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Subject: Operations off Sicily

Published: March 1997

By: John Heesemann

 

. . . During the operations off Sicily the German radio frequency was very close to our TBS and although we couldn’t understand, one of the gang, Jeff Miller, could and he picked up the TBS in the radio room and in very good German told them to shut up – then all hell broke loose on the system – a few laughs in the middle of battle.

 

I was assigned to Shore Patrol when we were in Mers El Kabir (unsure of the spelling) outside of Oran.  About a dozen of us went by barge to Oran – took a Navy Seaman to prison (a real dungeon) a lad not from the ship – held crowds back at a parade thru town, among other assignments.  We then came back to Mers El Kabir and we were to be met at dockside by the motor whale boat.  It was pitch black – the chief in charge (I don’t recall his name) whispered “are you there?”  He kept going forward on the dock until we heard a splash followed by a few choice Navy curses.  We got him back on the dock.  A few minutes later the boat came and picked us up.

 

John Heesemann