Military Life
In 1942, I was drafted into the Army Air Corps. I left Claremont and headed to St. Louis, MO for Basic Military training. There were about seven of us that were teachers in our group of inductees. We were drafted into the Air Corps, the rest of our group went into the Army. I went to basic training at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis.
While in basic training, we were offered different schools to attend. I looked over the selection and I decided I wanted to learn to pack parachutes. The officer that was my advisor told me they would not waste a man with a college education in that position. After talking with me for a while, he recommended the Physical Education School that was offered by the Army. He suggested that I apply for it. I did and was accepted.
Since their Physical Education program was offered by the Army, I had to be transferred back to the Army in order to attend that school. Once I finished my P.T. Training in Miami, FL, I was sent to St. Louis. As luck would have it, back to the group that I had been inducted with only now, I had to lead them in Physical Training. I was not so popular this time. We were stationed in St. Louis for 18 months.
Louise joined me in our two room living arrangement after she finished teaching that year in Claremont. Our Landlady was a widow and had a son that was handicapped. We rented a kitchen and a bedroom in the upstairs of her home. There were two other military couples that shared the upstairs with us. We all shared the one bathroom on that level. We shared many meals together and became good friends. The other two fellows and I helped to up date her home while we were, Among other things, we painted all the rooms for her. While we were stationed in East St. Louis, I also was part of the sand bag brigade for the big flood of 1943.
On February 22, 1944, we had and addition to our family, Jean Madelyn was born. We lived in St. Louis until Jean was six weeks old, when I was transferred to San Antonio, TX Louise and Jean went back to Elgin to stay with her folks while I was in San Antonio. Once I was stationed at Bryan Field in College Station, TX, a more permanent location, they came to live with me there. We were very happy there. It was during this tour that we heard of the invasion of Normandy.
That Thanksgiving, I invited friends from the base to share our holiday meal at our house. Our oven was barley big enough to fit the turkey into. Louise had never baked a turkey before, but she made a wonderful meal and we all had a great time.
Soon I received orders telling me that I was going overseas. I would be stationed in Louisiana while training for overseas duty. It was difficult to leave Louise and Jean, especially on Christmas Day. When I had first been drafted, I was able to stay state side, because I was married, later that requirement was changed to being married and having a child. By December of 1944, family no longer made that kind of a difference. My unit was heading for Patton's Army. I was sent for more training in Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey. Louise and Jean went back to Elgin, IA and stayed with her folks.
Late in April my unit boarded a pleasure ship turned troop transport, heading for France. There were about 2,000 soldiers on this ship and it was standing room only. Our time on the high sea was five days once we left port. During those five days, we were served a cup of coffee and a piece of fruit for breakfast. Later in the day we got a hot meal that we had to eat standing up. It took the kitchen all day to feed everyone. We must have been one of the last ships deployed. I spent my days writing to Louise and Jean and looked forward to getting their letters.
We landed in La Havre, France on the same day or within hours of the signing of the peace pact with Germany on May 8th. We rode the train across France and entered Germany at Strasbourg. We were stationed near Nuremberg in a small town by the name of Swabeck.
It took our troop train over two weeks to cross France and Germany, as the humanitarian trains and trains filled with Hitler's surviving prisoners took precedence over the rails. Many times we were side railed while one of those trains would pass by.
In Swabeck, I continued in the Physical Education training of the U.S. Troops. Our orders had been to join Patton's Army, but by the time we got to Swabeck Patton had moved on. He left without us. Once we were there we got new orders to return to the U.S. where we would be shipped on to the Pacific front.
Our unit got back on the troop train and went back to France. We were given quarters in a small town just south of Paris while we waited further orders. Those of us that had money could take short trips into Paris, however, if your name was called while you were in Paris, you went to the end of the line. I was sending my money to Louise and Jean, besides, I wanted to get home to them as fast as I could. I didn't see Paris.
Finally, our troop was taken to Antwerpen, Belgium where we prepared to go home. I remember the beach where we waited for our ships to come get us. There were quansite huts set up on the beaches with American movies being shown. The men would stand in line for hours waiting to see a move. After they had seen that move, they would stand in the next line for hours to see another one. We slept on the beaches as it was summer and good weather. The beaches were covered with army green for miles and miles.
The ship that we were assigned had delivered grain from the USA to Belgium. The hull, where the grain had been stored, had bunk beds seven high on each side of the walls in the area that held the grain. This ship was small, it only held 200 men. Had we looked her over before we set left port, we may have waited for the next ride home. She leaked. It took us 13 days to cross the ocean to the United States. From the ships deck we saw both Holland and England as we sailed from Belgium, but never stepped foot in either of them.
August 6th and 9th, the United States dropped the Atom Bomb on Japan and the war was over. Luckily, I had been able to stay in the United States. My discharge was November 25 , 1945 and I returned to Elgin, Iowa, where Louise and Jean were waiting for me.
We had to decide what to do about our future. Our choices were to stay in the Army or to get discharged and go to school at the University of Iowa under the G.I. bill. We stayed in Elgin while we thought it through. While there, I put a modern bathroom in the house for Carl and Amelia. I also helped Carl build a roof on his garage behind their house.
After giving it a lot of thought, we decided I would go to school and obtained a Masters Degree in Physical Education. Louise was very instrumental in my success. We lived in temporary housing on campus. The military put up quansite hut housing near the golf course. With a daughter, we qualified for one and lived there like many other military couples while finishing school. We made some great life long friendships.
While in Iowa City, I met people that would be very influential in my life. Tom Brock & I worked on our Masters Degrees together. Later Tom, my very best friend, helped me obtain my UNO position. I met other good people like Brock, Caniglia, Evaschski, Fry and many more.