It was while we were here in Mateur, too, that a bunch of us went fishing one day. Some of the fellows had picked up some Italian concussion grenades which were smoother and unlike our fragmentation grenades. We would walk on a pier on the Mediterranean, pull the pin on a grenade, and drop it in the water. The concussion from the explosion would stun any fish that were nearby, and they would float to the surface. We would drag them in with tree boughs or anything that we could reach them with. We would dress them and take them to the cook shack and have fish for supper.
Next, we went into Bizerta and boarded LCI’s for a trip to Sicily. Of course, the invasion of Sicily had occurred some time before; and by that time, the fighting pretty well had been taken care of. On August 13th, I boarded LCI #13. It was Friday the 13th. We left the next day, and it took a couple of days to get to our destination. We landed in Palermo, Sicily; and when we left the ship, we took all of our gear with us and marched through the city of Palermo to the outskirts, where we set up camp in an olive grove. It was a sandy place with a lot of red ants, as I remember. We ate our C rations that night and early the next morning took our tents down, packed up our gear, marched back through Palermo, and reboarded LCI’s. This time I got on #8 and sailed back down the coast of Sicily to near where the landing had taken place on the invasion. There we got off at a place called Licata and went up on a hillside to an olive grove, where we pitched our tents, and waited further orders.
When the morning came, an awful din arose but we discovered that it was just a donkey. The donkeys made more noise than any rooster ever did to wake you up, and I think it was even earlier in the morning when they started their braying. We discovered that a lot of the carts that the donkeys were pulling were decorated beautifully. They had hand-carving on the spokes and on the sidewalls. The harnesses were decorated with tassels, colored stones, and bits of glass. They were really colorful outfits. These were high-wheel, two-wheeled carts, and they were used for all kinds of transportation, not only to transport people from place to place, but produce as well.
Occasionally in this situation, we would watch movies in the evening. The screen would be set up in a field near the olive grove, and we would all go to watch the movie. On the way, we would pick our helmets full of almonds and fill our canteens with vino. While watching the movie, we would crack the almonds and sip at the vino. Occasionally an alert was sounded, and they had to shut down, because a plane had been heard in the vicinity; and we didn’t know whether it was ours or the enemy’s. But all in all, it was kind of a relaxing atmosphere.
Next, we went into Bizerta and boarded LCI’s for a trip to Sicily. Of course, the invasion of Sicily had occurred some time before; and by that time, the fighting pretty well had been taken care of. On August 13th, I boarded LCI #13. It was Friday the 13th. We left the next day, and it took a couple of days to get to our destination. We landed in Palermo, Sicily; and when we left the ship, we took all of our gear with us and marched through the city of Palermo to the outskirts, where we set up camp in an olive grove. It was a sandy place with a lot of red ants, as I remember. We ate our C rations that night and early the next morning took our tents down, packed up our gear, marched back through Palermo, and reboarded LCI’s. This time I got on #8 and sailed back down the coast of Sicily to near where the landing had taken place on the invasion. There we got off at a place called Licata and went up on a hillside to an olive grove, where we pitched our tents, and waited further orders.
When the morning came, an awful din arose but we discovered that it was just a donkey. The donkeys made more noise than any rooster ever did to wake you up, and I think it was even earlier in the morning when they started their braying. We discovered that a lot of the carts that the donkeys were pulling were decorated beautifully. They had hand-carving on the spokes and on the sidewalls. The harnesses were decorated with tassels, colored stones, and bits of glass. They were really colorful outfits. These were high-wheel, two-wheeled carts, and they were used for all kinds of transportation, not only to transport people from place to place, but produce as well.
Occasionally in this situation, we would watch movies in the evening. The screen would be set up in a field near the olive grove, and we would all go to watch the movie. On the way, we would pick our helmets full of almonds and fill our canteens with vino. While watching the movie, we would crack the almonds and sip at the vino. Occasionally an alert was sounded, and they had to shut down, because a plane had been heard in the vicinity; and we didn’t know whether it was ours or the enemy’s. But all in all, it was kind of a relaxing atmosphere.
