 Proudly we hail from New York City where the American stage begins here is another program of the cast of outstanding players public service time has been made available by this station for your army to bring you this story as proudly we hail the United States Army our story is entitled the promise and this is the story of a man on a special mission a mission that two soldiers will always remember as proudly we hail the United States Army's infantry our first act curtain will rise in just one moment but first today you're rapidly expanding United States Army needs intelligent young men young men with ability and ambition men intelligent enough to recognize the vital need for a strong armed force men with ability enough to be trained in a necessary job men with ambition enough to secure the future for themselves and their loved ones well now tell me fellas does this description fit you can you qualify for full information on how you can fit in with the finest you check with your nearest United States Army recruiting station remember team up with the army and you team up with success to I should be coming to the crossroads now there they are from here in the distance you can see the hill it was on that hill here in Alsace Lorraine that a man named Adolf Hitler stood for the first time as a conqueror on French soil and it was on that hill well something else far more important happened I'm just going to Billingine in that direction two kilometers two kilometers away from the answer I'm hoping to find up there on the hill the old man doesn't know it but this is the first time I've traveled down this road that was a lot longer 10 years ago they am a master sergeant on my first leave after being reassigned to Europe and I'm retracing a path I once followed then I was staff sergeant Dunlop squad leader of the first squadron third platoon company D January 1945 hoofing it along the icy road of my squad we've been picking them up and laying them down all that day even though it was an 81 millimeter mortar squad we had a Jeep assigned to us but as our section leader Lieutenant Anderson told us that morning man we're moving out to another sector of the front 10 miles from here company a is relieving another company and they'll need our support now we'll have to load up the jeep and trailer with the gun and ammo and I'll go ahead with it to reconnoitre her position sergeant Dunlop will march into the town of Billingine which will be company head oh this is billing looks like a one horse town without a horse what would you expect Tiger Broadway hey soldier you know where company a headquarters is a company going so fast I hardly know where I am let alone a company yet sergeant Dunlop then it enters I've been keeping an eye out for you I've got our position picked out now hope it's nice and defilage or is right at this draw here oh it looks fine sir we'll dig in here and fire right over the top of the hill you better get started right away I'll go check in at a company ACP and try to select targets as soon as you get dug in report to me there yes sir okay let's get going on this our gun to have been called too long private first class Tiger Smith was only about five foot five skinny in his late 30s but he was the toughest scrappiest on-the-go guy I'd ever seen in all my years in the army if ever a man lived up to his nickname it was Tiger mind if I give you a hand with the emplacement Tiger okay but keep out of my way what's your name Mallory private Mallory just fresh out of basic cleaning I joined my squad that very day as a replacement and he had a lot to learn and more ways than one how many bags should I fill with sand tiger just keep going until I tell you to stop okay hey you know something you know some things what's on you my best thing ever happened to me getting on this quad because you're in it sure yeah I followed your career ever since I was a kid boy you were sure one sweet fly weight there was a boss who deserved to be champ you were it what a terrific right cross to the heart you had say tiger how come you lost that fight with the champ that time I thought I said can it get this through your noodle kid you got anything to say to me keep it in the line of business PFC Smith what I did before I became PFC Smith is my concern and nobody else's get me sure okay now we understand each other take a break yeah I was a guy with Tiger sparking the way it didn't take long to get our mortar set up and an alternate position Doug when it was finished I told Tiger to grab the walkie-talkie and to come with me to a company CP I was urgent here's the situation you can see the first battalion is occupying this forward slope of the hill overlooking the town of foreback and a good deal of Sar Valley yes sir we're really looking down their throats aren't we yes but they're looking up ours according to present plans our advance will be halted here temporarily so we'll have time to select some good targets but we've got to have a good forward observers post for you and I think I know where it is now where sir down there just beyond the tree line you mean that church steeper yes but sir we won't last a minute there they'll be watching it all the time sure but there's what used to be a rectory building nearby that pile of rubble see oh yeah the basement's okay and you can get a fine view of the whole town of forebought from its window its front window it'll be dark in a few minutes so you'll be able to get to it without being spotted I hope