Wounded in Action

Interviewer: You were wounded, near Mount Etna, how did...

Right, it was, I think it must have been the last day of battle, in the last twenty minutes I'm sure of it. And I got hit in the chest.

Interviewer: With, with what?

Oh shrapnel, grenade, from a rifle grenade. In fact, this, this, this German who was using that rifle, he killed the doctor and a couple other guys and then he tried to kill me, but, he got, he wounded me but he was killed after that (inaudible)

Interviewer: How long were you convalescing?

Oh, let's see I went, they frew me out of, they flew me out of Sicily to Africa, so I was down there maybe, oh my gosh, I got hit on August 5th, so I was back, I was back in a couple of months, but then they were in Italy by that time.

Interviewer: Yes.

It was right after Mount Etna, that's when it practically was over. And then they crossed over. They were in the rest area for a while, then, when they crossed over the straits...

Interviewer: Straits of Messina...

Yeah, and I come, I got back just when they were going into a place called Baranello, not far from Campobasso, and they were just going into action and I just made it.