A Sleepless Night

We didn't sleep much that Saturday night. We were alerted and had to be ready to move in five minutes. We packed everything and then just waited. We hated to leave the company post as it was a big, well-built stone building. The manager of the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas, Texas, had been there with the 2nd Division Artillery and had a sign made which he hung out on the front. It said "The Adolphus Hotel of Dallas, Texas, and Germany." It didn't grace the Adolphus, but it did make me feel a little nearer home.

This old inn which nestled in the Ardennes Forest out on a small German road was our fortress and we felt somewhat secure in it. We were ordered back but the road was cut off by the Germans by the time we were to move and we were in a fix. Our heavy guns that could do so much damage at a reasonable range were only burdens to bear as the Heinies began to close in on us. We began to realize that the enemy was to the left and to the right as well as to the rear. We could see signs of Jerry all around.

What to do was left up to the colonel. His decision meant a lot and we all knew it. If we had had enough small arms, we could have fought it out but artillerymen are not infantrymen, and are not fully equipped for that type of warfare. Col. Lackey proved to be more than even his closest friends would have suggested a few days before. He made his decisions in all calmness and confidence. Finally he said, "Men, we are surrounded, we will go forward."