Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
4:38 | The Battle of Cisterna began on January 30, 1944. The 3rd Ranger Battalion was supposed to travel down the Mussolini Canal and make it to a certain point by daybreak, but rain and mud slowed them down. By morning, the Germans were ready for them and had a distinct advantage. Jack describes the surrender of hundreds of Rangers that followed.
Keywords : Jack Roan Italy Mussolini Canal German Thompson submachine gun surrender
He thought some of the things he had to do in basic training were stupid, like getting up early and running, but Jack Roan came to appreciate later the preparation he got there. He went first to North Africa, where he encountered the legendary General George Patton.
Jack Roan has a scar on his arm that he received from a mounted German soldier who attacked him in a manner that was straight out of the nineteenth century. It took place in North Africa, where he found himself without a unit after being in the hospital. They had shipped out, so he volunteered for Ranger training. Big mistake.
On his way to a German stalag, Jack Roan was shown a camp where prisoners were starving, perhaps to scare him. When he got to his own camp, it was large and filthy. He jumped at the chance to become a laborer for a German farmer.
He was sick with dysentery, but Jack Roan was determined to escape. The Germans were marching prisoners aimlessly on the road, so security was lax. He and two others made their move during a big storm. They hid in the woods and took potatoes from fields until they made contact with allies.
