WWII_oral_history_WesleyMatthews2008-02-21 Illinois Public Media Clip Project Battle of the Bulge Illinois Public Media Army Illinois Public Media Infantry Illinois Public Media Siegfried Line Illinois Public Media Belgium Illinois Public Media Germany Illinois Public Media Veterans Affairs Illinois Public Media VA hospitals Illinois Public Media North African and European Theatres American Archive World War II Subject Categories Veterans and GI Bill American Archive World War II Subject Categories Wesley Matthews served in the army and fought in the Battle of the Bulge as an ammunition bearer. He was hit by shrapnel that pierced his thigh, and he lay wounded for a whole day and into the night before four soldiers rescued him. Abstract Video Recording Log Veteran Wesley Matthews Name of Interviewer: H.F. Williamson Name of Veteran/Civilian: Wesley Matthews Birth Date: 12/16/1923 Recording format: Mini DVD Estimated length of recording (in minutes): 145 minutes Date of recording: 02/21/2008 Location of recording: WILL AM-FM-TV, 300 N. Goodwin Ave, Urbana, IL 61801 Tape log: 00:00 Introduction 00:25 Beginning of war—working on farm—drafted in 1944—graduated H.S. in 1940 01:35 July, 1944—sworn in at Fort Sheridan—exams 02:25 Compiling service record—war bonds $18.75/mo—expected to buy—he refused 05:25 Assigned KP Fireguard of a Knight 05:45 Camp Wolters, TX—basic training 8 weeks—11 weeks heavy weapons 06:15 Infantry Replacement Training Center—told them cavalry replacement casualty was 2%—later discovered in ATO casualty rate was 3% per day 07:03 December 16th—Battle of the Bulge—21st birthday—sent to Boston to board ship—10-day delay en route, Christmas at home—Fort Mead, MD—friends 08:10 Training—cadences—trained for Pacific jungle conditions—sent to Europe midwinter 09:30 Ardennes Mountains—foxholes—if you got trench foot you were court marshaled 10:15 Camp Miles Standish, MA—Boston—trains 12:15 Thomas H. Barry—Army Troops Transport—January 1, 1945—15 days zigzagging to Le Havre, France—sunken ships in pier—debarked, walked 4 miles 15:00 In France near Belgium for 3 days—food, K-rations, cold coffee—on train, traded engineer for goat cheese, bread, wine 17:00 Living in old factory building—trading with locals 18:10 Truck across Belgium—very cold—near German border 19:15 Joined 3rd Battalion, 395th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division, L Company Mortar Section—light 60’s, 80, 60 mm guns 20:50 Ammunitions bearer—45 lbs of ammunition and equipment—6 rounds on front, 6 back 21:20 Replacements—training—fighting to save own rear—carbine with 1 magazine—7 rounds, holds 15—begged rounds off of others 22:50 Didn’t know if gun would fire—not allowed to test it 23:05 Wearing arctic’s, carrying combat boots—traded combat boots for carbines 23:55 Sound phone to call ahead and tell when coming back to camp—someone walked up, guard missed the message—friendly fire 24:25 Carbine—2 magazines—machine gun belt—pistol belt—acquired 7 magazines 25:05 Cold weather—clothing—uniform—battalion surgeon told him over 100 men in battalion had frostbite—supposed to send them back but there were no replacements—given 6 pills of APC Anise 26:15 Bed rest with feet elevated—hospital in England 26:45 Last part of Battle of the Bulge—Battle Star—range, mop up line 27:15 Dug in, Siegfried Line—pillboxes faced wrong way—patrols every night—patrols wouldn’t go too far—go down to hill, sit down, come back 28:10 31st January—another regiment attacked—German dugouts supposedly empty—16 mm mortar sent out—ineffective 28:55 Germans shelling road—went to Herzberg—cut across country 29:30 Guard duty, went into house—240 canons fired, plaster fell off of ceiling 30:15 Going to clean out bunkers—standing single-file battalion long—2 mortar rounds fired by Germans—men getting hit around him—not hit but had shrapnel holes in clothes 33:55 Spent night in foxholes 34:15 Went to Wanes, Belgium—Elsenborn Ridge—Battle of the Bulge—his battalion only unit of 1st Army that wasn’t pushed out of position during Battle of the Bulge—field of fire under 35:00 37-mm canon—anti-personnel—deadly for Germans—attacked by 3 regiments of Germans—went back 37 miles 36:05 Worked for engineers during rest—went to small town in Belgium—tank battle near old stone houses—used destroyed houses to build road—done