"Hill 192 had given the enemy a good view of the Normandy countryside and orchards away towards St. Lo. Even the invasion ships riding at anchor twenty-five miles away on Omaha Beach could be seen. Only twenty-five miles from where I had first come ashore on French soil, yet it seemed so much further in a weary, soul searching way. Long hours of heavy mental and physical strain, the earsplitting noise and smoke of battle, the death of close friends, the pain of one's own wounds, the hunger and privation a soldier endures, brings about a different state of mind. I had never gone to church much, but I believed in God, and prayed most of the time. "God, just let me live one more day. Let me keep my head-- let me out-think the enemy." And every night I begged His forgiveness for that day's transgressions. I always waited for whatever it was that guided me in close-in fighting. Many, many times I'd sit crouched, gritting my teeth, waiting for the message to move."
Alfred Whitehead II- end of Pages 76 - 85
