THE FOXHOLE

My first cousin Bill was drafted during WWII, went to basic training in Fort Jackson in Florida and was sent over to North Africa. While he was there they were looking for volunteers for the Rangers. He volunteered, was pulled out of the line, sent up to Scotland to retrain, then sent back to North Africa. He was involved in the Invasion of Sicily and was later wounded in Sicily . At Anzio most of his outfit was wiped out. After that to my knowledge he served under George Patton in the 3rd Armored Division up until the end of the war.

Through many of the situations he told me about there is one that stands out in my mind. I do not remember which battle it was but he said they were under heavy crossfire and he was in a FOXHOLE for at least 3 days under heavy attack. Many of his fello GI's had been either wounded or killed and bodies were all around him. He commented that everytime he lit a cigarette the SMOKE from the cigarette would DRAW ENEMY FIRE to his location. This persisted for at least three days until the ENEMY FIRE stopped every time he lit a cigarette for about six hours. He proceeded out of his FOXHOLE and learned that the enemy had been EXTIRPATED by other units.

This situation that my cousin was in has taught me that there are times in life when we are UNDER DIRECT FIRE, whether it be emotional, psychological, physical or financial or other means that there are usually other support systems to help EXTIRPATE the situation, and to just sit back and waite.