Saturday, 31 March [1945] Villmar, Germany
Up at 0600. Sleep was interrupted several times by small arms fire in the surrounding woods. Our S-2 informed us that several vehicles traveling by themselves were attacked last night and the occupants lined up and shot. We will take no more prisoners. Bob and I went on an all-day patrol deep into the woods today. We saw plenty of Jerry signs but no Jerries. We found several piles of equipment which they had abandoned and many uniforms which they had removed. We found a few items suitable for souvenirs. We must have made a fear inspiring picture for anyone who happened to see us. Besides our rifles, we carried grease guns and trench knives and wore grenades, tied to our lapels in such a way that as we grabbed them the pin would pull out. We did not wear helmets, or cartridge belts because of the noise they make going through thickets. We were really equipped for combat. There is a thrill attached to hunting human game that is different from anything else which I have tried. I rather like it. One of the items which I brought back was an air mattress. I’ll try that out tonight. We flushed several deer and killed one to supplement our “C” rations. We hung it up in a tree and returned for it in a jeep. Received a pkg. from Mary today.1Mary Anna Louch (1917-2021) of Aberdeen, Maryland was Goetz’s fiancée. She married him immediately after his discharge from the Army on December 26, 1945. Hit the sack at 2000.
115th day in combat.
Sunday, 1 April [1945] Villmar, Germany
Up at 0600. The weather is cloudy and we will get far less air support. We do not need it as much as we once did. This would have been a wonderful day for the war to end. Now we will have to look forward to tomorrow. Each day brings us closer to the end of the road. [continued on next page]