Three USO Clubs Opened in Paris And One In Hugo To Serve Camp Maxey Soldiers During World War II

The USO (United Service Organizations) Clubs in WWII were a major component of keeping morale up for those in the military, along with their dependents. From java hour, to wives craft club, to a class called Ball and Chain for military couples, to basketball at Paris Jr. College there was something to keep everyone occupied.

This 1944 USO Club program bulletin is from Paris, Texas. The bulletin is part of the Melvin Mason Collection. Dr. Melvin Mason taught English at Sam Houston State from 1962-1991. In he was drafted into the Army from Roxton, Texas and sent to Chicago for training. WWII ended before he was sent overseas.

A Religious History of the American 

Servicemen and Servicewomen (GI’s) in World War II 

                

By G. Kurt Piehler 

Director, Institute on World War II and the Human Experience 

Department of History, Florida State University 

Tallahassee, Florida 

kpiehler@fsu.edu  

© 2011 by G. Kurt Piehler 

My project seeks to understand the religious history of American servicemen and servicewomen in World War II.    President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the armed forces adopted a series of policies that sought to promote the free exercise of religion, including a dramatic expansion of the military chaplaincy and the commissioning of an unprecedented number of Roman Catholic priests and Jewish rabbis as chaplains in an attempt to make the chaplaincy representative of the religious pluralism of the United States.  Religious organizations played an important role in catering to the spiritual and recreational needs of GIs, most notably through the United Service Organization (USO) founded in 1940 by the Jewish Welfare Board (JWB), 

National Catholic Community Service, National Travelers Aid Society, the Salvation Army, the 
Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), and the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA).  
My research at the Rockefeller Archive Center (RAC) from July 11th through July 15, 

2011, provided a wealth of documentation about the early history of the USO and the pivotal role John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (JDR Jr.) played in overcoming a number of early difficulties this organization faced.  The bulk of my research centered on examining the records of the Office of Messrs. Rockefeller (OMR) (Record Group 2), specifically, the files related to the USO in Series P –Welfare-General Files, and some of the files on the YMCA and World War II in Series RWelfare Interests-Youth.   

The USO represented one of the high points of ecumenical cooperation during the war by bringing together Protestants (YMCA, YWCA, and the Salvation Army), Roman Catholics (National Catholic Community Service), and Jews (Jewish Welfare Board) behind a common mission of serving the recreational needs of American GIs at home and abroad.  The USO  implemented policies that stressed non-sectarianism in delivering recreational services and made special efforts to provide Roman Catholics and Jews with access to clergy when stationed in communities that lacked priests and rabbis (most notably in the South).  At the same time, the USO faced a series of problems in the early years from ineffective leadership, intense rivalries between the constituent organizations, and the rapid pace of mobilization that would have strained the most efficient organization.  

John D. Rockefeller, Jr.’s Role
  
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. had a long-standing interest in the work of both the YMCA and the YWCA.  During World War I he spoke to a number of army camps, including Camp Dix, New Jersey where he participated in the dedication of a new YMCA building.1   Both the senior leadership of the YWCA and the YMCA encouraged JDR Jr. to take an active role in the USO and proposed him as an at-large member of the Board of Trustees that was being established in 1941.2  Rockefeller not only joined the board, but made a substantial financial contribution of 

$100,000 to the first national campaign.3   
JDR Jr. served on the USO board throughout the war and into the immediate postwar era.  As an active board member, on a number of occasions he offered space in the Rockefeller Center complex for USO meetings and functions. When absent from a meeting, Arthur W. Packard of the Rockefeller Foundation (RF) served as his representative. After attending meetings, Packard regularly reported the substance of meetings and other affairs to JDR Jr.  Over the course of the war, JDR Jr. and members of his family contributed substantial sums to the USO.   Moreover, he delivered a number of public speeches on its behalf, including one of his most famous in New York City in 1941, which included a statement of his personal philosophy of life.   

New Dealers and Private Philanthropy  
The mobilization of a large standing army and navy, after the fall of France, in the spring of 1940, lead to the exponential expansion of military and naval bases across the country.  Small communities, especially in the American South, strained to accommodate the influx of young GIs and provide adequate recreational facilities.  Outside of many bases, off-duty GIs usually encountered gin joints, brothels, and gambling dens.  Army and navy leaders were concerned with rising venereal disease rates and sought assistance from private philanthropic groups.4 
  In late 1940, leaders of several organizations, including the Jewish Welfare Board, the 
Knights of Columbus (quickly supplanted by the National Catholic Community Service), the Salvation Army, the YMCA, and the YWCA, that had participated in the World I federal agency, the Commission on Training Camp Activities, discussed the need to mobilize for this latest war.  These organizations decided to merge their collective efforts and seek federal financial support and recognition.  In the meantime, New Dealers in the Federal Security Agency, under the leadership of former Indiana Governor Paul McNutt, wanted the federal government to directly provide recreational services to GIs.  In seeking a federal role, New Dealers stressed the efficiencies that would be gained by centralizing the delivery of services in the hands of a federal agency.  Religious organizations stressed the precedents established during World War I and the need to add a spiritual dimension to this work.  
In early 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided that the USO would have primary responsibility for meeting the recreational needs of GIs stationed in the United States.  In 1942, in a fundraising speech, JDR Jr. stressed the ideological significance of this decision, in a period when the future of the New Deal was hotly contested:  “He made the choice despite strong pressure in administrative circles to put this vital task in the hands of the government under the WPA.  To those American citizens who believe in private enterprise, the significance of the 
President’s decision cannot easily be overestimated.  The wholehearted support of the USO and the Red Cross would be a prime responsibility of all good citizens if for no other reason than because these two organizations represent the service of citizens by citizens, rather than by government.”5 
Private funds did play an important role in creating the USO, and the organization’s first national fundraising campaign raised over ten million dollars in 1941.  However, public funds were crucial to the creation of the USO and the organization actively sought federal monies to build the hundreds of USO centers that would dot the country.  Initially, the Federal Security Agency and the USO had come to an agreement regarding the construction of USO centers, but the U.S. Congress appropriated funds for a different agency, the Public Works Agency (PWA) to build them.  As a board member of the USO, Rockefeller was regularly informed of these efforts.  For instance, Arthur Packard in reporting on the August 14, 1941 meeting, noted the attendance of Charles Taft, representing the Joint Army-Navy Committee on Welfare and Recreation, and the comments he offered regarding the good working relationship that had been established between the USO and the PWA, and that fifteen million dollars in federal funds would be available for USO Buildings.6  

