appendix awards and decorations - The George C. Marshall ...

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS 199
reconnaissance patrol. During the period of the attack on Wingen on
December 4 Company A had lost contact with other units of the battalion
and the Ammunition and Pioneer Platoon was called upon to
go out with ammunition and rations and to reestablish contact with
Company A. In attempting to locate Company A the platoon encountered
heavy artillery and mortar fire. After continuing the advance for
several hundred yards under fire they were pinned down and forced to
dig in. This position was held for several hours without the protection
of any friendly units. On December 14, while the attack on FortS
Freudenberg and Schiesseck of the Maginot Line was in progress, this
platoon served as riflemen to cover the withdrawal of the battered assault
companies. All during the period that this battalion was in action
the Ammunition and Pioneer Platoon has done an efficient job of clearing
the mines and roadblocks, often under enemy observation and
artillery and small-arms fire to facilitate the advance of the assault units
of this battalion.
The Wire Section of the Communications Platoon has done an outstanding
job of laying and keeping in repair wire lines between the
battalion command post and the line companies and attached units.
During every attack wire teams have been assigned to the assault companies,
and their work in laying wire quickly despite intense fire has
been a great aid in keeping contact within the battalion. During several
long moves, especially this Division's drive south toward Stuttgart, the
Wire Section has worked day and night to lay wire from Regimental to
battalion headquarters, often traveling over roads which have never
been cleared of mines and through areas never cleared of German
trOOps. In the drive toward Stuttgart the Radio Section also assumed a
vital role. The complex problem of keeping contact between the battalion
commanding officer, tanks, tank destroyers, and three rifle companies,
often headed for three different objectives, was solved largely
through the untiring effort of radio operators and repairmen, who were
on the job day and night. During the attacks of December 14 on
Bitche, January 9 on Rimling, March 15-16 on Bitche, and April 7-11
on Odheim, the Radio Section had operators who worked under concentrated
enemy shelling at the forward battalion observation post. The
Message Center vehicles have played an important part in reconnoitering
unknown areas in addition to their primary job of carrying papers
and messages to the Regimental Message Center. Near Affaltrach on
April 15 and Murhardt on April 20 their drivers were called upon to
travel through territory never cleared by rifle troops, and in several
cases were fired upon by small groups of enemy riflemen. In the early
stages of every move, Message Center vehicles have been used to con-