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Our tank and crew was sent to a field on the outskirts of
Mons to join a group of miscellaneous men and equipment for the
purpose of trapping elements of the 7th and 15th German Armies.
I think we were the only medium tank in the group, which consisted
of light tanks, armored cars, and half tracks. Our crew at this
time was:
Tank Commander - S. Sgt. Paul Faircloth of Jacksonville, Fl.
Gunner - Cpl. Clarence Smoyer of Lehighton, Pa.
Asst. Gunner - Pvt. John Deriggi of Scranton, Pa.
Driver - T/5 William McVey of Jackson, Mich.
Asst. Driver - Pvt. Homer Davis of Moorehead, Ky.
We arrived at the field late in the day and formed a circle
for protection. On this first day, we had very little action;
however, we could hear a lot of German equipment moving on the
other side of a hill in the direction of Mons. Later this night,
we heard a German tank moving in our direction and it kept getting
closer and closer until it finally pulled into the same field
with us. We knew about where he was, but could not see to fire
on them. The Germans didn't know that we were there, so we all
kept very quiet through the night.
The next morning, as it started to break daylight, we got
up very early. We could see the cross on the side of the German
tank. They were only about 50 yards away and had slept in the
same field with us. As soon as it was light enough for me to
see through the gun sight, we fired one armor-piercing shell,
which destroyed the tank.
Shortly after this incident, our crew was ordered to go down
a sunken road between the field we were in and the next field,
then to proceed in the direction where all the German equipment
was moving the night before. As we moved across the field and
up a slight incline, suddenly there was a loud explosion and
we realized that we were hit, but there was no fire and damage
inside, so we stayed in the tank and backed up to a place where
we had more cover. Here, we got out to check for damage. After
checking, we found that we had been hit by an armor-piercing
shell on the gun barrel just forward of the gun sight that I
had been looking through. Fortunately for me, when the shell
hit the gun tube, it scooped out a large section of the tube,
which deflected it over the top of our tank, instead of hitting
the gun shield in front of my face.
After this happened, we radioed back and told the commander
that we were afraid to fire the 76mm cannon anymore because it
looked like the gun tube was damaged. They told us not to fire
anymore, as the projectile might lodge in th tube and all of
the explosive force would come out the breach end and into the
inside of the tank.
We were then ordered to return to the sunken road between
the fields where we had been previously and cover the field ahead
with machine-gun fire because German infantry men were advancing
across the fields. It seemed like we spent an eternity here firing
our machine guns on the attacking infantry. We would cut them
down, only to have another wave follow behind them a short while
later. Finally, I guess they realized they couldn't make it across
the field this way, so they stopped attacking and started firing
mortars at us. This was the worst mortar fire we received during
the entire war.
After a while, a mortar shell landed in an armored car which
was in the field where we spent the previous night. The crew
in the armored car was badly hurt and screaming. Paul Faircloth,
our tank commander, jumped out of the tank and ran down the sunken
road to their aid. I stuck my head out of the tank to watch Paul,
when there were two mortar explosions beside him, blowing off
his foot and ankle, throwing him up onto the bank and killing
him. Immediately, two medics came to examine him and told me
he died instantly. Paul Faircloth was one of the bravest and
nicest men I met during my time in the army.
For our part in the operation at Mons, Faircloth was recommended
for the Silver Star, which was turned down. He was given the
Bronze Star instead. I have always felt this was an injustice,
since this man sacrificed his life trying to save other soldiers
and they turned down his Silver Star.
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