Religious Ecumenicalism and Public Service  
  In the fundraising literature and press releases written during the war, the USO stressed the remarkable cooperation of Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish sponsored organizations united behind the common purpose of serving the needs of American GIs.  With some reluctance,  
JDR Jr. agreed to serve as Honorary Chair of the Parents’ and Neighbors’ Division of the New York City fundraising campaign in 1941.    In accepting this position, JDR Jr. also agreed to deliver a radio address on the evening of July 8, 1941 in support of the New York City house-tohouse solicitation campaign.7  In this program, JDR Jr. would be joined by Richard W. Lawrence, chair of the USO New York City campaign, New York Governor Herbert Lehman, Roman Catholic cleric Monsignor Robert F. Keegan, and U.S. Army Colonel Arthur W. McDermott.   The speech offered by JDR Jr. would be the most famous of his career.  In seeking support for the USO, JDR Jr. not only discussed the value of this new organization for providing servicemen with wholesome recreation, but he also elaborated on his philosophy of life that had guided him since he was a young boy.  Regarding religion he declared his belief “in an all-wise and all-loving God, named by whatever name.”8  Rockefeller’s religious philosophy reflected the strong ecumenical sensibilities that struck a responsive chord, especially among Roman Catholic and Jewish listeners.  In his statement, and also his work with the USO, he made clear his rejection of narrow sectarian sentiment, and his belief in tolerance of religious diversity. 
  The reaction to this speech was remarkable.  Letters poured into the office of JDR Jr. at Rockefeller Center praising the speech.  Support for his statement came from a wide range of  various fields, including political, religious, educational, business and publishing. Princeton University President Harold Dodds, U.S. Senator Claude Pepper of Florida, and African 
American leader and New Deal official, Mary McLeod Bethune, all sent personal letters to  
JDR Jr. praising the principles he enunciated in the speech.9  D.R. Sharpe, Executive Secretary of the Cleveland Baptist Association thought of the statement of belief a “remarkably clear-cut and Christian document.”10 In a handwritten note, Archbishop, later Cardinal, F.J. Spellman observed that the “fundamental principles which you enumerated last night and which if only accepted and lived by men would insure peace and happiness for the world and for all us.”11 Praise came from a number of prominent Jewish leaders, including Robert W. Straus, John M. Schiff, and New York Times publisher Arthur Hays Sulzberger.12  In a short one line letter Sulzberger wrote, “Just a line to let you know that your ten principles have become required reading in the Sulzberger family.”13 
A public relations firm hired by JDR Jr. tabulated that two hundred and seventy-five editorials were written about the speech in virtually every state in the Union.14  The Daily 
Worker published by the American Communist Party offered one of the few negative critiques of JDR Jr.’s speech, arguing that the stress on the development of individual character did not take into account the fact that “A man’s fate is determined by world-wide economic factors over which he has no control.”15  Requests poured in over the years to reprint the principles of living in journals and books.  In September 1941, Boy’s Life published by the Boy Scouts of America, would be among the first major magazines to reprint JDR Jr.’s principles for living.16    

