One of our Finest Officers
A remembrance by Emmert O. Parmley, Company F, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment
Time has not made me forget the wonderful soldiers I served with over sixty years ago. Time has only deepened the feelings of respect and gratitude I have for them.
Our platoon leader 1Lt Nicolas ‘Nick’ Schlitz assigned me to accompany Lt. Wolfe
(a replacement and 2nd in command), to bring-
1Lt Schlitz was one of our finest officers. Tall, with a boxer's nose, he was state boxing champion in his weight division, from Charlotte, N.C. He was the image of a soldier's soldier. We called him 'The Scar', so he must have had a scar on his face. I do not remember a scar. It could be we do not remember imperfections on people we like.
Always optimistic, his favorite saying was 'We are going to Berlin.' We heard it when in formation or on breaks. He would say it to a picture of his son, which he carried inside his helmet. His son looked to me to be only 2 or 3, but he would look at him whenever the helmet came off and usually it was 'son, we are on our way', or 'Berlin, we are coming.'
When he said nothing, I often wondered what he was thinking. He was killed that day and buried close to where he fell in the courtyard of a house on the outskirts of Best, with a wall about 4 feet high enclosing the yard about 40 feet square. I found his grave about the center of the yard. His helmet was on a rifle butt with a bayonet stuck into the ground. It was not his, as he carried a carbine. I saw no other graves in the courtyard. I looked into his helmet to see if the picture was still there... and it was. I thought of taking the picture with me.
It then came to me: This picture is all this soldier has. HE has nothing else. It should stay here. His happiest moments seemed to be when he was looking at the picture and talking to his son.
I put the helmet back on the rifle butt. Looking up with smiling welcome were fresh flowers, put there by the Dutch people. It was so peaceful and quiet I was reluctant to leave. I could still hear him saying we are going to Berlin, but now it will only be his words that go, they are not buried here.
They are buried in the hearts of all who heard them. He has shown us what it will take to get to Berlin. The road is rough and dirty, with many holes that await us, but it is the only road. Few will have flowers on their graves. Some will have no one to mourn them. But all who knew him will have his words and his order, which is 'on to Berlin'."
Photos: Left: Emmert O. Parmley while visiting his brother in Fort Benning. Emmert’s
brother was a member of A-
Above: 1Lt Nicolas Schiltz during his training to become a paratrooper.
