The Drive to Rome

The venereal rate had increased and the hospitals had their own method of tracking down the spreaders of this disease.  When a new case arrived in the hospital, the patient was questioned as to the source of contact, a general description of the girl, and the methods of prophylaxis used.   This information was turned over to the Military Police and they investigated.  If they found the girl, she was examined and treated if found to have a venereal disease.  This was one of the main problems of the Medical Corps in Italy.  It seems that the germ which spread venereal disease in Italy was resistant to most of the drugs now used to combat the disease, especially sulfa drugs.  However, in 99 cased out of 100, penicillin cured the disease in 24 hours.  However, it did not prevent the disease from recurring very often, especially after a strain related to hard work.  Many combat units lost the services of many of its men through this disease.  In fact, two complete divisions were at one time or another hospitalized for venereal disease during the North Africa campaign.  There is no doubt that the high rate of venereal disease and prostitution is a direct result of war.  Married women whose husbands have been in the army for several years, mother of babies whose husbands either can't support them or who must support themselves, single girls who must contribute to the family's support, have been forced to sell their bodies in order to live.  Previous to the war, the Italians held their women in high regard.  The conditions associated with five years of war, where armies lived with the civilians and were the only source of income, have no doubt brought about these present conditions.  The ease with which any soldier could pick up a girl in Italy made many of them wonder whether these same conditions might also be prevalent in the states.

 

 

The Ninth Evacuation Hospital received a commendation from The Surgeon, P.B.S. on the excellent venereal record of the organization during the first six months of 1944.  It had the lowest rate of any in the army in Italy.  There could be no probable explanation for the low rate in the unit.  It was generally agreed that the men were the luckiest of any unit in Italy.

 

 

The unit also was officially commended by Special Service Officer, P.B.S. for having one of the most interesting and well-planned unit newspaper published.

 

 

The stories of the various actions in Italy were quite revealing and interesting.  Late in the year, Bari was attacked by German bombers and eighteen ships in the harbor were sunk.  It seems that American planes were returning to the Bari airport after a bombing mission and following them were a group of German planes.  After the allied planes came in to land, the Germans swerved toward the harbor and let loose.  The anti-aircraft boys were caught off base.  Thereafter, for that reason, all planes were forbidden to land in Italy during certain hours of the day.  All planes, regardless of their identification, were ordered fired upon if they came near the airports during those hours.  As a result, many allied planes were fired upon in the Naples area during and after the hours of dusk.

 

 

The real Anzio story was that the beachhead invasion, although it might have tied up several German divisions, was a military failure.  After the front line had been determined, replacements came directly from the states.  The casualties on the beachhead were extremely heavy.  Deaths from the Third Division alone amounted to thousands.  Their dead were buried in temporary plots and very often the shoes of the dead soldiers stuck up above the ground and a detail had to go out daily to stamp them down so that the Italians wouldn't steal them.  The total amount of soldiers on the beachhead were far less than the enemy presumed.  In fact, American soldiers were urged, for the first time since the war started, to state that they were at Anzio in their letters so as to make it seem that there were more soldiers on the beachhead than there actually were.

 

 

The stories coming back from Cassino intimated that the Germans had excellent defensive positions ever after the bombing it had received at the hands of the Allied bombers.  During the main bombing attack, the American Air Forces mistook Venafro for Cassino and leveled it to the ground, killing at the same time many American troops who were bivouacked there.  A visit to the front lines at Cassino during a lull in the fighting revealed the fact that the monastery still remained standing despite the previous bombings and shellings.  Most of the Americans had left and a Polish division and several English divisions were facing the Germans who had retaken Cassino.  Morale was good in spite of the lack of action.  However, there was an unusual amount of expectation in the air and it was the general impression of the boys at the front that something would happen soon.  This was late in April.

 

 

Things were quiet during April and the early part of May, but during the second week in Many, we began receiving hundreds of patients from the front line hospitals.  This was an indication that an offensive was in the making.  On the afternoon of May 12th, our commanding officer, as well as every commanding officer in Italy, called together his outfit and told us that an offensive was to begin that night, outlining the planned attacks and giving us the objectives and the time table.  The objective was Rome with the Americans moving up the west coast, the French and Poles in the middle and the British and Canadians on the east coast.  No one was to wait for the other but was to push up through Italy until stopped.  Never before was Rome captured from the south, but since we had superiority in manpower and material, the success of the attack was certain.  At Cassino, nine allied divisions faced six German divisions, while on the beachhead, seven American divisions faced five German divisions.

 

 

On May 12th at 2300 hours, the French and Poles began an offensive up Monte Cassino, the British Eighth Army attacked from the Adriatic to Cassino, the American Fifth Army attacked from Cassino to the Tyrrhenean and the beachhead forces began shelling the enemy positions.  Casualties were extremely heavy, especially among the French, and it was explained to us by higher echelons that the plan was to drive all along the front regardless of casualties until Rome was reached by all forces. 

