollins? You'll find out. Get a rope, get the rope, get overboard and go down on the rope.
Speaker 1:Into the water.
Speaker 2:Into the landing parts.
Speaker 1:Oh, this is when you're loading into the beach.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when we hit the beach with the boat, then we get off the boat and land and you go back and forth and you have to stick your feet out like that because you slam up against the side of that big boat the further you get in. Your landing craft was about as big as this room by the long and they had all our vehicles from our squad on there.
Speaker 1:And you were at military police yeah.
Speaker 2:And everything was Did you all have motorcycles. Well, we had Jeeps, and we had a couple of command cars, okay, but mostly Jeeps and motorcycles. And so we were all sitting there, all ready. Two stems, one intake, one exhaust.
Speaker 1:And these were how tall to get above the water.
Speaker 2:They were 10, 12 feet high above the motorcycle For each motorcycle. Yeah, Wow. So it shows you what they expected you to go in the water. We got in there, everything set and okay, Boom, Off they went. And the guy that was driving an Arctic I think he was afraid to hit the beach. He must have stopped at about 90 foot of salt water and threw the ramp down and off we went. Oh, it went all over.
Speaker 1:So you drove your motorcycle from the landing craft down into the water, into the water up on the beach. Were you completely submerged or mostly submerged?
Speaker 2:Almost.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:No, I was soaking wet and the good thing it was in June because it was warm. Yeah, right, right and then there's a guy standing there, director shoot. And we shoot for the Stonehenge walls. In France, everything is stone walls, Right, right, and we get in behind there and then we start stripping everything off.
Speaker 1:So you didn't know what you were going into or where you were going or what you'd encounter when you got there. We didn't know.
Speaker 2:We didn't know. Of course, they had guns out there that could blow the ship right out of the water. You know, Right 16-inch 10-inch guns, yeah. And so the Air Force was pounding them for maybe a week or so before the landing craft.
Speaker 1:So do you remember what day it was when you landed what date on the calendar? Because you said you landed up on June 4th. I know it was 1944. Right right, it was in June.
Speaker 2:It was sometime in June because it started on June 4th, and so it could have been that we all hit June 4th, so do you remember being afraid? I tell you I was like, and my buddy says. He said are you scared of this war? He said I'm going to tell you something, boy. He said I'm so scared the bullet passed me the first time. The second time I passed the bullet.
Speaker 1:But when you were in that landing gear or you were in the landing craft, how you felt.
Speaker 2:You know how you felt. Am I going to make the beach? That's how you felt. Are you going to make it to the beach, are you?
Speaker 1:going to make it to the beach, so you weren't worried about once you got there, just about whether you Once.
Speaker 2:I got on the beach behind a wall, then I could figure out maneuvering yeah. Once I got on the beach behind the wall, then I could figure out maneuvering yeah. But there you are, exposed in the water hitting the beach. Are you going to make the beach? Because there was bodies floating around like cigars in the water.
Speaker 1:You were on a Harley Davidson right and did you have your dog with you at that time?
Speaker 2:No, I met the dog when we were in there for about six, seven months, okay, and we were in a certain about six, seven months, okay, and we were in a certain area of cause, and then there was a dog. He's sitting there watching me. He's hungry Is this in France. No, it's in Germany.
Speaker 1:Oh, by the way, you've already been to Germany.
Speaker 2:And I thought well, you know, it's one of them German dogs, so you've got to watch out there. And so I figured, well, I'm going to do it. That much I don't want to see him get killed. So I lifted him up and put him on the carrier on the back of the motorcycle and he sat with his paws on the seat. So I got on and I fell his paws in here, and the faster we go, the tighter the paws are.
Speaker 1:So his paws would grip you from the back.
Speaker 2:Yeah. He would sit behind me. He'd sit behind me on the steel luggage car. He'd just hold on. Huh, he'd just hold on. No, he'd hold on, he'd fall off.
Speaker 1:Did you name the dog? Huh, did you have a name for him?
Speaker 2:Yeah, auschiespiel. I mean, he's all played out, all played out. We were riding one night after I met my brother. He was with me. And which brother was this. Art. Art was Art drove a truck.
Speaker 1:Tell the story how you guys met.
Speaker 2:Well, he drove a truck from the mainland inland and delivered all kinds of stuff Artillery, food, everything and he happened to come through this town. They were barreling through that town 60 miles an hour. So the old man says no more of that. They slow down to 35 or else we're going to get. He turned down the dirt road and this was in August. It was hotter than a firecracker and I'm sweating. Is this Germany?
