Pfc Norman Steele sounds like one heck of a guy. Performed all his duties and did them all well.
Our relationship was not formal, but neither was it one of familiarity. He called me “Lootenant,†never “sir,†and I called him Steele. We never talked about home or friends or made small talk. He was my driver for about a year and a half and I don’t even know where he was from.
While it may sound incredible to all of us civilians, it was not uncommon not to know the details of someone's life, such as where they were from.
I never saw him again. In recent years, I have tried unsuccessfully to locate him through the Internet It’s said that you can’t go back, and maybe it’s better that way. But one of my strongest recollections of life as a 2nd Lt., Infantry is the terrible loneliness.
Even so, it might be awfully nice to see him again if he's still alive. I'm sure you could swap many a tale and share some smiles and tears. You guys covered a lot of ground together, and as you stated, he probably saved your life a few times.
These are the kind of memories I enjoy hearing, for they are one-of-a-kind. Thanks Russ for taking the time to write down your WWII experiences for me and I hope you will continue to do so.
While we are on the subject of jeeps, do you know how the army assigned numbers to jeeps and other vehicles? My buddy is refurbishing WWII "green machines" and wants to put my dad's unit designations on them. Some of it is obvious such as the unit name, etc. but you usually see a string of numbers along the front fender. Any help on this Russ or anyone else?
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"