<Begin Segment 26>

TI: Well, that, and this is a good point to bring into... there was an event that you participated in that, and from this event, you were awarded a Silver Star. Can you describe the sequence of events that led to this, and where it was and what happened?

MT: [Laughs] I'm not really aware of what happened. All I know is after I came home, got a letter from the War Department that I was awarded the Silver Star and where did I want to be presented that, whether it was at a VA group or civil service or church, or what. I said, "Just, don't bother, just mail it to me." [Laughs]

TI: And so do you really have a hard time recalling the actual event?

MT: It's, things are pretty vague.

TI: Because you were, you were actually wounded during this event. So explain as much as you can about what happened, sort of leading the sequence so I can understand this.

MT: Well, the draftee group, as I said, we joined the unit after the Battle of the Lost Battalion. And then we were moved back down to Italy, and then we trained there, and we became under General Mark Clark again, and attached to the 92nd Division. And the division had been trying to take this mountain range, and I think they had made two, three attempts and couldn't do it. And that mountain range is, it's a lot like... what's that first range of mountains you see when you're going toward Snoqualmie? (Mt. Si)? North Bend is here, the mountains right there.

TI: The Cascade range?

MT: Yeah. But the Vosges -- (Mt. Folgorita) we were trying to get, climb, it was just, looked very much like looking at, from North Bend, looking at the hills, it's flat here and up 2,000 feet or 2,500 feet or what. But they were on top of there, and this is where they're looking over the whole valley, the Germans, and they controlled with artillery, being able to pinpoint artillery rounds, they were able to control the whole valley, so the American troops could not go into Po Valley. They had to knock out the observation post, and they did make several attempts to do it, and they couldn't do it. And so we were called to go in there and eliminate the observation posts up there. And we had to climb up this steep hill, and it was, it wasn't walking up the hill, it was actually going up on fours. It was that steep. And we got into this little town the night before, and we had to stay under shelter, we couldn't show ourselves because the Germans were just up the hill from us. And then the next night when it got dark, we got our marching orders to go up. And we started, I would say, what, eight o'clock or whatever, it got dark, and we were supposed to be at the top of the hill by five in the morning. And we all got up there one way or another, and the Germans were caught completely in surprise. And within an hour or less, we eliminated the outpost. And as soon as that happened, the Po Valley was opened for the American troops to go in. And by that time, the Germans were pretty well beaten anyway, and it wasn't too long after that the Germans surrendered. But there were different fire fights and things until the war ended. And after we got off this mountain, Folgorita, got in the town and spent a few nights there and then we went on, and that's where I got wounded.

TI: And can you explain that, what happened for you to get wounded? I mean, what's the sequence?

MT: Well, all I can remember is I saw several Germans, and I think I exchanged fire with them. And all of a sudden, it seemed like I got hit. Felt like somebody hit me in the chest and knocked the wind out of me. And I was crouching over a wall, and I just kind of sat down and the wind completely knocked out of me, and I really didn't know what happened, but that was when I got hit. And I can't remember pain or anything like that, but feeling, I can remember getting hit with a ball right on the chest and knocking the air out of myself. Maybe you've had that happen, too. But that, that's the feeling I had. [Laughs]

TI: So you were shot in the chest.

MT: Yeah, uh-huh.

TI: And so it knocked the wind out of you, and so you're sitting there, and then what happened? What was next?

MT: And then, oh, the medics came and bandaged me up. And then another fellow and I were escorted by one fellow and we were evacuated from that area. And the rest of 'em went on, and I think within a week or ten days, the war pretty much ended.

TI: But going back to when you were wounded, so it was that incident where you, from your citation, you remained fighting, protecting the flank of the unit which probably saved lives, and it was through that that they awarded you the Silver Star, is that sort of...

MT: It's pretty vague in my mind as to what I was doing. I do remember one machine gun I saw, and the Germans were actually, we had moved on and they were behind us, this group were, they were up higher than we were. And I had a BAR, which was a much more, what, long range accuracy than a regular rifle. And I'm sure I knocked out that machine gun. After I fired my burst, I didn't see any, the gun or anybody up there. But some of the other things after that, in the blur of different things, I really don't know what I was, what I went through or what my other friends went through.

TI: And at this point, were you, were you hit at that point, or was this before...

MT: No, it was after that.

TI: It was after that you were hit. Well, from that, you got the, the Silver Star.

<End Segment 26> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.