I served in Europe (England, France, Belgium and Germany). We landed at Omaha Beach when the water was extremely rough. The 29th Division had taken the beach and lost a great number of men and landing craft in the process. We walked up the hill and started pushing toward Cherbourg. We cut Cherbourg peninsula into two fronts so General Patton could land his tanks. We fought in hedgerows that were heavily guarded by German troops. We lost a great number of our men, including my sergeant and captain. After leaving the hedgerows, we pulled back and started toward St. Lo. We got pinned down by the Germans and lost many more of our men. I carried my lieutenant, and other wounded soldiers out on my back. As we pushed forward we found many paratroopers hanging in the trees where they had been killed. One paratrooper was sitting against the trunk of a tree with the entire top of his head blown off.

There were intense bombing raids occurring over St. Lo as thousands of American B-17’s belted the area with heavy mortal pounding. Three miles from St. Lo I was wounded in my right leg and was hospitalized for about a month. My outfit was on the other side of Paris when I rejoined them. They put me on a rifle instead of the lite-30 machine gun I has previously used.

We were sent to Belgium where a great number of our men were either wounded or killed, (again, including my sergeant). The captain instructed me to take over the 2nd squad as sergeant. We started across the Moose River to Belgium where the Germans threw mortar and artillery shells at us. I told my men to take cover in a ditch someplace. By that time a mortar shell hit the middle of the road and a piece of the shrapnel went all the way through my right arm. I lost a lot of blood before I was taken to a field hospital. I was sent back to England where I was confined to a hospital for a couple of months. My arm wasn’t completely healed but I was sent back to Germany since the Germans were pushing. I was caught up in the middle of the Battle of the Bulge, knee deep in snow, freezing and completely surrounded by the Germans. I dug a foxhole beneath the snow to help me keep a little warmer.

My captain came to me with instructions to take the 2nd squad and go help the 3rd platoon out that was over to the right of us. We cut across a wide open field in deep snow wearing white capes. In the middle of the field, Germans came up the hill from a pillbox. We thought they were the 3rd platoon since they, like us, were also wearing white capes. They opened fire on us. We fought back until we completely run out of ammunition. By this time there were only two of us still left alive.

We laid on the ground until nighttime pretending to be dead. This however, did not work. The Gerries walked up to where we lay and started sticking us to see if we really were dead or just pretending. They pointed burp guns at us while indicating for us to get up. I didn’t have any gloves on and my hands and feet felt frozen. One German motioned for me to remove my gun belt. I couldn’t unbuckle it because my hands were so cold and stiff, so he took a knife and cut it off of me.

He led the two of us over the hill to the pillbox. We saw numerous dead Germans laying there. I don’t know which ones from our squad (or even if I) killed them. We were lined up and I thought, “This is it!” Suffering from anxiety, cold and seeing so much death, at this point I really didn’t care. However, they didn’t shoot us. By this time

most of our clothes were already torn off us, but the Gerries proceeded to take our socks, leaving with only shoes for our feet. We were led farther back in their lines and lined up. Again, I thought this was the end.

Instead, this time they took most of what was left of our clothes and carted us off to a little prison (I don’t know the name of if) where GI’s from other divisions were being held. I shall never forget the Air Force guys I saw that had been burned and beaten. We had no heat, slept on straw, and had no windows (only barbed wire). The guy next to me died and the Gerries claimed he had diphtheria – I don’t know.

When they took us from there, they headed us toward the Rhine River and the only bridge left standing. Our destination – Limburg, Germany. We were lucky to have any food. When we did eat, we had sugar beets. Over 12,000 of us were in Stalag XII-A Prison Camp, all weak from lack of food and the severe cold weather. Again in the prison camp, there were no windows and the men all slept on straw. The camp was infected with lice. We would hang our ragged clothes on the fence to try and rid our bodies from this pestilence.

When our troops were crossing the Rhine River, they took all 12,000 of us out of the prison camp and locked us in boxcars We were so crowded, it was impossible for us to lie down to sleep. We had no toilet facilities and used tin cans that we’d dump through holes in the doors of the boxcars. We were locked in the boxcars over nine days and had only three meals, which were made out of potato peelings. We were extremely weak. The Germans moved the train we were in along side an ammunition train and our US planes would come in bomb and scrape, accidentally killing our own men.