 

 

Rome was captured on June 5th, the exact date set for its fall.  During the offensive, all the allies gave a good account of themselves and proved that teamwork and material could overcome all obstacles.

 

 

While the liberation of Rome was being celebrated by the Italian people, elsewhere on the continent, thousands of American and British boys were landing off the shores of the Normandy coast of France between LeHavre and Cherbourg.  When the news of the invasion of Europe was flashed across the radio, we held a special service of prayer for the boys who were participating in the invasion attack.

 

Neapolitan Nights (Part 2)

A hike to the top of the highest mountain in the Naples area revealed an ancient monastery hidden in the hills overlooking the harbor of Naples.   Camaldoli is the site of an old monastery in the center of which stands a modern church, small but very beautifully decorated.   The homes of the monks are located individually around the church.  A circular staircase to the roof of the church leads the visitor to the balcony from which can be seen Italy for 70 miles around, including Cassino, Naples, Vesuvius, Pompeii, Sorrento and the various islands in the gulf of Naples.

A hike to Solfatara, or "Little Vesuvius", was most interesting.  This is an extinct crater, still emitting sulphurous steam and shooting forth boiling lava.   A small building is still being used as hot sulfur baths for rheumatism and other internal ailments.

The main attraction for peacetime tourists, Mt. Vesuvius was opened for the soldiers early in March.   Sponsored by the Red Cross, it proved to be a most interesting trip.  The "Toonerville Trolley" from Pogliano carried the visitor half way up the mountainside and the "funiculara", or cable car, did the rest of the job.  Snow-covered, although steaming with hot sulphurous smoke, Vesuvius erupted every few minutes and poured forth burning rocks and lava which gave the brave visiting troops of the victorious American Army many an anxious moment.  But it was a trip well spent.  From the top could be seen the city of Naples with its beautiful harbor, Sorrento, Amalfi, Pompeii and the Gulf of Sorrento.

A trip to Pompeii by train was very interesting .  Pompeii was untouched by the war since it was bypassed by the landings at Salerno and everything of the ancient city was still standing as before the war.  The complete village was restored including electric signs, glassware and pottery and furniture.  The one interesting point which very few visitors know about is the sign which appeared in front of the old drug store which was situated next to the "house of ill repute", and into which many Pompeiians accidentally entered mistaking it for the "house next door".  The sign read:  "I don't know what you came here for, what you want is right next door".  This obviously proved to be a very popular place for the American visitor.

Late in March, Vesuvius began to belch forth smoke, fire and lava in greater quantities than it had for 71 years.  Slowly, the lava flowed down the mountainside, taking with it homes and causing the army to aid the people who were in its path.  At night, the sky was lit up a very bright red for miles around the crater and flames could be seen in our area 25 miles away.

On Wednesday March 22nd, the day of the greatest eruption for the past 200 years, a group of our boys visited Torre del Greco, one of the towns which was in its direct path down the mountainside.  Many of the boys climbed the hill in spite of the obvious dangers, but since this phenomenon occurred once in every 200 years, precaution was thrown to the winds.  Half way up the mountain, the boys met the lava which was flowing down the hill at the rate of about three feet per minute.  The lava flow resembled a group of burning rocks being pushed forward by a series of small blasts from within the earth.  The lava itself was a grayish black and burned everything within its path.  From the crater came a series of explosions and eruptions which greatly affected our ears.  Many streaks of lightning caused by the various gasses emanating from the crater could be seen every few minutes.  The noise was constant and resembled the roar of a waterfall but much louder.  Lava streams could be seen coming down the mountainside into several towns to the north and east.  Rocks from the erupting crater fell within 30 feet of us, many of these rocks having a diameter of more than three feet.   The townspeople for many years had built retaining walls just for the purpose of diverting the steams of lava in such an emergency, but the walls weren't strong enough for this eruption and the lava bowled over everything in its path.  The natives of the town were packing and moving out on all available transportation including trucks which were furnished by the American Army.  German propaganda was even working here as we heard some Italian say that Vesuvius was erupting because the Americans had dropped bombs into the crater.  At nights, the skies were bright red and many photographers went up into the nearby hills to take pictures.  During the days, clouds of grey ash could be seen rumbling into the sky and many town within 20 miles of the crater were buried under several inches of ash.  This ash proved to be very good fertilizer ever since it buried Pompeii 1900 years ago.  The lava piles were as high as 100 feet and a quarter of a mile wide.  The towns of San Sebastiano and Massa di Somma were wiped out on March 22nd.  The threat of an earthquake was slim so long as the crater spouted lava, but no one knew (not even the scientists in the observatory located on the side of Mt. Vesuvius) when the flow would stop.   Incidentally, these observers stated only one day before the first eruption that "Vesuvius is dead".  There were few people in the whole world who were fortunate enough to get a good view of the eruption, namely the natives of Italy and the American soldiers who happened to be stationed nearby.  The former were too nervous and excited to appreciate what was happening while the latter were mixed in their emotions.  Some were there for the sole purpose of helping these people while others just came for the sights.  LIFE magazine photographers had a busman's holiday during these history-making days.  The war was completely forgotten by everyone in the vicinity.

