As paratroopers walked along the curving road into Son, Holland in September 1944, an 88mm gun positioned between them and the bridge.

It opened fire with two quick rounds. The leading platoon circled behind the houses west of the road, and approached the German gun within fifty yards. Pvt. Thomas G. Lindsey fired one round with his bazooka, putting the gun out of action and killing one of the German crew members. The other six crew members tried to run to safety, but were all killed by Sgt. John f. Rice’s Tommy gun. It was over in fifteen minutes without any casualties for the Americans.

Under small arms fire, they continued their advance towards the bridge up until a distance of fifty yards, when they heard a loud explosion as the Son bridge was blown away by the Germans. This photo shows a paratrooper roaming around the disabled gun.

COMES A Soldier’s Whisper remembering history and soldiers one day at a time….

For videos, shared stories, book excerpt or book purchase, visit www.comesasoldierswhisper.com

Photo/Text Source: Orange is the Color of the Day