DECEMBER 18th
"Give these Airborne people a ten minute break" was the order from a voice in the back of the room to the officer lecturing to the company on tank tactics. It was a statement that will long remain in our minds, because it was the beginning of our entrance into combat.
The company had gone by truck to receive training in tank tactics by this particular unit of the Eighth Armored Division, and a short while after we had arrived, word had followed us that the division had been alerted to move.
Back into the trucks we piled, every one under the impression that we were going into the field for practical work with tanks. To our amazement, we rode and rode, back in the direction of Ogbourne. As we did, tension began to mount and everyone became a bit uneasy as to the sudden, unscheduled return.
Recent news of the Ardennes break through indicated that the war was not progressing too well. Someone had brought back rumors from town that the '17th' was about to see action.
Nobody had taken them seriously, but now as we rode back on trucks, some of us began to reconsider.
We were right, for the order, as soon as we returned, was to pack up and prepare to move. With tremendous effort, the whole battalion worked all that day and night. In less than twenty-four hours, we were ready to move to the marshalling area near Romsbery.



DECEMBER 19th
English buses moved us to Romsbery. We carried everything on our backs, including duffel bags, rolls, ammunition, weapons, packs, belts, and gas masks. The day was so foggy that we couldn't see the C-47's lined up on the runways until we were close enough to throw our duffel bags at them. We loaded our equipment in the planes and prepared to leave, fully expecting the fog to lift during the day.
It was the following Sunday before the weather finally cleared and we were able to leave.
At the marshalling area we slept in the tents and enjoyed a lot of the comforts often given to men before they go into combat. The long chow lines were made up for by the excellent food that waited for us at the end. We saw movies during the day, including the outfits' favorite, "Two Girls and a Sailor". The Red Cross girls followed us that far with their Clubmobile and we enjoyed the hot music and coffee with the sweet doughnuts and girls. The only real work here had been a detail to unload the planes so they might be used elsewhere.