HomeMy WebLinkAboutBill Kling Transcription #1City of College Station
Heritage Programs Oral History
Interviewee: Bill Kling
Interviewer: Tom Turbiville
Place: College Station, Texas
Project: Veterans of the Valley
Transcriber: Brooke Linsenbardt
00:00: Tom Turbiville (TT): Yesterday we started the story of B.J. Kling. His story of his service in the European theatre in World War II. His 102nd infantry unit floated across the
Atlantic near war’s end. And because of that, they were among the first units to sail directly from the mainland to France. Not stopping off in England.
00:18: Bill King (BK): I think we were the first division to sail directly from the States to the Continent Europe. As we landed at the Port of, of (Cherbourg?). My next task was with,
with our executive officer, Colonel Watkins. To run the Red Ball Express.
TT: Normandy is best known of course for the invasion. But after, well Bill Kling recalls his unit driving what was called the Red Ball Express.
00:44: BK: The Red Ball Express had five hundred, 2.5 ton trucks and 1-ton trailer. They’re mission was to move all the supplies from the beach head, up into the combat area of where
it, where it, where sold-, soldiers need it. And this was everything from food to ammunition to, bed, shoes, whate-. All supplies were moved on Red Ball Express.
TT: When we talk equipment, we mean big and small.
01:12: BK: That’s right. Now of course, what the Red Ball Express moved was, was the supplies that, trucks you drive to, supplies that were, that you could load on a truck. And move,
move by truck. And we, we used two one-way roads through France. One going from the beachhead up to the combat area and one returning. There was no civilian traffic or anything else.
No, nothing but military and Red Ball Express.
TT: Bill Kling is an engineer. And those skills came in mighty handy fighting the war. Engineering skills that determined where the guns would be fired for most effect.
01:49: BH: The United States Field Artillery, Army Field Artillery, was the most efficient of, of any unit, compared to the, to the British, the French and Russians and, and the Germans.
We were able to take ar-, artillery pieces and fire more, more guns on the same target accurately than anyone else. And this was because the first thing that we did when the artillery,
bat-, battery and battalion went in to, into position, was to tie the four guns and a, a battery together. The next mission was to tie, tie the three batteries of the battalion together.
Then the next mission was to tie the battalians all together and tie them into the. And then when I say tie-in, it’s determine, the re-, the location of each gun with reference to
every other gun. So that when you fired one gun on a target, you could, you could, with lit-, with very little mathematics or effort you could fire all of them on there.
TT: Now next Tuesday, we will finish up the story of service of Bryan’s B.J. Bill Kling. I’m Tom Turbiville. This is Bravo Brazos Valley. Brought to you by Meis and Associates.
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