Clyde Russell Harrison
Corporal
B Company - 778th Tank Battalion - 11th Armored Division
Rhineland
Clanging tracks and the roar of diesel engines permeated the typically still quietness of the Rhineland countryside as Shermans of B Company, 778th Tank Battalion lurched their way towards the village of Pellingen (1). Inside one of the 5 M4 Shermans of the company sat a blue-eyed Corporal with a light complexion, his 6’2” figure sitting rather uncomfortably in the tight quarters of the metal hulk. Despite the cramped conditions, for Clyde Harrison, this tank was home, he and his 4 fellow crew members living and fighting from it as they worked to clear the Rhineland of hostiles. Once again the crew was answering a call for aid from the infantry who had come up against particularly tough resistance in Pellingen (1). The 54th Armored Infantry Battalion having been chewed up by artillery and sniper fire as early as late February with fresh formations still unable to drive the Germans out by March 7th when tankers received the plea for help (2).
The middle-aged Corporal Harrison kept himself focused as the tanks neared the town. Rumor had been that they were coming up against the SS and they expected a serious fight. As Clyde’s Sherman advanced upon the village, they heard the familiar sound of German artillery, a concealed battery of 88 millimeter guns opening up on them (3). The exposed tankers attempted to respond but were sitting ducks as German infantry joined in the fray, launching shoulder fired rockets which claimed a tank (2). The precision fire of the artillery proving deadly with the rippling of explosions and the smell of molten metal dominating the tanker's senses. The hail of small arms fire and a well placed 88 round wounded Clyde 3 times, a hit to the hip crippling him (3). He managed to drag himself from the wreck of his Sherman, being unable to escape the chaos as the survivors withdrew from the battlefield to friendly lines (3).
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Callous Enemies
Exhausted and badly wounded, he laid helplessly among other wounded men as the German infantry began to survey their field of victory. Clyde was approached by several German soldiers who questioned him on his rank, the NCO refusing to admit to being an officer as apparently these fanatics were shooting those who were (3). The Germans soon lost interest in the injured men and despite their pleas for help, refused to offer medical aid, leaving them in the field as their wounds festered (3).
For three days Clyde remained exposed to the elements without medical attention, friendly forces eventually coming to his aide as they drove the Germans out of Pellingen (3). To his fortune, he would survive, and was treated and sent stateside. Upon arrival at Camp Shanks in New York, the recovering Corporal was given several interviews with newspapers from around the country, relaying his story. It would be his last action of the war, the soldier of 2 years being discharged not long after. Though he moved on to a life as a millman in Maumee, Ohio, his experiences never left him, the tanker's 2 purple hearts and bronze star speaking to his heroism.
Sources:
(1) Wood, Arthur. Baker Company. The 11th Armored Division Legacy Group, www.11tharmoreddivision.com/history/baker_company_778.htm.
(2) Webb, Mason. "Tigers on the Prowl." Warfare History Network, Winter 2022.
(3) Harrison, Clyde. "Corporal Tells Of Being Left Wounded In Field By Nazis." The Knoxville Journal, 25th May 1945.
(1) Wood, Arthur. Baker Company. The 11th Armored Division Legacy Group, www.11tharmoreddivision.com/history/baker_company_778.htm.
(2) Webb, Mason. "Tigers on the Prowl." Warfare History Network, Winter 2022.
(3) Harrison, Clyde. "Corporal Tells Of Being Left Wounded In Field By Nazis." The Knoxville Journal, 25th May 1945.