<Begin Segment 17>

TI: So, go back and talk about your experiences, the first few days of fighting. What was that like?

FM: First few days of fighting? Well, the first hill we were told to attack, we all spread out in a column. And we started charging up that hill there. But the machine gun and German machine gun placement were so good, they told us to pull back. So, as we were pulling back, a German machine gunner stood up, looking around there. And at the time, I was carrying an anti-tank grenade gun. So I attached the anti-tank grenade to my rifle, and I shot. Fired, you know. See, the missile sort of flies like that. It don't go straight. So I fired about four feet over his head. And the missile, it's slow. It's not like a bullet. So I could see that thing going like that. And boom, that's it. I saw a little phhh. Then after that, we pulled back.

TI: So you got a direct hit on that soldier that stood up?

FM: Yeah.

TI: 'Cause you could see where he was, and you got...

FM: Mhmm. I just aim and I shot. And after the bullet, the shell made contact, we pulled back from that hill. And we went to reorganize. Then they started to shell -- what do you call -- mortar shells in that area. And then we were all out to go back in, but then 2nd Platoon were held back. 3rd Platoon were told to go ahead. They went through there couple of days later, they said, one of the 3rd Platoon members said, they saw a body there. Half of the body was gone with the machine nest. So I figured, "Oh, I must have got that guy."

TI: That was probably the one you got.

FM: Yeah. And when we came down from that hill, I look at my ammo bag. There's bullet holes in the ammo bag. And the belt that I'm wearing here with all of my bullets, there was a hole through the bullet, through the belt there. So I had a pretty close call that time.

TI: So if the bullet had hit the ammunition, it would have probably exploded?

FM: It would have probably, yeah.

TI: Or if it got even closer to you, it would have hit you. So you were pretty lucky?

FM: Yeah.

TI: I mean, what did you think? I mean, when you saw how close you came to death?

FM: Oh, yeah.

TI: I mean, what did you, what were you thinking?

FM: I thought, "Wow. Look at...." [Laughs]

BK: You didn't faint or anything?

FM: No. No, I was really glad I didn't get hit. But I didn't think like, the bullet came that close. But where the bag was, God, the hole through that...

TI: Boy that's, that's...

FM: That was pretty close, yeah.

<End Segment 17> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.