The eruption of Vesuvius lasted for eight days during which three towns were evacuated and 21 persons were killed in Salerno by falling roofs caused by an accumulation of ash deposits.  For several days thereafter, there was danger of the vent of the volcano closing.  If that occurred, the mountain might clear it by erupting more millions of tons of lava.  The "funiculara" was destroyed by the lava flow but it appeared that it could be repaired in several months.

The net result of the eruption, as far as the physical contours of Mt. Vesuvius is concerned, was a flatter, broader top with the elimination of about 25% of the crater top.  Probably, not for several years, will the total damage be ascertained.

Because we had the opportunity to treat both French and Arab at our hospital, a few comments regarding these people might be of interest.  The Arab name signifies many things.  Mohammed is the name given to the first born son, Ali to the second born son, "ben" means "son of" and Hadj is a name an Arab assumed after he visits Mecca once or Kairouan seven times.  The Moroccan and Algerian Arabs were pro-Ally but the Tunisian Arabs favored the Axis.  As a result, there was a great deal of friction between them.  This was mainly because of the French system of drafting their colonial troops.  If they didn't enlist, they were thrown in jail for 30 days to make up their minds.  If, at the end of that time, they still refused to join, they were shot.  The French patients whom we treated were unlike the people we used to know.  Eccentric, erratic, very noisy and undemocratic, the French from North Africa were far inferior to those from the continent.  Their treatment of the Arab was very poor and the so-called democratic was where freedom of speech and equal treatment are the slogans seems to have been forgotten.  The French do not want Arabs to be educated.  They claim that they are a degraded race and that all the education in the world could not help them.  They point to the dirtiness and filth of the Arab home, his insistence on wearing the same clothes for years, plus the fact that they refuse to learn the new method of life.  The instinct of maternal care and protection, the most fundamental factor in the life of any nation, is lacking in the Arab.  The mothers teach their children to deform themselves so that they may go out into the streets and beg for the rest of their lives.  The Arab believes in stealing and lying and if he is caught, he is not ashamed of himself, but respects the person who catches him as being at least as smart as he is.  Although held in check by the French at home and in the Army, the Arab loses all of his discipline when he gets to an American hospital because he knows that we will be treated as the Frenchman's equal and that the Americans can't punish him while he remains a patient.  This fact caused bad feeling between the French and Americans since we have a more democratic view of life.  The French soldier is very narrow-minded and is far from the man that the Englishman is.  The more was see the people of the world, the more we realize that the Englishman is a good soldier and above all, a gentleman.

Among the colonial troops of the French Army, the Senegalese and those natives who come from Equatorial Africa and the Lake Chad region proved to the best soldiers and real men.  They were solid black, had gashes in their heads and cheeks as a sign of beauty and high standing in the community, carried long knives instead of guns, were extremely well-mannered, much more so than the other French colonials and even the French themselves.  They had a great deal of respect for women and were quite educated.  They read only the technical books and quite often looked through a book for an hour before deciding to read it.  They had excellent bodies and, unusual as it might sound, were quite attractive.  They kept to themselves and never mingled with the rest of the patients.  Their language sounded like a combination of Arabic and English.  Once convoy of ambulances which arrived at our hospital and which carried these people exclusively, brought with it a note from an American general telling us to give these men special treatment as they were excellent soldiers and were needed again at the front lines.

Neapolitan Nights (Part 1)

Late in the year, we were alerted for the Italian campaign and just after Christmas, we moved to the staging area located a few miles east of Termini, to a town famous for its beaches, Mondello.  Although we set up our hospital here, we tore it down within two weeks and prepared for our next boat trip which was to take us to Italy.

January 19th found us ready and waiting at the pier in Palermo, the same one on which we landed four months previous.  We had enjoyed our stay in Sicily, but were happy to leave for more important duty.  Four months in one place is more than enough for any soldier.

We left Sicily in a Liberty Ship, the Daniel H. Lownsdale, which proved ideal as a troopship and freighter.  These boats were perfect for wartime purposes as they economized on space and yet there was sufficient room for the troops on board.  This wasn't true on our previous ocean trips.  Considering the speed with which these boats were produced, they were a credit to American genius and productive skill.  The trip was very calm and warm.  We had for our protection one small size Italian corvette which evidently had seen better days before she was assigned to convoy the Ninth Evac across the Tyrrhenean Sea.  The phosphorescent glow below the surface of the water reminded one of the same effect that the waters off Puget Sound have during the summertime.  Coming into Naples harbor, we passed an outbound convoy which proved to be, later in the day, the same one which made the original invasion landings at Anzio.  Like a gang of ants heading for a piece of food, LSTs, LCIs, troopships and heavy protective ships formed a straight line out of the harbor as far as the eye could see.

