Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
4:31 | The Austrians and local Germans had no heart for the fighting anymore. That was the observation of Lou Mafrice as his unit moved into Austria. Soon, the war in Europe was over and they headed back through Germany, back to Le Havre and then back to the United States. A forty day furlough sounded great, but one week into it, Lou got some urgent orders.
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"I want to be a machine gunner on a tank." That's what Lou Mafrice told the interviewer at the newly formed 13th Armored Division. So, of course, they sent him to the medical battalion, where he became a halftrack driver, among other things. As the unit prepared to deploy to the European Theater, they discovered they were short one radioman. Lou had another job.
It was a rough crossing for Lou Mafrice. Not only was he seasick, but a bulkhead door slammed on his hand and took off a bit of finger. When his unit got into combat in France, the commanding general insisted on leading at the front. That cost him. As the Battle of the Bulge loomed, Lou's armored outfit was put under the command of George Patton.
The German tanks and guns were far superior to the weaponry of the Americans, says Lou Mafrice of the 13th Armored Division. It was the bombing of their factories that became the deciding factor in the war. While on a reconnaissance mission at the Austrian border, he was startled to see a large mass of soldiers coming straight for him and his driver.
