War Stories

I was looking through an old notebook and found these war stories Dad told me when he was in the hospital for his pacemaker a few years ago. Dad started talking and I just listened and wrote furiously. This was the first time Dad talked with me freely about his experience in WWII. In fact, it was so odd for him to talk to me like this, I was really concerned he was going to die! But, we all know he wouldn't let a little thing like pacemaker surgery take him down. After this conversation in his hospital room, Dad talked about the war a lot. So, you all may have heard these stories already. I just wanted to get them down so I wouldn't lose them.

*Dad was trained for anti-aircraft artillery. He was part of the 32nd AAA Brigade. When it turned out we didn't need so many anti-aircraft artillery, Dad was assigned to Camp Howze in Gainesville, TX where they trained air force to be infantrymen. It was a 5 week training course, very intense, but some did not take it seriously. At some point while he was there, the camp received a letter from a soldier who had been through the training and then shipped overseas. The soldier exhorted everyone to take training seriously; combat is real and ugly and will come sooner than you think; this training can save your life. The letter was posted for all to see.

*Dad led 20 mile hikes as part of the training. He had one little 100 pound man who couldn't make it the first time. He tried again and couldn't make it the second time. When Dad went to give the little guy a pep talk, the man pointed out that the 50lb. pack he was required to carry was half his body weight. He told Dad it was like asking Dad to carry a 100lb. pack for the 20 miles. The little man did make the hike, but with many helping to lighten his pack.

*Dad said they went to bed at midnight and got up at 4:00 a.m.

*When Dad went through infantry school, he got to meet a lot of Medal of Honor recipients. There were more than he had ever been around, and he got to visit with them one-on-one.

*Dad was shipped out to begin the land assault on Japan. He was to man a heavy duty machine gun that would blast away anything in front of it. [He didn't say at this time, but I do remember him telling his grandsons previously that he had to pull himself up the gangplank, he was so scared to go to war.] Dad remembered that when they heard about the bombs being dropped, a great cheer went up on board. And he remembers when they stopped zig-zagging. Up until that point, the ship would change course every little bit in order to avoid enemy submarine missiles.

*Dad was stationed in the Philippines and put in charge of communications maintenance. He objected that he wasn't qualified or trained, but they said since he was an electrical engineer major, he was the most qualified.

*Dad was really impressed with the pilots of the L-2s on the island. They flew solo many, many hours, landing on short strips, delivering mail around the islands. The general's pilot, Hank, was a favorite with Dad. Hank liked to fly so low on approach that he knocked coconuts out of the trees. He would ask, "How many?", meaning, "How many coconuts did I knock down?"

*Dad thought it was funny that after the war was over, when the Air Force pilots joined them in the Philippines, they insisted on flying with 2 pilots and had a hard time finding the air strips. They saw the strip, but thought it couldn't possibly be the landing strip because it was so short. The AF pilots suggested cutting down trees on either end of the strips so they would have more room.

*Dad told of a time Hank had flown the general to another island. When they were ready to return, a Philippine man asked if they would take _________ _________ (some man's name) along. Hank said no, because they had no room. The Philippine man insisted, "You take ________ _________?" Then he brought over a small box. ______ _________ was a pilot who had crashed and burned. The box was his remains.

*When they finally boarded the ship in Manila to return home, the ship was low on silverware. Everyone had to choose one utensil for the voyage. Dad quickly chose a spoon, but those at the end of the line got stuck with only a fork or even only a knife. Dad said, "Imagine eating soup with a knife!"

*Some commander on the ship was known for demanding his officers know everyone's name in their unit. Some officer had been given a whole new unit the day before and the commander was asking him if he knew all the names. The man didn't want to lose face with his superior, so he insisted that he did indeed know all the names by heart. And then the commanding officer threw the roster overboard!

*Mom has told me Dad remembers the men on board singing together.