Roy D. Goad
Company D, 143rd Infantry

In September 1944 the 143 RCT was making very good progress in chasing the Germans, after the Montelimar Massacre in the Rhone Valley. The First Bn. was advancing along a road between Port-Sur-Saone and Luxueil-Les-Bains which was somewhat southwest of Vesoul.

I had been following behind the advance BN C.P. in my C.O. Co. D jeep with my good friend and driver, John Laza, of Temple, Texas, my runner-messenger Angelo A. Maragliano of Tenefly, N.J. and Alexander J. Wilkins, my SCR 300 operator from Pottsville, Texas.

About 1300 the point rifle company was stopped by an unknown size German road block in an advantageous area on the road and had several buildings of which offered good defensive cover.

After a few minutes, I alerted my following 81mm mortar platoon to set up a section and be prepared to fire in support as needed.

The section leader was sent up the road in order to get a view of the road block. I decided that I’d try to work my way up to the left of the road to a low hill which had tree cover.

This was a bright sun shiny afternoon, very little breeze, birds chirping but was over shadowed by rifle and MG fire.

I took Maragaliano and Wilkins with me with radios including my hand carried Walkie-Talkie. We made our way up the hill through the woods, then toward the road block. We reached the edge of a pasture with high grass but couldn’t see the group of houses and the road block.

I told my two men to stay put and watch my back, as I was going to crawl through the knee high grass to a point that I could observe.

I crawled about 75 yards—raised up and saw the buildings which seemed to be a complex of several barns and sheds and a large farm house just below me about 150 yards away.

I sat cross legged and by just putting my elbows on my knees, I adjusted my field glasses on the buildings.

I had laid my 30 Cal Carbine rifle across my legs. I started to see several Germans running back and forth between the buildings. I was fast making up my mind the first fire order to send to the 81 mm section.

All of a sudden I was knocked backward on my back with a very hard blow on my stomach. I rolled over and grabbed my carbine, still in great pain and shock. I then noticed that the wooden stock near the bolt of the carbine was completely shattered.

I remained flat on my back and realized that I was shot at by a sniper, the bullet had hit the stock, forcing the carbine against my stomach with great pressure.

I crawled back to the trees where my men were and examined myself again. I had no wounds—no blood. I was still in pain and some shock as I was shaking some.

Evidently some German sniper caught sight of my head above the grass and let go a round. With luck and the Good Lord, I survived this one. If a machine gun had zeroed in on me, I’d probably have been found there later.

To this day some 45 years later I do not comprehend how this bullet hit my carbine and it or pieces of it or parts of my carbine not injuring me. Also how the bullet ricocheted in which ever direction did not touch me.

By the way, the road block was neutralized very soon after that and the Bn continued on.

This personal experience and close call can be repeated a thousand times by all "T-Patchers"—they can relate to this one well remembered incident in my combat experiences, which was truly a "Walk and Crawl in the Sun."