| Waldurn, Germany: April 4 – 20, 1945 |
| We crossed the Rhine river on a floating bridge at Worms, and traveled up the road toward Numbert, setting up the 51st outside the village of Waldurn, at the intersection with the road to Heidelberg. |
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| Map by Staff Sgt. Jack Crouse |
| Some of the first admissions to the hospital for processing and evacuation were freed U.K. soldiers who had been prisoners of the Germans for up to 5 years. |
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| The first evening at Waldurn, a plane went over the hospital low and so fast that only a few people saw the swastikas on the wings and tail. This was a jet plane, one of the new "secret weapons" that Hitler had been promising. |
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| Every night a German plane we called "Bed-Check Charlie", circled over the hospital and shot up any vehicle with its lights on, coming along the roads to the intersection. One night it was a big truckload of German prisoners being transported to the rear, which meant a busy night in surgery for us. |
| Requisitioned furniture added a bit of comfort to our tents. |  |
| When a hot shower was available, it was also an opportunity to do some personal laundry. |  |
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As admissions decreased, there was time for a trip to Heidelberg in Chaplin Godfrey’s jeep, picnicking on the banks of the Neckar River. | |
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| The Neckar Valley in springtime was spectacular. |  |
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Heidelberg was free of war damage, except for destruction of the two bridges that connected the city. |
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| On the return to Waldurn, we visited a large Mercedes Benz engine factory located deep inside this mountain. |  |
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The workers at the factory were slave laborers living in a camp across the river. |
| President Franklin Delanor Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, and with our flag at half-mast, a memorial service was held at the 51st the next day. | |
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| From Waldern we were ordered to move to Murrhardt, Germany. However, the front was moving ahead so fast at this time that new orders were received to move up farther before the hospital could become operational. | |
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