|
Life on a farm in Butler County,
Kentucky
Soldier:
John Reed Fishburn S/N 35 483 005
I
grew up in a farm family that included brothers Leslie, Harvey, Herbert,
Roy and Ernest and sisters Edna, Alva, Ethel and Myrtle. Leslie was born
in 1895 so I had siblings that were old enough to teach me about what I
needed to learn to earn and to live a life.
A
farmer's year
A
farmer's year is any business's year; the year begins when the
accounting year starts. The year for a sharecropper usually begins when
he moves onto the Landlord's property. The move often occurs in February
for Kentucky sharecroppers. On my Daddy's place we simply used the
calendar year except for the school year. I will tell about a typical
farm year, starting with January.
January
was when I got excited about the coming end of Grammar School and spent
weekends playing games with my brothers and sisters or working on any
project that interested me. As I got older I rode down the hills on
sleds or in wagons that I made. I practiced tracking animals when it was
muddy along the creek or in the snow. It was fun to track a rabbit and
watch it bound away. Along about the end of January our thoughts were
about caring for the animals, mending fences, repairing buildings and
planning crops. There was always a need for wood to be carried to the
fires. We spent a lot of time in the kitchen to keep from using too much
firewood.
Carrying
wood to the wood box, near the kitchen stove, was a daily chore. My
sisters or Mother helped me when I spent the day working in the field.
When I was in school and after the school term ended in February the
chore was left for me. Wood had to be carried to the big fireplace
during the heating season. My part of that chore was to carry the wood
that I could lift and the kindling. The chores allowed me to see how
much wood that I could carry at a time. I also learned when I could
carry a backlog to the fireplace. Carrying the ashes to the ash pit was
not much fun when the wind caught the ashes as I tried to empty the pail
February
was the end of the Grade School year and a time to learn new skills in
the woodworking or black smith shop. Mending fences was a typical
outdoors task while the Kentucky clay was still soft. Hauling firewood
was not much fun. But it had to be done when we had failed to put in
enough firewood during the summer for the winter. Grafting fruit trees
was added to the list of things to do, as needed.
We
grafted the limbs from the wanted trees to the roots that always grew
under the orchard trees. We cut the woody fibers at a 20-30 degree
angle, tied the joint together and applied bees wax over the joint. Can
not do was never taught we simply did more than we expected to need.
Pride grew with success.
March
was a time to watch the fruit trees blossom, hope the fruit would set,
and begin the planting. Making a cold seed bed began at least two months
before the last frost, as we selected a sunny spot in the woods near a
wood source. We piled up as much wood as we needed to sterilize the soil
under the seedbed. Then we burned the wood and built a wood frame around
the seedbed as soon as the fire had burned out. Then we turned the soil
in the seedbed with a shovel and smoothed the bed with a rake. Then we
planted the seeds, tomato, pepper, flower and tobacco. After the seeds
were planted we covered the bed with cheesecloth. Then we built a fence
around the bed to keep animals off of the plot.
The
hot bed was used to start the sweet potatoes and yams. That bed was
located in a corner of the garden. Preparation began with digging an
eighteen-inch hole about 42-inches wide by 96-inches long. Then the hole
was filled with fresh horse or mule manure. A foot high frame around the
hole was filled with about six-inches of dirt. Then the seed potato
tubers were buried, in rows, in the soil. Boards were placed over the
frame to keep the heat inside. Daily watering caused the manure to decay
and heat the bed.
Soon
after the plant beds had been planted we cleaned the barn and barnyard.
We spent days as we loaded manure onto wagons and hauled it to the
fields. It was not a pleasant job but it felt good to test the muscles
in another way. The pride that I felt when I was told about a job done
well was as good as any pay that I could have received.
From
planting the seed in the beds and cleaning the barns we always had to go
on to grubbing the ever-present sassafras bushes. Those bushes grew as
fast as the tallest weeds it seemed. A sassafras plant will grow from
none to six feet high starting in the middle of July. In some of the
fields they had to be grubbed every year.
April
started the rush months. The ground had to be broken/plowed and prepared
for planting as we enjoyed the April showers. Days were spent in the
field and garden following a draft team behind a breaking plow or
dragging the plowed field. Carrots, peas and Irish potatoes were the
first crops to be planted. Planting the other garden crops, including
setting out the sweet potatoes, following planting the potatoes as soon
as possible. The blossoms on the dogwood trees provided bright spots in
the woods. If a chair needed a new bottom we cut the bark from a hickory
tree and made the canes for the seats. I have seen chairs in use 50
years after had repaired them.