Naples harbor was filled with sunken ships and it was impossible for our boat to unload.  Some of the men on board were transferred to an LCI and landed on the beach while the remainder stayed on board that night in the harbor.  Like a bright beacon on a clear night, Mt. Vesuvius poured forth a red glow.  Quite often, sparks and flames could be seen coming from the crater.  The rest of the men on board landed the following morning on the side of a sunken Italian destroyer which served as a pier on which to land our gangplank.  All the piers in the port had been wrecked by former air attacks of the Allies and by the Germans before they departed, but American engineers were at work repairing the damage.

Arriving on the mainland of Europe on January 22nd, we drove five miles northwest of Naples to a small suburb of the city called Bagnoli, which formerly housed the area on which the Italian World's Fair was to be held but after remaining open for only two months, was closed because of the outbreak of war in 1940.  The complete area was an ideal setup for a medical center and the American Medical Corps took advantage of the beautiful landscape and large buildings, first notifying the Germans that the area was to be used for such a purpose.  The medical center was full of modernistic buildings, a beautifully planned lagoon, tropical trees which were brought over from Africa, amusement areas, a modern swimming pool, and air-conditioned theatre, and many other new and attractive facilities.  Several of these buildings were destroyed by the Germans before they left.  In spite of that, however, this area was without a doubt the most beautiful and most modern of any in Italy, if not in Europe.

Late in January, we set up a hospital to treat the French wounded and their allies, the Arabs, Goums, Senegalese, native African blacks and other colonials.  We were the only American hospital which treated only French patients.  This was the second time we had contact with these people as we also treated them during the African campaign.

Naples was just coming out of its shelters and many of its inhabitants were returning to their homes hopeful that this time they would not be forced to move out because of air raids and a passing army.  The city itself was "off limits" to U.S. troops because of a supposed typhus epidemic, but it was generally believed that the real reason was a very high venereal rate among its people.  Obviously, the latter could not be given as a reason and the typhus story persisted in official circles although there were no new cases of typhus reported during the month of January, and not one among U.S. troops during the whole Italian campaign.  The venereal rate among Italian women at this time was 90%.

Living conditions among the people were quite bad at this time.  Children were roaming the streets in gangs, most of them barely clothed, hungry and barefoot.  Many a G.I. gave these kids their only meals and provided a place in which to sleep.  Naples harbor was filled with rafts and dirt left over from the previous bombings but the city of one million people was doing business as usual in January, 1944.  Prices for jewelry and trinkets were very expensive, about ten times the price of pre-war Italy and about twice as much as several months previous.

The Naples subway was still running and offered the New York subway some keen competition.  From the suburbs of the city every day came these trains overflowing with humanity who occupied every available inch on the train including the locomotive and every step on the cars.  These were the "black marketeers" who travelled into Naples daily and returned with their haul every afternoon.  A ride on the subway revealed many human interest stories, however.  In one section of the underground, whole families could be seen living in the stations despite the fact that train service was being run on schedule.  Beds, chairs, kitchen sets and household furniture lined the walls.  Wood and charcoal fires were used in the corners of the stations to cook meals.  Children played hide and seek across the tracks while mothers fed their babies, uninterested in what was going on around them.  Through all of this period, no one seemed to bother these guests of the subway and the amazing feature was the fact that there were no deaths on the railroad.

Although famous as the second most beautiful city in Europe, Naples was far from the town it was cracked up to be, after giving due consideration to the circumstances surrounding our stay in Italy.  The town was filthy and despite the war, couldn't have been much better before the war.  Its people were dirty, a condition which could not be excused.  Certainly there was water with which to clean and soap was available at any army post.  These people, in the past, supplied the gangsters of Italian extraction in America.  They were the criminals of Italy and were responsible for the terrible conditions which befell their country.  These people were like children and seems to be in a daze, unable to take care of themselves and refusing to take any responsibility for themselves.  They were selfish and didn't care for the suffering and hardships of their fellow countrymen.  It seemed to us that they should try to solve their own problems before looking to America for help.   These was no doubt that these people were not ready for a democratic form of government.  They had to be educated first, or rather diseducated form their former ways of thinking.

Nightly air raids were not an uncommon occurrence and the anti-aircraft boys weren't much help in keeping them away.  Their aim was poor and were a sad comparison with the boys who "sweated out" the raids over Bizerte after the African campaign.

Sicily Invaded

The small islands in the Mediterranean were being softened up for the eventual invasion of Europe and we were ordered to set up and prepare to receive a tremendous amount of patients, casualties of the coming Sicilian invasion. Set up as a clearing station to handle patients who were to be flown in from the front, we were prepared to receive 10,000 per week for the first few weeks. Ferryville suburbs were selected for our hospital area, which overlooked the town and Lake Bizerte. The campaign was so successful that we received only 25 patients the first week, 250 the first two weeks and only 3,000 for the total campaign of 38 days. This represented 30% of the total American casualties. Events were moving fast. With Sicily gone, Mussolini moved out and the invasion of the mainland was about to begin.

