Page 55 - Anthology

I met my bride to be while in grade school. But I would be 29 and Oneita would be 27 before we would
marry. Oneita likes to tell the story of how she almost lost me; she says I was a lady’s man. We courted
two or three different times, but I just wasn’t ready. I would go off to war and return home before we
married.

I was drafted by the army as soon as I turned eighteen. Some farmers were given deferments from
service. But my family farm was too small to earn the necessary units to be granted the delay from
service. The farms had to milk a lot of cows to earn the units. My father was able to hire some outside
help while I served in the military.

The day before leaving the farm I went bird hunting with a couple of friends. I recall that we was not
certain if the law was out, but I wanted to go hunting before leaving for military duty. I might have been
breaking the law, but I wanted to hunt. I think the statute of limitations has run out, so it is ok to disclose
the hunting details.

My father served in WWI and returned with bad memories. He often spoke negatively of military service
and the army. So, naturally, I formed similar opinions and was not happy about being drafted. Basically
the family thought it wrong to fight. My family was unhappy and made me unhappy about going into the
army. I was not afraid of the hard work. I knew I could make the hikes and anything they told me to do. I
was a farm boy and healthy and in good shape.

The day after election-day of 1943 I hitched a ride with the people that were taking election ballots to
Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. I walked about two miles to my aunt’s house to spend the night. She took me
to the bus depot the next morning. I remember we had to rise early because the bus departed about six
or six-thirty. I was not in a good state of mind. I did not want to go into the army, and it was too early in
the morning.

I had already completed exams and taken the oath in Louisville about three weeks before. I was granted
twenty-one days leave before reporting for duty. So, I caught that bus from Lawrenceburg to Louisville,
Kentucky, and from there rode a train to Fort Thomas, in northern Kentucky.

Camp Blanding, Florida; Circa 1943

I boarded a train for Camp Blanding, Florida to begin seventeen weeks of basic training. After basic
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training, I was granted a fourteen-day delay in route leave before reporting to Camp Meade, Maryland . I
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rode a train home from Florida but discovered that my ticket was only good for travel to Chattanooga,
Tennessee. A friendly train conductor helped me obtain a ticket home from Chattanooga. Prior to my
travels to Fort Thomas, Kentucky, I had only been away from home for a trip to Louisville and once to
Cincinnati, Ohio, to see a Reds baseball game. The train conductor’s help was greatly appreciated. I
hardly knew how to handle things and that conductor really helped me.