All of us American GI’s broke out of our box cars, forming the letters PW with our bare backs. When our planes came in again they saw the PW we’d formed and tipped their wings and flew on. They didn’t know before that we were in the boxcars and were only trying to destroy the ammunitions train.

When the train we were on couldn’t go any further (the tracks were torn up), they took us off of it and headed us toward Hanover, Germany. In route, some of the men weren’t able to walk, and again the only thing we had to eat was sugar beets. Finally, the Gerries did give us some kind of dark, colored cheese once or twice. This was every bit of nourishment we had. They kept us on the road until the 7th Army liberated us before we reached Hanover, Germany.

The 7th Army gave us K-Rations and C-Rations. I shouldn’t have eaten so much at one time because it caused me to pass out. From my vivid combat and POW experiences, I ended up back in the hospital in England, suffering from serious nerve problems and stomach ulcers. The doctors at the hospital also told me I had an offbeat heart. I was in the hospital for quite some time before being discharged and sent to Cambridge, Ohio.

I received the Purple Heart w/2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star, Rifleman Badge, Good Conduct Medal, European-African Middle-Eastern Campaign Medal w/3 Stars, Combat Infantry Badge, Belgian Fourragere, Honorable Service Lapel Button, WWII and POW Medal for my part in helping to defend our glorious country.

David passed away July 17th, and I am sure he was greeted by; “Well done, My Good and Faithful Servant”. We will miss his smile and good sense of humor. Our prayers and condolences go out to his wife Eleanor and other family members.

We would also like to extend our condolences to the family of Jean Meyer who passed away on Monday, July 23. Jean was a good neighbor and friend of the Chardonnay family and will be greatly missed.

From the Board

llo to all!!! This Monthly Letter I would like to talk about the end of the summer and the upcoming fall and winter seasons. This has been somewhat of a great hot summer with the pool being used a lot to keep us cool. What a great time most of the owners have who join us every Wednesday for the “Happening”. The news of the Wednesday night “Happenings” are getting more and more people attending. There is room for you other owners to join in the fun. So, pick your best dish and bring your hamburger or hotdog and come every Wednesday night at 6:00 PM, rain or shine.

Thanks to the hard work of the Landscape Committee, the entrance to our community looks great, as well as the grounds themselves. With the summer coming to an end, the Social Committee is working hard on the pool closing. Check the calendar for all the details.

The fall months will be on us soon. Look for the trees to get some beautiful colors to them. Don’t forget that school will be starting soon and the kids will be out and about. Keep an eye out for the school bus and the children.

The Architect /Maintenance Committee still needs a person to take over the Chairmanship. A group of volunteers are doing a great job for the community. David Trowbridge cannot continue because of work and recent surgery. Be sure to thank the many volunteers who work hard making this a great place we call home. Every now and then, they can use a little extra help. Please come forward to help!!

Please take the time to read the newsletter as it has important notices for all homeowners. Please respect the pool rules, some of which are being broken by a few people. We need to respect everyone.

I want to mention Alan Hahn and anyone else who is sick and needs our prayers.

Thanks again for voting me on the board and being able to
write for the “Grapevine”.

Thank you - Ned Barnes

Your dishwasher may be on recall. You are to call GE at 1 877-607-6395. Please have your Ser. No. & Model No. available so you can see if you have one that is being recalled. Any condo built between 1998 and 2001 may be on the recall list.

BIRD FEEDERS

The Board has agreed to allow birdfeeders under the following conditions:

• No birdfeeders are allowed on the patios or decks of any condo with the exception of Hummingbird feeders.

• Birdfeeders are allowed only away from the buildings and in the trees only.

• Birdfeeders are not allowed to be freestanding anywhere in the common areas.

• These rules will remain in effect until they are abused.

Thank you for your interest in birdfeeders and thanks for the reply.

