He wrote an autobiography/family history shortly before he passed away, and this is the part that describes his time in the Army. It's a glimpse into WWII/Occupied Japan you don't often see. Hope you find it interesting.
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"I was 18 in January and drafted in March. You didn’t last long in those days. I went back to Iowa for a last visit, and then took the Zephyr to Kansas City (Fort Leavenworth). I’d never been on anything that fancy before. After physicals and swearing in, we were sent to Camp Walters, Texas, for basic [training].
I was assigned to an I & R (Intelligence and Reconnaissance) replacement company. We did the normal basic training things – PE, long marches with heavy pack, etc. But we also learned how to make Jeep patrols, read maps, and use a compass to find a point day and night. WE crawled under barbed wire with real machine gun fire overhead, climbed in a truck while a tank drove over us. It wasn’t such a bad time, really. Except for the Texans. We were about2/3 Texans and 1/3 Iowans. The Texans were an arrogant, pompous group and to us, Texas was just a sandy, dry wasteland. We didn’t get along too well, and I’ve never cared for Texas or Texans since then. In all the hundreds of people I met and worked with since the army, I can’t recall ever finding a good Texan!
After the Battle of the Bulge in Europe, the army (or Congress) made a rule that new soldiers must have 6 months training before overseas assignment. During the Bulge, the Army pulled too many partly trained soldiers out of training camps and sent them to Europe. Most didn’t last long. I was lucky and got in under the new rule.
The last part of basic training was a week or 10 days of field training. You packed your battle gear and left camp for those 7 – 10 days and spent them in fox holes or maybe a pup tent. Mostly you had field rations – C & D rations mostly with a hot meal every 2 – 3 days from the field kitchen. Again I was lucky. After about the 2nd day, we got news of the first A-bomb drop. All our instructors were battle veterans with almost enough points to get out [of the Army]. They knew the war was over and they’d be home in a few weeks. We were told to stay out of sight, do what we pleased, and look busy if we saw a jeep heading our way. That last week was probably a lot like Scout Camp except no one cared what we did.
The war was over by the time we got back to Camp and we were given the usual week – 10 leave before we reported back for overseas duty. We went to Dallas to get a train home, and had the best steak I’ve ever had. [I went] via train to Kansas City and by bus home.
I reported back to Ft. Riley, Kansas and saw my first indoor pool at the army base. Then, by troop train, I went to Ft. Rod, California. I’ve never seen a colder, damper foggier place than San Francisco. Never had a desire to go back there, either.
We were loaded on the troop transport, an old V-ship with bunks 5 high – almost 6” from your face to the bottom of the next bunk. I was made Acting First Sergeant for our Company. Corporals and Sergeants were acting officers. The most amazing thing was that perhaps 10% of the solders were seasick while the ship was still tied to the dock. WE were on the ship 2 weeks and many never got over the seasickness. We took the northern route to Japan – so far north that we could see the Aleutian Islands. They said we went that way because it was free of mines. With so many people on the ship, no one ever got to eat at a table. We just went up on deck by groups and were given box lunches (& dinner and breakfasts). There was plenty of food for us who wanted to eat since so many were sick. The weather was bad and at times the ship would roll so far that water washed up on deck. No fresh water for enlisted men and after washing my face and hands in it I decided (like most) that the 1 minute showers they allowed would leave me in worse shape than no shower.
As we left port and sailed toward the Golden Gate Bridge, there were people everywhere – on the bridge, on the shore and on building tops. They waved and yelled at us and I’d about decided Frisco must be better place than I thought. Then they announced over the PA that as soon as we got under the bridge, we’d be able to see Admiral Halsey’s (sp?) fleet returning from their victories in the Pacific. That was a wonderful sight. I don’t remember how many battleship carries, cruiser and destroyers there were, but we saw them for over an hour – when I found out all the people weren’t waving goodbye to me, my old impression of Frisco came back. I’m sure it’s a nice place but too cold and damp for me (and this was just August or September).
We docked in Yokohama Harbor and went by train to a mountain camp that was formerly Japan’s West Point. The Tokyo-Yokohama bomb damage was so devastating it didn’t seem possible anyone survived.
