Blackout Lights under a Full Moon, Combat Firing and Endurance Hike

April 25, 1943
“Well, how are you all this beautiful Easter day? Is it beautiful around Thonrville? It is here, especially this morning, with the sun shining bright and a cool breeze blowing. It’s pretty hot this afternoon, though. We’ve been having plenty of hot weather, and plenty of hard work to keep us sweating. Monday night we drove the trucks over the course with blackout lights. You can see them but you can’t see by them. It was full moon, though, so we didn’t really need any lights. I got my driver’s license Friday night, and the sergeant says all who have licenses will be regular drivers whenever we are needed, starting tomorrow.”

“I told you we were all through with firing the rifles, but I guess I was wrong. Anyway, we had combat firing this week. They have about 30 targets shaped like the silhouette of a man scattered all over a big field and in the edge of a woods. We’d run, fall down on the ground, get up and run again, crawl on our bellies, etc. til we got to a certain place then we’d fire at the targets. Then we’d advance the same way about a hundred yards farther and fire again, etc. Boy that’s hard work, and hard on the knees, elbows, and everything else. We fired with gas masks on, too.”

But it was the endurance hike that the Captain said would separate the men from the boys. Ralph’s comment was that “…and believe me, that will do it if anything will.” He goes on to describe the grueling ordeal. “We hiked nearly six miles in one hour, rested for 15 minutes and then went four miles in the next hour. Then we laid around under some shade trees for about an hour and a half, then came on into camp – about 3 miles more. I think I can truthfully say that I was never so tired and all in and ready to drop in my tracks, in all my life, as I was then. I have thought a lot of times, since I have been here, that I was awfully tired, but I guess I just didn’t know the meaning of tired. My shins ached like toothaches for the first 2 miles or so, then they eased up and my wind almost gave out. The last mile of that first five, was automatic, I guess, for I don’t think I had anything to do with making my legs go. Somehow they kept going, and I finally made it. There wasn’t a dry stitch on me. I sweated through my leggings, shoes, and everything. Oh yes, we had full field packs and took turns carrying the rifles. After that 15 minute rest I felt fine and the next four miles didn’t bother me much. After dinner my legs started getting stiff and sore, and I could hardly walk the rest of the day. I still can hardly get up after I sit down awhile. I guess I can call myself a man, though, for I made it without falling out. There were about 25 out of the whole company who fell out, and that was pretty good.”