Organizational Chaos and Sectarian Tensions      
The rapid expansion of the USO in 1941 was plagued with problems that would soon be recognized by the U.S. Army, community leaders, the USO governing board, and JDR Jr.  Part of the chaos stemmed from the need to build a central administrative office from scratch.  Moreover, the involvement of the federal government added a further layer of bureaucracy and delay.  Thomas Dewey who chaired the first national fundraising campaign sent a memorandum to the “Officers and Members of the Executive Committee” on October 30, 1941, informing them of an “increasing volume of mail which has been coming to me from important and influential people all over the United States, protesting in unqualified and vigorous terms about the manner of operation of the USO.”17   
  The promotion of religious values, together with the non-sectarian delivery of services, remained core principles of the USO.  Behind a veneer of unity, the reports and correspondence in the Rockefeller papers suggest intense suspicion between many Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish leaders.18   For instance, Roman Catholics leaders stressed that they were outnumbered by a board dominated by Protestant run organizations (i.e., YMCA, YWCA, and the Salvation Army).19  In turn, Protestant Church leaders associated with the Federal Council of Churches complained that the Roman Catholic hierarchy was directly represented on the governing body of the USO through the National Catholic Community Service, while they had no direct control of either the YMCA, YWCA, or the Salvation Army.20 
  To understand the problems facing the USO, JDR Jr. commissioned several individuals to report on the operation of the organization. Raymond Fosdick, who had chaired the World War I Training Camp Commission, provided JDR Jr. with an eleven page report, complete with five exhibits.  In his report he stressed how difficult it is in practice to meld six different constituent organizations behind a common program proved in implementation. He observed that the “basic principle of organization seems to be that the leisure time of Protestant, Catholic and Jewish soldiers, when they got into town, can be taken care of only by Protestant, Catholic  and Jewish agencies respectively—each for its own.  One constantly hears the remark from agency representatives: “The Catholic soldiers in the camp (or the Protestant or Jewish soldiers, as the case may be) are entitled to U.S.O. service from their own agency.”  The irony of this attitude for Fosdick is that the army commanders and the average enlisted man generally could care less which group was providing recreational opportunities.  As he observed, “A dance is a dance and a bowling alley is a bowling alley regardless of auspices, and when a soldier talks to a girl, he is not interested in what church she goes to.”21 
  JDR Jr. played an important role in the Board of Directors in forcing the resignation of Harper Sibley as USO president, and replacing him with Chester I. Barnard.  Sibley did not resign willingly, in fact, he argued that his resignation would not benefit the USO and feared it lent further credence to critics who perceived the organization as hopelessly disunited.  In his handwritten letter to JDR Jr., Sibley acknowledged that “Unhappily, the USO is being criticized on all sides for appearing to be a divided instead of a united organization.  I am afraid the separate Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish USO units do give this impression.”22  After Sibley’s formal resignation on March 11, 1942, JDR Jr. served on a three member search committees to find a suitable replacement.  A number of candidates were proposed.  James R. Angell of the National Broadcasting Company suggested William Allen White, and Rutgers University President Robert Clothier for the position.23  Former President Herbert Hoover recommended future Secretary of State Christian Herter.  John D. Adams, Vice President of Brown University travelled to New York City to meet with JDR Jr., but decided against further consideration.24  JDR Jr. gave serious consideration to John Pomfret, who served as Dean of Vanderbilt University, and even wrote to the Chancellor of the institution, Dr. Oliver C. Carmichael, regarding the opening of the position.  JDR Jr. asked Carmichael if Vanderbilt would consider loaning Pomfret with full salary for the unpaid position of USO President.25 
The Army leadership’s displeasure with USO operations played a role in their decision to initially prohibit the organization from expanding operations to overseas theaters such as Australia in 1942.  JDR Jr. journeyed to Washington, D.C. to attend a conference at the home of 
General Frederick Osborn, on Easter Sunday, 1942, to discuss this issue.  Osborn, in writing to JDR Jr. after the meeting, noted that USO operations demanded “a leadership of great strength and firmness.  Good will and devotion alone are not enough.”  He went on to observe “between the denominations, and the competitive quality of much of the work being done, I have acted to restrain the enthusiasm of the Army for their development of new fields, and have given those who never wanted the USO in the picture, opportunities for recrimination which greatly complicated our task.”26 
  Chester I. Barnard, President of New Jersey Bell Telephone Company, accepted the position as unpaid president of the USO.  JDR Jr., together with W. Spencer Robertson of the YMCA, played a crucial role in swaying Barnard to accept the position and they developed an excellent working relationship during his tenure as president.27  Moreover, the association between JDR Jr. and Barnard continued after the war, and in 1948 the latter became President of the RF.     
  Barnard’s leadership did lead to improvements in the organizational structure of the USO and he gained the confidence of the Board of Directors.  At the same time, Barnard’s leadership was not without controversy, most notably over the question of race relations.  Although the USO would ultimately be a model of religious cooperation, its record on race proved much more complicated.  Official national policy proclaimed non-discrimination, but USO clubs were generally segregated, and this pattern occurred even in many non-Southern communities.  For the most part the USO was not on the vanguard of improving race relations.28  
  JDR Jr. supported Barnard in the controversy over distribution of the Races of Mankind pamphlet, coauthored by the anthropologists Ruth Benedict and Gene Weltfish.  This pamphlet, distributed by the YMCA, had not yet been approved by the USO national organization.  Barnard demanded removal of this pamphlet, and this issue would be considered by both the Executive 
Committee and the full Board of Directors.  In Barnard’s view, the pamphlet deserved to be removed because it had not been cleared by proper channels within the USO.  In addition, he argued the controversial nature of the pamphlet which stressed the need for racial understanding and argued there was no scientific basis for viewing some races as inferior, and it would embroil the USO in an unnecessary controversy.  New York City Judge, Hubert Delaney, the only African American board member, vehemently protested the removal of the pamphlet and argued that the USO had failed to promote the American ideals of equality and justice.  Although Delaney garnered some support, in 1944, the majority of the board sided with Barnard and in the end Delaney resigned in protest.29 

Religious Life of the GI  
  There are hints about the religious life of the American GI in the correspondence. For example, the changing mores regarding the observance of Sunday as a Christian day of rest are reflected in an interesting exchange between JDR Jr. and Margaret Cross.  In a letter to JDR Jr., she complained that the YMCA and the YWCA were at a disadvantage because of their reluctance to hold dances on Sunday evening, while in “many of the USO buildings operated by the Catholics and the JWB, dancing on Sun[day] Evening seems taken for granted—and in some places the Y.W. [C.A.] when in a position of joint authority give in on the point.”  She wondered if it was possible to implement religious programs on Sunday night for GIs that would be lead by a few women who rode a circuit.30  In his reply, JDR Jr. noted that Sunday evening services and other religious programs have been fading at many Protestant churches and wondered how many GIs would be interested in them.  Moreover, he recalled a conversation with his son Winthrop, who was serving with the Army, about the resentment his men felt in one of the Southern camps when the USO building was placed off limits for a Sunday night dance.31     
  How do you preserve the free and individual expression of religion while still promoting ecumenicalism and inclusion?  This issue came to JDR Jr.’s attention when Eleanor Wilson, who served as Women’s Activities Director of the Army and Navy Department of the YMCA, wrote to him asking for advice on this issue.  The problem she wrote is that “we cannot meet the requests of USO volunteers and staff workers who are asking for prayer and devotional services that may be used at the USO meetings where Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish groups are represented.” 32  In response to this request, JDR Jr. wrote to Reverend Norris L. Tibbets, of Riverside Church for suggestions and ideas.  In reply, Tibbets assembled a group of prayers and litanies that might be used by Protestants, Catholics, and Jews that JDR Jr. passed on to Eleanor Wilson.33 
  In conclusion, I want to express my appreciation for the support the RAC provided for my research.  The material found at the Center has taken my research project the religious history of the American GI in many different directions.  As a result of my investigation of these issues, it has made me even more sensitive to the difficulties of promoting the free exercise of religion while still ensuring religious pluralism. The remarkable degree of ecumenical cooperation among Protestant, Roman Catholics, and Jewish organizations in World War II was not easily achieved. 

