Reference
Bits from "Brothers in Battle, Best of friends," by Babe Heffron and Bill Guarnere.
We were walking up beside a house to go occupy it, and as B company was leaving, they told us things had been pretty quiet. "The only action was a round of mortar shells on a nearby house," one of the troopers said. He kind of shrugged it off. We knew the Germans had a bead on the area. Joe Toye was ahead of me and hollered, "Hey, Heffron, bring your machine gun up." I started up in back of him when Jim Campbell--he was Toye's assistant--says "Heffron, you stay here with the gun. I'll go with Toye." As soon as they turned the corner of the house, a German 88 exploded right on top of them. The side of the house came crashing down on us, and we were buried in white chalk and debris. You could smell the spent shell. I ran over to check on Toye and Campbell. There was a large cloud of shell powder, like a mushroom cloud, and Toye stepped out of it. He said, "Don't touch me, I'm hit all over." He was hit bad in the back and legs. His neck was all chewed up with shrapnel, it looked like rats got to it. It was his third hit in four months of combat. I looked at Campbell. Before I could check his pulse, Toye said: "He's dead, Heffron, I checked." The shell had hit Campbell in the back, killing him instantly.... But what I couldn't believe was that Joe Toye, bleeding and in pain himself, reached over to check on Campbell. That was the kind of soldier Toye was...I threw Toye over my shoulder and carried him back to the aid area.
-- Babe Heffron. Incident from: Holland, October 6, 1944. Operation Market-Garden.
Joe Toye would try and lighten things up at night by singing "I'll Be Seeing You." Or he'd be humming it wherever he was. It would be quiet at night, and when it's been quiet for so damn long and you're out there by yourself, you think of a million things. He'd sing a line of that song and before you know it, the guy next to him starts singing, and the guys next to him, and soon everybody's singing. Even I'm singing, and thinking, What the hell, we're all nuts. The Germans could follow the whole front line! ...Every time I hear that song, I think of old Joe Toye.
-- Bill Guarnere
The next day, the Germans beat the hell out of us with an air raid. The sky was filled with Luftwaffe, they were hitting everything. We were lucky we didn't get the worst of it. Joe Toye got hit in the arm with a piece of shrapnel and was sent to the aid station. That was his fourth time hit. Toye just couldn't catch a break.
-- Babe Heffron. Incident from: Ardennes, January 1, 1945. Battle of the Bulge.
The next day, Joe Toye came back from the aid station with a sling on his arm. Winters told him to go back, but he wouldn't. Now he was a hero. He had his ticket out, but he wouldn't leave the men. No matter how bad he got hurt, he just kept at it. A hell of a soldier. I had the utmost respect for him. He thanked me once for carrying him back to the aid station in Holland the day Campbell was killed, and it was one of the greatest compliments I ever got, because it came from Joe Toye, one of the greatest soldiers I ever knew. (Bill adds: "Finest Irishman I ever knew." Babe adds: "Toughest SOB I ever knew.")
-- Both. Incident from: Ardennes, January 2, 1945. Battle of the Bulge.
Guys were getting hit, screaming, hollering for medics all over the woods, and there were very few medics around, you understand? Joe Toye was running around trying to get everyone to take cover. Next thing I know, Joe Toye is hollering, "I'm hit, I'm hit!" I looked up and he was lying on the ground about six to eight feet away form me. His leg was blown to bits, hanging off his body, all mangled, he was bleeding all over--from the chest, back, head, arms, legs. I thought he was dead. I ran out to try and get him to safety, as soon as I got to him, Wham! A treeburst exploded over our heads. I was hit. I fell next to Joe.
...Me and Joe lay there freezing in the snow, shivering, bleeding, both of us were full of shrapnel. He said, "Jesus Christ, what the hell do I have to do to die?!" It was Joe's fifth time hit. Lipton, Malarkey, and Babe came running over to help, I was half out of it. Doc Roe was right there, trying to patch us up. Without him, we wouldn't be alive. Roe was the best medic we ever had. He was born to be a medic. You could always depend on him. You hollered, "Medic!" he was right there come hell or high water, he knew what he was doing. He was compassionate, took care of you mentally, physically, every way. They put me on a stretcher before Joe, I said, "I told you I'd beat you back to the states," and then I passed out.