Your Chardonnay Board

If you were at the Board Meeting on Thursday July 19, you already know about the problems concerning the swimming pool rules. Due to the fact that many of the pool rules are being broken by a few of our home owners, we the board have made it known what the pool rules are as of this date thru Labor day when the pool closes.

• NO MORE THAN 6 GUESTS WILL BE PERMITTED WEEKDAYS WITH THE HOMEOWNER WITH THEM.

• NO MORE THAN 2 GUESTS WITH A HOMEOWNER PRESENT SAT., SUN AND THE HOLIDAYS.

• NO HOMEOWNER MUST EVER GIVE THEIR POOL KEY TO SOMEONE OTHER THAN ANOTHER HOMEOWNER

• HOMEOWNERS MUST REPEAT, MUST BE AT THE POOL WHEN A GUEST IS PRESENT

• THESE RULES ARE NOT NEW BUT MAY CHANGE NEXT YEAR IF THEY CONTINUE TO BE BROKEN.

The Board discussed long and hard at the caucus meeting because of the many rules being broken. This was our only way to try to stop the disregard of the rules. If this continues we will have to go to other measures. Thank you for your help in controlling this. Next year, maybe we will come up with other ways of enforcing the rules. If you as a home owner have a plan to control these infractions, please tell a board member.

YOUR CHARDONNAY BOARD MEMBERS

WELCOME COMMITTEE

Regarding the address book project!! We have the sheets from all but two buildings and I have begun typing the listings. We are still looking for a September 1st goal date to have the project completed.

There were several cards sent to folks during my absence, thanks to Kathy Frambes. I personally want to thank her for taking over that job while I was gone.

Judi Hahn
Welcome Committee Chair

SOCIAL COMMITTEE

Well we had a great turn out for our Ice Cream Social, along with a very interesting talk given by our guest speaker Lynn Cameron. Lynn is one of our Chardonnay residents who volunteered to come and talk to us about his European Vacation and cruise to Germany and the Netherlands, and even had his adventure on a DVD for us to watch.

A very special “THANK YOU” to Lynn for sharing his experiences with his neighbors. I’m sure we have a lot of other neighbors that have interesting jobs or experiences that they could share with us. If so, please call Pat Rummel at 441-1088.

CHARDONNAY’S FIRST TIME EVER ART SHOW

On Sunday afternoon August 12, from 2-5 pm, we will be having an art exhibit put on by our very own Chardonnay art class. There will be a large variety of art on exhibit for your review. There will be a $5.00 per person donation. We will serve wine, soft drinks, cheeses, crackers and fruit. (Sort of a happy hour) We will also have a few drawings for door prizes. As some of you know, Ken Allen started these classes over a year ago and just recently decided to hand it over to Marion Erwin. If anyone is interested in taking art classes, please contact Marion at 781-9765.

Coming in September, don’t forget our big all day pool closing event. There will be lots of fun, games, prizes and food!!!

Pat Rummel
Social Committee Chair

TOP

The Landscaping Committee wishes to thank everyone who took the time to water the plants and trees during the recent drought.

The Front Entrance landscaping has been completed and looks very nice. The irrigation heads have also been adjusted.

Landscaping around the patio and clubhouse is in the planning and development stage.

Any trees or shrubs which need attention, contact the Landscaping Committee

CRUISE-IN

On Saturday, August 11th .at the Cold Spring City Building grounds, will be the “Cruise-In”. The Hot Wax band will be playing in the evening. A fun time. Many of the men and women from our troops will be there. Come and meet them and thank them for their commitment.

A NOTE TO TERRACE HOME
OWNERS

The security doors on your buildings do not have self-closers on them. Please make sure you close your doors tightly after entering or leaving your building. There have been some concerns of this not being done. Thank you!!

Remember: To write with a broken pencil is pointless!!

Scratch a dog and you will find a permanent job!!

FUTURE GRAPEVINE

The Board has made the decision to issue the “Grapevine” six times a year starting this month to coincide with the Board Meetings. The next issue of the “Grapevine” will be issued in October. The due date for input will be September, 23rd. Thank you!!!