Harvey Reves
Company B, 111th Medical Battalion

It was May 30, 1944 and after a couple of false starts in the days before, we began moving into the Alban Hills behind Velletri. We were Medics with the 2nd Battalion, 142nd Infantry. We were part of B Company, 111th Medics. Our C. 0. was Captain Bert Marks, a very dedicated doctor and very competent officer. Before beginning our march we were given strict orders to be quiet, no smoking, etc. This operation was for real and we didn’t realize we were going to infiltrate behind enemy lines. Our group of Medics were Cpl. Val Pryzgacki, Cpl. Lou Donnatella, Sgt. Travis Jacques and Privates Henry Borkvist, Tony Gomez, Sylvester Gonzales, Milton Eubanks, Frank Brancamp, myself Harvey Reves, and several others that I can’t remember.

It was dusk when we started and only distant gunfire could be heard as we moved up the trail. After dark we heard a German plane flying very low and very close as it dropped a flare. I had just stepped onto some railroad tracks right out in the open. It was brighter than daylight and I froze and stopped breathing until that flare went out. It seemed forever and I was expecting to hear bullets flying any second but I lucked out. Later that night Val Pryzgacki heard this voice yell, "Douse that cigarette or I’ll blow your head off." It turned out his wristwatch was glowing in the dark. Needless to say he turned the watch over pronto!

We kept moving up the trail and as dawn was breaking, we passed a little farmhouse and a young Italian couple and their small child coming down the trail to greet us and offer us wine as we moved along the trail. I accepted a bottle that turned out to be Anisette. It tasted good at the time and after a few swigs things were looking very rosy; my pack and the litter I was carrying became weightless. I was feeling really good. This was a great war! But that soon wore off and later we stopped for a break and I started to eat the can of pork loaf from my K rations. Oooh, that was all it took. I think I vomited up everything I had ever eaten in my life. Boy, what a lesson—no more Anisette!

We trudged further up the trail until we took another break. I was really getting tired and most of us laid down. We had stopped in a bare rocky area of the trail, no cover that I could see but it felt great to lay down.

Then all Hell broke loose. Mortar shells were exploding all over us and there was no hole to get into! Val Pryzgacki and I were working on one casualty when Val was hit in the leg. Shrapnel was flying everywhere. We took many casualties there. Some dead and many wounded.

Finally we started moving up the trail again and dug in early that night. We slept about 4 hours. Then the captain sent 8 of us out to find a C.P. that had some wounded further up the trail. It was a quiet walk up the trail; lots of greenery, no snipers, a really beautiful area. We eventually reached the far edge of the mountain where the C.P. was. You could see for miles up the valley toward Rome. What a sight! German artillery was blinking in the distance. Down below us where the wounded were, some Jerries were surrendering so we had some of them help us get the wounded up to the trail. We had two litter patients (a Corporal and a Lt.) and three walking wounded. One was a Sergeant, I think, and was carrying a .45 sidearm. That was the only gun in the group.

We started back down the trail to the aid station, eight of us litter bearers (4 on a litter) and the three walking wounded behind us—thirteen of us in all. I was on the lead litter with Borkvist, Eubanks and Brancamp. The other litter with the Corporal on it was tended by Tony Gomez, Sylvester Gonzales and I can’t remember the names of the other two men except that one of them was a fairly new replacement. He was quite young and spoke a little German, so it was going pretty smooth. Our patients were doing O.K., great scenery, trail was easy to walk on, no shelling, and we were going down a gentle slope.

Then it happened—"BANG"—A single rifle shot and very close. We hit the deck simultaneously. I got behind a big tree on my side of the trail. We left the litter with the Lieutenant on it in the middle of the trail. I don’t remember if he complained or not, but I turned to look at Borkvist who was up against the hill on the other side of the trail and he pointed above him indicating he thought the shot came from above us and I should move near him, but it sounded different to me so I peeked around the tree down the hill.

There were about 40 Jerries all spread out coming up the hill and talking loudly back and forth (about then I was ready for some toilet paper). The only word I could make out sounded like NIX. Seemed like they said NIX or NISCT very often whatever they were saying. Then I turned to look at Borkvist and without making a sound indicated to him where the Jerries were. He turned ashen white when he saw my face. So we lay quietly until we could hear their footsteps right upon us. Then it was bedlam for a few seconds. I can only tell you what I observed from my position. I’m sure each of us had a different experience.

The first thing I heard was "Hands Ho!" and this freckle-faced kid who looked to be 14 or 15 years old shoved this Burp Gun in my face and demanded "Pistola! Pistola!" I said, "no Pistola! no Pistola!" and then there were a dozen hands all over me. They took everything except some of my medical equipment and my clothes. I always carried two canteens and extra rations, cigarettes, etc. Boy, they really cleaned me out. While they were going through my pockets I heard this voice from the direction of the other litter yelling, "Italiano! Italiano!" As it turned out, one of the Jerries thought Tony Gomez was an Italian and was going to shoot him. He yelled, "Italiano" and fired a burst at Tony’s feet, missing him as Tony Gomez yelled, "No, No, ESPANOL! ESPANOL!". So the Jerry backed off a little as their Lieutenant came forward.

