Snipper Scouting

From the perspective of Pfc Joseph M. Mannix, Jr. on Captain Busch's efforts:

"About noon of that day, I began to realize that the rest of my squad was not coming to the point where I understood from the officer that we would meet. I decided to try and find the 2nd Battalion's CP and ran into Virgil Richard of Headquarters Platoon and Pete Zecchini, Lt. Parr's driver, who told me they were taking rations to Captain Busch. Suggesting that I accompany them, back into town we trotted dodging sniper and machine gun bullets which occasionally poured down the streets.

In the center of town we found Captain Busch, walking along a street looking for snipers. He listened to my story and told me to return to headquarters until it was possible for me to rejoin the squad. Then he took his K Rations and went on looking for snipers. The Captain's sniper hunting was just a part of the big job he did at Echternach.

He had been assigned to an observation post, which he and his driver, T/5 Bob Schaer set up in a tall building, formerly a university. For four days and four nights they never got more than a wink of sleep. They ran in their own phone lines and went out and repaired them when they broke. To some unity they used radio communication. Shells pounded the building, and it was here that Pfc Dale S. Forkner was wounded while on a mission to obtain information from Captain Busch.

From this position in the school, Captain Busch watched operations on the other side of the river and kept in contact between our troops, plus directing artillery fire on the enemy's installations. While all this was going on, the gun platoons were having some lively times also. "