"My name is...I was wounded at..."

The 1993 annual luncheon of the 358th Infantry Regiment

One of the seminal moments in my development as an oral historian was the annual luncheon of the 358th Infantry Regiment at the 90th Infantry Division reunion.

At the end of the luncheon, while the last couple of tables to be served might have still been eating and other tables were working on coffee and dessert, what seemed to me a bizarre and memorable ritual took place.

There were eight or nine round tables, each with five or six veterans. I don’t remember if any wives or companions were there because at later reunions there would always be a ladies’ luncheon while the regiments had their luncheon.

At the end of the meal, table by table, the veterans got up, paraded past the podium, picked up the microphone, introduced themselves, and said a few words.

Today, while looking up some of my old interview transcripts, I came across a transcript that was somewhat mislabeled. Mind you, this was 1993, I probably did the transcription within a year or two, I was less overwhelmed back then, what’s this, 30 years ago!

The transcription was labeled “Jim Flowers,” that’s all, and the second half of the transcription did indeed contain a recording of a conversation between Lieutenant Jim Flowers and Pfc. Bob Levine, most likely recorded at that same reunion.

But I had no idea, or at least completely forgot, that I recorded that post-meal ritual, which, I might add, may never have been repeated, although I only went to a couple of 90th Division reunions after that.

Also, at the end, after I turned off the tape recorder, a veteran raised his hand and asked if he could say something? Sure, he was told, and he came to the podium and told how he and his wife had recently returned from Germany where they visited the house where his platoon spent three days during the war. That was the first time I met Vern Schmidt, whom I would later interview at length. But his brief story is not on the tape.

There are some misspellings and question marks where I didn’t recognize a name or place, but here is the transcript I just found. The transcript segues into a conversation between Jim Flowers and Bob Levine, which must have taken place after the luncheon, and then a conversation with Jim and Jeanette Flowers, which I won’t include here (Note to self: Send that portion of the transcript to Steve Wawrzonek, Jim Flowers’ grandson, with whom you’re friends on Facebook).

A couple of notes: I mistakenly called the 358th Infantry Regiment the 358th Infantry Battalion. And some of the people who appear briefly in this transcript are notable, such as Charles Bryan, whom I would later interview at his home on Johns Island, South Carolina. Charles wrote a superb memoir which was only published in limited edition but I believe the 90th Division has a copy in its archives; also Bob Levine, who was a neighbor of mine in New Jersey; Bill Falvey, who was an important figure in the 90th and contributed greatly to John Colby’s superb history, “War From the Ground Up”; Dr. William McConahy, whose book “Battalion Surgeon” is a classic and apparently is being reissued soon (if not already) by the Mayo Clinic, where he spent his career; and of course, Jim Flowers, who although he was a member of the 712th Battalion, it was the 90th that recommended him for the Medal of Honor (he got the Distinguished Service Cross), for which he was always grateful; and Joe Engle, who was the speaker at the reunions’ Sunday morning farewell breakfasts.

(As you can see, it begins in mid-sentence, which is no doubt the point at which I said to myself, hey, dummy, this might be interesting so you maybe should turn on the tape recorder.)

Jim and Jeanette Flowers

1993 reunion of the 90th Infantry Division

Louisville, Ky., 10/16/93

(this begins with ceremony at 358th battalion luncheon)

...Somehow they missed me (laughter).

Jim Jones, M Company, now living in McLain, Va., I was one of those that I got a scratch deep enough that I shouldn't have had it, but it got me five points to go home.

Bernie Suter from M Company, Moline, Ill., and I got hit in the (?) while I was in a foxhole.

Clarence Davis of M Company, living in Ridemond, Ind., wounded in Normandy, July the 4th, and (?) on January 31st.

John Bandy, Williston, Idaho, Company M, a sniper got me in the face in the hedgerows.

I followed my captain in Normandy and I'm following him now. My name is Joe Engle, Company M, I'm from Philadelphia, I was wounded Bras, Belgium, Jan. 13, 1945, and you shall hear more from me tomorrow.

Clarence (?), Illinois, M Company, not wounded.

Bill Terry, Madisonville, Ky., Thank you all for coming to our fine state. This is my first convention. I was K Company. I got there late. The only thing that I got a citation for guarding the colonel's horses when we got back down to Austria. Thank you. (laughter)

Bill (?) from (?) Nebraska, George Company, I'm kind of an oddball, I didn't get hit.

I'm Elzy Coffey from Canton, Okla., I was with G Company, and wounded at (?)

I'm Bob Levine, K Company, and I got wounded following Jim Flowers, and he doesn't know me yet, but I followed his tank, and the last time I saw you you were going down the hill, and then I got wounded the next day, lost my leg, POW, another long story. Nice seeing you all.

I'm Phil Carroll, from Sacramento, Calif., I was the K Company commander from Barkley(?) to Hill 122. I was wounded the 4th of July.

