<Begin Segment 31>

GS: So in Belmont, since I had the automatic rifle, Thompson submachine, I was on the right flank, rest of the boys were on top of the hill and the rest were on the other side. So we're taking this hill, and it kind of turns to the right, so I was following the road, it was just below me about ten, fifteen yards, and I'm following this, and then machine gun opened up and pinned us down. I had an idea that's, where it was somewhere to my right, so I told one guy to cover me 'cause I'm going to go down across, and go downhill and climb up on the other side. The Germans are going to have to get out of his foxhole to shoot at me. So I crossed the road and went downhill, and I came up on the other side of the ridge. And I crossed the road, and I see this big tree trunk laying on the side of the road. I says, "Oh, I'll get behind that tree trunk for protection," and I seen two Germans running up the hill. I said, "Oh, those are the two machine gunners, they're running up the hill," so I fired up and over. On the other side of that tree trunk, a machine gun comes up, two hands come up, they scared me more than I scared them. There was machine gunners.

TI: So it was a German machine gun nest on the other side of that big log.

GS: Other side of the log.

TI: And after you shot, not shooting at them but someone else...

GS: Uphill where two Germans were running.

TI: But the ones that were on the other side of the log, they, they were so frightened they surrendered.

GS: They pulled up the machine gun and surrendered. And I didn't know what, I just motioned to drop their machine gun, told the lieutenant to give me his pistol. So I took his pistol from him and then I told them to go back to the left. I couldn't speak German, I didn't know how to say, I says, I just motioned to them and I says, "That way." So they all went, the rest of the platoon picked them up and took 'em as prisoners.

TI: Going back, so this machine gun nest, were they kind of lying and waiting for an ambush, for the other guys, if they came around? Is that kind of what...

GS: They were waiting for any trucks or cars coming up that road, they were gonna shoot at the trucks or cars coming up the road. That's why that protection of that tree, big tree like this. Behind that, that was the machine gun nest there.

TI: But if, but if they had kept their wits, I mean, you were pretty vulnerable because you were looking at the other men.

GS: Right.

TI: And they scared you as much as anything. And so why do you think they surrendered?

GS: 'Cause they saw the barrel of the gun right over their head. [Laughs] 'Cause I, now I was on top of the tree trunk, 'cause I was firing up, up at 'em, and they could see the firing, 'cause they were just on the other side of the tree trunk.

TI: Amazing.

GS: So they, I scared them and they scared me, but I told them to drop the gun and so I picked up the... that's where I got my first pistol, first machine gun, so the rest of the troops was able to go around and they chased the Germans off to the other side.

TI: Now you said, so the lieutenant, the German lieutenant you got his pistol, what's your thinking about getting a pistol? Was that more of a souvenir or is it a good weapon, or why, why the pistol?

GS: Souvenir. Pistol and the belt. So I had the belt on, I put the belt on, it's flexible so it has little ridges, holes that, there was an extra belt on the side, that has little prongs that would go into these little holes like this. So each one of those would hit whatever size you want to put it, had holes in it so I was able to clip it to my belt and stuff. So I had this machine gun, pistol on, so I put other ammunition on this side, canteen on this side, shovel on back, and the backpack on the back of that. So I was weighted down with all kinds of, doing, no wonder I couldn't climb those hills.

TI: You had a little arsenal that you're carrying around.

<End Segment 31> - Copyright © 2008 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.