-- Bill Guarnere. Incident from: Ardennes, January 3, 1945. Battle of the Bulge.
We were walking up beside a house to go occupy it, and as B company was leaving, they told us things had been pretty quiet. "The only action was a round of mortar shells on a nearby house," one of the troopers said. He kind of shrugged it off. We knew the Germans had a bead on the area. Joe Toye was ahead of me and hollered, "Hey, Heffron, bring your machine gun up." I started up in back of him when Jim Campbell--he was Toye's assistant--says "Heffron, you stay here with the gun. I'll go with Toye." As soon as they turned the corner of the house, a German 88 exploded right on top of them. The side of the house came crashing down on us, and we were buried in white chalk and debris. You could smell the spent shell. I ran over to check on Toye and Campbell. There was a large cloud of shell powder, like a mushroom cloud, and Toye stepped out of it. He said, "Don't touch me, I'm hit all over." He was hit bad in the back and legs. His neck was all chewed up with shrapnel, it looked like rats got to it. It was his third hit in four months of combat. I looked at Campbell. Before I could check his pulse, Toye said: "He's dead, Heffron, I checked." The shell had hit Campbell in the back, killing him instantly.... But what I couldn't believe was that Joe Toye, bleeding and in pain himself, reached over to check on Campbell. That was the kind of soldier Toye was...I threw Toye over my shoulder and carried him back to the aid area.
-- Babe Heffron. Incident from: Holland, October 6, 1944. Operation Market-Garden.
Joe Toye would try and lighten things up at night by singing "I'll Be Seeing You." Or he'd be humming it wherever he was. It would be quiet at night, and when it's been quiet for so damn long and you're out there by yourself, you think of a million things. He'd sing a line of that song and before you know it, the guy next to him starts singing, and the guys next to him, and soon everybody's singing. Even I'm singing, and thinking, What the hell, we're all nuts. The Germans could follow the whole front line! ...Every time I hear that song, I think of old Joe Toye.
-- Bill Guarnere
The next day, the Germans beat the hell out of us with an air raid. The sky was filled with Luftwaffe, they were hitting everything. We were lucky we didn't get the worst of it. Joe Toye got hit in the arm with a piece of shrapnel and was sent to the aid station. That was his fourth time hit. Toye just couldn't catch a break.
-- Babe Heffron. Incident from: Ardennes, January 1, 1945. Battle of the Bulge.
The next day, Joe Toye came back from the aid station with a sling on his arm. Winters told him to go back, but he wouldn't. Now he was a hero. He had his ticket out, but he wouldn't leave the men. No matter how bad he got hurt, he just kept at it. A hell of a soldier. I had the utmost respect for him. He thanked me once for carrying him back to the aid station in Holland the day Campbell was killed, and it was one of the greatest compliments I ever got, because it came from Joe Toye, one of the greatest soldiers I ever knew. (Bill adds: "Finest Irishman I ever knew." Babe adds: "Toughest SOB I ever knew.")
-- Both. Incident from: Ardennes, January 2, 1945. Battle of the Bulge.
Guys were getting hit, screaming, hollering for medics all over the woods, and there were very few medics around, you understand? Joe Toye was running around trying to get everyone to take cover. Next thing I know, Joe Toye is hollering, "I'm hit, I'm hit!" I looked up and he was lying on the ground about six to eight feet away form me. His leg was blown to bits, hanging off his body, all mangled, he was bleeding all over--from the chest, back, head, arms, legs. I thought he was dead. I ran out to try and get him to safety, as soon as I got to him, Wham! A treeburst exploded over our heads. I was hit. I fell next to Joe.
...Me and Joe lay there freezing in the snow, shivering, bleeding, both of us were full of shrapnel. He said, "Jesus Christ, what the hell do I have to do to die?!" It was Joe's fifth time hit. Lipton, Malarkey, and Babe came running over to help, I was half out of it. Doc Roe was right there, trying to patch us up. Without him, we wouldn't be alive. Roe was the best medic we ever had. He was born to be a medic. You could always depend on him. You hollered, "Medic!" he was right there come hell or high water, he knew what he was doing. He was compassionate, took care of you mentally, physically, every way. They put me on a stretcher before Joe, I said, "I told you I'd beat you back to the states," and then I passed out.
-- Bill Guarnere. Incident from: Ardennes, January 3, 1945. Battle of the Bulge.