All afternoon, in a village near Cassino, German soldiers walked up to the door of a battalion command post, clicked heels, saluted snappily and called out: "1st der Herr Hauptmann da?" The answer was always the same: "Ja, der Hauptmann ist hier." Each German strode confidently into the building—and out of the war, a prisoner.
Reason for all this was that a U.S. patrol had captured the command post. The invitation to enter was shouted by its commander Lieut. Paul M. Koerner of Pontiac, 111. Der Herr Hauptmann was in a ravine outside, quite dead.
...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
