A Conversation with Local WWII Veteran, Moffatt Burriss

With local entrepreneur, Bill Dukes, initiating a program to fly WWII vets to Washington, DC to experience the war memorials, MidlandsBiz talked with local veteran, Moffatt Burriss, about some of his war experiences.  To learn more about the program, Honor Flight SC, and how you can help visit www.honorflightsc.com or click here.

 

MidlandsBiz:
Honor Flight SC will raise money so that veterans of WWII will be able to visit Washington, DC to see the war memorials.  How will veterans feel if they get the chance to visit the WWII memorial in Washington for the first time?

Moffatt Burriss:
I was fortunate to get the opportunity to go to Washington a couple of years ago so I can tell you that it will mean the world to these veterans.  I would like to see this effort supported so we can send as many veterans as possible.  They deserve it.

MidlandsBiz:
You wrote a book about your experiences of World War II called Strike and Hold.  Tell us about the origins of the book and why you wrote it.

Moffatt Burriss:
My children insisted that I write down my experiences from the Great War.  I solicited the recollections of men who served with me in the 82nd Airborne during battles in Italy, Holland, France, Belgium and Germany. The title of the book comes from the motto of the 504 parachute regiment. 

MidlandsBiz:
How long were you stationed in Europe?

Moffatt Burriss:
We were overseas for 2 ½ years.  Our combat started in Italy on the island of Sicily.  We fought in several major battles including the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium.  We eventually worked our way deep into Germany and almost to Berlin.

Our regiment underwent rigorous training and we were selected to be the lead troops for some of the toughest battles of the war. 

MidlandsBiz:
Share some of your memories of the war.

Moffatt Burriss:
Our first night in combat on the European continent was unfortunately one of the most memorable experiences. 

We parachuted out of the planes and three of us landed 55 miles from the drop zone.  While we were trying to figure out where we were, an enemy unit came marching down the road.  We ambushed them with a volley of hand grenades and caused a lot of casualties and a great deal of confusion. 

We stirred up quite a hornet’s nest and Italians started pouring out of pillboxes down by the beach to launch a counter attack.

I remember thinking that my first day in combat was going to be my last.  The first round of fire that hit us actually came from British soldiers who thought that we were Germans.  On realizing their mistake, the British soldiers were able to help us repel the Italians with a heavy barrage of artillery fire. 

After the battle I spoke with one of the British soldiers and he apologized for not knowing that I was a Yankee.  I smiled and told him I wasn’t, that I was from South Carolina. 

We wintered in Italy and eventually went on to capture Naples, which became one of the first cities to fall. 

Shortly after that we landed at a beach in the Italian city of Anzio with 113 men.  We paid a high price, but we were successful in attaining the beach head and preventing a German counter attack.  After seven days of heavy fighting, we were reduced to 13 men. 

MidlandsBiz:
How do you lead men when you are in battle?

Moffatt Burriss:
Follow me, men, let’s go. Our style was to lead by leading.  If soldiers saw their lieutenant or captain participating, they followed.

MidlandsBiz:
Did you have any time leave during the 2 plus years you served?

Moffatt Burriss:
Not to come home.  Leave was 3 or 4 days if you got it all.  At one time I went and spent three days in Paris. 

MidlandsBiz:
Did you get involved in the war effort as a volunteer or did you have a military training?

Moffatt Burriss:
I graduated from Clemson in 1940 and I had Reserve status as a Second Lieutenant.  I was called to active duty two weeks after Pearl Harbor.  

Everyone wanted to support the war effort.  In subsequent wars, Korea, Viet Nam, you had some people arguing that it wasn’t our war.  That was simply not the case in 1942.  This was about our survival and the protection of our freedom.  I would have volunteered even if I had not been in the Army Reserve.

MidlandsBiz:
How did the war affect you as you returned to civilian life?

Moffatt Burriss:
I have been asked the question about whether I suffered from post traumatic stress upon my return.  No, back in the day, nobody had ever heard of such a condition. 

We had a job to do; there was no question about what needed to be done. 

MidlandsBiz:
You have been called The Greatest Generation. 

Moffatt Burriss:
I am confident that if this generation was faced with the same set of circumstances that they would do the same. 

MidlandsBiz:
Weren’t you frightened to head into war?  Didn’t you want to just go home?

Moffatt Burriss:
Yes, but…we just wanted to fight and get the job done so we could go home.  We knew that we were not going to get back home until it was over.

Have you ever read the book or seen the movie A Bridge Too Far?

MidlandsBiz:
No.

Moffatt Burriss:
I was part of several paratrooper divisions that jumped into Holland in September of 1943 with the mission of capturing a network of bridges.

My company landed a couple hundred yards from a bridge in a town called Grave.  We managed to capture the bridge in less than an hour with no casualties. 

The next big bridge, the Nijmegen Bridge, which crossed the Waal River, had to be captured so that we could penetrate 12 miles further and finally capture what was often called the Bridge Too Far. 

There was a British division that was literally getting cut to shreds as it tried to claim the bridge.  It is difficult for an airborne troop with rifles and bazookas to take on an army of German Tiger tanks. 

Our 3rd battalion was selected to make a river crossing.  It was 300 yards wide across the Waal River.  Then we had a ½ mile of pasture to traverse.  Meanwhile, the Germans were lined up with machine guns, 20 millimeter guns, artillery, you name it.   We suffered heavy casualties, but we managed to knock out the Germans and gain a foothold on the bridge. 

Military history has now determined that this was one of the most daring and courageous acts of the war.  At the time, we just wanted to accomplish our mission and survive. 

The movie, A Bridge Too Far, depicts the battle for the Nijmegen Bridge and Robert Redford plays the role of the battalion commander. 

MidlandsBiz:
WWII was supposed to be one of the wars to end all wars.

Moffatt Burriss:
My company overran a concentration in Germany later on that year and it was one of the most ghastly and horrible things that I have ever seen.  It was indescribable.  We ca
n’t allow that to happen again.  We can’t allow dictators to get control of countries and to murder people by the thousands, or the millions. 

If you had seen that concentration camp, your perspective on war would change.  You would vow that you would do whatever it takes to ensure that these kinds of atrocities never happen again.

All of the freedom loving countries of the world need to make sure that this type of tragedy never happens again.

MidlandsBiz:
Did you feel lucky or blessed to have made it through the war alive?

Moffatt Burriss:
I always felt confident that I would make it home to my wife who I had married in June of 1942.  I don’t know why I felt that way; the odds were pretty high that you would be killed.  But yes, I’m lucky.