Milt Crow
Company H, 142nd Infantry

Salerno beach head, Sept. 9, 1943. The sun is not up, but darkness is ending. We have one mission now, to get the Colonel’s radio jeep up to him. An army might march on its stomach, but fast radio communications prevent lots of indigestion.

The German 88s are ploughing the beach and exploding with such fury that we gladly take the first road leading inland. Ahead of us walks a lone soldier. He holds up his thumb pointing down the road. Holy Toledo! He’s a General. Now, we have seen Generals before, but they usually came complete with aides, flags, sirens, M.P.s and at least a jeep. We stop.

"Son, will you take me to the front?" the General asks.

"Yes Sir" we say. The Army has been teaching us for three years to be nice to Generals.

Inland we go. The General’s keen blue eyes study the terrain and his map. He chats pleasantly—a real switch; most Generals we have met were usually angry about something. We cross a highway and bounce over a railroad. As we near a canal, the radio comes to life. German tanks are attacking in a field just beyond the canal.

"This is far enough son" the General says, leaping from the jeep. He crosses the canal and heads toward the tank attack.

Four days later, we see the General calmly helping set up the "last ditch" defense of the beach head along La Cosa creek. We doubt he ever noticed the air bursts the German artillery were firing his way.

We next saw the General on the snow covered cliffs of Mt Sammucro. He spoke words of encouragement here and there as he checked our front lines defense. He made several suggestions for improving our field of fire, ignoring the Germans completely.

We did not know then that the General had made the African invasion near Casablanca as a Colonel. He made a daring trip into Casablanca to demand a cease fire from the French, and after French refusal, had led a task force of small tanks and infantry to capture the last artillery battery at Point Fedala. He received the unusual battlefield promotion to General Officer, and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The General’s name? General William H. Wilbur, U.S.A. We were fortunate to have him with us.