Lt. Gus Mose Blass II (0551550)

Gus Blass II left us some of the most detailed memories of service in the squadron and you can watch a detailed interview he gave here. Viewing all 52 minutes is strongly recommended. But nothing beats his memoir 'SERVING IN THE ARMORED CAVALRY IN EUROPE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR: 1944-1945' because you can dwell in your own time on the experiences he describes.

It's an honour to make such a fascinating personal memoir of life in the squadron available to everyone.

Connie Blass, daughter of 2nd Lt Gus Mose Blass II (0551550), has given permission to offer the book her father wrote 54 years after his experiences in Reconnaissance Troop A as a free download.

You can download the 58 page scanned pdf here.

2nd Lt Gus Blass is listed in the 24th Cav Recon After Action reports as a replacement officer on January 31 1945, but he arrived with the squadron a few weeks before. In interviews and his book, Gus describes  combat in the Battle of the Bulge, which began on December 16 and ended on January 25. Aged 19, he was the youngest platoon leader in the 4th Cavalry Group.

European readers should note that, in his memoir, Gus gives temperatures in Farenheit. When he reports conditions never going above 10 degrees, during the Bulge offensive, this means maximum temperatures of minus 12 celsius. Feet would sweat in fur-lined boots, then freeze when a trooper was immobile, leading to trench foot which often resulted in lost toes or worse.

Gus's account brings to life some of the most famous moments in the history books of WW2. His platoon were among the first men across the Rhine via the Ludendorff Bridge, at Remagen - which had been unexpectedly captured by the 7th Armored Division when the German plan to blow it up failed.

He and his men also rounded up German civilians to deal with mountains of corpses from the labour camp at Nordhausen.

He also describes being among the furthest advanced forces in the east of Germany to whom Germans aimed to surrender, rather than fall into Russian hands.

Gus also helped to recover the bodies of 84 surrendering Americans murdered by the SS in the infamous Malmedy massacre of December 17 1944.

To read the memoir of Gus Mose Blass II is as close as we get to witnessing some of the most dramatic and enduring stories of WW2.

He identifies himself toward the end of the memoir as part of 'Troop D', rather than Troop A of the 24th Cav Recon, reflecting the reorganisation of the squadron into a constabulary.

One of the most remarkable parts of Gus’s memoir is where he is ordered by Capt. Brooks O. Norman to take his platoon into a small town where they knew there was a Tiger Tank.

—

“Tank country,” I mused to myself as we moved along the German countryside.

It wasn’t long until I saw tank track marks. I halted my vehicles and studied the tracks, which seemed a million miles wide. The Tiger tracks were much wider than those of our Shermans. I touched the tracks and found that the mud was still wet. There was a Tiger up ahead almost certainly in that little town, probably half-hidden and waiting to ambush us. My stomach did flip-flops!

I called my superior officer, Captain Norman, and asked him for some firepower to soften up things before we moved in. Sometimes, you could bring heavy artillery in on a German tank and it would return fire, thus giving away its location.

“Blass, time is of the essence. Go ahead and take the town,” said Norman.

I told Sgt. Cauriveaux to lead the charge and I’d be in the third vehicle. The third vehicle gives the one in charge the best vantage from which to command the entire column. One can see everything and issue orders accordingly.

Cauriveaux, a veteran of some of our hardest fighting, just shook his head. He had made the D-Day landing at Normandy, but wanted no part of going after a Tiger tank in a jeep. I told Corporal Fortner to get in the lead vehicle. He refused to budge. I called Captain Norman and again requested heavy fire, needing it before anyone would take the lead vehicle into town.

“Speed gets ’em. After them, Blass,” Norman commanded.

So I mixed a shot of grain alcohol and grapefruit juice, downed it, then had another. I eased into the head of the column and we started down the road. I could just imagine that Tiger lining us up in his sights.

Memories swirled in my mind. My thoughts were of mother. I wanted to see her again. I remembered the times that I had caused her problems and pain. I wanted to tell her that I had been wrong. I wished that I could tell mother that I loved her and appreciated all that she had done for me. And there was the thought that I might never see her again.

I thought of dad and wished I could thank him for putting me through school. I thought of the Razorbacks and how nice it would be see another football game. I knew the odds were better than even money that I’d be killed or wounded. To be killed now at age 21 was not an inviting thought.

I told the crews of the two jeeps and two other armored cars to follow me and we’d go in as fast as we could. If we were going to be a target, at least we would be a fast target.

Off we went, revved up to as fast as we could go. Miraculously, no enemy shells came as we roared into town. The awesome-looking Tiger sat in the town center unmanned.

We captured the tank, but the crew wasn’t in sight. We soon found them inside a nearby building eating lunch. When we captured them, they had the most sheepish looks on their faces.

Looking back, that was my luckiest day of the war. I thanked God like I never had before. Certainly, His hand had been on my shoulder.

—

With thanks to Gus’s daughter, Connie, for sharing so much of her father’s trove with us. We hope to publish further photographs and other material from her collection. For more about Gus the man, father and citizen, you can listen to the call we had in August 2025, below.

Gus Mose Blass II was born on May 31 1923, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He died on May 8 2016, in Little Rock, Arkansas, aged 92.