With a farewell lesson on how to operate a Coleman Stove from Lt Winston, Sgt Willlam High, Tec 5 William Stickle, Pfc William Sanderson and Pfc Charles Bundschu, with Lt Howard Hanson in charge, left the "City of Alleys of Intrigue", Versailles, on 16 Sept 1945 for a wild ride across France's tattered and scarred lands and arrived at the destination near Cherbourg, a town called Barneville. The assignment was with the 104th "Timberwolf" division commanded by Maj Gen Terry Allen, a crack outfit.

  About the 18th of Oct the "Wolves" were off to chase the Krauts out of Belgium and Holland, moving in with the Canadian One, near Malines, Belgium, conveniently near enough to occasionally commute to Brussels, whose newly liberated people offered the hospitality that only liberated people can extend to people that have helped them.

  Combat--the word was full of meaning--came as the cameramen moved in with untried infantry, and on the first day everyone learned more and felt better because from then on it was “pay load”. The unit piled thousands of feet of movies and plenty of film packs back to Ninth Army. The best story of Holland came the hectic night at Moerdyke, where Bundschu got “lost”. The infantry was fighting out on a point sheltered by a dyke and taking a pounding. The light grew dim and High, Stickle, and Sanderson were ready to go back With the film, but every time a search was started for Bundschu the Krauts drove the seekers into holes. After three attempts it was decided to go back. Full of glum thoughts the three photogs coaxed "Ole Mud and Nuts" over the two-feet thick mud road back to the division CP. About the time Lt Hanson was calling the division surgeon in popped the elusive Bundschu like a mud-ball, but with film, and a big appetite.

  About 15 November the 104th pulled out for Aachen, Germany. It was a weird trip through the ghost city and the unit will remember that first impression of a huge city reduced to rubble. A short time later the unit was sent to Egyelshoven, Holland, to Join the 84th “Railsplitter" division. The unit photographed the taking of such towns as Geilenkirchen, Prummern, Beeck, all small towns on the Roer River. During an infantry attack Sanderson wound up with four seedy looking PW's to bring back. Familiar sound instinctively dropped him to the ground, but it was too late for the Krauts, a barrage of mortars settled Sanderson's escorting problem.

  The unit spent a few days around Christmas, including Christmas dinner, with the Company at Verdun, but soon Joined their first comrades, "The Timberwolves” in Eschweiler, Germany. During the stay with the 104th one of the most tragic things the unit ever photographed came up. An accidental bombing of the Division CP by U.S. planes presented the opportunity for wide and complete coverage; the unit was at the scene covering a bomber crash when the bombs came raining down on the CP.

From left to right in the rear are T/5 William F. Stickle, Pfc Charles C. Bunschu, Jr., Sgt William A. High, Lt Howard L. Hanson, kneeling in front is Pfc William C. Sanderson. the photo was made in Verdun, France, at Christmas time, 1944, when the unit was visiting Company Headquarters for the first time since the unit went on DS.

  On 31 Jan 1945 the unit went to Paris to the school. After a few days there the unit returned to Join the 102d “Ozark" Division, at Ubach, Germany. The Division was Just about ready to jump the Roer, River. On the day of the crossing the unit piled up one of the best records of coverage yet done. Sgt High was photographing the Engineers putting in a bridge, which the Jerries resented, but the Engineers were insistent on getting the bridge in and Sgt High was insistent on photographing the putting in, so the result was some of the finest films of combat engineers working under fire ever made.

  With the 102d the unit went all the way to Urdingen on the banks of the Rhine. For the Rhine crossing the unit was assigned to the 79th Infantry Division. Though it was nothing like the Roer crossing towns like Dinslochen will be remembered as places of tough combat. It was near there that Stickle got caught between U.S. tank fire and a Jerry machine gun with a rifle patrol skirting the ruins of a bombed out synthetic gasoline plant. That night Stickle was more than glad to get back to the unit.

  After another visit to Brussels and Paris the unit joined the 84th Division in the race to the Elbe. There the unit acquired the 12 cylinder Horst custom built auto. There too, the unit witnessed the wholesale surrender of almost 20,000 German troops, met the Russians and saw the end of the war celebrated by a wild, exuberant gang of soldiers.

Unit 1210's, custom built, 12 cylinder Horst auto