on half rations, pounding rocks all day—trucked back to battalion at night—doing double duty, everyone sick 37:35 Story about friend 38:30 “Mopping up”—Valentine’s Day—relieved by another division 39:30 Putting up tent in forest—shelter halves—snow storm 40:45 Belgium—5-day real rest—half trucked, half walked—Belgians took them in—house heated by cook stove—ate pies and drank wine—there 5 days 43:15 Boots, shoes 43:55 Training program—firing mortar—volleyball—changed Army Corps 45:00 Speech—Germans in hole, time to rout them out 46:15 Went to Stolberg, Belgium—in mansion with ballroom on 4th floor—broke chandelier 47:10 In trucks—discovered girls watching them—played songs from U.S. on Victrola—fined $65 for fraternizing in German territory 48:00 Crossed river Rur to Düren—dozers to clear roads—fire on road—running with machine guns—took German POW 50:45 Bergheim on Erft Canal—fire fight—back in battalion group—artillery in big ovens—240’s, 155’s, 105’s—attached to 7th Armored—tanks—I and K Companies 53:00 Dove into open grave—Air Force came—3 P-51’s bombed and strafed top of cliff—Germans dug into higher ground of embankment 54:07 Dugout—German private and corporeal—trip wired boobytrap—6 POWs—BAR supposed to deliver them to HQ—took them around the corner and shot them all 55:45 Took town—running down cobblestone streets—burning German money 58:30 I Company discovered bank—bazooka fired on vault—town more or less secured 59:05 [Tape transfer] 59:26 Mortar squad ended up in house of music teacher—had jam session 01:00:30 Civilians—never ran into “real Nazis”—people would not admit to being Nazis 01:01:15 Left town—driving in trucks—fire fight—dug foxhole—strip mine going across Cologne Plain—more fire fights 01:04:05 1st Army same instructions: proceed to Rhine River—hit river 4 miles from Dusseldorf—bridge blew—German tanks appeared—tank—machine gunner—mortar—rain—retrieving ammunition 01:08:30 Germans dug tank trap—Americans set up mortar—3-4 miles to Rhine River—“Germans putting rolls and barrages over it” 01:10:55 German farmhouse—27 German tanks firing—took cover—his company lost about 40 men 01:13:00 At midnight went to hollow—medics wing was field hospital 01:15:00 Going to attack another town next day—barrage cut off—no one told cannon company—at 4 a.m. rousting Germans out of houses 01:16:25 Potluck meal—searched houses—chickens, potatoes 01:17:15 Trucked to another field next day—battalion awarded distinguished unit citation for Battle of the Bulge 01:17:50 9th Armored crossed bridge—put in trucks and taken up river with headlights on—“liberated lap robe”—went by truck to Ringen overnight—walked to Ludendorff bridge—Germans firing and bombing bridge—told to walk not run 01:20:35 His battalion went left and plugged hole between 77th and 78th Lightning Division—2-3 days—antiaircraft—Quad 50’s 01:21:30 Half-tracks 01:22:20 Moved out—found building with alcohol—HQ—problem controlling alcohol consumption 01:24:25 Going uphill—dug in under tree—screaming Mimi’s—saw man hit 01:27:04 Saw spec coming in—hit while laying on back—pushed down—shrapnel went all the way through leg—cauterized wound 01:28:45 Lost 50% of company in friendly fire—company retracted—squad said would come back for him—made litter out of field jackets—hopped downhill between 2 men through brush—others stole Jeep for him 01:31:30 Aid station—surgeon—shock tent 01:32:55 Captain called him waste of time because so much blood loss—ether—surgery 01:34:25 Air field—went from Paris to England—C-46 or 47—take off by series of hops 01:35:30 Train across England—old English hospital 01:36:00 New man in experienced troop—infantry replacement training—horrible method—newly trained boy going with more experienced men who went through Battle of the Bulge—treated well, gave suggestions—from ASTP, transferred to 99th after ASTP disbanded—Louisiana Maneuvers 01:38:15 Mortar section—friend Roger section runner—distance between squad level and CP—food and rations—CP had better food 01:39:45 Went into Army 165 lbs—came back 120 lbs 01:40:15 Hospital in England—Kirchner wire drilled through knee—developed case of Osteomyelitis—bone rotting—smell—Penicillin shots 01:43:15 Doctors thought he wouldn’t survive 01:43:45 Paul—another replacement—got gangrene, amputated leg 01:45:45 Osteomyelitis—part of 1 leg muscle