Page 71 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2024 - Online Magazine

VeteranS
2019

eDition worLD war ii

arMY

with nearly 6,000 troops killed, wounded or MIA
(Missing in Action). After the war, one of their
commanders said their record spoke for itself,
and the 4 Armored was “Name Enough.” The
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inadvertent nickname stuck. Our place is
In March 1945, the 4 Armored headed south
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to Worms, Germany and crossed the Rhine by your side
River March 24-25. Regarding their trek across
Germany, Garland said, “We met some resistance When someone faces a life-limiting illness, our
as we went from town to town. I carried an M-1 compassionate clinicians offer comfort care alongside
rifle. Later, I became a .30 caliber machine gunner. social and emotional support to help patients and
I had an ammo carrier with me. The squad leader their loved ones make the most of every moment.
and his assistant took me in, kind of like a brother We’re here for you 24/7/365.
watching over me; they sure felt like my brothers.
We used to ride on the tanks a lot and then get off (806) 748.1041
to fight when we ran into Germans. Once, I got gentivahs.com
pinned down by a sniper behind a hedge. Every
time I would try to see where he was, he shot at
me. I was trapped. The rest of the squad spotted
the sniper, so they started laying down fire at
him, and I was able to get away from that hedge.
I usually only got scared after it was all over.”
Garland also recalled the so-called “Task Force
Baum” going through a town that his unit had
cleared out for their advance. “I remember seeing
them go through the town on their way to liberate
the POW camp (Hammelburg) where General
Patton’s son-in-law was being held prisoner. My
buddy Lon Colvin was in on that.* Lon and some
of my other buddies were captured on the failed
camp liberation raid. I got letters from their folks,
and they asked me about them. I didn’t want to
tell them that I thought they had been killed.”
The “Task Force Baum” prisoners were liberated
by the 14 Armored on April 6, 1945.
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GarLanD eLLiS

passed on January 25, 2021
at 94 years old.

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