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On June 8th, the men from the 883rd hold a dance with locals in the area.  Later in June, the 70th Infantry Division held a softball tournament, and Ernest’s Company, the 883rd FA HQ [...]

While in Germany, the 883rd Battalion’s activities consisted mostly of guarding and patrolling the area and carrying on a training schedule in the mornings and an athletic program in the [...]

Adolf Hitler, burrowed away in a refurbished air-raid shelter, consumes a cyanide capsule, then shoots himself with a pistol, on April 30th, 1945, as his “1,000-year” Reich collapses above him.  [...]

Ernest and the 883rd move across Germany, stopping from town to town as they go.  Ernest works in the garage, keeping the vehicles and artillery equipment running.  They will stop at ten [...]

Ernest and his battalion take their first steps into Germany when they cross into the border town of Saarbrücken, Germany.  They stop for some souvenir hunting in Saarbrücken before heading [...]

Lixing and the nearby French towns are all liberated by the Trailblazers of the 70th Infantry Division, and Ernest’s HQ Battery is relocated to Kerbach, France.

Ernest is working as a mechanic in the 883rd Field Artillery Battalion garage. His day to day duties include replacing and repairing wheel bearings and other general overhauling and part replacing.

No casualties are reported from Ernest’s HQ Battery, but the offensive is a massive operation of the 70th Infantry Division and other companies saw casualties as they successfully liberated [...]

Ernest and the rest of the HQ Battery of the 883rd take truck rides across France over the course of eight days until they arrive near the front lines.  The camp in bivouac tents along the way.