Editor's Note: This research report is presented here with the author’s permission but should not be cited or quoted without the author’s consent.  
Rockefeller Archive Center Research Reports Online is a periodic publication of the Rockefeller Archive Center. Edited by Erwin Levold, Research Reports Online is intended to foster the network of scholarship in the history of philanthropy and to highlight the diverse range of materials and subjects covered in the collections at the Rockefeller Archive Center. The reports are drawn from essays submitted by researchers who have visited the Archive Center, many of whom have received grants from the Archive Center to support their research.  
The ideas and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and are not intended to represent the Rockefeller Archive Center. 
ENDNOTES: 
                                                          
1 “The Sabbath in the Camps—John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (JDR Jr.) at Camp Dix” January-February issue, 1918, press clipping, Folder 570, Series P,  Record Group (RG) 2 Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller (OMR), Rockefeller Family Archives, Rockefeller Archive Center (RAC), Sleepy Hollow, New York. 
2 Mrs. Henry A. (Mary S.)  Ingraham to JDR Jr., March 10, 1941,  JDR Jr. to Ingraham, March 20, 1941; 
W. Spencer Robertson to JDR Jr., March 27, 1941; Walter Hoving to JDR Jr., March 28, 1941; JDR Jr. to Robertson, April 1, 1941; JDR, Jr. to Walter Hoving, April 1, 1941, Folder 570, Box 51, Series P,  RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
3 Walter Hoving to JDR Jr., April 9, 1941; Arthur W. Packard to Hoving, April 21, 1941; Packard to  JDR Jr., April, 21, 1941; and JDR, Jr. to Hoving, June 2, 1941, Folder 576, Box 52, Series P,  RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
4 H.A. Drum to Nelson A. Rockefeller (NAR), April 11, 1940; Arthur W. Packard to JDR Jr., June 28, 1940; Frank Knox to T.A. Rymer, November 12, 1940, copy, Folder 223, Box 22, Series R, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
5 JDR Jr., “The USO, Its Background, Origin, Set-Up, and Why I Believe in It.”  Talk at business men’s dinner, Thursday, March 19, 1942, at Rockefeller Plaza, 67th Floor, New York, NY, Folder 605, Box 54, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
6 Arthur W. Packard to JDR Jr., August 14, 1941, Folder 612, Box 54, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
7 JDR Jr. to Richard W. Lawrence, June 20, 1941, Folder 570, Box 51, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
8 “To New York City Parents & Neighbors, An Appeal by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Manager  
Robert F. Keegan, Governor Herbert H. Lehman, Colonial Arthur V. McDermott, With a foreword by Richard W. Lawrence,” July 1941, pamphlet, p. 7, Folder 585, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
9 Mary McLeod Bethune to JDR Jr., July 10, 1941, Folder 589; Harold Dodds to JDR Jr., July 9, 1941, Folder 590; Claude Pepper to JDR Jr., July 12, 1941, Folder 591, Box 53, Series P, RG  2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
10 D.R. Sharpe to JDR Jr., July 29, 1941, Folder 592, Box 53, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
11 F.J. Spellman to JDR Jr., July 9, 1941, Folder 592, Box 53, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC.  
12 Roger W. Straus to JDR  Jr., July 9, 1941; John M. Schiff to JDR Jr., July 9, 1941, Folder 592, Box 53, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
13 Arthur Hays Sulzberger to JDR Jr., July 9, 1941, Folder 592, Box 53, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
14 T.J. Ross to JDR Jr., September 15, 1941, Folder 587, Untitled Document, Summary of Editorial and Editorial Paragraphs, (September 1941), Folder 588, Box 53, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
15 “John D. Rockefeller, Dangerous Agitator.” Daily Worker (July 11, 1941), p. 6,  clipping, Folder 589, Box 53, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
16 “John D. Rockefeller’s Principles for Living.” Boy’s Life (September 1941), clipping,  Folder 595,  Box 53, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
17 Thomas E. Dewey, Memorandum-To The Officers and Members of the Executive Committee of the USO, October 30, 1941, Folder 562, Box 50,  Series P, RG 2 OMR , Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC.   
18 Raymond Fosdick to Arthur W. Packard, April 27, 1942, and an undated confidential report made by Fowler Harper, Chairman of the Joint Army and Navy Committee on Welfare and Recreation (before April 27, 1942), Folder 614, Box 54, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
                                                                                                                                                                                           
19 To Files from Lindsley F. Kimball, Memorandum, Subject: Interview with Monsignor McEntegart, May 15, [1942], May 18, 1942, Folder 614, Box 54, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
20 Lindsley F. Kimball, “Community and Campaign Relationships of the United Service Organizations, Inc. As of August 15, 1942, unpublished report, Folder 613, Box 54, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
21Raymond Fosdick, Confidential, Memorandum on the USO, April 23, 1942, p. 2,  Folder 571, Box 51, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC.   
22 Harper Sibley to JDR Jr., March 9, 1942, Folder 570, Box 51, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
23 James R. Angell to JDR Jr., April 10, 1942, Folder 570, Box 51, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC.  
24 Herbert Hoover to JDR Jr., March 21, 1942; JDR Jr. to James P. Adams, March 13, 1942; Adams to JDR Jr., March 13, 1942, Folder 570, Box 51, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 25 JDR Jr. to Oliver C. Carmichael, April 10, 1942, Folder 570, Box 51, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
26 Frederick Osborn to JDR Jr., April 7, 1942, Folder 611, Box 54, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
27 JDR Jr. to Chester I. Barnard, April 9, 1942; JDR Jr. to W. Spencer Robertson, April 20, 1942; Barnard to JDR Jr., April 20, 1942, Folder 575, Box 51, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
28 Arthur W. Packard to JDR Jr., October 6, 1941, Folder 612, Box 54, Series P; Ray Johns to Henry W. 
Pope, March 4, 1944; Johns to Arthur Packard, March 10, 1944, Folder 563, Box 50, Series P, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC.  In his letter to Packard, Johns observed the facilities for African American GIs in Boston: “As you may know some of the Negro leaders in Boston have been urging the use of the centers in Boston by members of both races.  The Boston USO Soldiers and Sailors Committee, under the leadership of Mr. Hodgkinson, experimented with having a few Negro hostesses there to dance with Negro Service Men.  The Massachusetts State Law forbids the limited use of buildings on public property to any one race.  The experiment did not prove very satisfactory to either the Negroes or to the white people who attended, although no objectionable instance occurred, as far as I know.”  
29 Chester I. Barnard to Arthur W. Packard, January 29, 1944, Folder 563, Box 50, Series P, Arthur W. Packard to JDR Jr., Memorandum, March 10, 1944, Folder 612, Box 54, Series P,  RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
30 Martha Cross to JDR Jr., (March 1942), Folder 224, Box 22, Series R, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
31 JDR Jr. to Mrs. Eliot (Martha) Cross, March 26, 1942, Folder 224, Box 22, Series R, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC.  
32 Eleanor Wilson to JDR Jr., December 19, 1942, Folder 224, Box 22, Series R, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 
33 Norris L. Tibbets to JDR Jr., January 9, 1943, Eleanor Wilson to JDR Jr., January 16, 1943, Folder 224, Box 22, Series R, RG 2 OMR, Rockefeller Family Archives, RAC. 