Speaker 2:Germany or France, and the dog is right down his head down. All I could see was my eyes when he kicks the dust. So he finally pulled over and stopped and before I could get over the motorcycle, somebody slapped me on the back and the dog growled he must have. How did that dog know he was my brother, you know? And here was my brother Art. I said why you sucker? I was glad to see him. So we spent two weeks together. I said hey, you gotta go back to your old man. So they gave you your speed. So I said whenever he does that, so you're here. So I said okay. So I went back and the old man says to me well, who's this wise guy? I said my younger brother.
Speaker 1:What.
Speaker 2:Well, he said we can't do much to younger brothers, but we can make them work. So he says to my brother you know where there's any? The Germans used to leave the washing machines they used to wash the vehicle. He said you know where one of those washing machines is? He said yeah, I saw one. He said that's what I want, that's your job, and until you get they went over here, you're not going to get away with it. So okay, well, he got one, brought it in and we took it off. The last night, before he was gone, we were riding down an old road and they start yelling again. So we pulled into an old house down in the basement.
Speaker 1:I could still see the water and the rocks and the dog.
Speaker 2:This was in Germany or France, in Germany, okay, and the dog he's behind me and he's pulling up tighter, I said, oh, something's going to happen and he could sense them. They're starting to shell us with artillery. When they hit me it sounded like a load of lumber Plop and he went ready to go and I grabbed him and so I said said let him go because I can't take him home, so we'll see what happens next. Couple of boom and he took off, never come back. They must have hit him. I was glad of that, because I didn't know what to do when I was coming back home, you know. So that's when I spent a lot.
Speaker 1:So that was so.
Speaker 2:He was with you for a couple weeks, and that was the last time you had your dog, yeah, and so that's the night I told him.
Speaker 1:Had you not seen him at all before you encountered him? No, when he came through that town. When he came through that town and he jumped out of the truck before you could come around and slap you in the back?
Speaker 2:No, well, he pulled down the dirt road Right and the dust yeah, it was hot, yeah, and it was building up on me.
Speaker 1:He didn't recognize you.
Speaker 2:No, I didn't. He knew who I was, but I didn't know who he was because I could only see the back Okay of half of his head through the window and he pulled over and stopped. I said no. So I went and kind of stopped it and I went to get off like that to hold the dog there. Oh, he hits me on the back. Oh boy, we're going to have trouble here. And sure enough it was him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what did you guys talk about? I mean, you know you were in the war for a number of years, but did you talk about with Art or anybody else?
Speaker 2:just the severity.
Speaker 1:Did you talk about things to take your mind off the war, or did you talk about the severity of?
Speaker 2:the situation. I talked about things back home with him because he was going to Antswani, who was twice as old as him, and so I tried to convince him. But I should have kept my mouth shut, he told me. He said mind your own damn business. I said okay.
Speaker 1:In general, though, as a soldier, when you had conversations with the other men, did you try to remember things back home? Did you talk about current situations or what might be happening in the future, or did you share your feelings? Most Do you remember any of that.
Speaker 2:Just worried about where we were going the next day and how bad it was. We used to sleep in the old wooden houses that night and they found out, said they were dropping bombs on the house and killed a lot of men that way. So we had to sleep outside on the ground. That's it on the ground. Or we'd get pine trees and you'd take the limbs and make some kind of mattress to lay on it, and that was the way we went.
Speaker 1:What was the toughest situation you recall? Battle or encounter.
Speaker 2:I never really had toughness. I had nothing to scare me after death.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I'd come around the corner one day and I thought I was in my territory. I come around the corner and there's a King Tiger tank German.
Speaker 1:A tank.
Speaker 2:A gun that looked that big, you know you could almost put your head in there. And it's sitting there, nobody's saying nothing.
Speaker 1:Were you by yourself.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was on my motorcycle. I was most of the time by myself, make connections between my guys and fix. So I shut it down and I just sat there and I look, I look, while I was sitting there myself, somebody's got to make a move. So I get up and walk in. It's empty, nobody, nobody's in the tank. I've been blessed all the way through. Yeah, I've been given everything. I've been given my wife, I've been given this and given that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you've earned a lot too. Yeah, especially with the situation you grew up in. But let's go back to the war for a little bit longer. We don't have to stay there too long. So you encountered an empty tank what other type of? But what other encounters or things where you thought, man, maybe this is the end.
Speaker 2:Well, I used to. I rode with Patton for a while.
Speaker 1:General Patton.
Speaker 2:And I used to run for messages and stuff like that direct traffic and we'd come to the Siegfried line. That was with the teeth.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And he stopped there and he's looking around from there and said you whistled, Patton whistled for you.
Speaker 2:He says, go back a quarter of a mile and tell them to get two tanks with blades on. I thought he's like no, Come up there. He got about 500 yards away from him and the tanks stopped pushing dirt. He pushed the dirt road right over there, All the tanks. That's why that guy was smart. He used to think.