we made it all right tiger night the rectory was located about 200 yards beyond our front line which was at the edge of the woods behind us we were all alone in no man's land well it might be only a pile of bricks but it's got a foxhole to be a mile now I get the radio going until Corporal Walker to send up a man with a phone line huh I'll check the aerial photo map for targets meanwhile right judge red dog the blue star red dog the blue star okay blue star got all your aiming stakes set out so be ready to start with fire orders tomorrow Roger and out we're all set now tiger might as well break open a K ration okay so that's Deutschland down there yeah we're right in the middle of the Siegfried line and I hope we're soon out of it on the other side don't worry we will be if we keep moving at this rate what's that I want from the church people check me a couple of sands grenades that you yes sergeant come on get in here it's that new guy Mallory oh hello sergeant I got lost I thought I saw you over there look if you want to get yourself lost go ahead it's your own neck you have to be so noisy about it I'm sorry being sorry there's okay okay lay off tiger got the phone Mallory yeah yeah and the wire good tiger check it through to see if it works I'm Mallory you better beat it on back tell Corporal Walker to make sure he sets up a guard we're okay get going right sergeant look if it's okay with you Sarge I'll pull first guard shift okay tiger okay such wake up there's something in the church oh no not Mallory again I'll go take a look see him if it is I'll come with you wait a minute I don't hear anything neither the why I came from the tower let's go easy now there he is hold my rifle I'm gonna take him prisoner friend or foe I'll cover you such a quietly all I can make out was a shadow sitting by the steps leading up to the bell tower oh so finally I jumped grabbed him and put my hand over drag him back to us I want the flashlight so does the blanket still over the window still there okay turn on the flashlight let's see what we've landed G a uniform okay buddy let's see your dog tags dog tags that's right I have none it's got an accent so I noticed what outfit you from outfit yeah yeah unit you know I am with a free French Army car French army Sarge ain't anywhere near us look soldier where do you get that stuff we don't have any French outfits around here I know that we fight now near Colmar it's about 80 miles to us south sure so what are you doing way up here I am here on a special mission your company commander he knows about me he does that's funny he knows about it we should have been informed well I checked with him in the morning soldier this this mission you're on what makes it so special what makes it special I shall tell you it is a promise that does so promise we a promise that I made five years ago which I must now fulfill no matter what the cost he was to fulfill that promise all right but the cost well that's something I still have to find out now 10 years later the answer is at the top of that hill you're listening to the proudly we hail production of the promise and we will return in just one moment for the second act as most anybody what they want out of life and a great majority of the answers can be boiled down to just one word that one word is happiness well now happiness is a lot of different things to a lot of different people but basically I guess you might say that it's the achievement of your goals to be happy is to be successful in whatever you do and in today's highly specialized world training is the key to success if you're a young man of service age you can get free training worth thousands of dollars by enrolling now in your United States Army's new reserve for you training program under this plan you can enter the course of your choice and be trained in such interesting fields as x-ray operation photography automotive maintenance and communications in all there are over 150 courses to choose from so for complete information on how you can benefit from this program you visit your local United States Army recruiting station remember team up with the army and you team up with success standing here in this peaceful meadow now need even flowers and grass that night in the bombed-out cellar seems far away but when I close my eyes I can see it tiger standing guard in the doorway a little candle casting its feeble light on our prisoners face first mesamy I will show you my identification cards I have no tags as you call them here you see father Andre or you you must be I am a chaplain in the French Army what's that I hear you a preacher preacher yes that is what you may call me but I'm now on leave you see when I hear that American troops are moving close to fall back the fall back you say I know the town down there in the valley any I'm sure the town will be liberated very soon so I request for my commander permission to come here but why here there are no French soldiers I know that but there are French people my people you see this church I am the priest of it or perhaps I should say I was you I don't get it Padre it is like this my sergeant I was priest for this church from 1935 to 1940 until the day Hitler came to this very spot it was right outside the door that he stood I was alone in the church the people were in their houses as he stood with that stupid green on his face I took the bell rope and we have a certain way we ring the bell for funerals and days of mourning and that is the way