Quartermaster Section
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Camp Atterbury. June 25 -The Post Quartermaster Branch, which on June 16. joined in marking the 170th Anniversary of the Quartermaster Corps. has gone into high gear in every section to meet increased demands for supplies and service brought about by the Army's redeployment program, according to Maj. Charles D. Edmondson, Post Quartermaster.

As the Reception Station and Separation Center of the War Department Personnel Center near peak capacity, the Quartermaster Branch keeps pace in supplying necessary clothing and equipment to overseas returnees before they leave the Reception Station on furlough and in making it possible for dischargees from the Separation Center to return home neatly dressed, complete with discharge emblem.

This increased activity is in addition to the regular supplying of Atterbury units with food, clothing and equipment as well as serving numerous other installations in the Fifth Service Command. Included also is the initial issue of uniforms and personal equipment to selectees being processed by the Reception Center.

Big Business

A vivid picture of current operations of the Quartermaster Branch is given In figures on activities of various sections during May. The Property Section clothed a total of 29,657 men; classified 231,080 articles received 88,684 pieces from off the Post; and processed and passed 29,607 items.

The Sales and Subsistence Section made sales totaling $19,994.87; garrison ration sales were $165,271.05; a total of 420,944 field rations and 11,494 troop train rations were issued; and 210,454 pounds of bread were baked by the Post Bakery.
During May, 120,778 gallons of gasoline, 5,318 gallons of lubricants and 2,152 gallons of kerosene were issued. The Post Laundry last month handled a total of 1,478,620 pieces.

According to Capt. Glenn E. Findiey, Executive Officer, the average returnee soldier processed by the Reception Station, turns in seven Items of unserviceable or soiled clothing in exchange for clean ones before going home on furlough. Men being discharged from the Separation Center will also average drawing this amount.

70,000 Articles Weekly

To clean and repair these articles which total approximately 70,000 a week, requires fast work on the part of the laundry and post dry cleaning facilities. Formerly 60 to 90 days were allowed In which to ready such clothing for reissue but the time has now been cut to 10 days and soon may be reduced to seven.
Capt. Lew R. Hotchkiss, Stock Control Officer has added too the supply of clothing being thus rotated by requisitioning all items obtainable from other posts and stations, but of the 46 items which a soldier wears or carries, the Quartermaster Branch is now issuing approximately 832,000 per month which by weight is over a million pounds and the amount continues to grow.

Segregation Section

The Segregation Section, under the direction of Lt. Miriam E. Schuss, WAC Clothing and, Equipment Classification Officer, receives the unserviceable or dirty clothing turned in. After inspection And classification of each Individual Item, those needing repair are sent to Combined Maintenance Shops and others to the laundry.
After renovation, the clothing goes to the Storage and Issue Section of which Lt. B. S. Filipek is Principal Warehouse Officer. It is then issued to the fitting warehouse, which serves the Reception Station Separation Center, and Reception Center, and to Post organizations on requisition.

Shirts destined for men being discharged at the Separation Center have the discharge emblem already sewn on but in the case of blouses, this is done while the men are being processed. A pressing service for separates is also operated by the Quartermaster branch.

Subsistence Section

The Subsistence Section under the direction of Capt. George F. Crollan, Sales Officer is also coping with many new problems due to expansion of the War Department Personnel Center units. It is estimated that approximately 70 percent of the camp personnel are now transients - remaining here from one to 30 days. The consequent variations in population add to the difficulties in procuring and issuing food items. The shift to consolidated mess halls in many post units has also complicated the distribution of rations. Lt. Henry Spitzner is Assistant Sales Officer. 

Post Laundry

The Post Laundry has also risen to meet the new demands put upon its services. The work involved in washing clothing turned in by returnees and discharge's has necessitated going to three shifts. The increase in the number of large items such as sheets and blankets from Wakeman has also added to the work. Lt. R. H. Jernigan is Laundry Officer and Wyatt Cargill Is Superintendent.

Care and supply of Kitchen equipment in post mess halls which formerly was a responsibility of the Post Engineers is now also a function of the Quartermaster Branch.

