Slovakia, Autumn 1944 - p.7: Relaxing
October 20, 1944
It was a sunny and unusually mild day. A number of guys came up from the camp in the valley to relieve us for a few hours. Our squad left the hilltop positions and settled down in a small clearing. We were lounging, relishing the sunshine and enjoying the stew and drinking water brought by the relief party.
The last time we showered was three weeks earlier when we were trucked from our training base in central Slovakia to the steel works at Podbrezová. There we got wet in the communal showers used by the local workers. Since then we were unable to change clothing or wash thoroughly. Few of us had a change of underwear. Surprisingly, none of us complained about lice or other bugs. On this peaceful and pleasant afternoon we took off our shoes or boots and spread our socks and footcloths on the grass to dry and air. A good time was had by all. We were not bothered by the sound of machine guns or rifles popping off in the distance.
Adding to this idyllic scene one of the guys went to a tree at the edge of the clearing. He took off his trousers, slid down his shorts and squatted to relieve himself. Just then I heard the "whoosh" sound of a slow rifle bullet at the end of its trajectory and saw a small squirt of earth under the fellow's white rump. He let out a yelp and jumped up, startled but unharmed. The rest of us had a good laugh.
A while later all of us became unnerved when we realized that the (stray ?) bullet must have come from what we supposed to be safe territory, free of enemy troops.
It was a sunny and unusually mild day. A number of guys came up from the camp in the valley to relieve us for a few hours. Our squad left the hilltop positions and settled down in a small clearing. We were lounging, relishing the sunshine and enjoying the stew and drinking water brought by the relief party.
The last time we showered was three weeks earlier when we were trucked from our training base in central Slovakia to the steel works at Podbrezová. There we got wet in the communal showers used by the local workers. Since then we were unable to change clothing or wash thoroughly. Few of us had a change of underwear. Surprisingly, none of us complained about lice or other bugs. On this peaceful and pleasant afternoon we took off our shoes or boots and spread our socks and footcloths on the grass to dry and air. A good time was had by all. We were not bothered by the sound of machine guns or rifles popping off in the distance.
Adding to this idyllic scene one of the guys went to a tree at the edge of the clearing. He took off his trousers, slid down his shorts and squatted to relieve himself. Just then I heard the "whoosh" sound of a slow rifle bullet at the end of its trajectory and saw a small squirt of earth under the fellow's white rump. He let out a yelp and jumped up, startled but unharmed. The rest of us had a good laugh.
A while later all of us became unnerved when we realized that the (stray ?) bullet must have come from what we supposed to be safe territory, free of enemy troops.
posted by Observer at 7:50 PM
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