Large formations of German planes attacked Bizerte harbor night and day and for the first time since the start of the African campaign, we were in danger of being hit by shrapnel and flak from our own anti-aircraft fire as well as by bombs from the German planes. Several times during these raids ships were hit and sunk. The most thrilling (although not the safest) sight was one in which our searchlights caught an enemy plane and followed it across the sky until our anti-aircraft boys shot it down. One night, we counted thirteen planes falling to the ground. If there were any atheists among us, or anyone who though that the medics were a non-combat outfit, he changed his mind during those raids. However, we realized that our boys up at the front were experiencing these same episodes night and day.

Although we spent the entire summer in Ferryville, we never were bothered by the weather as such. Occasionally, a hot, dusty sirocco would force us to wash, but never were we uncomfortable from the so-called heat of Africa. Malaria was wiped out among the Army troops by September 1st, a great tribute to the excellent work of the Army Medical Corps and the malarial control units of the Army.

The Allies invaded the mainland of Italy on September 3rd and five days later, she surrendered unconditionally. On September 5th, we were alerted and packed and crated in a hurry for another boat trip. Because of motor trouble on the ship, however, we were delayed several days, during which Bizerte was given its worst pounding of the war from German planes. We were thankful that our ship did have motor trouble as we would no doubt have been on the receiving end of those bombs that night. By September 9th, the motor was repaired and the Ninth Evac was again on its way.

Our boat, a British hospital ship, the Leinster, proved to be the best one on which we sailed. Furnished with soft beds, good hot food, hot and cold running water and with its light on all night, we were treated to a Mediterranean cruise enjoyed by very few people during this war. Unfortunately, the trip lasted only one day. Sicily, as approached from the water, was blasted by the Allied Navy and Air Corps and its docks were wrecked. But the American Army, particularly the Corps of Engineers, was hard at work building and repairing those docks for future use.

We dropped anchor and to our surprise someone else was there to do the work for us. Large Italian labor gangs unloaded the boat, a task we thankfully and diligently avoided. Driven by truck to a staging area near Palermo airfield, we pup-tented it for the night and moved to another staging area, forty miles away, near Termini. We remained here for several days during which time we went swimming in the Tyrrhenian Sea and became acquainted with our new neighbors. They were glad to see us as we came as saviors, freeing them from the Fascistic yolk which brought them into war with the Allies against their will. Here, as everywhere else, the Germans had taken as much with them as they possibly could. Fortunately, they left quickly and we were thereby enabled to share in the "good pickings" from the peach trees, grape vines and tomato patches.

With the surrender of the Italian Navy and the capture of Sardinia and Corsica, the Ninth Evac again moved, this time to Cerda, about fifteen miles east of Termini. The hospital area was situated on two hills, separated by an innocent looking ravine. We later found the purpose of the ravine. During a heavy rainstorm, a flood was caused by the overflowing of a dam several miles up in the mountains. The flood nearly swept away the hospital, carrying with it several bridges which we had previously built. However, it subsided as quickly as it came, the ravine again dried up and again presented an innocent-looking hole.

Our bivouac area was situated within a ten-minute walk to the sea, in which we swam daily. The water was the clearest, calmest and bluest which we had ever seen.

Sicily, at this time, was the ideal spot for sightseeing. The main coastal road running along the northern tip of the island from Palermo to Messina was very beautiful. San Stefano, deserted after many hard months of battle was populated by a few women and children. The most amazing town on the island was Pollina, situated on a rocky hill twelve miles up from the main coastal highway. Built in 1,000 B.C., it took 600 years to be completed. The population, mostly old women and children, numbered 3,000. Every day, a group of men on muleback went down to the town and brought up food and water for the population. There were no industries in town nor was the land suitable for cultivation. It was built only for protection.

Cafalu was a quiet town, untouched by the way, and characterized by many stored charging exorbitant prices for hand-made articles. Termini, a ghost town with wide streets, no food and very poor living conditions, was another example of a city wiped out by the war. Palermo, except for its bombed out docks and its resultant slums, resembled any modern city in Europe. The important points of interest in Palermo still remained -- the catacombs, an ancient indoor cemetery situated under the church of Palermo, Palermo Cathedral, Monreale Cathedral, Modello Lido and the Opera House.

The morale of our troops was high and many projects were begun in this area which lasted for a long time. A theatre guild was organized and it sponsored two shows: "Oh, My Rugged Back" and "Take It Or Leave It", which were very well received. A unit newspaper, "Nine Times", was started and it proved highly popular. A three day trip to Taormina was most interesting. A tourist town during peacetime, specializing in had made jewelry during wartime, Taormina was a convalescent camp for the British Army. Mt. Etna could be seen from the town. An ancient Greek theatre had been preserved and was still standing, a living tribute to the people who originally settled in the town.