Spirit of Cooperation

Much of the credit for the manner in which the Quartermaster Branch has risen to meet the new demands put upon it, is due to the spirit of cooperation existing among the various sections and coordination of effort. Maj. Edmondson has instituted weekly meetings of his staff' during. which mutual problems arc discussed and the opinions of all expressed as to short cuts in procedure and better ways of doing the job.

"The fastest and biggest Army the world has ever known can only be supplied by the mast efficient business methods devised and the whole hearted co-operation of all military and civilian personnel in getting the job done", stated Ma j Edmondson. "The Quartermaster slogans. "Keep 'em rolling" and "Service to the line" arc more important now than ever before."

Rush Order of Sheets Delivered by Plane
Supplies and equipment reach the Quartermaster Branch by every method of transportation, including air transport occasionally.  Shown here unloading part of a rush order of sheets from a C-47 aircraft at the Atterbury Army Air Field, are, l-r: Pfc Donald Lutz, Joseph Clouse, Hope; T/5 Michael Pastor and Sgt. Russell Martin.  The enlisted men are of Hq. Section, Station Compliment.

Issue Section Meets Increased Demand
In the clothing warehouse of the Quartermaster Storage and Issue Section, Lt. B. S. Filipek, Principal Warehouse Officer and a group of section employees inspect an order of clothing and shoes destined for a Post organization.  l-r, 1st Row, by shoes, are: Thomas Sacks, Paragon; Francis Anderson, office clerk, North Vernon and Lt. Filipek.  2nd Row: (holding box) Clarence Wales, Franklin; Eva Rund, clerk, Martinsville; Verna Brenner, checker, Edinburg;  Doris Gray, checker, Franklin; Gertrude Melton, checker, Franklin; 3rd Row: Cpl Elio Tarquinio, non-commissioned officer in charge of warehouse, and Jesse Wilhite, Franklin.

Supplying Gas for Post Also QM Function.
Supplying the Post with gasoline and lubricants as well as operation of the sales service station are also the work of the Quartermaster Section.  While filling the tanks of one of the sections' trucks, personnel of the section paused long enough for a picture.  l-r: T/5 Charles Grant, Clayton Harger, Martinsville (in truck); Pfc Charles Duvall, Cpl Robert Moran, and Pfc John Wilson.

Laundry Aids Clothing Conservation
The Post Laundry, in addition to serving Post personnel, also receives for laundering, clothing turned in by overseas returnees, which is later re-issued.  Here checking a cart of such clothing are, l-r: Ona Pearcy, tumbler supervisor, Paragon; Elizabeth Skinner, shipping supervisor, Morgantown; Anne Fish, checking and shipping foreman, Edinburg; Harry Hensley, general foreman, Trafalgar; Wyatt Crgal, superintendent, Franklin and Lt. R. H. Jernigan, Laundry Officer.

Helping to Keep Ours Best Dressed Army
The Segregation Section receives all unserviceable Quartermaster items, including soiled or damaged clothing turned in by overseas returnees from the Reception Station and men being discharged at the Separation Center.  The articles are segregated for repair or salvage, cleaned and returned to stock.  Shown here inspecting clothing, are, l-r: T/Sgt Ralph Jones, in charge of prisoner of war details; Curtiss Young, administrative assistant, Martinsville; Lela McCarty, inspector, Shelbyville; Wilma Stubbs, supervisor, Shelbyville; Lt Miriam E. Schauss, Clothing and Equipment Officer; and Pfc Donald Lutz, in charge of office machines and tentage.

Maj Charles D. Edmundson, Post Quartermaster and personnel of the administrative sections, here discuss new problems being met due to increased demands put upon the branch.  l-r: (seated) Capt Glenn E. Findley, Executive Officer; Maj Edmundson; Capt Lew R. Hotchkiss, Stock Control Officer; Ruth A. Johnson, Franklin, principal clerk, Stock Control Section; Standing, are: Mildred McCrea, Shelbyville, principal Property Section clerk; Anna H. Ramsey, Morgantown, in charge of Requisition Section; Florence Brokaw, Shelbyville, chief clerk; Martha L. Robbins, Shelbyville, in charge of Memorandum Section.

Mess Equipment reclaimed and re-issued
Shown sorting and classifying mess equipment in the Segregation Section warehouse are, l-r: John Shepperd, Edinburg; Earl Giele, storekeeper, Columbus; George Welsh, in charge of organizational equipment, Hope; and William Hollenback, Franklin.

