One Man's War
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ONE MAN'S WAR By Major Alvin W. Morland 308th Field Artillery 78th Infantry Division World War II January, 1941 - May, 1946 Contents 1. Introduction 2. Chronological Outline 3. Pre-Pearl Harbor 4. Active Duty 5. Overseas 6. First Combat 7. Hospitalization 8. Return to Combat 9. Occupation Duty 10. Return to the U.S. Postscript ©2002, Alvin W. Morland One Man’s War – Morland Page 2 of 71 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Historical accounts of wars are usually confined largely to a condensed version of the more important battles and the effect they had on history. A combat soldier knows little of the overall importance of a battle - he is concerned with the next hill, bridge, town or the next bend in the road for that is where he may die. This account contains little of historical significance in itself; it is simply a chronicle of one man's experiences in World War II. It includes participation in three engagements that played an important role in hastening Germany's surrender: The Battle of the Bulge, the battle at the bridge over the Rhine River at Remagen, and the Ruhr Pocket. After reading some preliminary chapters of my memoirs, one of my nieces said she was surprised to find that much of my time in battle was spent in a house - she said she thought battles were fought out of foxholes. She - and I expect many others - fail to realize that in order for soldiers to work cohesively with their commanders they must have direction or they would be little more than an armed mob. To be able to plan and direct a battle, the command group must be able to see maps. In the case of field artillery, the branch in which I served, maps are necessary to pinpoint location of guns and target, to calculate the difference in elevation of guns and targets, to measure the angle between them, and to convert this data into numbers that the gun crews can use to direct fire on the targets. Before going into combat, we were instructed not to keep a diary or take photographs, for if we were captured this could give useful information to the enemy. Fortunately, after the fighting ended and my division was in the province of Hesse waiting to relieve the 101st Airborne Division as the U.S. occupation force in Berlin, I had time to write notes covering the first part of the time we were in combat. I would not have been able to write this account without these notes. Two things kept me at this task: The thought of how much an account of the experiences of my maternal grandfather, John Newton Cowan, who was a Confederate soldier in the War Between the States, would have meant to me. I am indebted to several relatives for their assistance. My older son, Douglas Verne, spent countless hours organizing the material and my brother, Richard, provided counseling. My nieces, Becky Word Hasemeir, Susan Word, Evelyn Word Jones, and Laura Morland Rhodes offered encouragement. I deeply regret that my maternal grandfather, John Newton Cowan left nothing of his experiences in the War Between the States. He died long before I was born, and his widow, Laura Blanche Kerr Cowan, the grandmother who lived with us, could furnish only a little information. She was his second wife (his first one died), and they were not married until well after the end of the war. I obtained an official record of my grandfather's service from the Department of Archives, Washington, D. C. One Man’s War – Morland Page 3 of 71 A book entitled From Selma To Appomattox, The History Of The Jeff Davis Artillery, by Lawrence R. Laboda (Oxford University Press, New York), includes the following information about my grandfather's service with the Confederate army. John N. Cowan (fr. Lowndes Co.) Enlisted July 10, 1861 at Selma, Ala.; mustered in July 27, 1861; July 1 – Aug. 31 - Oct. 31, 1861 shown as sick in camp If anyone in years to come should find these memoirs of interest the time spent in recording them will be justified. Alvin Morland, Major Field Artillery, USA-Res. 78th Infantry Division World War II Pompano Beach, Florida 1999 One Man’s War – Morland Page 4 of 71 Chapter 2 CHRONOLOGICAL OUTLINE 1. Summary Commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant, Field Artillery, U.S. Army Reserve, upon graduation from Auburn University in 1937. Called to extended active duty in December, 1940 - about a year before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Served with the 78th Infantry Division in European Theater, and fought in the battles of the Bulge, Remagen Bridgehead, and Ruhr Pocket. After the fighting ended, I served in the occupation forces in the province of Hesse, and then briefly in Berlin. Awards: Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and three campaign stars. Furloughed to Active Reserves in May, 1946, and retired from the active reserve in 1955. 