Christmas on the Roer River, Germany - 1944, 102d Infantry Division

Homer Hooks served in the 102nd Infantry Division during World War II. Here he recalls a brief cease fire between German and American soldiers stationed across each other on the banks of the Roer River in Germany on Christmas day, 1944.

In Memory of PFC Erwin Henry Blair, KIA, Trained at Camp Maxey, 99th Infantry Division 393rd Infantry Regiment

PFC Erwin Henry Blair

Erwin Henry Blair served in the 393rd Infantry Regiment of the 99th Infantry Division, attaining the rank of Private 1st Class. His serial number was 37550195. The following account of Erwin’s division is taken from the Army Ground Forces Fact Sheet of the 99th Infantry Division of 1947, supplemented by the Wikipedia article U.S. 99th Infantry Division (August 3, 2005 version) and the eyewitness account of John Rarick in the 99th Infantry Division Association Checkerboard.

The 99th Division was activated November 15, 1942 at Camp Dorn, Mississippi, under the command of Major General Thompson Lawrence, and was assigned to the IV Corps. While at Camp Dorn it came successively under the XV, VII and IX Corps of the Third Army. Command was transferred from Lawrence to Major General Walter E. Lauer in July, 1943. In September, October and November 1943, the 99th took part in the Third Army maneuvers in Louisiana. Following these maneuvers, the division was transferred to Camp Maxey, Texas and came under the X Corps of the Third Army.

The Division departed the U.S. for foreign duty September 30, 1944, arriving in England on October 10, where it trained briefly before being moved to Le Havre, France on November 3. It then proceeded to Aubel, Belgium, to prepare for combat.

The 99th was put into the line near Bütgenbach in the province of Liège. There it first saw action against the Germans on November 9. On November 16 it relieved the 9th Infantry Division and 102nd Cavalry Group in the vicinity of Aubel and on the 18th proceeded to an area near Wirtzfeld where its first big artillery duel with the enemy ensued. In December it aided in the defense of the V Corps sector north of the Roer River between Schmidt and Monschau. In Mid-December a drive was launched to the northeast as the 99th began probing the Siegfried Line against heavy resistance on December 13.

The Germans’ Ardennes Offensive, the initial phase of the Battle of the Bulge, caught the Division on the 16th. Although cut up and surrounded in part, the 99th held as a whole until reinforcements came.

Erwin did not survive the action, dying December 17, 1944, aged 21, near Liège, Belgium. His death is recorded by John Rarick, a fellow member of the Division taken prisoner of war: “After traveling about 200 yards we came to the command post where Lt. Harry Nowlin and Sgt. Gilliam of the 3rd squad were dug in or built up. They were all alive but captured. Their only casualty was my close friend, Erwin 'Buddy' Blair of Wadena MN.

“Blair, also a BAR man, had been ordered by Lt. Nowlin to surrender but refused and continued firing. The Germans had leveled his position with potato mashers or hand grenades, killing Blair and seriously wounding his assistant . . . Tish Hebert.”

Erwin’s body was later buried in Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial, two miles northwest of the village of Henry-Chapelle, Belgium, between Liège and Aachen, Germany.

In Memory of Thomas O'Brian, KIA, Trained at Camp Maxey, 26th Infantry Division, 101st Infantry Regiment, C Company

A Picture Worth Remembering...Thomas O'Brien KIA WW2

Written By Bob Lessard, published in Middleboro Gazette,May 27,1999.

It was a discarded book from a library sale, that prompted this Memorial Day story to be written. Entitled “the History of the 26th Yankee Division,” the book covers the history of the famed military unit from its inception on Aug. 13, 1917 until its deactivation on Dec. 29, 1945. Published by the Yankee Division’s Veterans Association, it is the historic account of the division’s battles, heroics and casualties of the First and Second World Wars. One picture from the pages of the book was a stark reminder of the sacrifices of all servicemen who served and fought during those two World Wars. It is quite a picture. Middleboro resident Cpl. Thomas F. O’Brien of the United States Army is pictured during the Battle of the Bulge campaign in January, 1945.

He was a technician fifth grade with C Company of the 101st Infantry, Yankee Division, and was seen sitting on a snow bank eating a meal from his mess kit. The story line with the picture reads:  

“Blanketed in all the clothing he could commandeer to try to keep out the penetrating cold, Infantryman Thomas O’Brien, Middleboro, Mass., squats in the snow on the Western front to eat a cold ration in a momentary lull in the fighting of his regiment, the 101st Infantry.”

The picture grabbed the attention in many circles. After the war it was published in books in Germany and France. It was included a PBS special called “Battle of the Bulge-An American Experience,” which was televised several years ago. Born on June 10, 1921 at Providence, R.I. and raised in Woonsocket, O’Brien resided at 45 West Street in Middleboro, where his widowed mother had moved the family in June of 1941.

O’Brien, called “Red” by the family for his bright red hair, entered the service on Nov. 28, 1942. Following training at Camp Maxey and Camp Swift in Texas, O’Brien was shipped to England for assignment. He saw action in France and Belgium during the first years of the War.

His mother, Mrs. Madeline O’Brien, who had moved to 56 School Street, had received government notification on Feb. 12, 1945 reporting that her son was “missing in action as of January 25.” She was notified a week later, on Feb. 19 of his death in Luxembourg on the Western European front.  Besides his mother he left three brothers, George, Robert, and James, and, a sister Dorothy.

The picture of O’Brien published in the Yankee Division’s History book had been taken on Jan. 12, 1945 in the village of Meecher-Dundkrodt. Arthur Hertz, a US Army Signal Corps member of the 166th combat photographers unit, took the picture for the military newspaper “Stars and Stripes.”

Only 13 days after the picture was taken, O’Brien was killed by sniper fire, while guarding a crossroads in the village of Chervaux near the German border.  A front-page story in the Feb. 23 “Middleboro Gazette” told of his death. The one column-wide headline read: “Corporal Met Death in Luxembourg Sector.” The story then told of his death, the government communiques to his mother and his military record.