I rang the bell he shouted that it be stopped it may be I was foolish but I did not stop I could not but they stopped it his guard pulled the bell out from its yoke and it crashed to the bottom of the tower I was taken to jail but they escaped a few days later I made my way to Switzerland but not before doing something what was that Padre I came here and buried the bell because I knew they would take it and melt it down to make bullets out of it and so now I've come back as I promised to myself that day to make it ring again in freedom I see the sergeant I'm very tired I've been sitting there in the thousands this morning thinking and remembering here's an extra blanket you just go ahead and get yourself some shut-eye thank you sergeant how do you know it's a line don't worry about him keep an eye on till tomorrow morning and then I'll check with Lieutenant Anders Roger Lieutenant Anders you know anything I'll find out and call us back now we got work to do Tiger check with Corporal Walker to see if his aiming stakes are okay and his range card made up right good morning sergeant oh good morning Padre I've got an extra K ration if you could go for some breakfast oh thank you sergeant I could now right over there in the corner good now all we have to do is wait for a company fire order and that might be it red dog oh hello Lieutenant Anders well what do we do sir okay Lieutenant Roger and out hey you Padre or whatever you are my Lieutenant just checked with a company about you he never even heard of you that is impossible I talked with him myself yesterday morning and he checked with division headquarters I'm sorry now you just stay put here and don't try anything the MPs will be down to pick you up later yeah but sergeant I got things to do now you'll have to do you're explaining to them any of those binoculars tiger just about then company fire orders came kept pretty busy for a while I squatted all right we managed to clobber crossroads and potential assembly points in the town below us even though we did get some kind of stuff in return then it too died away and for a while it was quiet that's when I'm in there such you sure know how to call them now maybe but if you don't have a good gunner no matter how you call them it wouldn't help pardon sergeant now I have been thinking it seems as if the MP will not come yet for a while but I can prove to you I am what I say now how's that the bell if I show to you where it is buried then it must be true what I say if it were not how could I know the location of the bell well maybe you've got something there a side you wait it will not take too long to dig it out it is not very deep I'll tell you what we got nothing to lose tiger you go with him I'll let him out of your sight but I won't oh merci sergeant merci red dog yes lieutenant anders is that right I'm glad to hear it sure sure sir we will thanks Roger hey tiger yes come here leave him there why you heard me come on what's up he found the bell didn't he sure but I got a call from the lieutenant this guy's on the level he had got his okay from the seal of the company we relieved yeah so we better just found the bell I know Padre and your story checked out okay with headquarters there was a misunderstanding I'm sorry we were so suspicious I understand but I think if I may say so that the private tiger still does not believe it no maybe I do maybe I don't yes I think I rest for a moment sure sure have a cup of coffee Padre on me oh merci a private tiger may I ask you a question oh and here's your coffee Padre oh merci what did you do before you became soldier boxing I thought so I see by the way you stand and walk I was a boxer to amateur and maybe I become champion but I find out there is something better than a right cross to the heart what was that a right cross from the heart sergeant I have another favor to ask of you the bell it is so great so large I would like to get it up into the steeple so that my people in the town may hear it and know they will soon be free again they have lived so long without hope I wish if you and tiger will help me raise it to the steeple tomorrow is okay sure sure if we're not too busy be glad to the rest of that day the Padre was busy digging up his bell and we were busy filling fire orders but the next morning after breakfast whenever you are ready sergeant we will hang the bell well we don't have a fire order until 10 o'clock think we can get it up by then oh man we we three strong men why not okay tiger will string the phone out to the steeple in case there's a call huh who's that coming a new guy Mallory hi sergeant and or send me down with a message why to use the phone didn't want to trust it I guess mm-hmm what's the message Mallory we're moving out tomorrow well at this rate we'll soon be through the Seekford line I don't think so serge we're moving the other way back yeah it's withdrawal to regroup our forces the lieutenant says to be ready by 0900 hours tomorrow are you sure that is exact words well I guess we won't hang the bell after all I think I go to the church but what are you standing there for Mallory get going and tell the lieutenant okay do you hear okay yeah yeah serge yes sure that was a bad mistake I made blowing off the kid like that but when I saw the look on the Padre's face when he heard that we were going to withdraw well I guess it sort of hit me what it meant to him to get that bell ringing again anyway Mallory took off like a scared rabbit and like a scared