Gonzaga University - Spires Yearbook (Spokane, WA)

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SPORTS SECTION MAJOR G. WHITE Physical Education DiTectat ' K - J BRO. P. BUSKINS Athletic Manager BULLDOGS 1946. The frightfully undermanned Blue and White hoopsters, nine strong, which was the smallest sized five in the northwest. Front row: Jim Davey, Tom Butler, Bob Lotzenhiser, Jim McGoffin. Middle row: Jerry O ' Brien, Frank Johnson, Eddie Gordon, Roy Vetto, Capt. John Presley. Back row: Athletic Director Father Arthur Dussualt S. J., Al Fairhurst, student manager, Bro. Peter BuskiftS) Coach Gordon White. .■ BziKs snTOK 5 SSS ; i MM .:S aiBllS M ( i

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Page Four You Can Bet This Unforgettable G. Uy K.v-Aiiii.v I.t. ■Im- KfUolkj- Tiu- ominous silence which pre- vailed over the entire area was interrupted only by the barking of dogs in the valley to our front, i ' he enemy, firmly entrenched in his dominating positions several hundred yards to the north, sat grimly, waiting the drive which he knew was about to begin. This was Mintumo, Italy on the night of May 11th, 1944 at 10:30 I ' M., as my iiiiii nr. iiat-cd for it.s mitial offensi ' . It V !y difficult to realize le silence would be sh r 1 the serenity would be Uaiisfurmed into a verit- able hell on earth. Awful Silencp Slowly the minutes ticked away; the laces of the men as they ad- justed their gear, were tense and drawn. In the center of a small room ill a bomb-battered farm house whicii was being used as a Command i ' ost, the junior of- ficers were pouring over their maps; checking last minute in- structions with the captain. Then it liappeiied; a .single gun broke the .silence only to be • followed by a mighty cresct ido ; of a hundrixi more. The artillery j had started their job and .soon ■ we woiiW have to start ours. ! The big gun.s turned the hiU- ■ side into a gha-stly valley of j death like a huge volcano in the ] throes of lui eruption. We moved up. The enemy begaji i lo rolaliiale with his own artillery and soon we could hear the chat- ter of machine guns and the crack of the German rifle. The terrain ' around Minturno was such that . our attack had to be concentrated down a .solitary trail. The Jerry • knew this and concentrated his light and automatic weapons at the end of this bloody trail. Our ; casualtie.s, hitherto light, boca ne ' terribly heavy. Wounded and dying men lay everywhere with anguish- j ed cries of help, medic. Is My Most I. Experience A flattie To Tho Fiiiish ) rry , stunned and dazt-d by i.hf- first wave of the attack and the artillery b arrage, had recovered now and was fighting de.sperately to save hi.s position and his life. The .small arms fire was intense on both sides as we drew closer to the objective. At la.st we could see the gray-green uniforms of the fierman defenders and what had once been an. organized attack now turned into a personnuJ strug- gle betjwecu men. German and American alike wrestled, kicked, .stablKid and punched to stay alive. Nowhere else was the first law of self-pre.servation .so grimly real. Suddenly, thn di i of hattk; sul)Hid d ith only a few ! cat- (•■red shots to testify (» the hell that liiul just iMtssed. Tluvi we knew (hat our lirsl eiigagenienl i was over; ue had won Ihe first round aiid were able to come out I f(vr llie sei ' oiid. The atliwk ha«l iMM n bliMKly uiul eostly but it i ha l iMM-n siM- - »sful. The »»ap- tism of fire wiiM iv«r. Next week Kx-Ariiiy -S«t Hill Coble. asssc««M, n 2 s.watfi iuv- M

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BULLDOG SCORING ROSTER FG FT Presley 123 68 Butler 114 64 O ' Brien 109 45 Kroske 45 30 Vetto 26 16 Davey 13 7 Lotzenhiser 5 6 McGoffin 2 2 Johnson 2 1 Gordon 2 Bennett 4 Coble 1 2 Holderman 1 Budig Webster Murray PF TP 56 314 90 292 65 263 25 120 68 68 16 33 23 16 7 6 15 5 9 5 6 4 8 4 1 3