LST SCUTTLEBUTT - SEP/OCT 1998 - PAGE ??
LST 996 & Marseilles, France
| Some of your readers may be interested in reading
about an unusual incident involving myself and several crew mates on Sunday evening,
October 1, 1944 in Marseilles, France. At about 2000 hours , several officers of LST 996
requested transport from the ship into the port of Marseilles. I and three mates, S1c R.
L. Guillemette, S2c M. S. Waldron, and S2c R. F. Turbin, lowered an LCVP and escorted the
officers into port. While waiting at the boat for their return from "temporary duty," we were surrounded by a dozen machine gun toting members of the Free French Interior (FFI). None of us were in uniform or carried any identification other than our dog tags. The FFI were convinced that they had detected one of the many groups of Germans who were infiltrating France disguised as U. S. forces. Fortunately, the smooth French speaking ability of Ron Guillemette earned us a delay in our execution and we were taken to the FFI's bomb shelter headquarters where we were held until about 0200, released and informed that the LCVP had returned to ship. Later we learned from the Harbor Master that the ship had left port at 0400 for Nisida Harbor (Naples, Italy). The four of us spent the next four days as begging guests of several British and American landing craft finally returning to the LST 996, after its return to Marseilles, on Thursday, October 5, 1944. It is interesting to note that the deck log (which I have obtained from the National Archives) for October 5th provides some information on the incident that none of |
us were aware of at the time.
The entry for 0400-0800 reads: |