|
|
|
|
What's New:
There's nothing ahead of the infantry except the enemy... and the minesweepers.
The Minesweeper, my narrative non-fiction book about an American teenager serving in Italy during WWII, is finished and looking for a home. If you are a publisher or agent interested in this book, please email me at katkitts@cinci.rr.com.
The platoon sergeant knew that Ray was good, darn good. And that's one of the reasons why the eighteen-year-old got the job night after night - crawling on the ground in the dark groping with his hands for tripwires. When the wires were cut, only then could he stand upright with his mine detector and begin to sweep the area.
As he swept he listened, listened for something more than the sound of his own breathing in the dead quiet. He strained to hear a certain pop in the dark - the sound that told him a German flare had just been fired. When he heard that sound, he had two seconds to stop and freeze - become a tree stump. His life depended on it.
Ray Wissel performed this daring job in Italy during World War II. He risked his life so that other infantrymen, who many times slept while he worked, had a safe line to walk the next day.
bravenet.com