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for a look at the gas chambers. The change of scenery as we headed south was most welcome. Austria wasn't an industrial country and contained few nilitary targets, especially in the Tirol, './e felt at first that the war had passed it by. It hadn't, but it took us time to realize how it had suffered. The populace was reduced, to women, children, and old men. All the young men had been conscripted, and they were all allied prisoners, lucky ones in cacip3 in western iJurope and unlucky ones deep in Russia. There were other changes. Probably the biggest one was the lack of work for us to do. We had little to do except guard duty on the S.S. troops and other prisoners. In fact, the occupying armies were much more numerous than the prisoners, so in each company we pulled shifts on guard duty somewhat infrequently, and vre had lots of free tine. And after a few days in Salzburg, most of the companies were sent on guard duty into small villages high in the Austrian Alps. Our first town was KrizEil, and as a company we were as numerous as the farm population of the village. The town had no library or movie or any organized recreation. For a while we enjoyed hikes and occasional jeep trips in the high country. Then all we had to do was eat and sleep, write letters and play cards - plus G, I. bull sessions. I kept from going stir crazy with my writing, and that was challenging' because I had a French machine for a while and then a German, and the keyboards weren't much like ours. After a while a few high-point G. I.'s and officer; were shipped out and replacements came in. Then the division began moving whole companies to new locations and doing other things to keep us busy. During the months in the Tirol, we must have been in six or seven locations, and some of us were sent on special duty or detached service assignments all over the Tirol. You hardly knew from one day to the next where you would be and what you would be doing. Besides, 65 |
