At 12.30 p.m. September 17*, 1944,1 jumped into Holland just outside Berg-En-Da].

We assembled and moved into town. The Germans were leaving town as we were landing so there wasn't much of a skirmish in the town itself.

The platoon took a position at the German SS radio station which was located across from a Catholic church.

While I was digging my foxhole, a Catholic priest came up to where I was, and he had a young boy with him aged about 15 years. The kid was wearing a boy scout uniform that looked like it was 3 or 4 sizes too small for him.

The priest motioned for me to get out of the hole and give my entrenching tool to the young boy. I did so and the boy dug a big wide deep hole for me.

As I went to get in to the hole, the priest motioned for me to wait and he sent the boy off on an errand. A few minutes later the boy returned with a small mattress which he put in the hole for me.

By this time it was getting very late in the evening. After 1 was in the hole, the priest came back pushing a wheelbarrow with a large pot in it.

He came round to each trooper's hole and served them with hot beef stew.

A German warehouse was opened in Nijmegen and the food was distributed to the Dutch people. These people were showing their gratitude by serving us this hot food.