Able shot at and chased away an ME-262 that might have bombed the plant had "A" not been there.
The drive of the Division carried to the Dortmund-Ems-Canal and the Battalion was requested to furnish AA protection for the crossings. Able and Baker occupied their positions shortly after the crossings had been effected, once again showing the indomitable fighting spirit of the 440th.
"D" Battery took a prisoner late in the evening of April 7th who said he had just come through our lines and that the city of Dortmund was lightly held. The Division continued to make steady pro-gress toward the Ruhr River with not too much heavy fighting. A few concentrations of medium caliber artillery came in the Battalion area wounding one man from "D" Battery. On the 13th of April the 440th AAA AW Bn relieved the 291st Infantry Regiment in the line west of Dortmund. A recon was run during the night and positions occupied early on the morning of the 13th. Almost immediately "C" Battery brought in five prisoners. The Battalion sent out orders to run patrols into and around the city proper. Then each Battery was assigned an objective. All Bat-teries reached and took their objective without undue difficulty. Upon the completion of the clearing of Dortmund the Battalion was relieved of its assignment and returned to its normal function as AA. Germany was breaking down fast now, everybody knew it couldn't be long before the war would be over entirely. "A" and "B" were assigned to Division G-5 for Military Government purposes. Then on the 21st of April the whole Division was assigned the mission of Military Government. Our particular area was the Kreis of Siegen to assume control and establish Military Government. That was accomplished in short order. The sixty percent destroyed city began to show signs of improvement. One of the biggest problems we had to face was the Displaced Persons in the Kreis. There were a total of about 35,000 being in the camps in the city itself. The others were spread around in smaller groups just trying to exist.
By the end of the month the whole place was under good control again testifying to the versatility of the 440th. At Siegen we all have the inner satisfaction of a difficult job well done. Rumors were flying thick and fast in the first few days of May with no one putting any faith in them. Then along about the fifth it looked for certain that the Krauts were going to quit. Still nothing hut rumors for the next three days then suddenly it came.... The official announcement. "Germany Surrenders Unconditionally."
Thus ends the saga of a true fighting outfit of the United States of America, a story that we'll look back upon for generations to come.

THE END

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