He was the typical German officer (from the movies), still and erect, clean shaven and totally in charge. With our broken German we tried to convince him he should allow us to proceed to the aid station with our wounded, but he didn’t seem to understand until the new man remembered a few words of German and spoke to him. The Lieutenant replied with one perfectly spoken word in English, "Impossible!" Then he started giving orders and two young Jerries herded us together and started us down the side of the mountain toward Velletri while the rest of them disappeared on the trail we had been traveling. Never saw any of them again.

It was tough going down the side of the mountain with the wounded, but eventually we made it down to the edge of town. We stopped there near a little farm house and saw a few other Germans moving around and everyone seemed pretty relaxed. No shelling or small arms fire and our two captors were very friendly and showed us pictures of their families, etc. Then this German sergeant came running up with a few other men and that was the first time I started worrying about our safety since we left the original group. This guy was tall, muscular, a big scar on his face, about 30 years old, I think. He had a very unfriendly look in his eyes and his voice and attitude got everyone’s attention. Our two guards stiffened immediately and paid strict attention as he rattled off a bunch of dialogue. Then with just a hint of a smile he took off on the double with his men. Boy! I was glad to see him go.

Then our guards steered us into the little farm house. It had two bunks and a dirt floor. We put the two litter patients on the bunks and the rest of us sat on the floor against the walls. The guards sat on chairs in front of the door and they told us (mostly in sign language) that we would be put on trucks and taken to Rome that night. That almost sounded good. Then in the early afternoon a couple of our Mustangs came over and strafed everything in sight. None of us was hit but it was close. We had noticed earlier that a house about a half a mile away had a big Red Cross flag on the roof. So we asked our guards if we could get it and put it in our house. They didn’t want to get shot anymore than we did so they went over there with us and we made the switch and we all felt a little safer. There wasn’t anyone in the house we took the flag from.

Soon a few more Germans came by and talked to our guards very calmly and left. Then one of the guards motioned to two of us to come outside and we followed him into a cellar near the house. It didn’t take long to find out why. When he opened the door to the cellar, the stench was terrible. There were about thirty wounded Germans laying down there and most of them had gangrene. We gathered together what little medical supplies we had and did what we could for them (which wasn’t much). It was really pitiful; even though they were the enemy you couldn’t help feeling for them. So it wasn’t easy to leave them as most were really suffering and their eyes were pleading for help. I’ll never forget their faces.

It was getting dark now and we were all huddled in the farm house and we hadn’t had any food or water since they captured us. So finally one of the guards brought in a bottle of wine and we passed it around and all had a sip or two and I guess all fell asleep. The last I remembered was the two guards at the door with their rifles and a candle burning between them. The next thing I remember was a big "BOOM!" and as I opened my eyes, red hot sparks, bullets ricocheting off the walls and ceiling, dust and smoke everywhere and a voice from outside saying, "Come out of there you Dirty Bastards", and by this time even though we could hardly see, we were yelling, "Don’t Shoot, Don’t Shoot. Americans. Americans."

As I came out the door, the first thing I saw was a Tommy gun pointed at me but the guy behind was smiling. There were G.I.’s everywhere. One guy with a Bazooka pointed at us and plenty of rifles. We were lucky they didn’t blow us all to Kingdom Come. Several of us were wounded; mine was not serious. As far as I know everyone survived the ordeal except the two guards who were at the door, but I’m not sure about them. Our new replacement who spoke German had his radial nerve severed by a bullet and was eventually sent home.

After we got our wits together, those of us who were able got our group together upon the road. The place was crawling with German prisoners and one of them dropped a grenade near us (I guess it was accidental) and the sparks sent everyone scrambling before it went off. Luckily it was a concussion grenade and no one was hurt, but it sure got everyone’s attention. I’m not sure which outfit recaptured us but I think it was 3rd Bn., 143 Inf.

Anyway there was a Major there and we explained to him about our wounded and the German wounded that needed help. So he told us he couldn’t spare a guide, but to follow the road back into town and we would find the aid station. So the three of us started off: Eubanks, Brancamp and me, Harvey Reves. What a lonely walk! It was pitch black, rubble, shell holes and quiet, very quiet. In fact it was too quiet. It was truly a no-man’s land. We went on slowly over a bridge for about forty five minutes without seeing anyone and not hearing anything but our own footsteps. Finally we heard a voice say "HALT! What’s the password?" Jesus! we didn’t know any password but to this day I can’t remember what else was said except the guy on guard duty directed us to the aid station and he didn’t shoot us. At the aid station we talked to the Captain and he assured us the wounded would be taken care of and so our nightmare was over for the time being and we were the first Americans to enter Velletri via the "Short Cut."

If anyone out there who reads this story recognizes any names or remembers anything about this series of events, I would really like to hear from them. It would be great to hear from any of the wounded who were with us that day. Of the thirteen of us in the group, I have only talked to one of them since 1944 and I have not seen any of them. I talked on the phone with Sylvester Gonzales who lives here in California. He remembered that day very well but he couldn’t remember the names of any of the others either. I will be sure and call him if anyone contacts me with any information.