| At
Fromentel, Pool's tank headed the task force Y column as usual which
closed the gap. During the closing, Pool's second tank was destroied by
enemy bombers, which only made Pool more mad at the Germans. Again the
crew survived intact. At Colombrier, France, Pool's tank leading the
column almost collided with a Panther. The Panther fired twice and
missed. Ollier, the gunner, fired a single shot which penetrated the
turret and internal explosions blew the turret clean off the hull of the
Panther.
At Namur, Belgium, "In The Mood's"
crew destroyed sixteen enemy vehicles, including assault guns, self
propelled anti-tank guns, plus several armored personnel carriers in one
day. At Dison, Belgium, Pool distinguished himself while acting as a
platoon leader. He decided to use his own tank to clean out an annoying
pocket of resistance on the left flank of the route they were traveling.
After finding and destroying six armored personnel carriers Pool
discovered that the head of his column had been fired upon by a German
Panther. Quickly he ordered his driver to regain the column. Upon
arriving upon the scene of the action he spotted the enemy tank, gave a
single estimated range to Oller. The gunner fired an A.P. projectile at
1500 yards to destroy the Panther. The column then moved on with Pool
again in his customary place in the lead. Although Pool had two tanks
knocked out from under him, he had nerves of steel. His crew added
confidence from his bearing and as a result they moved as a single unit,
like clockwork.
Pool's one problem was that he was
claustrophobic and preferred to remain, as much as possible, on the
outside of his tank. Col. Richardson said that Pool rode that tank like
a "bucking bronco." He was always exposed in the turret or on
top of it.
His driver, Richards, shared his commander's condition in
that he always drove with his overhead hatch open, having been trapped
once with a jammed hatch. Corporal Richards said "Pool hated the
Germans and thought he could lick them all. The men would draw straws to
see who would lead the spearhead the next day. Pool would just say, 'Ah'm
leading this time' and stand there grinning while we cussed him
out."
|
Pool's luck ran out at the town of
Munsterbusch, south of Aachen, Germany, on September 19, 1944, while
leading the breakthrough through the Westwall. The crew was due to
rotate home in a few days for a war bond tour. "In The Mood"
was not leading this time but was flank guard for the task force that
day. Pool spotted a heavy anti-tank gun hidden in a house. They had a
substitute loader that day as Boggs was sent back for a hearing check-up
prior to rotating to the states. The new guy shoved a round in the
breech of the 76mm gun and jammed it.
Unable to fire, Pool yelled "Back up
baby!" as the first shell hit the turret blowing Pool off the
tank onto the ground. He landed running and his right leg folded up like
an accordion. He quickly gave himself a morphine injection, sat down and
tried to cut his shattered leg off with his pocket knife. Meanwhile, a
second shell hit the tank well forward as Richards backed the tank up
slowly. To Richards, Oller, the loader and Close, there was only the
bell sound of the hit, the stench of powder and shower of sparks.
Richards didn't know that Pool had been thrown clear of the turret and
kept on backing up. Col. Richardson saw "In The Mood" slowly
reach a cut bank and, as if in slow motion, topple over, almost upside
down.
Oller felt the blood on his leg and knew that
he had been wounded. The others were unhurt and all four crawled out of
the overturned tank.
Col. Richardson came up to Pool and gave him
another shot of morphine. Aid men then reached Pool who was bleeding
badly from the splinter wound. They gave him a third shot of morphine.
Two of them quickly attended to Oller. Pool cursed the Germans bitterly
as the aid men bandaged his wound. As they put him in the litter he
twisted suddenly and said, "Somebody take care of my tank."
The war was over for Lafayette G. Pool. He
knew that he and his crew could beat the Germans. He proved it so often
that his record is almost an unbelievable document of total victory. The
amazing score by the Texan and his crew is fully authenticated by the 3d
Armored Division.
Pool was twice nominated for the Medal
of Honor. The first time the papers were lost,
|
the
second time it was turned down as the higher-ups felt that it was a
crew, not an individual effort. He was awarded the Distinguished
Service Cross, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, French Croix
de Guerre with Bronze Star, Belgium Fourragere and Order of St.
George Medal.
Pool's career was far from over though, but
first he had an ordeal he had to go through with his wounded right leg.
After three shots of morphine he awoke nineteen days later in a hospital
in Belgium. Due to rain and exposure he contracted double pneumonia. He
did not get back to the states until January, 1945. When he was wounded
he weighed 196 pounds and when he returned to the United States he
weighed 85 pounds! The bone in his leg from the knee to the ankle was
gone but his toenail would still grow so doctors hesitated to amputate.
Later they amputated it eight inches above the knee at Temple, Texas
Army Hospital. He was discharged in June of 1946, and went home with an
artificial leg, later to farm and run a gas station. In 1948 he was
called back to active duty along with seven other amputees because of
their technical skills as specialists.
He returned as a staff sergeant and taught
tank mechanics as a master mechanic. After a promotion to Warrant
Officer in 1952, he worked as an ordnance inspector. He was classified
as "Z.I." (no duty out of zone interior).
While at Fort Knox, he was offered the job as
technical advisor for the movie "The
Tanks Are Coming" (released in 1951). He refused and
decided to sue Warner Brothers for one million dollars. He was under
contract to Universal Studios for his life's story and he felt that
Warner Brothers plagiarized his script. The judge ruled that Warner
Brothers had changed the names and scenario in their version enough that
it was not an infringement. Pool thought that actor Steve Cochran, in
the Warner Brothers version, did a good portrayal of himself, although
the name in this movie was changed to "Sgt. Sullivan."
Pool retired from the Army as a Chief Warrant
Officer Second Class, at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas on September 19, 1960.
Afterwards he went to business college, followed by a job as a preacher
for $25.00 a week. He also coached little league.
|