Subsistence Section Reflects Changes
The Subsistence Section which receives, stores and issues fresh and canned food to all Post mess halls and a large number at Wakeman, has also stepped up operations recently due to the Camp's increased and fluctuating population.  Capt. George F. Cronan, Sales Officer, here discusses problems of the section with members of his staff and employees.  l-r: Sgt William F. Dugger, requisition clerk; Cpl Martin L. Harper, in charge of Sales Commissary; Florence W. Ward, accounting section cashier, Columbus; Lt. Henry Spitzner,  Assistant Sales Officer; Carl V. Howell, warehouse foreman, Columbus; S/Sgt Clifford V. Johnson, chief clerk.

Dirt causes typewriters to become sluggish, sometimes results in a "stoppage." Here Pfc Cyrus Schumacher applies a cleaning fluid under high pressure on one of the 4,000 machines under his care. Schumacher is the "family doctor" for all typewriters at Atterbury and several nearby installations.

Typewriters, like humans, must go on "sick call" occasionally. and a small building on Harrison Street serves as a "dispensary" for more than 4,000 machines from Atterbury, Stout Field, Freeman Field, the Terre Haute Ordnance Depot and several other nearby installations.

The Typewriter Repair Shop, one of the numerous projects of the Reclamation Branch of Post Quartermaster under Capt. A. W. Friday. does not confine itself to typewriters, however. It is also a harbor for broken adding machines, payroll machines and even time clocks.

Currently operating the shop are Pfc Cyprus E. Schumacher and two Prisoners of War. These three men can handle normal repairs on ten or more machines daily, but they sometimes receive as many as 25 in one day. Some days, however, they receive only two or three "cripples" and catch up on their work.  The shop is equipped to handle virtually any type of repair. but occasionally Schumacher has to sent a machine to its manufacturer for intricate repairs, or send for a small part he doesn't have on hand.

Civilians At Work...
Working in the mess gear section of the Post Quartermaster classification warehouse, Margaret Pollard, Franklin, left, and Mrs. Nona Little, Edinburg. are shown here with some of the 2,500 canteen cups they handle daily. Their job is to sort the cups into groups (stainless steel, aluminum. tin coated) for shipment to other camps.

Franklin Evening Star - 10 November 1945
Central Meat Cutting Plant offers steaks and chops ready for the fry pan.

With the establishment of a central meat cutting plant by the Post Quartermaster Branch recently, all camp mess halls now receive meat rations ready for the oven or frying pan, according to Maj. C. D. Edmundson, Post Quartermaster.

Formerly meat was delivered in bulk and the cutting done by unit mess hall personnel. The new plant reduces waste and effects substantial savings in time and labor through us of production line methods and latest meat handling equipment.  Capt. Walter W. Smith is in charge of the plant.

On an average day, between 12,000 and 18,000 pounds of meat are handled through the large cutting room.  This supplies all  the Post, plus Wakeman Hospital and Atterbury Air Field in Columbus.  

The meat arrives here in refrigerated rail cars or trucks and is hurried into a storage room, temperature of which is kept at 35 degrees. All meat is inspected thoroughly by the Post Veterinarian before processing.

From the storage room, quarters of beef are pulled into the cutting room by use of an overhead track. This room, also refrigerated, is lined with electric saws and grinders, with huge meat blocks in the center. Here the beef Is soon converted into steaks, roasts and other cuts by experienced butchers.

Afterwards the cut meat goes into another storage room, and kept below freezing temperature until delivered. The Quartermaster Branch keeps two trucks busy delivering the meat to camp mess halls.

S/Sgt: Denzil Nickell, non-commissioned officer in charge of the cutting room, recently was on detached service at Camp Shanks. N.Y., to observe operation of a similar installation there. In his absence. Sgt. Guido It. Ottolini, was in change. Both are members of Hq. Section, Station Complement.

The Central Meat Cutting Plant of the Post Quartermaster Branch is equipped with a variety of electric saws and grinders. Here, slicing chops with a handsaw are Cpl. Albert Greenleaf (left) and Sgt. Ottolini. both are members of Hq Section, Station Complement.

Page last revised 11/07/2012
James D. West
www.IndianaMilitary.org