A
14-inch mole board plow was used to open the furrows for the Irish
potatoes. Seed potato pieces, cut with two eyes on each piece, were
dropped into the furrow and covered by a second pass with the plow.
The
14-inch mole board plow was used to heap the dirt for the sweet
potatoes. Two passes made a good bed for the slips. The sweet potatoes
were removed from the hot bed as they were large enough to be planted.
We wanted to plant them on a rainy day so the slips did not need watered
right after they were planted.
Squash
and gourds were grown in the garden. The climbing varieties were planted
along the rail fence, with the morning glories. The fence was covered
with a mixture of flowers and vines most of the summer. Selected gourds
were allowed to mature for seeds and for blue bird nests.
May
was the time to plant the corn. The goal was to have the corn in the
ground by the tenth of May.
We
used a planter that was pulled by a team of horses or mules to plant the
most of our field crops. The two seed hoppers were filled with a mixture
of seeds, corn and pumpkins, corn and cow-peas or corn and soybeans. The
team was guided by the person that had the best eye to keep the rows
straight. None of us wanted to admit that we could not drive a team
straight across a field.
Peas,
beans and cotton were planted in garden rows that had been prepared with
a one-horse single shovel plow or hoe then covered, by kicking the dirt
with a foot or pulling the dirt with a hoe, with dirt
By
the third week of May we hurried about as we cultivated the crops.
Planting and cultivating kept us in the field as much as the draft
animals could work. A farm is a place where the draft animals are put
first on the rest regimen. A man has to follow the animal. A spare
moment along the creek was a time to see the violets in bloom. The
blossoms on the tulip poplars turned the trees white.
Soon
after I had proved that I could handle a breaking plow I was allowed to
prove that I could till corn with a double shovel. I started plowing
after the first time that the crop had been cultivated because Daddy
could not permit the crop to be thinned with a cultivator.
The
double shovel has one large shovel and one small shovel on a twin beam
tongue. The large shovel was placed on the left beam. The small shovel,
on the right beam, was used to till the closest to the crop. Thus all of
the turns at the end of the crop rows were clockwise until a selected
number of rows had been tilled then I went around counterclockwise to
till the other side of the rows. I could not lift the double shovel and
the turns were 180 degrees. I laid the plow over on the side, held a
shovel in the ground so the single-tree would not hit the mule's heels
and skipped rows so the mule could help me when I got to the end of a
row. A lot of the time I was assigned to the smaller fields where
pumpkins and red eyed cow- peas were planted with the corn. In other
fields pumpkins and soybeans were planted with the corn. The corn, red
eyed cow-peas soybeans and pumpkins were food for the farm animals. The
corn, cow-peas and pumpkins were also for the table.
June
was hoeing time. Hoeing the corn was delayed until all of the corn had
been cultivated three times or the leaves were so large that they broke
as we tried to cultivate a last time. We hoed only the weediest areas in
the fields. What a task hoeing was as we worked into July, the corn was
at least waist high and the cool breezes failed. I worked and thought of
a dip in the pond. At idle moments we looked at the blackberry briars
and thought of a cobbler.
We
enjoyed dehydrated peaches and apples for winter snacks. Those items
like the other food came from some allotted space on the farm. All of
the dried fruit came from Mother's kitchen and loving hands. She spent
days in the kitchen as she removed stones from Alberta, free stone,
peaches, and cut each peach into six to eight pieces. Then she spread
the prepared peaches on an oilcloth and covered them with cheesecloth to
dry in the summer sun. When she was satisfied that the peaches were dry
enough to keep, not spoil, she put them into bags that she hung for
winter days.
July
was corn lay by time and a time to go to the orchard for cherries,
berries and peaches. July was the time to begin another grade school
year.
At
school we all learned who passed the last year's work as we were seated
for the current year. It was a time to feel satisfied, wear new
overalls, and let bare feet heal. July was a time to get new pencils,
tablets, and books.
After
school I picked blackberries along the fences, as I walked home. The
large ones were good, until the June bugs started on them.
August
was the time to cut dead wood and culls for the fires. The tree limbs
were used for the kitchen stove and to start the fires in the fireplace.
It took days to cut enough wood for the 36-inch wide fireplace.
On
wash days I helped Mother with washing clothes. I helped draw water from
the well, carried wood and water to the kettles, and tended the fires
under the kettles. As I got older I took my turn at the rub board and
helped keep the clothes in the kettles under the water. So I learned
what part of a garment needed the most lye soap or Proctor and Gamble
[P&G] soap, and scrubbing. Mother did not trust me to wash the white
clothes. We used two tubs with a hand turned wringer on one tub to
remove the water from the clothes. A water vane that could be turned to
either side on the wringer was used to return the water to tub, scrub
tub or rinsing tub, that the clothes were being removed from. Many of
the clothes were boiled after they were scrubbed to remove as much clay
dirt as possible. One rinsing was usually all that the clothes got.
