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

200 THE 398m INFANTRY REGIMENT
tact company command posts before wire communications were laid.
In every case the three sections of the Communications Platoon, using
whatever means best fitted for the situation, have worked so efficiently
that at no time has the tactical operation of the battalion been impeded
because of lack of communications.
The S-l Section of battalion headquarters has done an outstanding
job of handling the administrative duties of the battalion. Through untiring
effort and adaptability to any situation, it quickly learned to cope
with the unusual requirements of combat. It has turned out painstaking
reports, investigations, and other work under conditions which made
such work nearly impossible. Even duting the Vosges Mountain campaign,
when battalion command posts consisted of a large foxhole, or
at best a tent, the S-l Section was commended for its high standard of
efficiency.
The S-2 and S-3 Sections have worked in close cooperation with each
other to handle the intelligence and operational problems of the battalion.
During attacks the S-2 Section has men at the forward observation
post, while the S-3 Section generally operates a forward command
post, close enough to the attacking companies to handle instantly any
problems that might arise. The S-2 Section has handled interrogation
and guard of all prisoners taken by this battalion, and the information
obtained in this manner has often made easier the taking of many of
this battalion's objectives. During the period January 29 to March 13,
when the 1st Battalion was on line near Lemberg, France, and again
from January 9-19 near Rimling, the S-2 Section led several reconnaissance
patrols into enemy territory, and worked in close harmony
with the S-3 Section, which planned the highly-successful raids by the
1st Battalion Raider Platoon.
The Battalion Maintenance Section, operating in two independent,
self-sufficient teams of one motor sergeant and two mechanics each
under the battalion motor officer has unstintedly proven its value to
the unit by keeping the organic and attached vehicles rolling. On
numerous occasions the motor sergeants and mechanics have retrieved
disabled vehicles under intense enemy artillery and mortar fire in the
most undesirable terrain and weather conditions and at all hours of the
day and night. On two specific occasions, December 14 near Bitche and
again on December 16 near Bitehe, maintenance personnel have made
their way through known minefields to repair and retrieve disabled
vehicles. During the last seven months in which the average vehicle
traveled six thousand miles, there have been many long and tedious
convoys composed of from fifty to one hundred and fifty vehicles under