Speaker 1:Like an engineer.
Speaker 2:Got the whole outfit right over there and they spent two, three years building it all. He was smart. Yeah, I appreciate him because he was a smart man, but he had a big mouth. That's the trouble with him.
Speaker 1:But you came up. Somehow you got a German Luger right. Wasn't there a company or something that you were on your bike and they surrendered no, I come on another road.
Speaker 2:We were not too far off. We was about a quarter of a mile from a concentration camp or a camp where they put all the German prisoners. And I come around this corner going out some places, whoa, where they put all the German prisoners. And I come around this corner going out some places, whoa there's a lieutenant and about 18 men all in line, fully armed, pistols and everything.
Speaker 1:In formation.
Speaker 2:When I come around the corner, I just drop down, you know.
Speaker 1:You slid your bike, or is that what you mean?
Speaker 2:No, I just slowed down and stopped.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And he says he threw up his hands and said we want to surrender. Before I could even say it, he said that in English. He did. Wow, the German.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, some of them had to learn American, though. He said what do I do? And all the men, they were looking, they were wondering what's going to happen. I don't blame them. I said well, the first thing you do, you take all your bayonets and your guns and everything off and you throw them in the ditch and inside there, Boy, they took them off and everything else, and I said all your medals and stuff. You appreciate. So I can't help you with that, but the guys probably in the concentration camp they would grab them. You know all this. So here I am, I got about 40 men, the lieutenant and the whole squad, and we're coming around the corner to the concentration camp.
Speaker 1:Were they following you on your motorcycle? I?
Speaker 2:told them they had to sort of run because I couldn't go too slow. Come around the corner and there's those guys. Hey, look at Bueller, he's captured by the whole squad. They surrendered to him. So I said what are they do with all this stuff? I said it's back there around the corner. They run like anything. Back there. They get their Lugers or something you know the Soviet and the Germans. They smile on their face that big. I said to one of them why? I said the lieutenant, he talk pretty good English. Why are you slandering? He said we had no hope, sergeant. We had no hope. What do we have hope? We keep going to get killed. So we all got together. We decided we were going to turn ourselves in. It might be scary, but instead of we meet you. I said well, that's good, I'm glad.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you took them to a camp, a prison camp, that the American or the Allies had the Americans Allies.
Speaker 2:They had a great big area where they put the captured Germans in In Germany.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this was in Germany.
Speaker 2:It was toward the end of the war, do you remember? I?
Speaker 1:don't know whether it was in Germany. It was toward the end of the war, do you?
Speaker 2:remember I don't know whether it was in Germany or in parts of France or something, but it was someplace around the Battle of the Bows. They had a big area.
Speaker 1:Okay, so that was about the time when this happened.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was about the time when it was coming to an end.
Speaker 1:And then, guys, boy, they rooted me for about a month after. Did you get commendation for that? Did you get a medal, or did you get?
Speaker 2:any, I got booed for that. Yeah, I got it.
Speaker 1:But you stayed alive. Did you think they were going to kill you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know what? I was alive, that's right, and I thought, maybe if those guys were, how could they get out that far? I don't know.
Speaker 1:Why don't we notice Right? So you encountered a tank that was empty.
Speaker 2:And then another time you encountered a squadron of men who surrendered.
Speaker 1:Battle of the Bulge was pretty fierce, pretty bloody. Any memories or feelings that you have?
Speaker 2:No, it's just that you see so many dead people. And then we had for two weeks we had to go around collecting dead bodies and they found out that we were doing it, the Germans. So they used to. They used to load their bodies dead bodies with ammunition to kill you, right? So we used to. We had a rope with a hook tree prong hook. We used to throw it, throw it out there and then pull it back and hook the body and shake it, and if it didn't go off, we'd go pick it up.
Speaker 1:Would sometimes explosives go off on the bodies?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, we had a couple of guys who was hurt in Japan.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Now do you remember riding into Berlin? I?
Speaker 2:didn't go into Berlin, you didn't go to Berlin, never went to Berlin. Okay, in Belgium area Luxembourg, belgium, france.
Speaker 1:Parts of Germany at times. That's where the Battle of Belgium yeah yeah, was that the worst battle that you were in that you remember?
Speaker 2:Cold, wet Tread, frozen feet Soaked up to here. You had nothing dry to put on, nothing dry.
Speaker 1:What kind of gear Do you remember? Your gear like your weapons and your, you know.