rabbit he didn't stick to the pad but it had darn full dough and he's heading right toward that open stretch hell spot I'm sure it's a Mallory Mallory before I could stop him Tiger was out of the door and on his way was yelling so loud I guess he didn't hear it but I did and so did the Padre before I could even move it was on top of Tiger knocking him down while Mallory disappeared safely into the woods it hit about 50 yards away when the dust cleared I saw them lying in the ditch the Padre on top of Tiger they were okay but if it hadn't been for the Padre yeah I know he stuck his neck out to save mine mm-hmm wonder why look at him sitting out there by that bell sure looks down in the dumps don't he Sarge yeah yeah he's got reason to I bet he hasn't lived for anything else since the day they cut that bell down yeah no it's funny what is now you see something happening to someone else and you start to understand things about yourself what I mean is it's like the Padre once you yeah it's hard to believe ain't a bit of hard guy with a chip on my shoulder take it easy you're all right Tiger oh that's okay Sarge I know what I am I wasn't always like this remember that fight Mallory asked me about the one I had with the champ yeah yeah I worked and trained and lived for that day when I'd meet the champ and I knew I'd win but I lost you know why because my hands would tape too tight my manager did it purpose a lot of crooked things in the boxing game maybe it wouldn't have bothered me when I found out but I hadn't been that my manager is my brother told me he did it because his wife needed an expensive operation this was the only way he could raise money fast that's rough all right believe in something or someone then something happens and after that you're afraid ever to trust in anything again yeah I know what you mean you know what Sarge I hope you don't bury that bell again I hope you don't bury the bell it got dark soon after that but the Padre didn't come over to our cello when dawn came you can bet that one of the first things we did was to look over to the church bells gone yeah he must have buried it after all come on Tiger let's pack up and go back to the squad hello red dog yes lieutenant what you're kidding what's great sir you bet Roger and out red dog the blue star red dog the blue star all everything tiger orders have been changed we ain't moving out sure we are but forward this time we're advancing hello blue star listen Corporal Walker orders have been chained yeah I know but listen I had a lot to tell Corporal Walker telling him which targets we would fire on while we supported the advance of the rifle company and it must have taken all of 15 minutes before we got squared away but just as I was about to call the first fire order the church bell I looked for tiger but he was nowhere around but Bella no bell the war must go on high explosive left stake 1300 traverse and search 30 rounds hey Sarge the bell yeah yeah I hear it he was trying to put it up when I got over there he didn't bury it he didn't that's great tiger great I helped him get it up sound it sure does yeah it sure does company a moved out and a half hour later had occupied four back and had the enemy on the run shortly after our jeep and trailer with lieutenant Anders and the squad loaded on it pulled up okay fellas hop on we got to get going right sir let's go tiger hey Sarge can I say goodbye to the pod ray before we go I don't think we have time tiger I'm okay come inside jeep driver tore off down the road just happened that right before we turn the bend I looked back to the church people and I saw it the enemy was zeroed in right on that ringing I saw a cloud of smoke and dust as the shells struck the steeple but with the sound of the motor and all I don't think tiger heard it I never told him if you'd have seen the smile on his face you would have known why I am once more right over the top of that hill is where the church was I've come a long way to find out what I've been wanting to know ever since that day and still I stand here the path is too small for my car but that isn't the only reason I hesitate the pod ray had it tiger refounded but it's only a faint feeling within me now hope and then suddenly I start up the path slowly at first and then faster and faster until I'm running running over the top of the hill and there it is the church grown again from rubble reaching with its steeple for the sky closer and closer I come who's ringing who's who's at the bottom of that road is it it is pod ray and so the bells ring our story to a close and perhaps ring in a new life for all you young ladies out there between the ages of 20 and 33 who are college graduates you are eligible for an executive career in the United States Army if you can qualify for a direct commission in the women's Army Corps you will have many career fields from which to choose personnel and administration legal legislative civil affairs military government many many others you ask your local army recruiter about how to start your career on the right side of the desk the executive side and remember gals you'll enjoy life more in the women's Army Corps this has been another program on proudly we hail presented transcribed in cooperation with this radio station proudly we hail is produced by the recruiting publicity center for the United States Army this is Richard Hayes speaking inviting you to tune in the same station next week for another interesting story on proudly we hail