Cpl. O’Brien’s body wasn’t returned to the United States. He is buried in an American military cemetery at Henri-Chapelle, Belgium. The cemetery covers 57 acres and contains 7,989 graves of US servicemen. There is also a list of the names of some 450 soldiers who are listed as missing in action.

On May 2, 1995, during the 50th anniversary of the Second World War, Dorothy O’Brien Sliney of Oak Street,” Red” O’Brien’s sister, visited Henri-Chapelle cemetery with her son, James Ditano of Thorndike, Maine.

Interviews with Mrs. Sliney and James revealed their extensive research into the military service and death of their brother and uncle.

Mrs. Sliney talked about the picture of her brother appearing in many publications and of its significance. “That picture shows the real hardships which all the boys suffered during the war, “she said.

Her son James told of meeting with Joseph Shoettert of Winsler, Luxembourg, who at age 14, watched the American forces liberate his village during the final stages of the Battle of the Bulge. Shoettert told of his family hiding in a wine cellar for narly 30 days during the battle, according to James.

“Shoettert invited us to his home, where he had books from Germany and France that had my uncle’s picture printed in them,” said the Maine resident. “That was a real surprise.”

“Another irony concerning my uncle’s death, was the fact that his brother George William, who died in 1991, also fought in the Battle of the Bulge with the 99th Infantry,” Ditano told the Gazette. “In fact, he was the first to learn how uncle “Red” got killed.”

“His unit ran into members of C Company and it was those people who gave him eyewitness accounts of how uncle “Red” got shot in the neck by a sniper and killed instantly.”

Upon seeing the PBS film on the Battle of the Bulge, Ditano read the film credits and learned that a special division of the Smithsonian Institute had supplied the still pictures.

“I called the Smithsonian to see if I could obtain a copy of the picture. The gal I talked with remembered that particular photo among the millions stored there. Within days she supplied me with a negative and the name of the Signal Corps photographer, A. Holz,” Ditano said. “Later, I found Mr. Holz living in Rochester, N.Y., where he was retired from Kodak Company. I explained the search for information about my uncle and he invited me to his home.”

“He showed me his photo log book, which contained the date, location and the name of my uncle. Unfortunately, he couldn’t really remember much about talking with my uncle.”

“Red” O’Brien was killed after fighting for more than two years in Europe. The day he was killed, Jan. 25, 1945, was the turning point of the Battle of the Bulge and the war in Europe ended only months later.

Thomas O’Brien is just one of the thousands of young men who failed to return home to their loved ones. Memorial Day is that chance for the rest of America to remember those who served the nation.

His picture was circulated to the nation's news media by the Army Signal Corps through Globe-Acme with a caption which read: "COLD RATIONS in the snow are consumed, if not enjoyed, by Thomas O'Brien of Middleboro."

O'Brien's name is listed on the main casualty monument in Middleboro's Veterans Memorial Park.

Corporal O'Brien's remains were buried in an American Military Cemetery at Henri-Chapelle, Belgium.

In Memory of Forest Joseph Luc, KIA, ETO, Trained Camp Maxey, 102d Infantry Division, 407th Infantry Regiment, Co. L

Forest Joseph Luc

1918 Apr 3 born BSL - 4th child of 8 children

1920 Good Children St Bay St Louis, MS - Census 7 Jan 1920 - age 1yr + 8 months

1942 Nov 6 Enlisted in Army age 24 & 7months @ Camp Shelby  H69" 128Ibs 424 Easterbrook

1943 Trained at Camp Maxey with 102d ID, 407^th Infantry Regiment, Co. L

1943 Jan 27 Boot Camp - age 24 + 9 months

1944 Sep 3 Leaves to fight in Europe age 26 yrs + 5 months

1944 Nov 30 Death in Germany - 26yrs + 7 months

(Editors Note:  Although I have not found an exact reference to the death of Pvt. Luc, I have found several firsthand reports of battle on November 30 that involved Co. L.  It sustained heavy casualties that day and my assumption is Pvt. Luc was one of them.  The reports below came from the web pages at http://carol_fus.tripod.com which I highly recommend for further reading.)

The Open Field Attack

by Paul Wible - 407-L

http://carol_fus.tripod.com/army_hero_wible_paul4.html

     "Bob Lally wanted me to write up a description of how it felt to attack across an open field with machine guns firing at us. I did the best I could as f remember it. When I sent it to him he thought I should send it to the Notes. Use your judgment " We did. Thanks.

     How does it feel when advancing across an open field with machine guns firing from the other side? This happened to us only one time. There were other times when we advanced, we were expecting to be fire at but It did not materialize. If it had, I probably would not have survived because the laws of probability would not allow one to live through more than one experience such as this.

     On November 30, 1944 outside the town of Welz in the Rhineland, we made such an attack and German machine gunners were waiting for us at a distance of approximately one mile from our starting point. In our first attack there was a somewhat aura of unreality that surrounded us. Even with bullets coming so close to our head that they hurt our eardrums, we did not fully grasp the fact that these bullets would mean certain death if they had been an inch or two closer, it seemed as long as we moved forward, we did not realize we were in mortal danger. As proof of this, when a rabbit jumped up and started running to our right, Jim Zanes swung his rifle around and fired at the rabbit instead of continuing to fire in the direction of the German machine guns. The rabbit didn't get hit but it was luckier than over 50% of those in our platoon. Many of our buddies on our right, on our left, and to the rear were either killed or seriously wounded.

     Only about four of us reached a small thicket and became pinned down so completely, that to have raised our head one inch would have meant certain death, did the realization come over me that I was in great danger. When this hit me, it was the greatest mental torture I have ever experienced. It was so great that I wanted to shoot myself to escape.

     In later attacks, when we knew we would have to cross open fields and were aware of what machine guns would do to us, we still climbed out of our fox holes and advanced toward the enemy. When we knew the odds, how did we feel as the time approached? Thankfully, we were somewhat numbed by fatigue and lack of sleep, but still capable of experiencing feeling of fear and extreme anxiety. In later years I would feel a slight resemblance to this feeling when getting ready to speak before a large group. It was the feeling that I was going to fail miserably but also aware that I was going to do it no matter what the consequences.

