My WWII Odyssey by Jr. Dr. Alban E. Reid Stephanie Reid Wilcox

Author:Jr. Dr. Alban E. Reid, Stephanie Reid Wilcox [Jr. Dr. Alban E. Reid, Stephanie Reid Wilcox]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781646631087
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Koehler Books
Published: 2020-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Abbey at Monte Cassino after its destruction by the Army Air Corps

Our next stop would be in a quiet part of the front, clear of enemy rounds but not the sound of our own artillery firing. Our mission for the near future included getting some well-deserved rest as well as getting our heads on straight, also called rehabilitation. A second R and R mission actually included a third R. The 142nd and the Third Battalion needed replacements. They needed reorganization after having lost many of their veteran officers and non-coms in more than two months of tough fighting. They would receive hundreds of replacements who would arrive directly from the U.S. with only six weeks of basic training. These men would have to be integrated into units and trained to fight in the coming campaigns of the 142nd. One of the most prized rest assignments was a five-day stay at the Caserta R and R Center. Fifth Army Headquarters had taken over a magnificent palace at Caserta, just thirty miles north of Naples, when the German command had moved out. The palace been constructed to replicate the palace of Versailles in France. One wing of the palace had been assigned to be used as the army’s R and R center. For five days, lucky GIs were treated to showers, clean uniforms, hot food, and various kinds of live entertainment. Meanwhile, back at the units, there were showers, but you took them out-of-doors in tents. Clean uniforms were issued and hot food consisted of cooked C-rations. For entertainment you listened to Armed Forces Radio, or an occasional concert by the Thirty-sixth Division band. Chaplain Quinn, our old friend who shared his communion wine with us during the voyage to North Africa, had commandeered one of the houses in the town to serve as a chapel. He heard confessions, conducted services there, and welcomed all servicemen for friendly conversations and counseling. The door to the chapel was always open to the many GIs who visited.

Someone in the unit was concerned that there were other R and R needs of GIs that were not being met and should be made available. Two two-and-a-half-ton trucks were dispatched to Naples with instructions to bring back some live entertainment. Shortly, the trucks returned, loaded with lively young ladies from the city, eager to entertain “the boys who had liberated their city.” They were moved into a house where they could begin their entertaining. GIs lined up at the front door, eager to enjoy the entertainment. What was transpiring here was a tradition of with armies in the field for hundreds of years, though not on quite such an organized basis. We had just seen how the Guomier handled the problem. Now, here was an American logistical approach to a quasi-military problem, and it might have worked—if the house selected had not been next door to Chaplain Quinn’s chapel. The long lines queuing for entertainment were blocking entrance to the chapel next door. The chaplain complained to the local authorities about the local traffic problem.

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