This might be a good time to mention my feeling on the never ending discussion of the use of the A-Bombs. Had I have had a vote, there is no question I would have voted “YES” on its use. I had trained in an infantry replacement center. Our mission was to replace those killed in an assault on Japan. With a million casualties predicted, my chance of coming out whole in body and mind was not good. I got to see some of the fortification the Japs built to repel us, and they were formidable. Sure women and children were killed, but many of these same women and children would have been in the caves and bunkers shooting at me. I don’t have a lingering hatred of the Japs, but I suspect I would have if I’d have been endangered by their armed forces. I’ve never had a Japanese car, but who knows, I may mellow as I age!
Back to the Jap Mountain Camp. It had been a nice place but it had been bombed and not one window was left. I don’t know the elevation, but at night the wind blew through those open windows. We had only our combat pack and a duffle bag with 1 blanket. It was fairly nice during the day but at night you put on all your winter uniform clothes – that and boots – wrapped up as best you could and were cold all night. The barracks were wooden so on fires were allowed, and there weren’t any stoves.
We were there a week or so. There was only icy cold water from mountain streams to wash in. Many of us tried to take baths but you just turned blue.
When we left it had been 3 – 4 weeks since we’d had a shower or bath and I guess we were a ripe bunch. We were loaded into a Japanese train with seats made for 5 foot tall Japanese, and headed north for Hokkido Island. The scenery was wonderful except any town we went through that had been of any size was just about wiped out. We took a ferry boat across the water from the main island to Hokkido. Only one ferry boat had survived the bombing and it was full of Japs. It was a steel boat so we guild a fire on the deck and had hot 10-man pack rations – our first hot meal since leaving Frisco. Don’t suppose the captain approved of open fires on his forward deck but we were the victors and he was the vanished [vanquished].
We got back on a train on the other side (now there is a tunnel connecting the two islands) and headed for Sapporo. It had been badly hit but there were a few building still standing, including a nice 5-story. We were told it was 1X Corps headquarters. At the station they said 1X Corps needed typists and could any of us type. I’d had enough of cold water and bombed out buildings, so I volunteered – something I seldom did in the Army. Another fellow did too and we were taken to Corps Headquarters. Another lucky break. This was one of the few undamaged buildings in the city. I think it was [in] a former life insurance headquarters. I was assigned to do the morning report – who came in, who left, who was unaccounted for, etc. We had a front office on the 3rd floor and living quarters next door. No revelries [?] or retreats, no KP, no guard duty. We had a Korean who took care of getting our laundry done, polished shoes, kept a cooler stocked with beer, soft drinks and ice. The elevators worked, the penthouse had been converted to a theatre for movies and USO shows. Japanese cooked the food (under our supervision), Japanese girls served it to us. We were one of the first units to use china on our EM dining room tables. On holidays we were served peach wine, etc.
In the Spring we opened an EM club across the street. We had a jeep assigned to us for trips into the mountains, to the beach and for general sightseeing. I learned to swim in the Pacific Ocean on a trial and error basis. By summer the swimming pool was open behind the headquarters. It took awhile to clean it up as it was used during the off season to store human wastes. These were removed in the spring and used to fertilize their rice crops. I never have liked rice! The substance was call honey dew and for a few weeks in the spring it was much more pleasant to avoid the countryside.
The men who didn’t come to Corps Headquarters were assigned to the 77th Division which was responsible for peacekeeping on the island. There was lots of snow during the long winter, and they were spread out all over the island, some living in tents while we basked in central heat.
There was no snow removal machinery in the city. Women (mostly) shoveled it off the streets and carried it to a city park where it was stacked. By the end of the winter this pile looked like a half-finished pyramid a block square and maybe 50 feet high.
Corps Headquarters had many advantages. We got the best of everything and the most of it. My army wristwatch came from our supply room. I was asked if I wanted one because the next week they were going to take inventory and everything that wasn’t there would be written off as “lost on a combat move” from the Philippines to Japan.
Every serviceman was supposed to have his choice of a Jap rifle or saber. We had a surplus in Corps, which is why I have 3 rifles, a sword and one cavalry (?) saber. And I have (or had) written authorization for all the rifles. Some I took over to the 77th Division post office to mail – addressed to Col. M. Meacham from a fictitious Major or Col. The same way with clothing. I was able to get through 4 years of college in army clothes after I got out! Not stylish by today’s standards, but most of us were veterans and many wore GI issue till they wore out. I had enough, mine didn’t!
One other interesting fact is that I came out of the Army with more money than what they’d paid me. In basic there wasn’t time to do much. Movies were 5 cents, cokes and donuts were free at the Red Cross. We didn’t get off base very often and things were cheap for servicemen in town, too.