     When the call came, we simply got up and advanced. After all of the years that have passed since these events, I frequently dream I am back in the war getting ready to make an attack and these anxieties return. In retrospect, had I not gotten out of my fox hole and moved forward when the command was given, I would not want to talk about my war experiences to anyone. I would try to forget and wipe out all memories of army life. I would under no conditions want to go to our 102nd Division reunions and face my buddies.

     ----- Paul Wible

(Editor's note: Attempts were made throughout the text of the following story to place full names to the men listed in the story. For the most part, this is an educated guess and some names may very well be mistaken in their identy. The names were all taken from the division history book: With The 102d Infantry Division Through Germany, edited by Major Allen H. Mick. Using the text as a guide, associations with specific units were the basis for the name identifications. We are not attempting in any to rewrite the story. Any corrections are gladly welcomed.)

Just Rewards - WWII Combat Experiences of Grant Miswald

By Grant Miswald/Robert W. "Bob" Lally

(As told to or witnessed by Bob Lally, a foxhole buddy)

     Like many lowly riflemen during World War II, Grant Miswald's exceptional heroic achievements were never officially recognized, nor was he ever rightfully cited for bravery, or awarded earned medals.

     But in the words of his squad leader, S/Sgt. Richard Smith, for Miswald and his few surviving comrades, just being alive was glory enough. Smith was shot through the head by an enemy machine gun, given up for dead when he couldn't answer shouts, and abandoned when attempts to reach him failed. After being miraculously rescued, and spending four months in the hospital in England having the roof of his mouth rebuilt. Smith was callously returned to the front for more action. The bullet had entered just below his left eye and exited behind his right ear.

     Of the six ASTP men in Miswald's squad, three: Long, [Arthur T.] Kubler [Joseph E.] and Orzekowski, [Leonard W.] were killed in action. Two: Miswald and Reynolds, [Lloyd W.]were seriously wounded. Only Lally escaped with minor wounds.

     ASTP, which stands for the controversial Army Specialized Training Program, was terminated early in the year 1944, and the men sent involuntarily to the infantry. Fooled by enticing army promises, Miswald and his friends briefly attended Purdue University for specialized engineering training. Probably never before in history, or since, has a nation so wantonly wasted its best, brightest and bravest men on the field of battle as ordinary soldiers. Orzekowski wanted to be a priest, after first serving his beloved country. Another KIA friend, Krumiauf, [Joel W.] wanted to be a minister, like his father.

     One November 30, 1944 Miswald's Ozark Division attacked a formidable enemy deeply entrenched in the midst of the German Siegfried Line. They met stiff resistance.

     Incredibly, Miswald was the only member of the decimated 200 man, L Company 407th Infantry, to reach the company objective, which was to encircle the Rhineland village of Welz. Covered with blood (not his own) and nearly exhausted, after dark he alone managed to enter the village from the rear and contact the frontal assault troops, with whom he spent the night.

     Earlier that day, when his lead platoon encountered heavy machine gun fire from the front, Lt. Morris [Joseph B.] sent Miswald's squad on a flanking maneuver, attacking up the wooded hill on their unprotected right flank. Surprisingly, they successfully managed to reach the ridge, which opened up onto a broad, flat, open plain leading to the villages tucked along the Roer River, less than a mile away.

     Miswald and three others then followed along the high ridge toward the company objective. As they crept along the ridge, they were fired upon from below by their own troops,-- who mistook them for enemy soldiers. They kept going until a concealed enemy machine gun opened up on the from short range, killing Long and Kubler and mortally wounding Stamirowski, [Theodore] a day old replacement.

     Carrying Stamirowski on his back, Miswald tried to cart him to safety. Before he died, Stamirowski sadly talked about his loving family back in the States. It was two days later before Miswald was able to wash Stamirowski's blood from his hands and clothing.

     The next day after the failed attack, the remnants of Miswald's platoon - about a dozen men - attacked again, and managed to secure the ridge and a long, deep tank trap a hundred yards beyond, but most of the enemy had already retreated.

     Then, according to Miswald, going back over the battlefield of the previous day and examining the dead, Lt, Morris, the platoon leader, remarked to Miswald, "What in the hell were you guys doing way up here?"

     In mid-December, scheduled to lead the attack across the Roer River, Miswald's battalion was back in Holland for a practice crossing of the Maas River near Masstrichtwhen the Germans counterattacked south of them. During the following cold, miserable, lonely winter days of the Battle of the Bulge, Miswald's outfit froze defending the exposed northern flank of the American Army.

     During their brief stay in a brick factory in Holland, Miswald, Reynolds and Lally befriended some young Dutch boys, who managed to get them a haircut, have their pictures taken by a professional photographer, and arranged for them to sleep in their house in beds with white sheets and down comforters. This incident was one of the few brighter moments in a brutal war.

     In late January, 1945, when returning at night through the town of Linnich from a mission in the bottomlands along the raging Roer River, the enemy attacked with mortars in the center of town near the church plaza. Three rounds dropped in on Miswald's squad which was strung out single file. Miswald was hit with fragments from all three rounds, Reynolds from two, and McLemore, [Arthur J., Jr.] from one.

     A bloody mess, Miswald was helped to a busy aid station located nearby in a brick barn (now the police station and museum) and deposited on straw in the big arched doorway. When Lally tried to comfort him while awaiting medical attention, Miswald said 'Don't worry about me. I'm going home. You're the unlucky one." That's the kind of person he was, always concerned about others. His million dollar wounds, arm and head nerve injuries, won him a medical discharge and a life of suffering and pain.

     Today Just outside the Rhineland town of Linnich, a huge memorial stone at the St. Hubertus Cross wayside shrine honors Miswald's spirit and memory. Erected by veterans and villagers, it proudly displays the Ozark Division insignia. In the town inside St. Martinus Church, a similar Peace Window memorial honors all victims of the war.

     Surely, many just rewards must await Miswald in Heaven. He was more than a comrade, buddy, and friend. He was extended family, a brother, and will be dearly missed.

----- Grant Miswald/Bob Lally

Return from the Dead

by S/Sgt. Richard G. Smith, 407-L.

     Up front with the infantry during a major WWII battle, just as I had mustered enough courage to go up and over the top of a steep embankment, a German machine gun opened fire and shot me in the face. The bullet entered just below my left eye and exited behind my right ear. It felt as if someone had hit me in the head with a sledge hammer.

