Page 96 - Anthology

welcomed the Americans and tried to surrender. But the American 13 Armored soldiers wouldn’t take
th
us.
They told us that we would have to wait for an infantry unit to take us and the Germans. I guess you
could say that if they hadn’t been our enemy, we would of liked our guards; the inside the wire guards
weren’t rough you know.

It was crazy, but that is what happened. The next day, an infantry unit came to the field; took the
Germans as POWs and led us back several miles to a factory. We did not get anything to eat until we got
to the factory; they had a field kitchen at the factory. They housed us in that factory for a few days.
There wasn’t but one way to get across the river, and that was by a pontoon bridge. The Air Force was
on the other side of the Zalzach River; we were flown to Camp Lucky Strike, a US Army Transit Camp
near Saint Valery-en Caux, North-East of Le Havre, France.

We stayed at Camp Lucky Strike for a few days and ate like crazy. We stuffed ourselves. Just about the
time I’d get over being stuffed, it would be feeding time again. They only allowed us to eat three times a
day, and we could not go back for seconds; we would have if they’d let us. I remember getting a whole
half of a chicken. We hadn’t had real food for over a year; some of us had been a POW for more than a
year. The food was excellent, and freedom was a relief.

Some of the guys wanted to go into the nearby town, but I never did. I didn’t want to leave the base. I
never did leave the base. I am not sure exactly how long we stayed at Camp Lucky Strike or off shore in
England. I also don’t remember how long it took to cross the Atlantic on our trip to New York.

We boarded a boat; we were told it was the biggest boat afloat. We made a stop in England before
crossing the Atlantic; nobody was allowed to get off the boat in England. We all had to pull some kind of
duty on the boat. I was assigned to guard the officer’s mess. At night they’d leave stuff sitting around;
oranges, bananas and stuff; I would gather it up and bring it back for me and my buddies. We crossed
the Atlantic and arrived home in New York City. My brother, Buster was also in New York and knew that I
was on one of the ships that just arrived. He tried, but they would not let him see me. We saw the Statue
of Liberty as we went under it, but we did not get to do any sightseeing. We were there overnight before
they put us on a train for Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana for debriefing. That train kept moving; it never
stopped. They didn’t want or let anyone get off. We’d pass right through where some of them boys lived
without stopping. I was given two months leave, then went to Texas to be discharged. While I was in
Texas, I went to see Dickey’s folks. I wanted them to know what had happened.

Tipton Coat of Arms. "Causam Decidit", meaning "the sword in this hand caused the decision that ended
the war", was applied to Sir Anthony de Tipton for slaying the Welsh prince Llewellyn in 1282. And it is
said "...that from this family has descended a great line of fighters and pioneers."