had carried during the jump - mine turned out to be ‘chopped egg’ but the four cigarettes were great.
We also agreed the time had come to clean and oil our weapons,
which had been in water during the drop. No sooner did I get my M-1
rifle stripped and laid out to dry, than someone yelled ‘Tanks.’
I finally got my rifle assembled and watched while three tanks rattled up the roadway toward the farmhouse where we were hiding. They were French Renault tanks, probably the smallest tanks used during the entire war. However, to me, they were larger than life.
The hatch of the lead tank was open with the tank commander exposed from the waist up. I cannot explain why in the world I said it, but I said to my companion, ‘I think it's time to get our war started.’
A discussion followed as to what the results would be if we did fire on the tanks, the comments were not encouraging. I fired at the tank commander with an armored piercing round which hit the turret. I can still hear that ricochet.
The commander disappeared, the hatch clanged shut, the tank backed up a few feet -- and our group scattered.
I had missed my first shot of World War II and was now confronted with where and how to hide. The tank fired a 20-mm shell into the farmhouse and continued up the road where someone from an upper story window dropped a gammon grenade on it, demolishing the tank. [See Raymond Hummel later]
Our group had grown to 32 men, including a Staff Sergeant and two Sergeants. We began working our way through hedgerows toward our assembly area.
We arrived at a hedgerow facing a farmhouse at an intersection. We soon learned a large squad of Germans occupied the farmhouse. Whenever, they showed themselves we fired at them. Subsequently they forced their prisoners, our people, to yell at us ‘You're killing us!’
We decided to set up a perimeter defense in a large apple orchard. It was a good position with a flooded area behind us, a hedgerow on both sides and a rock wall adjacent to the hedgerow.”
Gene Hull, S-2 section, “I graduated from jump school January 1, 1944 and was sent to New York. I sailed to Ireland and then went by boat and train to Nottingham, England. I was assigned to the 508 with duty in the Hq1 Battalion S-2 [intelligence] Section. I reported to Hq1 in time for a night jump and maneuvers. | 
