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Unread 08-17-2003, 07:53 PM   #4
Doubs
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Location: Byron, Georgia
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When I was growing up, my next door neighbor - still living in the same house today and well into his 80's - was a veteran of WW2, 17th Airborne Division. He once showed me a 38H he'd captured during Operation Varsity when they made the Rhine crossing. He was a Glider Troop and went in by glider. They were to capture some bridges. At one of those bridges there was a house on the far end with German troops in it. He told me that crossing that bridge was the longest run of his life but his buddies kept the German's heads down and he made it safely.

They were a squad-sized unit and once across the bridge they called for the Germans to surrender. The Germans refused so they used a bazooka to set fire to an attached barn structure that contained hay. When the Germans finally gave up, it was discovered that they outnumbered the American troops by more than double! Anyway, my neighbor took the Sauer 38H from one of the captured Germans. I've only seen it once but it was quite nice and in a holster with spare mag. Last time I asked about it, he had given it to his oldest son.
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