Speaker 2:I had a machine gun On a motorcycle. I had a big case with a machine gun, a Thompson machine gun. It fired about 80 rounds a minute, wow, and it had the big bullets and that sucker would jerk your head off and you'd hold on to it, onto it. But I never used it. I never used it. I had an American pistol .45 cold pistol and you couldn't kill an elephant with it because when you shot it it went up in the air. So we used to use the German Luger.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The Luger the German, you just pull like that Smooth. The Luger was the one. And then Wayne still got it. Yeah, my Luger the German, you just pull like that Smooth. The Luger was the one. And then Wayne still got my Luger and I pulled the firing pin out and ground it off.
Speaker 1:Art was in logistics delivery supply chain and Gene was in the Air Force right Gene was a B-17 shot down. Was he a gunner or a pilot?
Speaker 2:Yeah, he was a gunner.
Speaker 1:And he was a prisoner of war right 11 months. In Germany.
Speaker 2:Sure, he came out of there. He was under 90 pounds when they rescued him. Wow, and they treated him. Oh, he didn't talk much, but I don't blame him. He said there was 11 men in the size of a one-car garage. That's where they slept. He said they had a gallon can of whatever he could get in there for heat. And he said they half starved you all day long and trying to work you as much as they can. He never talked much about it. What he suffered from, I still say that's what caused his early death.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, the trauma from that, yeah.
Speaker 2:What about?
Speaker 1:what was Fred's role?
Speaker 2:Fred was anti-gun. He had one position someplace in Paris or in France. It was an anti-gun man. He shot aircraft, so he didn't move much. Oh, okay, so Art and I was the guys that moved and Gene was B-17.
Speaker 1:Was that your choice to be an MP, or how did that work out? Was that something through training?
Speaker 2:I went in in the infantry.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I went into infantry, the 8th Division infantry division, and there were, I think it was about 40 men in the barracks and they gave us guns. They gave us half a broomstick. That was a rifle. They didn't have enough rifles for us, wow. So we trained. I trained for three months with that boomstick and the infantry and I thought, oh boy, I don't like this idea.
Speaker 2:So one day they come in and said we were interested in men that know anything about motorcycles. I said I do. He said what do you know about it? I said, well, I used to fool around with them. I'd fix them and get in a ride once in a while. He said, yeah, out here, I'll stand outside, we'll be with you right away. So I said, holy muckle, what's going on here? So they ought to my whole company. They got about nine guys Well, actually only six or so really rode motorcycles.
Speaker 2:So they said go in the headquarters with me. We got on a van and we took all our stuff. And we got on a van and we took all our stuff and we got on a van and they took us to headquarters and company. I don't know what it was, but that's where the MPs. Where was this South Carolina. So then they started asking questions. They signed a motorcycle for each of us and then they said to me would you be interested in mechanics? I said yes. They sent me to Fort Benning, georgia, for three months to learn a motor and a motorcycle. And so when I was in charge of the squad, so when they broke down someplace, they'd give me an idea where they might be and I'd go after them.
Speaker 1:This was in training, or this was actually in the war.
Speaker 2:This was in Germany, oh, in the war yeah. And they used to run a motorcycle, but they couldn't run it no more. So I figured see, on the transmission there's a little gear and on the wheel it's a big gear that makes the speed. And they were get together and they were having races and they were stripping that little gear.
Speaker 1:During the war.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So the old man said to me. He said, george, what's going on? I said, well, they're stripping the gear on the transmission. He said what would do that? I said, george, what's going on? I said, well, they're stripping the gear on the transmission. He said what would do that? I said they're racing. Oh, he went through the roof. He said get all of them, get them in here. I want to talk to them. He said I understand that you guys are racing and I understand that you're racing and you can't go to war. And I understand that Bueller's got to go out there and put a new sparking gear on the transmission. That's got to stop right now, he said. And the next one I hear actually did that back at the squad at infantry, so I didn't have to work so much.
Speaker 1:So being an MP was really a privilege. Most guys considered it a privilege, right.
Speaker 2:When I was in camp in Tennessee we're in Tennessee in temps and I used to have to go out there in the morning and direct that main traffic square. You know traffic. And here comes this three-star Jap, pulls right up and says Soldier. He says what are you from? I said from the MP Saray Division. He says what's your squad leader's name or your officer's name? I told him okay. He says thank you very much. He says I like what you look like. Calls up the squad leader.
Speaker 2:He chose me to try on a brand new outfit they're going to use on the desert. I said why me? He said because every time I come past here he says you look like you had a new uniform on what do you do? I said why me? He said because every time I come past here he said you look like you had a new uniform on. What do you do? I said I take care of them, sir. I keep them nice and hang them. He chose me to wear them. So he looked at the thing and all over it I've got pictures of it someplace.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've seen them yeah.
Speaker 2:You look sharp and he said I thank you. He said you're very impressive as a soldier. I said thank you, sir.
