December 1944
10 miles from Bastogne
Jounrnal entry Day 1
My name is William Smith and I am a tank commander attached to the 761st Tank Battalion. We are an almost entirely coloured outfit and the first of its kind to fight in Europe. I finally decided to write this journal to record my time in the service. Well here it goes.
We had been rushed from combat in southern France to aid the besieged 101st Airborne at Bastogne. For months we have been trying to earn the respect of our white brothers in arms and now we have a chance to do so. I know we get looked down on a lot, but it just excites the hell out of me to be fighting in Uncle Sam's Army. I get to make my family proud and prove that a coloured man can make a great soldier. General Patton even seems to be pleased with us. We don't expect a lot of sympathy from our white comrades and we expect it even less from our Nazi opponents with their whole master race ideology. Word even has that the Waffen SS are executing black soldiers on sight.
Our current set of orders is to find a patrol that has gone missing in the forest and then advance on the town of Tillet. The patrol was of twenty men and two M3 staurt light reconnaissance vehicles that was supposed to find German positions and report back. Only problem is that they never reported back. The mission is dire enough that our Company Commander Capitan Authur Davis is personally over seeing this mission in his M4 Sherman "Lucky Lady"
Our tank is a M4A2 Sherman called " Widow Scorned" with a 75mm gun. It is fifty tons of olive green painted steel. Its hull is nine feet tall from turrent to ground. It has a sloped hull at fifty six degrees and our only protection is two inches thick. Two inches of cold steel is all that separates us from the dangerous outside world. It is not enough to save us from German heavy guns. Its hull is twenty feet long and eight feet wide. On top and in the center is the domed turret that can turn a full three sixty degrees. On the forward side of the turret sticks out our 75mm gun with its long six foot barrel. On top of the turret and to the right is the commanders hatch where I operate from. It has a large hatch that closes and locks. There is also a small periscope with a magnifying glass that is built into the hatch door which is only my only means of viewing the outside world. To the left side of the turret is the loaders hatch which can also lock. In front of the commander hatch is an M2 Browning 50 cal. heavy machine gun. This bad boy can throw lead through concrete at six hundred rounds per minute. On top of the hull in the front right is the drivers hatch that comes with a periscope. Adjacent to that hatch is another on the left side which is the bow gunners hatch. In the sloped glacias, on the right side is a gun port for the 30 cal. machine gun that is operated by the bow gunner. In the rear of our vessel is a powerful Continental R975 C1 nine cylinder engine that produces up to four hundred horse power. The tracks are individually linked and run off two main power sprockets. It has three suspension mechanisms that holds two wheels each. There is also a rear wheel to feed the tracks back through. On the right side of the hull, stenciled on cursive red lettering reads "Widow Scorned". On top over the engine compartment, we have a variety of small crates that have been tied down. They mostly contain rations that won't fit in the tank and extra ammunition. Laying across the front armour plate is several extra tracks that provide additional armour, anything helps. The inside is decorated with pinups and photos of wives. This has been our home for the last few months.
It is crewed by the following:
Jackie "Lucky" Carlson the gunner, A twenty two year old from New York. He has a new pregnant wife waiting on him when he gets home. He gets the name "Lucky" from where the the two tanks he had been assigned to took direct hits. He was the sole survivor, unscathed, both times. He has got a light brown complexion with brown hair and brown eyes. He is short and skinny. He can be a cut up most of the time but he is solid and dependable in combat. His job as the gunner is to aim and fire the 75mm gun and coaxial 30 caliber machine gun.
Will Turney my loader, He is a twenty two year old wiry man from Wisconsin. He has two nephews that he talks of as if they are his own. He has a tendency to ramble and gets distracted easily but he is reliable when I need him. He also tends to blurt out what ever comes to mind, vulgar or not. As far as I know is that he sends home his pay to help his mother with his ill father. He is short and thin with dark black skin and brown hair with brown eyes. His job is fetching Lucky the high explosive and armor piercing shells from the ammo racks and loading them in to the cannon.
Sammy Butler the bow gunner. A bachelor at twenty three and a real ladies man from Michigan. He has dark black skin, brown eyes and a sharp jaw line. He is tall and stocky to where he almost doesn't fit in the tank. He is a chronic gambler and always carries a pack of cards with him wherever he goes. And heaven forbid you get him front of women and he is a real stud. He is quite the charmer and has a good demeanor to him. Lucky and him can usually be seen together joking and playing cards, cards in which Lucky always loses. His job is to man the 30 caliber machine gun in on the right front side of the tank.
Daunte Porter the driver, a twenty four year old from Alabama. Having grown up in the jim crow south has made him real polite and mild mannered. He always responds "yes sah" in his southern dialect even without meaning to. He typically stays to himself and doesn't talk to often. He attentively maintains our fighting vehicle almost religiously, from greasing the gears to cleaning the machine guns. He has a wife and three year old daughter at home to which he sends all of his army pay to. He is short and skinny and has a caring round face with dark brown eyes. He has dark black skin and black hair. His job is to control the two steering leavers that maneuver our vehicle.
Then there is me. I am the tank commander and am twenty six years old from Mississippi. I have a four year old daughter and a two year old son. I have a gorgeous wife who is currently staying with her parents along with our children. I am short and stout with black hair and brown eyes. I have a light brown complexion to me. Living in the south has been hard but I don't let that dampen my spirits. I am proud to be a tanker, and am proud to serve my country. Most importantly even though I am proud to be a tank commander, I have to put my pride behind me and lead these men. Their lives depend on me and they count on me to get them back home. And to be truthfully honest it scares the hell out of me. I've lead these men through southern France and now I will lead them here. I want to do my part, bring my men home, and maybe earn some medals along the way. The men call me Boss and it is my duty to order the maneuvers of the tank and call targets for the gunner. But my most important task is keeping my men alive.
Finally there is the Captain Authur Davis who will be supervising this mission from his M4 tank. I know he is an educated man from Missouri and he has a family. He is in his early thirties and is tall and muscular. He likes to lead from the front and usually takes matters in to his own hands. He has a charming attitude about him and its always a pleasure to serve under him. He is dark black with short black hair and blue eyes. As far as that, I don't really know all that much about him.
Thats my crew and our assignment. Lets go find this patrol and bring them back.