A Test of Faith and Courage

by Ladner, Oscar

• ISBN13: 9780971128675
• ISBN10: 0971128677
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: Liberty & Freedom Productions Inc

Summary

It has been said that he who has no history, has no future. Our great Heritage in America, which is our birthright, our traditions, and legacies that have been bequeathed to us from the past, gives us our individuality, and makes us the proud citizens that we are. If we do not have a religion, a history, a heritage and a meaningful government; of, for, and by the people, that we believe in, we are then a worthless and insignificant people. Without a history we will have no Heritage, and cannot learn from the past, and we will make the same mistakes again, and again, and no progress in human endeavours for the betterment of mankind, will ever be accomplished. So, we must learn the history of WWII in order that the mistakes and blunders made then will never occur again. We must look back at WWII to be able to identify those great qualities in Americans that made them accomplish such greatness as they then did, and try to perpetuate them the best that we can. We must learn from mistakes, as well as from achievements, so as to then make this world a better place for all mankind to live in; in peace, freedom, harmony and prosperity. For the citizens of this great country to remain free, we must all have something that we believe in immensely, and a cause that we are willing to die for. Without such, we are a meaningless and empty people that are easily destroyed by the forces of evil. There have always been two forces at work opposing each other in this world, one of good, and one of evil. It has always been inherent upon the good people to put down, and defeat the evil forces. This is a fact that we must always face, and be vigilant to successfully deal with. To protect and preserve our History, our Heritage, and our Religious faiths, and freedoms, it takes brave men, men of strong heart, to endure the hardships of the trials and tribulations of war. These must be men with a legacy, a birthright to live up to, a heritage and tradition to follow in the footsteps of, that has been bequeath to us by our forebearers who have fought for what is right, who have won over evil, and passed the rewards on down to us. It is necessary to know the true worth of what our heritage and legacy is, that has been passed on to us, in order to protect and defend it. We must have great faith in our birthright, in order to muster the courage that it takes to defend our great American Heritage, our Constitutional government, and our inheritance of these great values, that has been handed down from our forbearers who struggled so hard to create them, and pass them on to us, to protect and preserve for posterity. WWII was a time of great peril for all freedom loving people everywhere. Our Constitution that guarantees us the inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as well as freedom of our religious faiths, all was in great peril of being eradicated. Had we Allies not won that war, all of us would have lost those things that were so precious to us. We would not now have our History and Heritage to be proud of, no Religion to give us the moral strength of character to inspire us, to carry us through times of great difficulties and tribulations. We would have been reduced to dumb downed zombies and slave labourers. It is inevitable that henceforth, down through history, American citizens will be called upon to again, and again, put down the forces of evil in this world, both from without, and from within this great Country. To be able to succeed in preserving our history, heritage and our freedom, we must remain prepared to defend against the forces of evil, and to overcome them, through faith in Almighty God, and all that is good, and with the courage to win over the forces of evil.

Table of Contents

Dedication	vi
Introduction	vii
America at War	1	(13)
On My Way to Europe	14	(5)
Arriving at the Front in Saarlautern, Germany	19	(18)
The Callers of Saarlautern	37	(7)
Killing, Saarlautern Style	44	(9)
Serious Fighting in Saarlautern	53	(11)
An Early Morning Reconnaissance	64	(3)
A Bad Night on Patrol in Saarlautern	67	(7)
Grossing the Saar River and Siegfried Line	74	(5)
The 25th Regiment Attacks the Siegfried Line at Saarbrucken	79	(4)
Grossing of the Siegfried Line	83	(2)
Grossing the Dragon's Teeth	85	(4)
Al Sperl Relates His Squad's Action in Saarlautern	89	(22)
Into Germany	111	(5)
``Latton's Raiders'' on the Tanks	116	(13)
Deep in Enemy Territory, Inside Germany	129	(13)
Grossing the Rhine River	142	(6)
The Sleeping Enemy soldier	148	(8)
French Foot	156	(13)
Struth, Germany Lanzer Counterattack	169	(48)
Letters	201	(16)
Reunited with Our Tanks	217	(8)
Capture of Ohrdruf Concentration Camp	225	(2)
Liberation of Canadian and Australian Prisoner of War Camp	227	(14)
Capture of the Big Luftwaffe Base and Strafed Again	241	(8)
Setting Up Our Own Military Government	249	(4)
The Danube River Crossing and Capture of Regensburg	253	(26)
The Half-Cooked Chicken	279	(3)
Are We a Bunch of Uncivilized, Heathen Barbarians?	282	(6)
Unconditional Surrender of German Forces and Cessation of Hostilities	288	(2)
Linz, Austria, Memorial Service for the Honored Dead	290	(6)
Honor Gurad for Generals Latton and Walker, and Receipt of the Bronze Star Medal	296	(6)
Working at Mauthausen Concentration Camp	302	(5)
Austrian Civilians Forces to Visit Camp Gussen Concentration Camp at Mauthausen	307	(3)
Cleaning up Man's Inhumanity to Mankind	310	(3)
Citizens Owning Guns Defend a Country Against Tyranny	313	(7)
Learning by Experience, We Must Protect Our Constitution	320	(3)
Stop That Train!	323	(6)
Underground Messerschmidt Factory at Camp Gussen, Mauthausen	329	(2)
Furlough to Paris	331	(3)
Rest and Relaxation in London	334	(2)
The Decommissioning of the 16th Infantry Division and Reassignment	336	(5)
The Untold Horrors of Dachau Concentration Camp	341	(17)
The Annihilation of Soviet POWs by Soviet Soldiers	358	(10)
Soon to Return Home	368