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The following was written by Albert
Da Costa's
great-grandson for his English class in 1998.
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My interview was with my great-grandfather who was a Corporal with the
87th Infantry Division, which was called "The Golden Acorn", during World
War II. The following is his recollection, in his own words, of the events
which transpired on Palm Sunday, March 25, 1945, during the crossing of
the Rhine River. My grandfather does not particularly like telling "war
stories" because many of his memories of the war are very painful and
bring to mind many good buddies who were killed serving their country.
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"March 25, 1945, Palm Sunday -- The Infantry
began the assault crossing of the Rhine River last night. They were
ferried across the Rhine in LCI's (Landing Craft Infantry) along
with their equipment and ammunition. As the first wave of troops
moved across the river, the Germans threw up flares and by that
light brought to bear heavy and accurate motar fire. Despite the
casualties, the men pressed ahead.
As a combat engineer, I was in the third wave
of the assault. While I waited my turn, I went into the cellar of
a hotel. The cellar was loaded with preserves of all kinds, and
with bottles of wine, cognac, and champagne. We began cooking a
meal for ourselves, and on the whole, moral was very high. If the
men are nervous or scared, they are not showing it. It may well
be the last meal for some of them.
When it was our turn, we boarded the LCI's.
Very few shells were landing in the water. The Germans were busy
with the infantry on their side of the river. They had to defend
themselves against our attacking troops.
Miraculously, no one in my LCI was injured in
any way. We landed on the East Bank of the Rhine and began pressing
forward. That day we had been lucky!"
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My great-grandfather's unit has had annual reunions in various parts
of the country since 1950. He, himself, has been attending the reunions
for the last twenty years. These veterans, most of them now in their seventies
and eighties, look forward to getting together with old and new friends
and reliving the good and bad times of WWII. From what he tells me, the
"war stories" fly fast and furious at these reunions but are special mostly
to them because they were there and lived to tell about it. They have
the utmost respect for their fallen comrades and every reunion begins
with a moment of silence for those who did not return.
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