I write this, not as a tribute to any personal courage or glory, but at the insistence of my family, who for many years have urged me to set this down before it is lost either by a loss of memory or my demise.
Before I begin, I wish you to understand that for many years it was not possible to relate these events, due to orders from the U.S. Army that nothing be revealed until officially released. This was done to protect those brave people who aided us in that hour of greatest need. Had they been discovered, they would have forfeited their lives. The Germans would have seen to that.