John G. Finley

Like many in 45W, I was in the Yale Army ROTC unit for three terms, during the last of which, we were asked to sign up for the enlisted reserve"in order to continue ROTC training". Within 3 days after my 18th birthday, I found myself called up to Fort Devens, Mass, learning about garbage cans and KP. Basic training was in Texas in "armored anti-aircraft", ie. half-tracks with 37mm guns or quad 50's. Then to POE, to sit for several weeks. The Army had decided that the half-tracks didn't need that many replacements, so back to another basic training in Texas with the 91st 4.2" Chemical Mortar Battalion.. Rising to the august (and KP free) rank of buck sergeant, off we went to Europe, arriving in the UK after D-day. We landed in France at Omaha beach. The ship carrying our equipment was sunk, so we sat in Normandy guarding pipelines until a month before the Bulge, when we got new equipment. We were then assigned to Patton's Third Army, 12th Corps, and entered combat, first on the Siegfreid line in Luxembourg, and them on the eastern flank of the Bulge.For the rest of the war, we were assigned to various divisions in the Third Army, and notably the 4th Armoured. We did quite a bit of firing of HE and WP ammo, in case any of you are wondering what else chemical mortars can do.. I saw Patton several times during the war from afar, pearl handles and all, and wound up in Passau at the end of the war, after which a few months of occupation duty. The unit was then trans-shipped to the US on its way to the Pacific, and given a month of home leave. During that month, V-J day. Since we were already home, we were de-mobbed earlier than our points would have permitted, and I got back to Yale in late October of 1945, early enough to make up the term and graduate in June of 1947. So much for my 2.3 years of military service, and my rather short and not particularly eventful war in Europe. In retrospect, I'm glad I was there. I didn't make any life-long friends, but I did learn what it was like to be under fire, and what danger can do in terms of creating esprit de corps, given the proper training and leadership.

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