I'm Bill Nolan, Jackson, Miss., K Company, and I was wounded on July 3, and then again later in the middle of November.

Elvin Bergen, from Orange Grove, Texas, landed on Utah Beach June the 8th, wounded November the 15th at Distroff, France.

Ray Ryers from Company H, I live in Hastings, Neb., jumped off the beaches in Normandy when the paratroopers landed, there were parachutes laying all over, and here's a part of one of them. (applause)

Hello, my name is Ken Barnes(?), Burbank, Ill., with the 90th Signal Company, but I've been with the 358th from D-Plus 2 almost throughout the war, so I feel like a part of the 358th.

(Bill Falvey?) There was a foxhole out near Gubersville. I was in it. Colonel Partridge, and the report was that Colonel Nave(?) had been killed, and I was sent out to find Colonel Nave's body, which I found shortly thereafter, and we were getting shelled at Gubersville and the shells were landing on our own troops, heavy. Shelling. And I was trying to get it stopped. General Landrum was with us in the foxhole. And Sam Williams was on the other end of the line, and he refused to stop shelling. We said, "General, we can see it landing right on our troops. It's only a couple hundred yards away." He said, "We've been trying to take Gubersville for several days, and we're not stopping shelling for anybody." And General Landrum said, "Give me the phone." He said, "Sam, stop the god damn artillery." Now, as far as I knew, nobody knew that but me because it was just in the headquarters, it was me and the general, and Landrum wasn't all bad, he was a great guy to be there with, he was at this time, and Ken Barish(?) was talking about this at one of these reunions, and I said, "How do you know about this?"

He said, "I was General Landrum's radio man." (much laughter)

Bill McConahey, Rochester, Minn. I was the battalion surgeon. I came to Normandy with the 357th Infantry, 2nd Battalion, was transferred around Metz to the 344th Field Artillery Battalion. I was never hit myself. I took care of many of hundreds of guys that were hit.

I'm Jim Flowers. I live in Richardson, Texas. I was wounded on July 10-11 on the back side of Hill 122.

(a member of the audience) How about the Cowboys?

Jim Flowers: This is not easy, but we're gonna win.

I'm the Junk Man, Martin Luther Junck, Cincinnati, Ohio, and I was with G Company of the 358th, and I was wounded around the battle of Metz. Thank you.

Bill Falvey: I didn't know whether or not I was going to get to come to this reunion. My brother in law offered to drive me up here, 350 miles, he wouldn't take a nickel even for the gasoline, and I was trying to think what can I do for this fellow. So I made up one of these sheets about this, and had several of you sign it, how many of you signed that sheet? Now I'd like to have you come up to our deal down there where we sell the books and we register, and my wife will help to get the papers there, and I'd like to have you sign that. And what it is, it just says, "My names is Bill Smith, I was with 358th B Company," and you can say anything you want to say. I couldn't think of anything nicer to do, and I'm trying to get 25 sheets of that. If you haven't signed it, if you'd come down, I'd really appreciate it.

Colonel Bryan?) I joined the regiment right after Hill 122, and I was wounded in the first Moselle crossing, slightly wounded. I was slightly wounded in the Saar crossing. And I was commander of L Company for five months, and they felt sorry for me, so they relieved me and gave me the safest job in the battalion, the battalion executive officer. The next day I was slightly wounded again. I live on Johns Island, a sea island off the coast of South Carolina. Not many people that know about the 90th, I didn't know before I came back after the war, but any special occasion I always fly this flag. (applause) My wife and daughter made it for me, and if you ask any of my 10 grandchildren they'll say that the 358th won the war.

My name's Ted Hofmeister, HQ of HQ Company, live in St. Louis, Mo., and I never got wounded because (?).

My name is Richard H. Owen, 694289, I joined the 90th Division in November 1942 and for some reason they threw me out in September of 1945. I spent most of my time as a battalion surgeon in combat with the Third Battalion, 358, and for some reason -- don't say it, Todd -- after Dr. Kammerer(?), Major Kammerer decided to leave, why, they pulled me back there and so I missed the last week or so with the Third Battalion. I'm a womb-to-tomber, now somebody asked me what the hell a womb-to-tomber is and that's a guy who delivers them and also pronounces them dead. (some laughter) Let it sink in. (much laughter) I'm glad to be here, I hope to get a few more, and I hope most of you people can make it, obviously.

I'm (?), Harry, I was with Company A, 357th, and I was wounded June 11, 1944.

My name is (?), and I represent the state of Rhode Island. If any of you wondered why I come so far away, about four years ago Bill had an ad in my hometown paper about this trip, the 45th anniversary of the D-Day fight, so I wrote to him and he told me what to do, got in touch with Galaxy, and I've enjoyed myself ever since. I've been able to come to the reunions, this is the fifth one, and I'm also planning to go to the 50th anniversary in June. It's been a pleasure to belong to this organization. Thank you. (applause)

This is where it segues to the later-in-the-day conversation with Bob Levine and Jim Flowers:

Bob Levine on Hill 122 looking at the path Jim Flowers’ tanks took.

Bob Levine: I was right there. We were the group right behind ...

Jim Flowers: You were in K Company.

Bob Levine: Yes, but you know something? Your tank, the first time, I always told Henri that when we went to Normandy in the hedgerows we always had to climb over and climb over, my hands were always torn up, he went right through the hedgerow and I said, "This is the easiest god damn hedgerow I've ever got," and I was barrel-assing behind them, and then all of a sudden I got wounded."

Jim Flowers: Down about that time, that little hillock over on our right flank somewhere opened up on you. I suppose that's how it happened.

Bob Levine: All of a sudden, I was just looking around there there were these big ... we got surrounded. The tanks were all in front of us and we were stuck behind, so we all got captured.

Aaron Elson: How many casualties were there?

Bob Levine: How many in K Company? My whole group, we were captured, and what happened with me was, I had no idea, but there was, everybody that was around me was dead or picked up.

Bob Levine: ...anybody in his right mind wouldn't have put tanks on that damn hill. I looked and I said, how did tanks get here? There were trees, hedgerows, how in the hell did you guys get down the hill and across and through? Why would you guys be in that terrain?

Jim Flowers: Why in the hell did I get in the Army?

Bob Levine: How did you really think you would ever get out of that?

Jim Flowers: I was a tank officer. I knew what I was doing. I wasn't over there kidding around, I was over there to...

Bob Levine: One general somewhere in headquarters said, "Let's put the 712th on Hill 122."

Jim Flowers: Separate tank battalions like we were, I can understand very well, let's see, it's the use of an entire armored division that make no sense to me. Two regiments of tanks and one regiment of armored infantry, with attached units, that doesn't make sense, but they did it. Well we, with tanks, we were, I thought we were pretty good in close support of infantry.

Bob Levine: Just that particular location.

Jim Flowers: You're talking about up on Hill 122 now, well that was no good. On the way from the beaches up there, there were a good many places that you would have found it most difficult without armored support.

Bob Levine: It's just that I wasn't aware of you until that point. I just couldn't believe, it was so dense, and so tough going for the infantry, I mean really it was tangled, really, you know, it had been a hell of a mess. You know, what happened to me, after we were picked up, I only had a grenade wound in my thigh because I was crouching in the corner, a guy threw a grenade, caught me in the thigh, and then they surrounded us. The next morning, they marched us out on the road and all that dust came up and good old, who was our field artillery unit that got, but they just laid right in on us and wiped out the whole ... I just happened to get up and got picked up and brought to an aid station, and from there I was all right. But I was caught from our side and the German side, so, I had a hell of an experience.

Aaron Elson: So you were captured up to that point?

Bob Levine: I was captured on the 10th, and the next day, the 11th, I was hit by the American artillery. So I'm just trying to figure out who I should complain to about that.

Aaron Elson: I just found out my father was hit by an American bullet.

Bob Levine: Why were they laying it on us?

Jim Flowers: Out where I was, I pushed the Germans back quite a distance, then after I lost four tanks and nine men, why, the German could move back into some of these positions and the American artillery was trying to run 'em out.

Bob Levine: Now, you know, I went back with Henri, some years later, some years ago, and we came upon the farmer, the farmer who owned that property, and Henri says "I want you to meet" this whoever he was, he had been plowing that, you know about that, and he found remnants of the tank and the bones, and as I found him, he was looking at these things and I took a picture of him looking at these pieces of bone, fragments. And they were from that whole tank group.

Jim Flowers: From one of my tanks. Of course if the boy had remained in the tank, there wouldn't be anything left to find, because he would have been cremated. But he probably got killed after he got out of the tank, for him to have, Henri told me about it. Just bone fragments, and they were not absolutely sure at that time whether it was human bones or animal bones.

Bob Levine: But they knew, because the guy could never grow a crop there, because I guess the fuel and all that ...

Jim Flowers: Three places, three of the tanks, I had four tanks there, one of them was knocked out in a little swampy area, this was in July, the one Sheppard was in.

Aaron Elson: He got back, he was not behind the German lines at that point.

Jim Flowers: No, he was just, he was hardly off off the hill. He had come off of the hill across the blacktop road, and the hedgerow paralleling the road...

Bob Levine: Was where we got caught right? Right at that next hedgerow.

Jim Flowers: You people were supposed to be with me, K Company, Jake Bealke, the ...

Bob Levine: Bealke was the commanding officer.

Jim Flowers: Third Battalion of 358. We had planned this thing before we started moving out, he sent K Company with me. And some of the K Company boys actually got out where I lost my tanks.

Aaron Elson: Did you see the tank get hit?

Bob Levine: I was right, I saw the tank get hit. And the moment, that's what happened, then I, we all dived in behind the hedgerow. And then suddenly they were throwing grenades at us. So we were right with them all the way, but that didn't help them.