I find this page very interesting. Im the Grandson of Thomas Clarno a memeber of the 286th company C. He was the oldest in the unit at 35. He reinlisted in 44 after serving for 3 years in the 12th calvary in the 30s. He was in Wurzburg when the ammo dump exploded one morning and severely injurying him and one other man. My Grandfather was hit in the forehead and had a stainless steal plate put in his forehead from that injury. He came home after that. I dont know much about his time up to that day since i was 10 when he died and he never spoke about his times over seas. I appreciate what you have put on this site. Thank you.
I talked with my father in law, Joe and he doesn’t remember your grandfather. Joe was in the motor pool so he didn’t get to meet everyone in different units but he does remember the Wurzburg explosion. Every couple of nights thier unit would be buzzed by a German Luftfwaffe pilot. The Americans in the 286th nicknamed him “Bed Check Charlie”. The reason he would show up at night was to avoid the American airforce.
Bed Check Charlie couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn but that night he hit 20 tons of tnt. The explosion blew out windows 50 miles away. Joe and his unit were half a mile away in a home on top of a hill overlooking the ammo dump. The blast force of the explosion travel up the hill and blew the roof off the house. The outside door was blown off the hinges and the doors in the house buckled to the point that they couldn’t be opened. The guys had to actually break a door down to get their sergeant out.
We owe so much to the brave men and women who fought in WW2. It really was a battle between good and evil.
It’s sad that so many of our youth today don’t know or appriciate the sacrifices that our parents and grandparents made. That’s why today I had my grandchildren view this website and see the picture of their great grandfather and told them how proud they should be of him. Grandpa Joe was here with them today, and hopefully when they get older they will understand all of the sacrifices he and his fellow servicemen made to keep our country safe for us today.
I find this page very interesting. Im the Grandson of Thomas Clarno a memeber of the 286th company C. He was the oldest in the unit at 35. He reinlisted in 44 after serving for 3 years in the 12th calvary in the 30s. He was in Wurzburg when the ammo dump exploded one morning and severely injurying him and one other man. My Grandfather was hit in the forehead and had a stainless steal plate put in his forehead from that injury. He came home after that. I dont know much about his time up to that day since i was 10 when he died and he never spoke about his times over seas. I appreciate what you have put on this site. Thank you.
Dan Muschik
Thanks, Dan.
I talked with my father in law, Joe and he doesn’t remember your grandfather. Joe was in the motor pool so he didn’t get to meet everyone in different units but he does remember the Wurzburg explosion. Every couple of nights thier unit would be buzzed by a German Luftfwaffe pilot. The Americans in the 286th nicknamed him “Bed Check Charlie”. The reason he would show up at night was to avoid the American airforce.
Bed Check Charlie couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn but that night he hit 20 tons of tnt. The explosion blew out windows 50 miles away. Joe and his unit were half a mile away in a home on top of a hill overlooking the ammo dump. The blast force of the explosion travel up the hill and blew the roof off the house. The outside door was blown off the hinges and the doors in the house buckled to the point that they couldn’t be opened. The guys had to actually break a door down to get their sergeant out.
We owe so much to the brave men and women who fought in WW2. It really was a battle between good and evil.
It’s sad that so many of our youth today don’t know or appriciate the sacrifices that our parents and grandparents made. That’s why today I had my grandchildren view this website and see the picture of their great grandfather and told them how proud they should be of him. Grandpa Joe was here with them today, and hopefully when they get older they will understand all of the sacrifices he and his fellow servicemen made to keep our country safe for us today.
Thanks,
Wes
I think my Dad remembers the explosion. I’ll ask him for more memories. thanks to you, and Joe for visiting the site, Wes!