Ed & Ray Hersman in WWII - Robert Marks.org

8.5. LINES NOT TO CROSS Ed & Ray Hersman in WWIIsleep, “Snakes! Snakes!” After I returned from Vietnam, Dad explained thaton occasion, they would pry a large stone loose and it would have a nest ofvipers under it. The snakes would come boiling out and the GI’s would walkas fast as they could away from the area screaming to warn the other GI’s.Tub Russell related the same story.8.4.4 The FrenchDad hated the French. He often said that he hated the French as much as theGerman’s, reporting that the French had no moral courage. He noted that onone occasion it had thawed and then frozen covering the roads in the villagewith ice. Tanks are useless on ice because their treads, while fabulous forcross-country travel get absolutely no traction on ice. Since the tanks had topass through the village, they could not get off the road and were stuck. TheGermans asked the American’s, British, Russian and French POW’s to goout and clear the road, promising a reward for their efforts. The American’s,British and Russians refused. The French cleared the road and received theAmerican’s Red Cross packages.8.5 Lines Not to CrossWhile I was growing up, Dad liked to relate messages using tales to reinforcehis message. One thing he told me was that a man of any moral courageestablished lines in his head. These were rules that he established for himself,that no one ever knew about, and if he crossed one of these lines, while onlyhe knew about it, he was less of a man. To emphasize this message, he toldabout the German officers daily amusement.The back of the German Officers Club abutted on the fence of the Americansection of the camp. There was a porch on the back of the officers clubthat was right up against the fence. On the American side, there was whatwas called a ”dead wire” several feet inside the fence. This wire establishedthe limits of the POW’s domain. If you so much as stuck a finger over the109