left—nerves, blood vessels, hair messed up 01:47:00 Hospital—another patient—requesting music for intercom 01:49:00 Overflow group—got caught with English girlfriends spending the night 01:50:45 Train to Scotland—went on U.S. Aquetania—3rd biggest passenger ship—troops taken out on lighters because ship too big for port—took 5 ¼ days to get to U.S.A. 01:52:00 Halloran Hospital, NY—June, 1945 01:53:00 Went to Bruns General Hospital, Sante Fe, New Mexico—temporary doctors—former TB hospital—waiting for orthopedic surgeon 01:54:00 Major arrived—goal to get everyone out of bed—broke his leg trying to bend his knee—denied breaking leg, left him with broken leg—someone forged a signature so he could get an X-ray, but then no one would look at it since they hadn’t ordered it 01:55:15 Surgeon said he would give him bone graft—cut the bone in 2 and put him back in bed—blood ran out of his leg and through 2 mattresses onto floor—got 5,000 cc’s of blood transfusion 01:56:35 Skin traction—shoe traction—frustration 01:57:50 Trying to bend leg 01:58:00 Framework hammock for leg 01:58:30 Surgery to break leg—Osteomyelitis, broken leg—bone graft—given full-leg brace 01:59:00 Gave nurse $20 to get a pair of shoes in town—left as bed patient carrying brace 02:00:00 Lamy, NM—train—went through window into compartment—went to Galesburg to Mayo Clinic 02:00:45 Laying on litter at night at Galesburg station alone 02:01:20 [Tape transfer] 02:01:30 Moving from NM to IL—could only get transferred for humanitarian reasons 02:02:25 Wrote letter to Senator Brooks regarding horrible treatment at hospital—Brooks asked for Senatorial investigation of hospital—hospital was due to be closed—IGs came—he refused to make official complaint because they were due to send him home in 10 days and he didn’t want to ruin it 02:05:00 Train to Galesburg, IL—taken to hospital 02:07:25 Went home on weekends on Greyhound bus to Springfield, IL 02:09:00 At hospital 3 months without therapy or treatment 02:10:20 Going back and forth from hospital to home—went from brace to crutches to cane—performing his own physical therapy 02:11:20 CDD certificate—VA—examination and exit process—last day, discharged—hitch hiked to Springfield, IL 02:14:20 Fishing 02:16:00 50% disability unfair—handicapped in too many ways—should have been 60% or 80%--learning to do things with left hand and extra tools and aides 02:18:20 Hospital did what they should have in England—should have done more therapy in NM—nothing at all was done in Galesburg, IL 02:19:10 Was his dream to run the first 4-minute mile when he was young—prevented by injuries acquired in War 02:19:45 Wrap up—Walter Reed hospital and Iraq War—Army hospitals have always been bad—Congress, Surgeon General’s fault—people slack off in big bureaucracies of any kind—should have trained replacements as units instead of individuals—McNair erred in saying the Sherman tank did not need to be improved for WWII—took 3 American tanks to take out 1 German tank—guns, bazookas 02:22:25 Accepted war as daily life—civilian misunderstanding—way veterans look back 02:24:25 Can’t really describe it— Tape Log Interview Illinois Public Media World War II Temporal Europe Spatial General E Illinois Public Media Production Unit Williamson, H.F. Interviewer Matthews, Wesley Interviewee Illinois Public Media, University of Illinois Publisher Publicly performed with permission granted to Illinois Public Media at the University of Illinois to broadcast, archive and preserve for public access and use for nonprofit, educational, research, scholarship and personal uses. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. 2009-12-20T15:03:19-06:00 2009-12-29T15:03:19-06:00 image/jpeg /images/pbcore/WesleyMatthews2008-02-21_thumb.jpg Thumbnail Image Static image/Still WesleyMatthews2008-02-21_thumb.jpg Illinois Public Media, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2009-12-20T15:03:19-06:00 2009-12-29T15:03:19-06:00 video/H264 http://will.illinois.edu/media/mpeg4/WesleyMatthews2008-02-21.mp4 Moving Image Moving image/Streaming MPEG video MPEG-4 1092762709 02:24:52 507 Kbps 16 bit 44.1 kHz 480x360 4:3 29.97 fps Color 1 video track, 2 audio tracks 2-track mono eng 2009-12-29T15:03:19-06:00 WesleyMatthews2008-02-21.mp4 Illinois Public Media, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign