Feb. 18, 1945
Germany
Dear Family and All,
Well I sure would like to be home today. It's Sunday but you sure can’t tell it here. I doubt it very much if it will even be possible to attend a church service. I’ve had very few chances to be at services for four or five weeks now and I sure do miss it. I am very thankful though that I am not too busy today and before night I’ll get some reading done in my Testament. It sure is hard to appreciate just how good the Lord has been to me.
I’ve been getting a letter from you almost every day now for a few days. I know they’ll get caught up and then it’ll be a week or so before anymore come but they are really appreciated. Air mail seems to get here sooner than V-mail. The V-mails have been from the middle of January and I’ve got air mails up to February 3. I don’t know when the tourney is but it must be almost time for it. News about Richard and what he is going to do is what I am waiting most eagerly for now.
You know how I feel about worrying so just keep praying. With His help I’ll be seeing you one of these days. Thanks for the Bible verse stickers on the letters.
Love, Donald
From: An Historical and Pictorial Record of the 87 Infantry Division in WWII:
Olzheim fell by nightfall of February 6. Neuendorf, just north of Olzheim, was next on the objective list. The third Battalion sent a “Tiger Patrol,”… into the town before dawn on February 9. Early that moning the rest of the battalion moved in. Company I attacked and won high ground east of Neuendorf… After the fall of Neuendorf, which marked the end of the first phase of cracking the Siegfried Line, the 346th Regiment, now under command of Colonel Curtis Renfro, took over all positions held by the 345th… A period of rest was granted divisions all along the front in which Ihey could resupply, reinforce and consolidate their positions. During the next fortnight the 312th Engineer Baltalion enlisted the aid of many infantrymen in the maintenance of roads that were chopped up, hub-deep over which an ever increasing amount of supplies, munitions and reinforcements were being carried forward.
From 346th Infantry:
For the next 18 days the Division held defensive positions. During this period of time patrols were sent frequently into the sector around Ormont and Neundorf to determine activity and resistance to be met there. During the 18 days that the Division was defending temporarily, daylight and night patrols of the 346th continuously prodded into the vaunted Siegfried Line through heavily mined and booby trapped woods, across open areas swept by fire from the pillboxes and through barrages of screaming meemie’s and mortars, plotting detailed locations of mine and booby trap fields, locations and fields of fire of pillboxes, and enemy strengths and dispositions. The enemy information was so completely and accurately known through patrol reports that at all times the Regimental operations map showed the location, strength and designation of all enemy troops to our front. One morning at 0500 a relief of an enemy unit was made and at 0800 the map showed the new unit in place, its strength, armament, and commanding officer, and the direction in which the relieved unit went.
Feb 16. Germany
Dear Folks,
It won’t do any good to apologize but it likely seems like ages since I last wrote. Yesterday I received your letter of Jan 31 and since Daddy made a special request for me to put the country in, I’ll try to always do so. You said my last few V-mails had not been photographed so I am doing my best to make this one legible. I’ve wished several times that I had not left my fountain pen in my duffle bag before we moved into action. I guess that’s about the only thing I really cared about that I didn’t bring but I doubt now if we’ll ever see our bags again. I’d be happy if you would send me a cheap pen so there would be no difficulty in the V-mails going through. I was sure glad to hear that mother had started a box on the way. If you included mostly things to eat, it can’t come amiss. I sort of hate to start asking for specific things along this line but if you’d like for me to, I could start a bunch of mother’s divinity fudge. I think I have gotten all the packages you mentioned. I’ve gotten Sunday school papers several times and the other day I received a bunch that contained a Reader’s Digest. Thanks. I know you are praying for me and I really know prayer helps. God has sure been good to me. Happy birthday Richard and Jim.
Love, Donald
From: An Historical and Pictorial Record of the 87 Infantry Division in WWII:
(On Jan 30th) – All nine infantry battalions, with their supporting artillery, tanks and tank destroyers, moved east from the line of departure southwest of St. Vith through the deep snow and mountain forests. With the 346th Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Donald E. Clayman commanding, setting the pace by executing an end-run around the enemy front lines to strike at his supply bases in Schonberg and Andler, the 345th and 347th Regiments moved forward against the enemy’s front lines to bring about his complete collapse in Belgium and run for the protection of his vaunted Siegfried Line. The last town in front of the Line to be captured, Roth, Germany, fell to the 87th Reconnaissance Troop on February 2.
With the 347th Regiment, Colonel S. R. Tupper commanding, on the left; the 345th Regiment on the right, and the 346th Regiment in Division reserve, the Siegfried Line lay directly ahead, its pillboxes, dragon’s teeth, bunkers and fortifications hidden by the snow cloaked forests of the Schnee Eifel mountains. But the line was well marked by the pyrotechnic bursts of fire that Division Artillery, with attached Corps units …placed upon it. “The Infantry’s Best Friend,” the Artillery, had kept pace with the advancing doughboys and by the time General Culin was ready to send his men in the Line the artillery had the way “well prepared.”
The sector of the Line, directly in front of the Division, was laid out in the form of a huge “Y” with the two prongs leading northward. Those prongs branched out from the vitally important little town, Ormont… The Third Battalion, passed through the Second Battalion and advanced along the military road towards the main crossroads. The bursts of artillery, machine gun, mortar, and automatic weapons fire from the foxhole-surrounded pillboxes and bunkers, and hundreds of mines, both anti-tank and anti-personnel, were the obstacles the hard fighting doughboys had to overcome to win their objective.
From 346th Infantry:
The morning of the 30th the Third Battalion jumped off toward Andler but were unable to cross the river into town…the First Battalion captured Andler at 0530, 1 February…The following few days were spent moving to forward positions around Auw, Krewinkle, and Weckerath.
Note: On Jan 31, 1945, Pfc. Donald V. Tappan was awarded the Silver Star for his actions at Tillet, Belgium. The citation, and the order for presentation from Regimental Headquarters, are dated February 4th.
Feb. 5, 1944
Dear Folks,
I guess I might as well start this letter by asking you to share it. I’m pretty sure this will be all I’ll get written. I sure was glad to get mail again last night. I got letters from you dated Dec. 18, Jan 5 and 15. It made me happy, of course, to get the late news but I got the biggest kick out of the oldest letter. Daddy had written most of it and it was so chatty that it made me almost feel as if I’d spent a little time at home. I sure don’t mean any reflections on anyone else’s writing but that’s just the way it effected me. I supposed what did it most was his telling about mother ironing on Saturday night. How are things at school coming? By the time this reaches you it will be almost Richard’s birthday. I sure send all my best wishes. I know it will be a crisis in his life and I hope, pray and know the Lord will take care of things. Keep trusting.
Love, Donald
Categories
Belgium-Germany: February 1945
The following is the official “After Action Report” for the 346th Regiment, February 1945, from the 87th Infantry Archives
From: An Historical and Pictorial Record of the 87 Infantry Division in WWII:
A river crossing demonstration was put on to draw the enemy into their sector in front of us while three divisions to our left made full scale assault crossings of the Sauer River. Two “Tiger Patrols” from the Third Battalion, 346th Regiment, assaulted and captured the large city of Wasserbillig and held it until the Division was withdrawn from Luxembourg and sent back into Belgium on January 27 to have the honor of chasing the German invaders completely out of Belgium and of “Cracking the Siegfried Line.”
The battles in the Saar, in the Belgian Ardennes, in Luxembourg, were past victories for the men of the 87th “Golden Acorn” Infantry Division on January 27 when Generals Patton and Middleton called upon them once more to fight a battle that was to test the mettle of every man in the division. The assignment: Drive the enemy out of Belgium and crack through the Siegfried Line.
From 346th Infantry:
On January 23 a strong patrol moved in and captured Wasserbillig since that town was the more important. WasserbiIlig was a critical town on the route between Trier and Luxembourg, and the Germans had established a bridgehead across the Moselle River.
BACK TO THE ARDENNES
On the 25th the Regiment moved from the area along the Sauer-Moselle Rivers to a sector in the vicinity of Hautbellain, Luxembourg. On the same day Colonel Richard B. Wheeler was relieved of command of the Regiment and Lt. Col. Donald C. Clayman, from the Ninth Division assumed command. January 26 found the Battalions moving into assembly areas and then relieving elements of the 17th Airborne Division south of St. Vith. Resistance stiffened as the Regiment moved on St. Vith. The First Battalion captured Thommen and Gruflange, Company B making the assault on both towns, and the Regiment moved into St. Vith late in the evening of the 28th, making contact with the Seventh Armored Division there.
Utter devastation greeted the eyes wherever one’s glance might stray. St. Vith was a vivid example of modern warfare, for St. Vith was a ghost town in every sense of the term, almost completely leveled. From St. Vith, the Regiment made a night motor march through the sector of the 82nd Airborne Division with a mission of moving south and southeast from Herresbach to cross the Our River, take Andler and Schonberg. The march was executed under the most difficult conditions, since all roads were drifted full of snow, and the weather, although clear, was bitter cold. Overhead, buzzbombs thundered through the night on their way to London.
Belgium
January 29, 1945
Hello Family,
I sure want to get you a letter written today. I know there is no use apologizing about my lack of writing because I have told you I’ll do my best. There have been a few times that I might have dashed off a letter but I try to get every minute of relaxation I can. You can see that I am just as lazy as ever.
I might even have written you a V-mail now had I not had a money order to send. As far as news goes, I won’t have enough to make this much of an air mail letter. You will have to just use your own judgement on the money. I can’t spend it or any part of it here. If there is anything (watch, etc.) that I lack on you can finish it up on this. If not, I guess bonds are about the best place for it. But as I said, use your own judgement.
I got mail from you several days ago so before long I expect to be hearing again. I got letters up to January 8. I also want to tell Grandma Carver that I got letters from her dates Jan. 2 and Nov. 8 at almost the same time. I know you’ll let her know. I also got a few November letters from you.I guess they all got mixed up in England or somewhere.
I thought about Daddy’s birthday the other day but it wouldn’t have gotten there in time for the 25th anyway. That reminds me that I don’t think I ever did even mention Mary’s birthday. I hope you’ll forgive me for things like this.
About the only news I can and want to tell you about is that I had a little pass to the city of Luxemborg the other day. This was the first free time any of us have had since we hit France. The city hadn’t been hit too hard but of course there were only civilian necessities to sell. We couldn’t even buy anything to eat. We had to mooch enough to keep us going from some soldiers stationed there. They were real god to us though. I guess about the most good we got from the trip was seeing the civilians. They were well dressed (as a whole) and almost reminded us of home. Just about time to leave we found an air corps recreation room where we could buy sandwiches and coffee and just to be able to spend a little money for something did for us just what we needed.
If you look forward to mail as much as I do I hate to disappoint you so often. I got mail only 4 or 5 days ago and I am already wondering how things are going. It sure won’t be long before it will be basketball tourney time again.
Let’s keep trusting and praying. There is no use to worry. If you want to know how I feel about worrying, I think sometimes that I don’t worry enough. I guess I think too much about the future.
Lots of love,
Donald
Categories
January 19, 1945
From: An Historical and Pictorial Record of the 87 Infantry Division in WWII:
Action in Luxembourg was described by the doughboys, worn out after their terrific fighting in Belgium, as “a frontline rest area.” Reinforcements were received, trained and outfitted and the Division instituted a pass policy, allowing a certain number of men three days in Luxembourg City and others three day passes to Paris.
From 346th Infantry:
On the 13th of the month the unit was in Division reserve near Rondu, Belgium, the Regimental Command Post being at Aspelt, Luxembourg.
DEFENSE OF LUXEMBOURGThe order to move to a new sector near Betzdorf, Luxembourg was received and carried out on the 15th. The move to the new sector enabled the Regiment to take over the mission of the Eighth Infantry Regiment of the Fourth Division who were located there. The position was a defensive one, the main action consisting of patrolling.
Jan. 19, 1945
Dear Folks,
I guess you couldn’t say it is because of lack of time that I haven’t written but more correctly lack of opportunity. I started a letter a few days ago but things happened before I got it finished. I sure was glad to hear from you this morning. I got letters dated Dec. 31 and Jan 1 and also three Tribunes (Nov 28 and Jan 3 and 11). I am really glad to get the papers even though I only get about one out of every week. I wanted to thank you earlier but about a week ago I got the box from you that contained Mary King’s cookies. A surprise like that really is appreciated. That chicken I guess was the best I ever tasted. I don’t know whether those fudge candy bars are something new or not but they tasted enough like home made candy to really be good. You can send me some of them any time you have an extra corner. Please thank Mary King for me, at present I’m OK and am still trusting and praying. God Bless you.
Love, Donald
Categories
January 12, 1945
Friday Evening
Jan. 12, 1945
Dear Family,
I sure would like to write you a chatty letter once again. I am happy every time I get to write a V-mail but when something better can be done I’d like to do it. I hope you can feel that the little letters I do get written once in a while are at least a partial substitute. As you probably have guessed by this time even when we do get back for a little rest there is very little spare time. In the first place there wouldn’t be a rest period even now if we weren’t in desperate need of rest so every minute could be put to very profitable use just in resting. Then of course there are always a million other things to do like cleaning up etc. so there just can’t be too much time spent in letter writing. And while I’m on the subject of being busy, now that I’m pretty deep into the communications work, a good bit of my rest time is taken getting the equipment back into workable condition. If I should fall asleep in the middle of this & then not get it finished for two weeks I think you’ll see the reason. I suppose we must average about a couple days a week in at least partial rest but there is so little time during the rest of the days that this is really a necessity.
I want to tell you a little about what I have been doing. Under conditions like this the people doing different jobs change so fast that you are lucky to be doing one thing very long. If you are lucky enough to be in after a month of this it is very unlikely you are doing the same thing you started out doing. I thought I would be a rifle soldier but the first couple of engagements found me carrying one of the little radios I was trained in using. Then pretty soon it became necessary for me to begin operating a good bit bigger type of radio which I had to learn to use from first hand experience. It’s really a big job to fight carrying that 60lbs of radio on your back but it’s got to be done by someone. Now things have changed so that I’ve got to do a good bit towards looking after the wire and communications needed in the company. I’m getting experience and plenty of it even though it has to be the hard way.
You can see by my address that we jumped around a lot but we always go at night and never get to see much of the country except where we stop. I’ve seen lots of places now - U.S., Scotland, England, France, Germany, Luxemburg and Belgium. Belgium has some of the most beautiful scenery anyone could ever want to see but we are in no position to get much of a kick out of that.
We get mail every few days now so you can rest easy on that. It generally comes up to us with our food. I sure am thankful that my stationary & box of goodies got here when I have a little time to enjoy and use them.
I believe that there are only a couple more subjects now that I want to tell you about. One is that whenever it is possible we get the best food. We even get more candy and gum than we did before we hit combat.
The other important thing to us is our trust in the Lord. When we are in a tight spot there is no one that I’ve heard talking that doesn’t pray. And they aren’t ashamed to admit it either.
I sort of got wobbly on this page.
The main trouble, of course, a lot of the religion doesn’t go any further then the immediate need for help. They don’t comprehend any other side of it. Those of us who really are interested (no reflections on the rest) are really glad when we get back where the chaplain can hold services. I was hoping there would be one today but when I saw him this evening he promised one tomorrow (if we’re still here, of course). Scripture verses also give me a lot of encouragement. Give me any special ones you happen to run across.
I’ve got to turn in but I sure am glad that I have been able to write this one real letter. Bear with Vmails till I can do it again. God bless you and take care of yourselves.
Love, Your son and brother, Donald
Categories
January 11, 1945
Date tentative based on that he mentions planning to write an airmail letter, and he wrote one on January 12
From 346th Infantry:
On 10 January, Company I, supported by one platoon of Company L, took the town of Tillet. The Regiment was relieved and moved to an assembly area near Neuvillers, the same day the Commanding General made a number of awards to men of the Regiment in a formal ceremony.
Belgium
Hello Folks,
Well I am sure glad to be able to write you again. I hope you’ll forgive the time that I got the last letter sent out but you’ll just have to blame it on conditions. I didn’t get it started till last night. I’d better tell you first that I am very thankful that I’ve been getting mail pretty regularly. I got two or three letters you wrote about Christmas time and quite a few back ones that had been held up for some reason or other. I got also your stationary, box of woolen clothes, Sunday School papers and a Christmas box from Uncle Floyds’ and Pauls. I’ll bet that there is nothing in this world I’d have appreciated more than something to keep me warm. They certainly can be put to immediate use. As usual I (we) also got quite a kick out of the things to eat in the other box. I am still getting along OK and depending for strength on the Lord. Today we are resting and between now and tomorrow if we are still here I am going to make an honest effort to write you an air mail. I hope you are glad to get these Vmails though.
Love, Donald
From: An Historical and Pictorial Record of the 87 Infantry Division in WWII:
All along the front the enemy was throwing everything he had into the fight- artillery, mortars, machine guns, tanks and self-propelled guns of all calibers. Tillet, situated on a barren hilltop between two larger hills, became the key town in the enemy’s scheme of reinforcement and supply. The Gerimont Station Hill was on the east. A forest covered ridge on the south which connected with the hill on the southwest was the attack problem that faced the doughboys.
On the afternoon of January 6 the attack on Tillet by the Third Battalion, 346th Regiment, started. As the fighting men of L and I companies came over the crest of the Gerimont Station Hill all hell broke loose. Company K coming out of the trees on the ridge to the south met the same resistance. The attack was held up and the battalion was pinned down.
From 346th Infantry:
(On 6 January) the new mission was to attack, capture and hold the town of Tillet. The Third Battalion moved to the high ground east of Tillet, and later in the day Tillet was reported burning. The Third Battalion attacked the town but were unable to capture it.
On 7 January the Third Battalion again attacked Tillet with no success. The enemy apparently were determined to hold the town at any cost. During the night German patrols were very active around our positions, and the outfit’s casualty toll was extremely high. … Attack after attack was repulsed by the stubborn enemy garrison… Digging in was necessarily slow and laborious due to frozen ground and heavy enemy artillery fire. Before the foxholes could be dug to an adequate depth, an enemy tank attack had been launched. Artillery support could not be used because of the lack of communication and observation, and the position was situated in such a way that no tank destroyers could be brought up in time. The result was a withdrawal of the two Battalions to their old positions from where they started the attack. Much equipment had to be abandoned and the resulting casualties for the day were very high.
From an email note received in August 2012, just before a visit to Belgium – from 93 year old Retired Lt. Col. Glenn Doman1On the morning of January 7, 2nd Lt Glenn Doman led 21 men into Tillet, for an 7 hour engagement which is described in a number of documents. Doman later stated that the standard procedure would be to take 2 squads into an engagement and keep one in reserve. Based on the description of Doman’s action (in particular, that the group suffered only 2 casualties, one killed and one wounded), comparing it to the events described in the citation, it seems likely that Donald was in the reserve squad and that some of them were carrying ammo to the rest of Company K, attacking as described above, who was Donald’s Platoon Leader at Tillet, and later Company Commander for K Company:
“Your father Donald was one of my boys in K (King) company, 346th INF Regiment, 87 Infantry Division (Golden Acorn) and it was a high honor to serve with a great hero like your dad. On January 7, 1945 around Tillet Belgium, one of our boys was seriously wounded in an open field. Your dad ran into the field under enemy fire and helped recover our wounded boy, most certainly saving his life. I was honored to recommend him for the Silver Star.”
Clipping from the Alexandria Indiana Times-Tribune, April 1945
Fields near Tillet, Belgium photographed in 2012:
Categories
January 4, 1945
From: An Historical and Pictorial Record of the 87 Infantry Division in WWII:
It was cold, bitterly cold, that morning of December 29 when the infantrymen, the artillerymen, the recons, the tankers, the tank destroyers, the triple-A’s and all the rest of the units of the 87th Division climbed aboard the open 6×6’s for the 100-mile motor march to Seviscourt and Bertrix, Belgium. The roads were frozen and the wind was icy as it whipped across the snow covered hills to torture the men who were moving up to meet the rampaging Germans who were on the loose again.
There was no bivouac nor rest period awaiting them. The 346th Infantry was detached, during the night of 29-30 December, and attacked at 0730 the next morning, advancing nine kilometers that day to positions where they could control the roads leading to Vesqueville and St. Hubert.
The enemy was fighting for the lifeline of his offensive. It was the Houffalize-St. Hubert highway, the loss of which would make him shuttle his men and supplies over secondary, unimproved mountain roads that were practically impassable due to the snow. Jenneville, Pironpre, Bonnerue and Tillet were all key towns on that road. And they were all objectives of the 87th Division.
From 346th Infantry:
THE ARDENNES FIRST PHASE – The next few days were spent in reorganizing the outfit, bringing the rifle companies up to strength, and inspection and repair of equipment, all in preparation for the next move, which came on December 29, to the vicinity of Glaumont, Belgium, to help stem Von Runstadt’s Ardennes breakthrough.
Once again the attack was on, as at 0730 hours the next morning the Second and Third Battalions moved out on a mission to capture and hold the objective, blow all bridges, and to establish road blocks in vicinity of St. Hubert and Vesqueville, Belgium. Things went well and the casualty rate was low, but snow was falling again, slowing things up. In the meantime the Regimental CP had set up at Recogne, Belgium.
New Year’s Day brought no hilarious celebrations or big “morning-after” heads but only snow and continued. cold. Patrols were sent into St. Hubert and VesquevilIe, Frozen feet were no novelty, and the enemy flushed with the immediate success of its salient, was more difficult than ever.
January 4, 1945
Dear Family and all,
Not that this isn’t meant for you at home but I, as usual, would like for it to let as many hear from me as possible. This is the first chance I’ve had to write for about a week now so don’t be worried about letters being missing if you hear once in a while. I was blessed with the first mail yesterday evening that I have received since Christmas day. It sure was good to hear from you. Your letters were dated Dec 7 and 20. I also got the first Tribune to reach me since the few in England. It was of Oct. 31 but even at that I enjoyed it. I guess this letter will have to contain my New Year’s greetings and good wishes. With God’s help 1945 will see us together again. May it be His will.
I believe it only fair now to tell you that I have been in combat for a few weeks now. I have always told you not to worry and it it even more so now. If you can put as much faith in God as I do you will have no trouble meeting the situation. I am not ashamed of the fact that all of my trust is in Him. Psalm 27;1. You may be pleased to know that I am finding a lot of real use for the work I spent in learning radio. Keep praying.
Love, Donald