In Japan there wasn’t anything worthwhile to spend money on. The Japs didn’t have anything for themselves, and not much to sell to us. I did get some silk, a kimono, couple of rings, letter openers, etc… maybe $10.00 cost in total. Cigarettes were 50 cents a carton and could be sold for $5.00 a carton. Our Korean took care of that for us – there was an Army rule against it. Being in Corps, we always knew of currency exchanges a day ahead, and converted all our excess funds to money orders to send home. Under the plan, you could only convert so much of the old money to new money. The rest was worthless. Finally, they issued script to us.
Everyone was going home based on points. One point/month for US duty, 2 points/month for overseas duty. This allowed me to progress rapidly through the ranks. I made PFC in December 1945, Corporal in January 1946, Sergeant in June 1946, and Staff Sergeant in August 1946.
My company commander was going home soon when the new regulation came through, saying that from now on, it took 2 years instead of 1 to get the Good Conduct Medal. I knew I’d be out before I had 2 years, but I went ahead and typed up my award when I had a year in. He signed it and it went on my record – and is still there.
We visited Tokyo once and saw General McArthur, the Imperial Palace, etc. Another time we climbed Mt. Fuji over a weekend. These were cheap trips because servicemen rode free on Jap trains in the best cars. While 200 Japs would try to get into one of their cars, a half dozen of us would ride in our private car. To the Victors….
We saw cherry blossoms in Tokyo and in villages around our city as well as shrines, etc.
I volunteered for one other job while in Japan and it didn’t work out as well. AS the number of Armed Forces was decreased in Japan (they never caused any trouble after the was over), they eliminated at least Corps Headquarters. 1xCorps was transferred from Sapporo to Sendi (?) on the main island. All of our trucks, jeeps and cars were to be sent by boat, a day or two ahead of the main group, which would go by train. They needed an NCO to head up the group or EM who would go by boat. I volunteered. The Navy supplied an old LST (Landing Ship-Tanks) and we loaded everything on, chained it down and sat back to enjoy a carefree 3-day cruise.
About a day out, the water got pretty rough. An LST is a flat-bottom boat, and when it falls off the top of a 20 foot wave, it falls until its flat bottom hits the bottom, with a real flop. We were supposed to do our own cooking on the voyage, but I was the only one who wasn’t so seasick that they never wanted food again. As ranking NCO, I ate with the sailors for a day or so. About midnight I was awakened and told to report to the Captain. He said our LST was in danger. It had hit a mine in the English Channel and the steel plate they’d welded over the hole was coming loose. Seems we’d hit the tail end of a typhoon that wasn’t supposed to come that far north. I was to wake all the army men and get them in life jackets in case we sank. They discussed beaching the boat on the shore, but were afraid offshore rocks might sink it and pulverize us as we tried to get to the beach. Anyway, we rode it out for 3 days and finally got to Sendi 3 days late. We were supposed to beat the main group there and pick them up when the train came in.
Sendi was more of the same – best building in the city for us with everything we’d had up north.
Finally the Army became the Army again. We had to assemble on the roof of the building every morning and report “all present or accounted for, sit”.
I had accumulated almost enough points to go home and was acting 1st Sgt of our Company. The CO asked me to stay in the Army. He’d make me a 1st Sgt and send me to Officers Training School. But I’d had enough. A civilian army was one thing, but I could see the spit and polish of the “normal” army just around the corner. I finally said “no thanks” and packed for the trip home.
Going home was better than getting there. The depot we stayed in while waiting for a ship was nice and warm. As a S/Sgt I got extra good treatment there. On the ship, two of us S/Sgts were assigned a cabin with a porthole – no sleeping 5 high. The Trip home was very nice. Lay around the deck getting a suntan – no duties, just rest up. We parted in Seattle. Stayed a day or two and took the train to Ft. Sheridan (just outside Chicago).
We had to wait a day or two there for all our paperwork to be processed, get train tickets home, receive our mustering out money, be issued out “ruptured goose” etc. Again I realized the power of the pen and the ability to type. All the basic information had to be made up at our last permanent post. As acting 1st Sgt., I could have had the clerks do it, but I did my own. While I was always assigned to the 580th Composite Company, nowhere is that mentioned on my records. I was always with 1xCorps Headquarters. I thought it sounded better! The only strange thing on my discharge is a stamp that says “Recommended for further military training”. I’ll never know how that got on there and I’ve never talked to any vet who had that on his. Guess I’m too old to worry about that now."
