Time in Bizerte, Tunisia

After anchoring off the coast of Bizerte, we were loaded into L.C.I.'s (Landing Craft Infantry), which is a small boat, and went into the harbor.  The harbor was so full of sunken ships that only a small boat could weave its way through the debris.  We tied up at a dock and sat in the hot sun, eating "C" rations.

On October 8 (one day before my 21st birthday), we got off the ship and stepped on solid ground again.  We loaded into trucks and were taken to the 5th Replacement Depot, fifteen miles from Bizerte.  I stayed here until October 13, 1943.

We slept in our pup tents, and it rained most of the time.  It was cold, so we slept in our clothes.  I was on guard duty one night and on K.P. one night.  We had machine gun and rifle practice. 

At midnight on October 13, I was awakened and told to get ready to leave to go and join an outfit that was going into the line soon.  It was raining again, and I got up and packed and rolled my bedroll around my pack and strapped my pack onto my back.  I got my rifle, gas mask and the rest of my equipment and got in a waiting truck.

We drove to a hill above Bizerte and pitched our tents in the dark, and tried to get some sleep.  I hadn't been asleep long when I woke up with several inches of water running under me.  My blankets were wet, so I got into the back of the truck and spent the rest of the night sitting up, trying to sleep.  In the morning, I saw that I had pitched my tent in a ditch. 

At this time, I was in the 995th Field Artillery Battalion in the Headquarters Battery.  I was put into the Survey Section.  From October 14 to November 9, we were busy cleaning equipment, going on maneuvers, shooting guns, and doing survey work.  All around our tents, the mud was deep and the flies were bad.  I got to make one short trip to Tunis, where I saw many Arabs and camels.

Personal Letter Home from Robert to His Family:  "October 28, 1943--I hope you have received some of my letters by now, and that you know where I am.  I am so anxious to hear from home.  I am busy all the time, and am so tired by the evening.  I still have my watch, and it keeps good time.  I am so glad that I have it. The Arabs here sell us large loaves of bread, and they live in little grass and mud houses. Out of all of the boys that I went through Basic Training with, I am the only one in this outfit.  We were all separated. "

995th Field Artillery Insignia