Christmas was spent in an old-time American manner. Christmas dinner contained everything a civilian would have dreamed of and then some. For the first time since we came into the Army, there were no complaints about the food. But like all good things, this situation did not last long.

The End of the Beginning (Part II)

Our German prisoners were treated so well in comparison with the way our own boys formerly were handled that it caused much comment among the enlisted personnel of the hospital. Many of them could not understand why American boys who were still injured still had to live in ward tents while enemy injured were treated in beautiful buildings. Perhaps it was good propaganda on our part, but it didn't please the men of the American Medical Corps.

With the surrender of the German troops, travel restrictions were lifted and we were thereby given an opportunity to visit any town in North Africa. The following is a description of the more important towns in Tunisia immediately after cessation of hostilities.

Tunis, the capital and largest city in the country was untouched except for its docks. For several days after the Germans surrendered it marked time, but within a week, stored began to open, people donned their best clothes, and civilization once again returned to Tunis. Within a short time, the American Red Cross had opened a serviceman's club where soldiers could have a meal, play ping pong, take showers and otherwise cool their heels. Tunis was the one remaining city on this part of the continent which resembled anything which we knew back in the states. The one lasting impression of Tunis was its clean streets, fast women and well-dressed men.

Bizerte was another story. Once a thriving seaport town, the best port in the country and a modern city, it was leveled to the ground by the Allied Air Forces. There wasn't a building which remained untouched by bombs or shell fire. It really was a ghost town -- bombed churches, very few people roaming the streets, the only structure still standing, strange as it may seem, was the monument built in honor of those soldiers of Bizerte who gave their lives during the first World War, boats of all descriptions riddled with bullets (these probably were the boats which the Germans intended to use in their evacuation from Africa but were unable), walls blown out of buildings which left only a cross-section of each room. The general impression of Bizerte was one of loneliness and despair, the only signs of life being the chirping of the birds who seemed to tell us about the terrible events of the past few months.

Ferryville was a thriving country town, similar to one which we would find in the states. Since it was untouched by war (the American Army bypassed Ferryville in its dash to Bizerte), business was booming and many articles of civilian wear could be purchased in its stores.

Mateur was nearly as bad as Bizerte. It was here where the Germans fought their last organized battle. The Arab inhabitants were returning to normal. Long lines of Arabs, evidently bringing their money out of hiding to redeposit in their banks, stood in front of the banks for days at a time.

Leaving Tunis, one came to the airport which was partly ruined when it was attacked by the American planes in an attempt to prevent the last remaining Germans in Africa from fleeing by plane. As a result, more than 200 planes were wrecked before they had a chance to take off.

Continuing on this road, one comes to the ancient and famous town of Carthage. In spite of its closeness to Tunis, it remained intact and was a popular sightseeing spot for the American Army of tourists stationed nearby. It was here, among many other ancient ruins, where the only tennis court in Africa still stands, well-kept but unplayed upon.

Our stay in Mateur was drawing to a close as we had performed our function of a station hospital for the German Army. The one characteristic of this area was the annoyance of pests. The only fly in the ointment of an otherwise pleasant stay were the flies themselves. They were much more annoying than the dreaded Anophales. They hounded us day and night. The only protection we had from them at night was the mosquito netting while during the day, it was a constant battle between the flies and the men. During mealtimes, it seemed to be a race between the fly and the soldier to determine who would get to the food first. Very often, loud words of indignation would emanate from the mess tent followed by a cussing soldier emptying the contents of his messkit into the trash barrel.

In general, Mateur was a very beautiful site, but with time, impatience got the best of us and we were desirous of participating in bigger and better things. We soon had our opportunity to do so.

The End Of The Beginning (Part 1)

After setting a time record by remaining in one area for 42 days, we moved, late in April, to Tabarca-By-The-Sea. Completely wrecked, as were most of the towns in Tunisia, Tabarca formerly was a summer beach resort, a fact which enabled all the men to take advantage of a pleasant swim in the beautiful Mediterranean for the first time since we came to Africa. Although the malaria season was about to begin, and in spite of the very poor selection of a swamp land for our hospital area, not one case of malaria was reported during our two week stay here. The only trouble we had was from the reaction to the atebrine tablets which we were given to prevent the symptoms of malaria from hospitalizing us. Atebrine did not cure malaria. All it did was temporarily postpone the effects of malaria. Obviously, this disease will therefore be chronic and recurrent in many soldiers many years after they return home.