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"I was 18 in January and drafted in March. You didn’t last long in those days. I went back to Iowa for a last visit, and then took the Zephyr to Kansas City (Fort Leavenworth). I’d never been on anything that fancy before. After physicals and swearing in, we were sent to Camp Walters, Texas, for basic [training].
I was assigned to an I & R (Intelligence and Reconnaissance) replacement company. We did the normal basic training things – PE, long marches with heavy pack, etc. But we also learned how to make Jeep patrols, read maps, and use a compass to find a point day and night. WE crawled under barbed wire with real machine gun fire overhead, climbed in a truck while a tank drove over us. It wasn’t such a bad time, really. Except for the Texans. We were about2/3 Texans and 1/3 Iowans. The Texans were an arrogant, pompous group and to us, Texas was just a sandy, dry wasteland. We didn’t get along too well, and I’ve never cared for Texas or Texans since then. In all the hundreds of people I met and worked with since the army, I can’t recall ever finding a good Texan!
After the Battle of the Bulge in Europe, the army (or Congress) made a rule that new soldiers must have 6 months training before overseas assignment. During the Bulge, the Army pulled too many partly trained soldiers out of training camps and sent them to Europe. Most didn’t last long. I was lucky and got in under the new rule.
The last part of basic training was a week or 10 days of field training. You packed your battle gear and left camp for those 7 – 10 days and spent them in fox holes or maybe a pup tent. Mostly you had field rations – C & D rations mostly with a hot meal every 2 – 3 days from the field kitchen. Again I was lucky. After about the 2nd day, we got news of the first A-bomb drop. All our instructors were battle veterans with almost enough points to get out [of the Army]. They knew the war was over and they’d be home in a few weeks. We were told to stay out of sight, do what we pleased, and look busy if we saw a jeep heading our way. That last week was probably a lot like Scout Camp except no one cared what we did.
The war was over by the time we got back to Camp and we were given the usual week – 10 leave before we reported back for overseas duty. We went to Dallas to get a train home, and had the best steak I’ve ever had. [I went] via train to Kansas City and by bus home.
I reported back to Ft. Riley, Kansas and saw my first indoor pool at the army base. Then, by troop train, I went to Ft. Rod, California. I’ve never seen a colder, damper foggier place than San Francisco. Never had a desire to go back there, either.
We were loaded on the troop transport, an old V-ship with bunks 5 high – almost 6” from your face to the bottom of the next bunk. I was made Acting First Sergeant for our Company. Corporals and Sergeants were acting officers. The most amazing thing was that perhaps 10% of the solders were seasick while the ship was still tied to the dock. WE were on the ship 2 weeks and many never got over the seasickness. We took the northern route to Japan – so far north that we could see the Aleutian Islands. They said we went that way because it was free of mines. With so many people on the ship, no one ever got to eat at a table. We just went up on deck by groups and were given box lunches (& dinner and breakfasts). There was plenty of food for us who wanted to eat since so many were sick. The weather was bad and at times the ship would roll so far that water washed up on deck. No fresh water for enlisted men and after washing my face and hands in it I decided (like most) that the 1 minute showers they allowed would leave me in worse shape than no shower.
As we left port and sailed toward the Golden Gate Bridge, there were people everywhere – on the bridge, on the shore and on building tops. They waved and yelled at us and I’d about decided Frisco must be better place than I thought. Then they announced over the PA that as soon as we got under the bridge, we’d be able to see Admiral Halsey’s (sp?) fleet returning from their victories in the Pacific. That was a wonderful sight. I don’t remember how many battleship carries, cruiser and destroyers there were, but we saw them for over an hour – when I found out all the people weren’t waving goodbye to me, my old impression of Frisco came back. I’m sure it’s a nice place but too cold and damp for me (and this was just August or September).
We docked in Yokohama Harbor and went by train to a mountain camp that was formerly Japan’s West Point. The Tokyo-Yokohama bomb damage was so devastating it didn’t seem possible anyone survived.
This might be a good time to mention my feeling on the never ending discussion of the use of the A-Bombs. Had I have had a vote, there is no question I would have voted “YES” on its use. I had trained in an infantry replacement center. Our mission was to replace those killed in an assault on Japan. With a million casualties predicted, my chance of coming out whole in body and mind was not good. I got to see some of the fortification the Japs built to repel us, and they were formidable. Sure women and children were killed, but many of these same women and children would have been in the caves and bunkers shooting at me. I don’t have a lingering hatred of the Japs, but I suspect I would have if I’d have been endangered by their armed forces. I’ve never had a Japanese car, but who knows, I may mellow as I age!
