An Old Soldier Looks Back – Chapter 2

Of all my training in the army I have to say that I liked the paratroop training the best.  We were a volunteer outfit.  None of us had to be there and there is a special esprit de corps of a group like that which is unique and very powerful.  After four weeks of paratroop training we were really soldiers fit for almost any assignment.   There were four weeks of very, very intense physical punishment.

 The first week was nothing but calisthenics for 8 hours a day.  On Saturday morning we had a run which meant we ran for four hours.  Friday night I went to the PX, Post Exchange, and had a huge strawberry malted milk shake.  Saturday morning I woke up barely able to breathe, my eyes were swollen almost shut and I really had a case of the hives.  I guess it was the strawberries but I never knew for sure.  I went on sick call, my first time in the army to go on sick call and I sat and waited for the doctor until almost noon.  By that time the hives had subsided and it did indeed look like I had gone on sick call just to miss the Saturday morning run.

When I reported back to the company the first sergeant gave me a severe tongue lashing as only a first sergeant can do.  I was put on KP immediately and was told to stay with the mess sergeant until Monday morning when I would be transferred to the next incoming company and would get the privilege of taking A stage again.  I really didn’t mind because I liked the physical training and that Friday night I avoided the strawberry malted milk.  There is a something about running in formation with a group of physically tough young men that is designed to make you think you are really tough.   I know that I have never in my life been in better physical shape than I was on that day.  I know I could have run another four hours and had energy left over. 

I did not especially want to enter battle as a paratroop however.  My goal was to make four jumps and then quit.  I knew it would be unpleasant to quit but I have to admit I was trying to not be in the battle as a paratrooper.  I would have been in the 82nd Airborne division if I had stayed.  I made my four jumps and Thursday after the fourth jump I reported to the first sergeant and informed him I was going to quit.  It was legal and acceptable up to five jumps, after that it was a court martial offense to refuse to jump.  I got the tongue lashing I expected and he shouted to me that I was gong to the front lines, to which I replied that I expected that anyway.

I was then transferred to Ft. Meade, Maryland which was a POE (Port of Exportation).  When I got to Fort Meade, the first sergeant asked me if I could type and when I gave him the affirmative answer I got a job until I was to be shipped out.

Because I was in the office and was typing orders I discovered the policy that if possible, soldiers should be 18 to be put into combat.  That meant I probably wouldn’t be sent overseas until after Jan 1 1944, I would be 18 in January.

I had the privilege of going to visit friends of dad’s while I was in Ft. Meade Maryland.  Ferdinand and Nina Dixon were working for the government.  Ferdinand was dad’s best man when he got married.  So my weekends were a real treat.  Mom sent me a couple of gas ration stamps so we could buy gas for the Dixon car and I got to see much of the capitol and they enjoyed showing me around. 

I also got to New York to see my uncle Sherod and Aunt Louise.  Sherod was Glenn Scott’s brother.  Sherod had been the top sales executive for the Dodge Motor Car company.  Dec 7, 1941 eliminated his job.  Dodge no longer needed salesmen.  Their entire production was transferred to cost plus contract with the army and Dodge made vehicles for the government for the duration.

To illustrate what a great salesman Sherod was, he looked around and decided that the Chemical Companies showed the greatest profit potential.  He associated himself with Wyandote Chemical and rose to the top in that company just like cream on milk.  He had a very successful career in sales with them.

He had enough prestige and income during the war to be able to live very well, had company car, virtually unlimited expense account and they were also thrilled to have me visit and I was treated like a king. 

My orders came thru and I spent Christmas day 1944 in the ship in New York harbor.  One of the sorriest Christmases of my life. 

I cannot remember the name of the old tub we rode across the Atlantic Ocean.  It was winter and it was cold on deck.  The ship had been used in WW I so it had to have been built prior to 1914. You guessed it, there was poor air exchange and it was cold on deck and the seas were rough, and it was crowded, and it began to smell.  When the seas are rough and the odors and sounds of literally hundreds of men retching and vomiting makes for an environment that is conducive to more men having problems with sea sickness.

The slowest ship in our convoy was able to do 11 knots.  That meant the entire convoy of over 100 ships traveled at 11 knots.

The convoy system was our best defense against the German U boat.  If a German U boat could sink a troop ship, it was a more effective way to kill the enemy that with single rifle bullets for each dead soldier.  The Germans were methodical and clever with their tactics.  The larger and greater capacity troop ships were in the center of the convoy.  It was more important to protect the ones with the biggest cargo.

I don’t think we lost any ships that trip, or if we did the rest of us didn’t ever hear about it.  When your job is to deliver fighting men to the front lines, it is important to keep them thinking about how they can win instead of the hazards.  My faith in the greatness of the U.S. war machine was very real and I knew we would win so I can honestly say I was properly trained as were thousands and thousands of other GI’s.  We didn’t often get news of defeat. 

For some reason, I never got seasick.  About the second day I preferred the smell of the sea and the open deck even though it was cold.  While I was on deck the smell of baking and cooking attracted my attention and I wandered around until I found the kitchen or the mess hall as it is called.  I wandered in and offered to help.  The mess sergeant looked surprised, and pleased.

It was very unusual for any soldier boy to volunteer for KP.

We did eat well in the US army.  The finest meats and produce were always given top priority.  Sometimes even in combat conditions George Patton made sure that his troops got fed well.  The chow on the ship was excellent, but it fed more fish than soldiers.  I remember one poor little Jewish boy who nearly died from seasickness,  When we landed at Cardiff Wales he got off the ship and kissed the ground and vowed he would rather be shot than get back on another ship.  I often wonder if he did in fact stay in Europe.

Anyway I enjoyed the trip much more after I got to be a star member of the kitchen crew and I got to eat whatever I wanted and the smell was better where I was. I do have good memories about the trip.

We landed at Cardiff Wales and immediately were herded thru a chow line and the got put on a train of box cars.  The train took us to Southampton England where we headed for Le Harve France.  The channel crossing was uneventful.

The harbor at LeHarve was a very busy and crowded place and we didn’t see much because we were immediately put in box cars again.  The box cars said 40 Hommes 8 Chaveaux indicating the capacity of 40 men or 8 horses.  The railroad cars had 4 wheels, no springs, no heat no lights, poor ventilation and of course because it was January it was cold when the door was opened.  None of us saw much on our way thru France.  I want you to realize that there were no fresh water showers on the ship, the salt water wasn’t conducive to good bathing and it was cold.  There were no bathroom facilities on the trains across England and none at the busy harbor in LeHarve.  The French trains were even worse so that by now it has been at least three weeks since we had laundry, baths, or any warm place to rest.

It was soon to get worse. 

to be continued.

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