Company B at the Blaise=
River
in France
by George Easterhouse
As I write this over 60 years later, some of the detai=
ls
have been lost with time, but many remain vivid. Our mission was to build a
floating footbridge across the river for the infantry. The Germans had
excellent observation of the site from their high ground location across the
river and proved it with the accuracy of their mortar fire.
The problem with building a floating bridge is that the
current can be rapid and strong. It became obvious to us that we needed a c=
able
strung from one bank to the other. From this cable we could then tie ropes =
to
the footbridge to secure it against the current.
Lieutenant John Lusti, pla=
toon
commander of the first platoon of Company B, was a real gutsy guy and a born
leader. John asked a member of the platoon, whose name I can’t rememb=
er,
and me, George Easterhouse, to install the cabl=
e.
This assignment was not “a walk in the park” and I remember ver=
y,
very well that I was one of the two men with Lt. Lusti=
.
We somehow secured one end of the cable on our side of=
the
shore with cable clamps. Then John wrapped the other end of the cable around
his waist and started across the river. I honestly don’t remember just
how we got there, whether we waded or swam. But, I do remember getting ther=
e. I
have vivid recollections of the three of us huddling around a post working a
come along to tighten the cable and then installing cable camps to secure i=
t.
With ties from this cable to the bridge, at last it was secure. Thankfully,=
we
took no casualties and our mission was completed.
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