     Instinctively I fell down into a deep plow furrow along side of an unharvested sugar beet field, Terrified, in shock, and probably mortally wounded, I just laid there and bled -- for what seemed to be an eternity. Struggling to remain conscious, I spit out the blood.

     No one followed me, but I could hear two of my men, Cobb (Roy A.) and Blank (Lloyd F.), calling to me. With the roof of my mouth caved in, there was no way I could answer them. I could also hear the machine gun continuing to fire when they unsuccessfully tried to climb over the embankment to check on me.

     I was an infantry squad leader with the rank of staff sergeant, but this obviously was not a good day. As far as I knew, the four of us, including a seriously wounded day-old replacement who didn't make it, were tne only survivors of an eleven man infantry squad. At the time, I was trying to contact other elements of our company off to our left. I didn't know they were being decimated by the same type of withering machine gun fire that we had encountered from the front, the ridge and the deep tank trap over the ridge on our exposed right flank.

     The foul early morning weather proved to be an evil omen. A heavy ground fog delayed the ill-fated attack until mid-morning. Our objective was to encircle the village of Welz from the south by having the second and third squads give covering fire to the first squad moving up along the creek and wooded area. The elite opposing troops of the German 10th SS Panzer Division were well positioned and entrenched to thwart any such obvious maneuver. Because of an extreme shortage of shells, there was to be no artillery support.

     This operation was part of an all out American effort to penetrate the vaunted Siegfried Line north of Aachen - out of Holland. It was the first major Allied thrust into Germany.

     The Army newspaper Stars and Stripes reported that it involved some of the heaviest fighting of the war. It had become a war of attrition, simular to WWI, with devastated villages changing hands several times - and with big tank battles raging about them. At the infantry squad level, though, we knew only what we could see and hear.

     Little did we realize that we were walking into the valley of death. As soon as we, the first squad, entered the deep wooded draw, we lost contact with the other supporting squads. Hundreds of yards up the draw, our scouts encountered heavy enemy fire from the front and flanks, creating confusion and uncertainty among the troops spread out in the draw.

     At the same time we were being bombarded with German artillery shells exploding in the trees above our heads. The shelling increased when American tanks emerged from the village of Lindern to help us.

     I made it to the top of the ridge on the right with several of my men being led by Grant Miswald. Kubler (Joseph E.), Long (Arthur T.), Stamirowski (Theodore) and others were quickly cut down by machine gun fire from an enemy position below the ridge. That's when I decided to try to contact the other squads off to our left on the other side of the creek and draw - where my good friend Lee Powell was still fighting.

     After being wounded, I don't know how long I laid in that plow furrow unable to even move. Afterwards I found out that my men in the draw below had given me up for dead when I didn't answer their shouts. However, the next thing that I knew someone else was in the plow furrow at my feet trying to get my attention.

     It was another one of my men, a retreating scout*, who had risked a quick mad dash up the embankment to check on me. After much agonizing, my men had concluded that I would never abandon one of them without first checking to make sure that he was dead.

     After seeing my gruesome bloodied face and motionless body, my rescuer also thought that I was dead - he had risked his life for nothing. When he saw my eyes open it was like the dead coming back to life - a miracle.

     Hugging the ground, he cut off my field pack and equipment. He then tried to convince me to crawl forward up the plow furrow a few yards to where some bushes partially hid the brink of the embankment. Not being able to talk, I couldn't argue. But still in shock, petrified with fear and seriously wounded, I didn't know if I could do it. Once there, our only hope was to crawl quickly to the brink of the embankment and tumble over. He had even more trouble trying to talk me into going first, since the first man with the element of surprise always has the best chance to make it - which I did.

     Once again in the protection of the draw, we jumped into the cold icy stream and followed it back to our lines, where luckily we stumbled onto an aid station of another battalion. The doctor, a Capt. Whitlock, patched me up, tagged me, and loaded me into a meat wagon (ambulance) for transportation back to Holland. From there I was air lifted to England, repaired, and about four months later callously returned to the front for more action. The doctors in England told me that a small fraction of an inch any way on the path the bullet took through my head and I would be dead. The wound would have been fatal.

     The word in the rear that night of the battle was that L Company had been wiped out.

     Not many of our platoon survived. One of the wounded, another scout, Carmen Brown (from Iowa), was shot in the teeth by a German burp gun from close range. Coughing up the slug which went down his throat, he survived by playing dead - which didn't take much acting. Another squad leader, S/Sgt. Gannon, (Vincent J.)(RI) was hit five times in one leg. Another rifleman, Martin Keaveney (MA) lost a leg.

     The list of our platoon dead included T/Sgt. Hilton Harrison (OK), S/Sgt. Jakie Moran (IA), Sgt. Hamilton Walker (MA). Leonard Orzechowski (MI), Craig Kendal (UT), Arthur Long (WA), William Gamble (AR), Robert Schnoor (IL), Theodore Stamirowski (NY), Joseph Kubler (PA), Ambrose Gray (OH), Joel Krumlauf (OH), and Irving Hoffman (PA). They were some of America's best, brightest and bravest men. Orzechowski's ambition was to be a priest. Krumlauf wanted to be a minister.

     Foremost on the minds of these men at the time were concerns about their buddies, the comerades, their fellow-man. There is no greater love...

     The previous article was prepared by Smith and two of his friends several months prior to his death of natural causes on January 13, 1989.

     Smith loved his homeland -- the mountains and woods of north central Pennsylvania where he reported bagging six wild turkeys and missing many more during his lifetime.

     Although smith's wife, Kathleen, and his children knew about his war wound, he never talked about it to any of his associates at the Navy facility in central Pennsylvania where he worked after the war. Fortunately, during the last year of his life he initiated contact through Ozark Notes and greatly enjoyed renewed friendships of his war years.

     Smith's unusual story, perhaps one of the most dramatic human interest incidents of WWII, was never recorded prior to this article. The article received its final editing by collaboration of the Co. L, 407th attendees at the Tucson reunion. For Smith, just being alive was glory enough.

----- Richard Smith

1949 Apr 9 Remains brought home for burial

1956 VFW Raises flag in his honor St. Stanislaus Stadium