The Allies were beginning to put on the pressure. The British Eighth Army broke through at the Mareth Line and joined the II Corps which was attacking Medjez-el-Bab. On May 3rd, the First Armored Division broke through in a powerful thrust which carried it to Mateur and on May 6th, the final drive for Bizerte and Cape Bon was begun. By May 7th, the British were on the outskirts of Tunis and the II Corps was nearing Bizerte. The expected final battle was nearing and the Ninth Evac was ordered to pack up and move as close to the front as possible. On May 9th, we set up in Mateur in a former French hospital, built to serve its colonial troops in Africa, captured by the Germans and held by them until May 1st, at which time they retreated quickly, leaving their dead lying on their cots, not having any time to bury them. Meanwhile, the trapped German Army in Bizerte surrendered on May 9th and the end of the entire German Army in Africa was near at hand.

Our trip from Tabarca to Mateur was a momentous one. Travelling across a former battlefield on which many soldiers from both sides had fought only several days before, we saw wrecked tanks, bombed towns, overturned trucks and total destruction in general. The Germans were surrendering literally by the truckload and it was not an uncommon sight to see them drive right up to an American command post or prison camp in their own tanks, trucks and motorcycles without being guarded by Americans. Some of our own prison camps had to turn thousands away as Germans lined up for miles around to surrender to the Americans rather than travel twenty miles away to give up to the British. They were told that they would receive better treatment from the Americans.

We had to clean out the hospital before we could again set up. The barracks had to be swept and cleaned, the stench from the dead bodies had to be eliminated and a general clean-up job was the first order of the day. Our German comrades evidently had left so quickly that there still was standing in the officer's bar half filled wine glasses. They probably were drinking a toast to the German Army just before they left.

Some of the German units had not been in contact with their forward outfits and did not know exactly what was going on. Such was the case of a German company which was holding out on a hill directly opposite the hospital, about a mile away. Although they were trapped, they tried to fight their way out on the night of May 9th. We witnessed the battle from our hospital area. This probably was the last organized resistance of the North African campaign. As far as we could determine, the unit was completely annihilated. The German High Command laid down their arms and surrendered on May 10th and the final count of prisoners exceeded 250,000. This completed the conquest of the African continent and placed the Allies in an advantageous position to launch their attacks on the mainland of Europe.

The Ninth Evac, meanwhile, stood by to receive patients. Along with the troops, five German field hospitals were trapped and had to surrender. The entire detachment of patients from these hospitals, nearly 900, were transferred to the Ninth Evac and for the time being, we acted as a German station hospital. Unlike previous prisoner patients, these "supermen" looked quite fatigued, exhausted and afraid. However, they were given excellent treatment, a fact which amazed most of them. They had been led to believe that the Americans wouldn't treat them as equals. But, soon we were on speaking terms with them which afforded us a most excellent opportunity to "educate" them into the American ways of life. This was done very often and it was a very common sight to see an American soldier discuss the political and international situation with a group of Germans. More often than not, these discussions wound up with the Germans admitting that perhaps Hitler wasn't the superman they thought he was. However, there still was a great many who were stubborn and stuck to their guns. Many of them were under the impression that Oran was still held by their own troops.

Our hospital consisted of approximately fifty barracks which housed all our wards, the operating rooms, x-ray, pharmacy, the various other services, and the living quarters of the officers, nurses and enlisted personnel. This was the first time since we left England that we were in buildings. The area itself was covered with all kinds of flowers and was very beautifully landscaped. It overlooked the main road to Tunis and Bizerte, and beyond that, Lake Achkel which was connected with the Mediterranean by Lake Bizerte. Other features of this area was a large recreation hall, shower room and open-air movie. A large German black cross was not painted white to coincide with our hospital insignia for some unknown reason.

The German prisoners and their medical officers were very much surprised to see the technique and methods of American surgery and were amazed at our excellent treatment of their wounded patients. The German General Staff, or what was left of them after the battle was over, spent a day at our hospital before going further back and also were very much impressed by our setup. Although most of the German boys were tired and wanted to go home, there were a few loyal Nazis who firmly believed that they would win the war. They always were alone by themselves as most of the German boys didn't talk with them. The majority were convinced that Allied production and equipment eventually would beat them.

City of Baths

Our retreat was orderly as we moved back to "previously prepared positions". On February 21st, we found a site a few miles east of Ain-Beida, about 40 miles northwest of Tebessa. As usual, we set up the hospital in the rain and mud. During this time, LIFE Magazine photographers took our pictures and subsequently in their April 26 issue published an article titled "Mud", featuring our unit. It rained for the three days it took us to set up the hospital and at the end of that time, an Allied communiqué announced that the Germans were stopped. On February 24th, just after we completed setting up the hospital, we packed and moved out, having handled slightly more than 100 patients during our short stay in "muddy hollow".

The Allied forces were reputed to be counter-attacking when we set up on February 25th at Souk-Ahras, the most beautiful spot we had seen in Africa up to that time. Situated between two mountains, a large tract of newly planted wheat fields ahead of us and a freshly-cut stretch of grassland to our rear, a high series of rocky mountains in the distance, and forestland all around, our hospital area reminded us of the exclusive hotels and country clubs back home. The rainy season was just about ending and with the end, large rainbows could be observed daily after each rain. This area was aptly named "Rainbow Valley" and "Pool's Paradise" in honor of the officer who first picked the site for the hospital area. The German breakthrough definitely was stopped and the Allies again were attacking, so after a brief spell of two weeks, during which we serviced the British First and Eighth Armies, we packed on March 11th and were off to the next area to handle the majority of the casualties resulting from the final offensive of the Allies to capture North Africa.

