Hit

Charles was wounded on August 28, 1944. According to a notebook found with his World War II belongings detailing his actions, his company entered the fight on August 27. He was fighting for less than 24 hours when he was wounded.

His timeline, as written:

Aug 27 2:30 to 1000 Move up

Aug 28 7:30 Move up

7:35 Hit

10:45 Picked up

11:15 To aid st.

1:00 Clering St.

Col. St

3:30 101st Evac

Aug 29 To 666th Air Strip

Aug 30 Fly to 347th St. 6 to 8

Aug 31 To 128th Gen near Devizes

Sept. 2:00 Operation Traction

The letter explained: A scrap of paper was found amongst the documents from Chuck's time in the service providing a timeline from the time of injury until he was provided definitive care. Clearly, the most noticeable event is the three hours he spent between the time he was hit and when he was picked up. Chuck had previously told me that he was lying in a ditch during that time, taking cover from German fire. 'Clering St.' refers to a Clearing Station. The Clearing Station’s main function was triage. Accordingly incoming casualties were sorted and classified as follows:

• Patients requiring prolonged care and who were fit enough for immediate evacuation.
• Patients requiring prolonged care but who needed immediate treatment before evacuation was possible.
• Patients ready to be returned to duty within a few hours (number depending upon the necessity to keep the Clearing Station free and ready for movement

Obviously, Chuck was in the first category, because he quickly was removed to England. I am unsure what 'Col. St' is in reference to. By 3:30, I presume he was removed to the 101st Evacuation Hospital, which operated in France in 1944. The '666th Air Strip' was probably the 666th Medical Clearing Company, operating evacuation flights from Morlaix, France (about 36 miles from Brest) back to England. 

 

Once in England, Chuck was treated first by the 347th Station Hospital in Marlborough, Wiltshire and then by the 128th General Army Hospital. He stated it was near Devizes, but the 128th was situated near Bishopstrow, about 20 miles away. It was a week from the time of his injury until he was able to have surgery that provided traction to his femur injury.

Map showing the location of Marlborough,
Devizes, and Bishopstrow in England.