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Belt 10 - Page 2

to scale a wall in a chort cut out. A lone Gerry tank churned its way into the
square. It stopped long enough for Watson to knock it out with two rifle grenades.
The driver, unhurt, opened the turret to get out and Trembull got him with a
beautiful shot between the eyes. The tank was evidently on a reconnaissance because
soon afterwards two horse-drawn 88s, a wagon load of shells and foot troops lumbered
into town. Lieutenant Borden group fired everything they had making mince meat of
this unit. Instead of retreating the Germans were determined to destroy this group
of Americans who were causing so much damage. They edged their machine guns close
to the two abandoned 88 guns and they managed to set up two guns in houses diagonally
across from the church. If the enemy got to the gun they could blast the whole church
to kingdom come. It was about noon; ammo was running low; somebody in the street
would yell tanks pointing toward the East. They were tanks all right but whose?
Luckily they were Yank. Lieutenant Borden stopped the first ones and pointed outto
the corporal where the enemy machine gun fire was coming from. The tanks fanned out
blasting down two houses and knocking out the other guns and crews who had been
firing from the streets. After tossing hand grenades into the barrels of the two
88s they proceded to Pouppeville via Herbert where they found elements of the 2nd
Battalion and about 30 Fox men. The first dead soldier "Tex" Taylor saw was Brigadier
General Don F. Bradford, executive officer of the 101st. The glider he was in crashed
into a tree killing also the pilots and several enlisted men.

All Leonard Hicks, the company armor artificer, knew when he landed on a hard road
was they he yelled, "Oh, my back." And that the opening shock had lost him his bag
containing 85 pounds of ordnance tools, spare parts and all his M1 ammunition. He
spotted a moving shadow in a nearby orchard. Hicks sounded his cricket and received
a cricket answer. "Who's that?" "It's me." Jelleseed. They teamed up to look for
more Fox men and came upon an officer from Easy Company. He was limping badly.
Approaching a road junction they saw a Heinier machine gun and three of its dead crew.