This time, bombed-out Youks les Bains was selected for our hospital and we set up quickly. 5,400 patients in five weeks came through our hospital, most of whom needed surgical treatment. As the front moved forward, our hospital was further away from the scene of operations and it was not uncommon for casualties to be transported over 200 miles before they were given secondary surgical treatment. The operating room was the hub of the hospital activity. The patients arrived in the operating room very soon after their arrival at the hospital and very often, they would be operated on and the very next day evacuated to another hospital in the rear. This was necessary because of the large amount of casualties arriving from the front.

The various links in the chain of medical units through which a soldier passed during the North Africa campaign were as follows: If he was wounded on the battlefield, he was first treated by a company aid man, a non-combatant medical soldier who went with the troops into battle unarmed. A clear bandage or perhaps some sulphanilimide was applied to the wound and litter bearers took him to a battalion aid station where the wound was cleaned or a splint applied if there were any broken bones. The wounded soldier then was transported to a clearing station where further treatment was given or, if the wound was not serious, sent back to duty. The various clearing stations evacuated their serious patients to a collecting station where the patient's condition was checked and he was then sent to an evacuation hospital, the last medical unit within the theater of operations and the first which actually performed surgery, such as operations, bone-setting, casts, amputations, etc. All of these movements took time. It was not uncommon for soldiers to ride twelve hours before they arrived at an evacuation hospital, tired, hungry, fatigued and weak. On arrival, the patient was taken into the Receiving Tent where we was examined by the Receiving Officer and his records checked. If the injury was serious, another team of surgical officers was called in on the case, he was x-rayed and taken to the operating room. It was not uncommon for a patient to be on the operating table within fifteen minutes after his arrival at the hospital. In addition to surgery, the evacuation hospital offered such facilities as dental care, eye, ear, nose and throat dispensary, a pharmacy, an elaborate x-ray section, medical consultations and an elastic system of expansion and contraction of the capacity of the beds depending on the type of cases handled. The evacuation hospital was expected to set up or tear down in eight hours, a remarkable time record in view of the many problems out in the field.

Its wide variety of services coupled with its closeness to front line action made the evacuation hospital the ideal medical unit for a fast moving army. Depending on the condition of the patient and the total amount of casualties, the patients who were expected to recover within 30 days were evacuated to a station or general hospital in the rear, where they could be given recuperative treatment and then sent back to duty. The seriously wounded and those not expected to recover within 90 days were eventually sent back to hospitals in the states.

The rains had ceased, the roads had been improved and the American Army began to move. The British Eighth Army began to move and broke through the Mareth Line as the American II Corps captured Gafsa. All of this made wonderful headlines but many American boys got hurt in the attempt. Over five thousand of them came through the Ninth Evacuation Hospital during that five-week period. Serious shrapnel, gun shot and shell fragment wounds, amputations and mine wounds represented most of the cases. The morale of the boys was on the decline although they were told that they were to be relieved shortly. This combined with the promise that the end was near was just a temporary change and when casualties began to mount late in March and early in April, they really were down in the dumps. Never before or since was their morale so low. However, the change of atmosphere in a quiet hospital helped them tremendously and the change in their physical appearance changed their mental makeup by that amount.

One of the main causes of the low morale of the American troops at this time was due to the many promises by their officers that the next hill would be the last before being relieved. This especially was true during and after the battle for the famous Hill 609. The boys who were fighting to capture that hill were promised that they would be relieved after taking it, but no sooner had they captured it after a long series of struggles, they were off to attack another series of hills. This repetition of false promises did a lot to lower the morale of the men and the respect of the men for their officers.

The personnel of the hospital were hard put to it to keep pace with the amount of patients who were being received. It was not an uncommon occurrence for the men attached to the operating room staff to work 36 hours without being relieved. But they did their chores cheerfully as they felt that the boys who were doing the fighting were at that time looking to them for help. The fine impressions which the medical department personnel made on the combat troops more than made up for the general impression that the medical soldier was a "goldbricker" and the boys of the Ninth Evac did a great deal to help change that impression. For many months thereafter, we received letters from former patients telling us of the wonderful work we did and thanking us for the help we gave them in returning them to health and duty.

Youks was an old Arab village, the site of the ancient Roman city famous for its baths. We took advantage of these modern conveniences as often as we could. In fact, soldiers for as much as fifty miles around came to Youks to clean up after living in mud and dirt for many months. However, the Americans seemed to be the only people to use the place. The natives didn't believe in washing. They knew that they would get dirty again.