I'm sorry, Mac, you've got to come and get me.
The clanking and grinding from the treads of two Nazi tanks stopped and brought a brief silence to what had been a bedlam of noise and confusion.
The lead tank’s hatch popped open. A German officer emerged from the turret, looked a young American straight in the eye and in perfect English said, “You guys want to give up?”
The G.I. stood up, ramrod straight, meeting his opponent’s stare and replied, “I’m sorry, Mac, you’ve got to come and get me.” The hatch closed, the turret of the tank began to turn. The gigantic 88 mm barrel came to rest opposite the American, so close he could almost touch it. The life of a 23-year-old bookbinder from Signal Mountain was about to change forever.
Charles H. Coolidge was born Aug. 4, 1921, on Signal Mountain and was working for his father’s printing business when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942.