Dad was discharged as a patient from the 3rd General Hospital in Aix en Provence on 20 November 1944. Although his records don’t record what happened from then until Christmas, when he returned to his battalion, the following, from Audie Murphy, gives me a clue: “From our hospital … I was sent to a convalescent camp several miles from Aix-en-Provence.”[1]

In my book, I wrote,:

On November 20, Phil’s medical classification was changed from Class III to Class II, meaning he was reassigned to a convalescent camp several miles from Aix-en-Provence. Once there, he started working on getting back into shape.[2]

Meanwhile, back at the 3rd Infantry Division, In the early hours of November 20, 1944, the 3rd successfully crossed the Meurthe River a few miles north of St. Die. At 0600 five battalions stood on the east bank of the Meurthe River, having won a solid victory before even beginning the attack.[3]

After five days of training for just this mission, the assault elements (the 7th and [‘Dad’s] 30th Infantry Regiments) of the Rock of the Marne [3rd Infantry] Division slipped across the Meurthe undetected during the hours of darkness on the night of 19-20 November and actually began the attack from positions already established on the east bank near St. Michel-sur-Meurthe (midway between Etival-Clariefontaine and St. Diè).[4]

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With another river crossing in prospect, with no bridges intact, 15th [Infantry Division] patrols probed the river line nightly until two companies of the 10th Engineers succeeded in erecting pontoon bridges under the Krauts’ noses late Nov. 20. When one crew lost its boat, a staff sergeant grabbed the heavy anchor chain, leaped into the river, waded to the opposite shore. Two regiments, the 30th and 7th, crossed the pontoon foot bridges without tipping off the enemy, then jumped off in the attack next morning. Seven days later, they reached the Rhine, first troops to reach the river banks.[5]

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[1] Carolyn Price Ryan. Recollections. February 12, 1973.

[2] Larimore, At Frist Light, 172

[3] Champagne, 106.

[4] Taggart, 268-269. In: Bonn, When the Odds Were Even, 125.

[5] “Blue and White Devils” is a small booklet covering the history of the 3rd Infantry Division. This booklet is one of the series of G.I. Stories published by the Stars & Stripes in Paris in 1944-1945.

In case you haven’t read or listened to Dad’s book, you can learn more or order it here.

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