2. Outline The following is a brief chronological outline of the military experiences that are detailed in this volume. May, 1937: Commissioned 2nd lieutenant of Field Artillery, U.S. Army Reserves, following completion of four-year R.O.T.C. course at Auburn University. Summers of 1937-1940: Spent two weeks each summer training with regular army units at Fort Bragg, N.C. Drew pay of a second lieutenant, plus $.05 a mile for travel from my home in Birmingham to Fort Bragg. December 20, 1940: Received telegram ordering me to go to Fort McClellan, AL, to take physical exam, and if passed to report to Fort Sill, OK, on Jan. 1, 1941, to take Battery Officers' Course at Field Artillery School. April, 1941: Upon completion of course at Fort Sill, I was ordered to Field Artillery Replacement Center, Fort Bragg, NC. Assigned as Executive Officer, Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment. Several months later was give command of Battery B, same battalion and regiment. July, 1942: The commanding officer of the FATRC, Col. Edwin Parker, was promoted to general and given command of the 78th Infantry Division being formed at a new post, Camp One Man’s War – Morland Page 5 of 71 Butner, NC. I was promoted to captain and transferred to the 78th Division with Gen. Parker, and assigned to 307th F.A. Headquarters as S-3 (Plans and Training Officer). October, 1942: Attended special 4-weeks course at the artillery school, Fort Sill. Returned to my unit at Camp Butner after completing the course. At various times put on temporary duty at division headquarters as acting assistant G-2 (Intelligence), acting assistant G-3 (Plans and Training), and as acting Special Services Officer. January, 1944: 78th Division sent to Tennessee to participate in winter maneuvers. April, 1944: Winter maneuvers ended and 78th sent to Camp Pickett, VA. I was relieved of duties at division head-quarters and assigned to 308th F.A. as S-3. In May ordered to field artillery school to take Officers' Advanced Course. The division's infantry privates and first class privates were sent to England to as replacements for anticipated casualties in D-Day invasion. We had to train men transferred from Air Corps to infantry, setting back our combat readiness by several months. August, 1944: I returned to Camp Pickett after visiting my brother Howard in Shreveport, LA, and family members in Birmingham. I was there only a few days when sent to Camp A.P. Hill, VA, to umpire artillery firing tests, and then returned to Camp Pickett. October 4, 1944: 78th Division ordered to Camp Kilmer, NJ, a staging area for troops headed to Europe. On Oct. 13 division went to New York Port of Embarkation, and a few days later boarded the USS John Ericcson and sailed for England. October 25, 1944: Landed at Southampton and went by train to Bournemouth on English Channel. November, 1944: Crossed channel on LSTs (Landing Ship - Tanks) and sailed to Le Harve and then down Seine River to Rouen. Convoyed across northern France to Hoesselt, Belgium, a village near Liege. December 8, 1944: 78th Division took position in Huertgen Forest (part of the Ardennes) at Lammersdorf, a tiny town on the German side of the Belgium border. Our mission was to attack through the Siegfried Line and securing the Schwammenauel Dam on the Roer River. My battalion was assigned to give direct support to the 309th Infantry Regt., and I was the liaison officer with the 1st Battalion of this regiment. One Man’s War – Morland Page 6 of 71 My task was advise the infantry commander on use of artillery, to give location and nature of targets to be fired on targets as requested, to maintain contact with the artillery forward observers, and when in best position to see targets to direct fire on them. December 13, 1944: At daybreak the 78th launched an attack through the Siegfried Line with initial objective of taking four villages on road system leading to the dam. Suffered many casualties but breached the Siegfried Line and took three of the four villages but could not capture and hold Kesternich, the village on the highest ground in the area. The Bn our artillery was supporting took and held Simmerath. December 16, l944: We had no way of knowing it but this was the first day of the German breakthrough that came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge, and the 78th held the position of the north shoulder of the Bulge. I was wounded when caught in an exposed position while trying to get a compass fix on the line of fire from which the shells were coming so I could direct fire on their artillery.