Back to the Jap Mountain Camp. It had been a nice place but it had been bombed and not one window was left. I don’t know the elevation, but at night the wind blew through those open windows. We had only our combat pack and a duffle bag with 1 blanket. It was fairly nice during the day but at night you put on all your winter uniform clothes – that and boots – wrapped up as best you could and were cold all night. The barracks were wooden so on fires were allowed, and there weren’t any stoves.
We were there a week or so. There was only icy cold water from mountain streams to wash in. Many of us tried to take baths but you just turned blue.
When we left it had been 3 – 4 weeks since we’d had a shower or bath and I guess we were a ripe bunch. We were loaded into a Japanese train with seats made for 5 foot tall Japanese, and headed north for Hokkido Island. The scenery was wonderful except any town we went through that had been of any size was just about wiped out. We took a ferry boat across the water from the main island to Hokkido. Only one ferry boat had survived the bombing and it was full of Japs. It was a steel boat so we guild a fire on the deck and had hot 10-man pack rations – our first hot meal since leaving Frisco. Don’t suppose the captain approved of open fires on his forward deck but we were the victors and he was the vanished [vanquished].
We got back on a train on the other side (now there is a tunnel connecting the two islands) and headed for Sapporo. It had been badly hit but there were a few building still standing, including a nice 5-story. We were told it was 1X Corps headquarters. At the station they said 1X Corps needed typists and could any of us type. I’d had enough of cold water and bombed out buildings, so I volunteered – something I seldom did in the Army. Another fellow did too and we were taken to Corps Headquarters. Another lucky break. This was one of the few undamaged buildings in the city. I think it was [in] a former life insurance headquarters. I was assigned to do the morning report – who came in, who left, who was unaccounted for, etc. We had a front office on the 3rd floor and living quarters next door. No revelries [?] or retreats, no KP, no guard duty. We had a Korean who took care of getting our laundry done, polished shoes, kept a cooler stocked with beer, soft drinks and ice. The elevators worked, the penthouse had been converted to a theatre for movies and USO shows. Japanese cooked the food (under our supervision), Japanese girls served it to us. We were one of the first units to use china on our EM dining room tables. On holidays we were served peach wine, etc.
In the Spring we opened an EM club across the street. We had a jeep assigned to us for trips into the mountains, to the beach and for general sightseeing. I learned to swim in the Pacific Ocean on a trial and error basis. By summer the swimming pool was open behind the headquarters. It took awhile to clean it up as it was used during the off season to store human wastes. These were removed in the spring and used to fertilize their rice crops. I never have liked rice! The substance was call honey dew and for a few weeks in the spring it was much more pleasant to avoid the countryside.
The men who didn’t come to Corps Headquarters were assigned to the 77th Division which was responsible for peacekeeping on the island. There was lots of snow during the long winter, and they were spread out all over the island, some living in tents while we basked in central heat.
There was no snow removal machinery in the city. Women (mostly) shoveled it off the streets and carried it to a city park where it was stacked. By the end of the winter this pile looked like a half-finished pyramid a block square and maybe 50 feet high.
Corps Headquarters had many advantages. We got the best of everything and the most of it. My army wristwatch came from our supply room. I was asked if I wanted one because the next week they were going to take inventory and everything that wasn’t there would be written off as “lost on a combat move” from the Philippines to Japan.
Every serviceman was supposed to have his choice of a Jap rifle or saber. We had a surplus in Corps, which is why I have 3 rifles, a sword and one cavalry (?) saber. And I have (or had) written authorization for all the rifles. Some I took over to the 77th Division post office to mail – addressed to Col. M. Meacham from a fictitious Major or Col. The same way with clothing. I was able to get through 4 years of college in army clothes after I got out! Not stylish by today’s standards, but most of us were veterans and many wore GI issue till they wore out. I had enough, mine didn’t!
One other interesting fact is that I came out of the Army with more money than what they’d paid me. In basic there wasn’t time to do much. Movies were 5 cents, cokes and donuts were free at the Red Cross. We didn’t get off base very often and things were cheap for servicemen in town, too.
