I I decided to spend several days in Plettenberg Germany which was the command post for the 75th Infantry Division at the end of WWII. I drove to the Lenne River where I parked at the AquaMagis water park and then walked to this steel beam Fish Belly Bridge built which was built in 1914. Since it was cold, the water park was quiet. It was a crisp fall afternoon and the walk along the river was gorgeous.
The Fish Belly Bridge was once used for a railroad line. It was closed in 1969 and has been designated a historic site. The Bridge survived World War II. A walking platform was added to the former railroad bridge. From on top of the walkway, you would have a wonderful view of the Lenne Valley. I climbed up onto the bridge platform. The bridge leading to the west stopped abruptly after a few yards. A metal gate kept people from walking on this dangerous section of the bridge. The other direction over the river is still operational.
As I was sketching, a grandmother and daughter stopped to talk to me for a while in German. I know enough German for short conversations but I only understood maybe half of what the grandmother told me. She was old enough to have been alive in 1945. She wished me safe travels. The daughter knew some English since she lived in the United States for some time. Talking to them made me realize I was hungry for conversation. I had been drawing for 3 months straight every day and people often stopped and spoke to me in French, Dutch, and German. My usual response was “Thank you” in each respective language. Distractions were limited when the people vying for my attention could not be understood. I missed talking to a friend back in the states who is a consummate conversationalist.
The 75th Infantry Division occupied Plettenberg in April of 1945, and stayed for some time while doing governmental work, building up the hospitals, railroads, bridges and water pipes. As always, immediately upon arriving in Plettenberg , the Division’s units set up their Command Posts and a series of signs throughout the town indicated their locations. Each Division in the European Theater of Operations, (ETO) had a different letter with which their individual outfits’ code name began. And so the indicator for 75th Headquarters was D for Diamond.
Water points were established to supply fresh filtered water for the troops. Not only was the job of purifying water in combat important, but it was equally vital when the Division settled in towns like Plettenberg where it was necessary not only to purify water to increase the supply for the troops, but also to test the civilian supply already in operation. With men living so close to one another, the dangers involved in contracting germs carried by water could result in catastrophe. The men of the water points were diligent, knowledgeable , and tireless.