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REPORT
Monday, sep. 18, 1944, early in the
morning I was asked by Father Habets to give help to an American
military doctor. Immediately I went.
At the house on the Groesbeekseweg
#2 was an American Red Cross flag hanging. Opposite this house in the
yard of "De Vereeniging" were American paratroopers in combat position.
In the street 5 [or] 6 German
soldiers lied dead. In the front yard of Groesbeekseweg #8 were 4
[captured] SS-men, guarded [by] 2 American soldiers.
The hall of the house on the
Groesbeekseweg #2 was stocked full with ammunition as was the
living room.
The American doctor said he had to
go on and asked me to take over the treatment of the wounded soldiers in
the house,
It was full of paratroopers and most
were wounded. Right away the Airborn doctor showed me three very heavy
wounded, of whom two were in direct danger of loss of life due to the
loss of blood.
I decided to transport these three
immediately to the St. Canisius Hospital. The transportation was done
bij bicycle-stretchers of the Red Cross very quickly. The rest of the
wounded stayed for the time being behind with some nurses.
I went to the hospital to alert the
blood transfusion service.
Already in the emergency room the 3 heavily wounded received one or more
transfusions. After that I operated on them (also one leg amputation).
Immediately hereafter I returned to
the house on the Groesbeekseweg #2; it was about 10:30 a.m. I noticed
that the American flag on the house was gone. The American soldiers in
the yard of "De Vereeniging" were not there anymore either.
It appeared fighting was going on in
the neighborhood.
The house on Groesbeekseweg 2 got several hits. There was a certain
unrest in the atmosphere. However my task was to take care of the
wounded soldiers who had stayed behind. During the morning we
transported five more wounded to the Canisius Hospital. In the afternoon
the unrest increased. It was observed that at the Keizer Karelplein on
the westside SS-patrols were seen.
The firing increased.
In the house on Groesbeekseweg 2
nine wounded paratroopers remained. All not wounded American soldiers
had left. This fact had made an unfavorable influence on the mood of the
remaining wounded.
In spite of the ongoing fighting we
were still able to transport
7 more wounded paratroopers to the hospital. These wounded soldiers were
rolled in blankets in such a way that they resembled civilians.
By 4 o'clock in the afternoon the
situation became critical.
In the yard of "De Vereeniging", at the start of de St. Annastraat -
also in my own front yard - but especially in de van Trieststraat
heavily armored SS-troops had penetrated. Nobody dared to be in the
streets anymore.
The two yet remaining paratroopers
we had hidden in the upstairs room in the bed and although they were
lightly wounded we had applied heavy head bandages etc. and they were
made to look like civilians. We locked the front door firmly. Then we
waited.
About half past five the SS departed
the immediate environment. Through the front yards we were then able to
transport the two remaining paratroopers by bicycle-stretchers. While
this was done we were fired at from the direction of the Keizer
Karelplein to the Groesbeekseweg. Fortunately nobody got hit.
My helpers and I were glad the house
was now empty.
With great optimism we had started
the day with a feeling of safety because we were surrounded by so many
American soldiers. In the afternoon this feeling had totally
disappeared. If the SS had had an inkling of what was present in the
house on the Groesbeekseweg (the wounded paratroopers, an important
quantity of ammunition especially heaps of handgranates) the catastrophy
would have been immense.
With great thankfulness I like to
report that not only we were able to transport the 17 wounded
paratroopers but all have recovered from their wounds.
Signed: dr. C. ten Horn.
[Jumpmaster Notes:
1. These translations were based on original
testimony in Dutch which bore this stamped imprint of what appears to be
the National Archives Documentation Commission.]
2. One of the 17 men treated that night was Pfc
James R. Benton, Company A (read Jim Blue's testimony regarding Benton's
wounding and treatment [click
here]
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