In Japan there wasn’t anything worthwhile to spend money on. The Japs didn’t have anything for themselves, and not much to sell to us. I did get some silk, a kimono, couple of rings, letter openers, etc… maybe $10.00 cost in total. Cigarettes were 50 cents a carton and could be sold for $5.00 a carton. Our Korean took care of that for us – there was an Army rule against it. Being in Corps, we always knew of currency exchanges a day ahead, and converted all our excess funds to money orders to send home. Under the plan, you could only convert so much of the old money to new money. The rest was worthless. Finally, they issued script to us.
Everyone was going home based on points. One point/month for US duty, 2 points/month for overseas duty. This allowed me to progress rapidly through the ranks. I made PFC in December 1945, Corporal in January 1946, Sergeant in June 1946, and Staff Sergeant in August 1946.
My company commander was going home soon when the new regulation came through, saying that from now on, it took 2 years instead of 1 to get the Good Conduct Medal. I knew I’d be out before I had 2 years, but I went ahead and typed up my award when I had a year in. He signed it and it went on my record – and is still there.
We visited Tokyo once and saw General McArthur, the Imperial Palace, etc. Another time we climbed Mt. Fuji over a weekend. These were cheap trips because servicemen rode free on Jap trains in the best cars. While 200 Japs would try to get into one of their cars, a half dozen of us would ride in our private car. To the Victors….
We saw cherry blossoms in Tokyo and in villages around our city as well as shrines, etc.
I volunteered for one other job while in Japan and it didn’t work out as well. AS the number of Armed Forces was decreased in Japan (they never caused any trouble after the was over), they eliminated at least Corps Headquarters. 1xCorps was transferred from Sapporo to Sendi (?) on the main island. All of our trucks, jeeps and cars were to be sent by boat, a day or two ahead of the main group, which would go by train. They needed an NCO to head up the group or EM who would go by boat. I volunteered. The Navy supplied an old LST (Landing Ship-Tanks) and we loaded everything on, chained it down and sat back to enjoy a carefree 3-day cruise.
About a day out, the water got pretty rough. An LST is a flat-bottom boat, and when it falls off the top of a 20 foot wave, it falls until its flat bottom hits the bottom, with a real flop. We were supposed to do our own cooking on the voyage, but I was the only one who wasn’t so seasick that they never wanted food again. As ranking NCO, I ate with the sailors for a day or so. About midnight I was awakened and told to report to the Captain. He said our LST was in danger. It had hit a mine in the English Channel and the steel plate they’d welded over the hole was coming loose. Seems we’d hit the tail end of a typhoon that wasn’t supposed to come that far north. I was to wake all the army men and get them in life jackets in case we sank. They discussed beaching the boat on the shore, but were afraid offshore rocks might sink it and pulverize us as we tried to get to the beach. Anyway, we rode it out for 3 days and finally got to Sendi 3 days late. We were supposed to beat the main group there and pick them up when the train came in.
Sendi was more of the same – best building in the city for us with everything we’d had up north.
Finally the Army became the Army again. We had to assemble on the roof of the building every morning and report “all present or accounted for, sit”.
I had accumulated almost enough points to go home and was acting 1st Sgt of our Company. The CO asked me to stay in the Army. He’d make me a 1st Sgt and send me to Officers Training School. But I’d had enough. A civilian army was one thing, but I could see the spit and polish of the “normal” army just around the corner. I finally said “no thanks” and packed for the trip home.
Going home was better than getting there. The depot we stayed in while waiting for a ship was nice and warm. As a S/Sgt I got extra good treatment there. On the ship, two of us S/Sgts were assigned a cabin with a porthole – no sleeping 5 high. The Trip home was very nice. Lay around the deck getting a suntan – no duties, just rest up. We parted in Seattle. Stayed a day or two and took the train to Ft. Sheridan (just outside Chicago).
We had to wait a day or two there for all our paperwork to be processed, get train tickets home, receive our mustering out money, be issued out “ruptured goose” etc. Again I realized the power of the pen and the ability to type. All the basic information had to be made up at our last permanent post. As acting 1st Sgt., I could have had the clerks do it, but I did my own. While I was always assigned to the 580th Composite Company, nowhere is that mentioned on my records. I was always with 1xCorps Headquarters. I thought it sounded better! The only strange thing on my discharge is a stamp that says “Recommended for further military training”. I’ll never know how that got on there and I’ve never talked to any vet who had that on his. Guess I’m too old to worry about that now."
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Thanks for sharing this story with us.
