Guest Post by Andy Adkins as part of my Stories of the Greatest Generation series.
The following is an excerpt from, “You Can’t Get Much Closer Than This: Combat with the 80th ‘Blue Ridge’ Division WWII-Europe,” by A.Z. Adkins, Jr., and Andrew Z. Adkins, III. Published by Casemate Publishers.
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During the middle of the morning on May 8 we held up in a little country town in the vicinity of Spital, Austria, and got the men into billets. It was a beautiful day and the grass in my yard was green and soft. Slingshot (the company dog) and I were sitting under a tree, and I was cleaning my rifle. Slingshot had oil all over him. I took my shoes off. It really felt good to wiggle my toes in the grass.
Sergeant Albert Melcolm came out and said there was a conference called for all COs. He read a message to us and said that an order would be down in a few minutes. I prayed to God. I asked 1st Sgt Ed Turner to assemble the company. When the men came in, I told them to sit down. Then I read General Eisenhower’s order announcing the end of the war.
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces
Eisenhower’s General Order
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A representative of the German High Command signed the unconditional surrender of all German land, sea, and air forces in Europe to the Allied Expeditionary Force, and simultaneously to the Soviet High Command at 0141 Hours, Central European Time, 7 May 1945, under which all forces will cease active operations at 0001 Hours, 9 May 1945.
Effective immediately all offensive operations by Allied Expeditionary Forces will cease and troops will remain in their present positions. Moves involved in occupational duties will continue. Due to the difficulties of communication there may be some delay in similar orders reaching the enemy troops, so full defensive precautions will be taken.
All informed, down to and including Divisions, Tactical Air Commands, and Group and Base Sections and Equivalent. No release will be made to the press pending an announcement by the heads of the three Governments.
Eisenhower
No one said a word for several minutes, then one of my men got up and said, “Lieutenant, read us that again, please.”
# # #
The following letter was written by my dad, Lt. A.Z. Adkins, Jr. to his parents in Starke, Florida.
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Austria
8 May 1945
Dearest Mom & Dad,
Shortly after I wrote to you day before yesterday I received the cease fire order. At that particular time I had my shoes & shirt off & was playing with a little dog on the grass of some Austrian’s yard. My men were all in houses taking it easy. My battalion had momentarily stopped in a little mountain village. I told the first sergeant to assemble the company.
As my men came marching up a big lump formed itself in my throat because many familiar faces were missing from the files of men who were to hear me read to them General Eisenhower’s order that hostilities had ceased. I told my men to sit down & take it easy & that I had something to tell them.
Then I read to them General Eisenhower’s order telling of the unconditional surrender. When I finished no one said a word. Finally, one man said, “Lieutenant, read that again please.”
The day that we had died & bled for so long had finally arrived. No one knows what the word peace means except those who have been at war. As yet I feel no great emotional change. But gradually I am beginning to realize that there will be no more suffering & no more dying & the sensation is truly wonderful.
Tonight, I am in another mountain village high in the Bavarian Alps. I have a radio & can listen to the celebrations that the people in England & America are having. Here, we are having a different type of celebration. Ours is a quiet celebration. We still have to maintain order, but we are so happy & it’s hard for us to realize this mess is over.
I love you both dearly.
Devotedly,
Andy
Guest Author Information
Andy Adkins is a US Navy veteran (’73-77) and a World War II historian for the 80th Infantry Division Veterans Association. He spent most of his professional career as an independent legal technology consultant and worked as a Chief Information Officer for a large law firm and a software development company. He is retired and spends his time writing and publishing books. You can read more about him on his website: www.azadkinsiii.com.
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