After rinsing the clothes were hung on clotheslines to dry. The winter
wind usually blew most of the residual water out of the clothes before
we brought them inside to dry on the backs of chairs by the kitchen
stove or by the fireplace.
August
is supposed to be lazy dog days. On the farm we had to turn to removing
the silt from the near dry ponds. That job was done with a two-horse
scraper. The scraper bucket held maybe nine cubic feet of soil, wet or
dry. The scraper had a steel beam that wrapped around the front. The
beam was fastened to the scraper bucket with large pins that formed a
hinge so the bucket could be dumped. Around and around one walked from
the bottom of the pond, where the bucket was up-righted and filled muck,
to the pond berm where the handles on the bucket were lifted to dump the
muck. A boy hopped onto the bottom of the bucket for the return trip to
the bottom of the pond. Riding the scraper bucket was intended to keep
the single trees from hitting the heels of the draft animals. It took
several twelve-hour days to clean a typical pond.
We
attended the Church evening, outdoor and indoor, revival meetings in
August too.
September
was the time to harvest the apples. We stored apples in the root cellar,
in canning jars and hung bags of dried apples in the smokehouse.
Mother
peeled, cored, pared and spread all varieties of apples on an oilcloth
and covered with cheesecloth to dry in the September sun too. She sacked
the apples for winter use as she did the peaches.
I
do not remember having a love relationship with a dried apple or peach
pie. But anything that was on a Sunday table was good.
October
was corn harvest time. We spent day husking or picking corn from the
sturdy stalks and slammed the ears against a stop on the other side of
the wagon as we walked along beside a wagon with sideboards on it. With
the sideboards on the wagon bed it would hold about 30 bushels of ear
corn. Our goal was to gather a hundred bushels a day. That meant
starting before the sun while the shucks were still moist or frosty. If
I got out of the field with the second load when I was 16 years old I
was ahead of the game and too tired to go for another load. One had to
be rested and have time for hunting too.
November
was the month to harvest nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, and hickory nuts, and
butcher the hogs. Picking up the nuts was fun. Nothing to do but kick
leaves find the nuts and put them in a grass sack. Sometimes I could
fill the sack as full as I wanted to carry home.
The
nuts were good as long as one did not have to prepare many of them. I
would not want to crack the shells on any of nuts with a hammer for a
living. There is not anything more peaceful than sitting under a tree
and eating all that one wants, unless it is fishing.
November
brought, cool days and cool nights, the kind of weather that is needed
to cure meat in a salt pack. A sunny cool day was a time for butchering
and processing pork.
Water
was heated, hogs were butchered and hung to cool, meat was cut and
trimmed, lard was rendered and soap was made in a work day. And
sometimes, grinding sausage followed the other tasks during a 16-hour
day.
Some
of the meat, like the pork ribs, was consumed as fresh pork. The fat
from the meat was rendered in the kettles to make lard. The byproducts
of rendering the lard and acceptable flesh was used to make soap.
The
trimmings from the hams, shoulders etc. were ground, in a hand grinder
to make, and seasoned to make sausage. The most of the sausage was
cooked and canned in the fat from the sausage during a second day of
work as the meat was packed and processed.
The
hams, shoulders and side meat was hung for smoking, after it had cured
in the salt pack.
Sassafras,
apple, and hickory wood was used during the smoking process. Smoking
meat is like seasoning any dish for the table, except it takes longer to
apply the chemicals. The fire must be allowed to burn enough to create
smoke but flames are not wanted. So the cook must go in the smokehouse
to put dirt on the wood to put out the flames and add wood/fuel.
December
was a time to dream of Christmas, the end of the year and a new-year.
The
Butler County, Kentucky Family Farm in the 1930s was an unusual place to
grow up. The 1930 year, in particular, was very bad. We had a drought
and hardly any crops grew. There were five men on the farm with me. My
oldest brother Leslie was back from the Army, World War One, and working
on The Ohio River Dam 49 and lived on the farm, in a cabin that had just
been built down the hill from the main Farmhouse. My brother Harvey
lived in a house on the farm. My brothers Roy and Ernest were still at
home. My Father had developed skills in farming, woodworking, and black
smithing.
At
eleven years of age I had been asking to be permitted to help break
ground with a 14-inch breaking plow that was pulled by two mules or
horses for two or more years. I had been guiding a plow as I walked
miles in front of my Daddy and my brothers. Finally, Daddy let me show
him how I could guide the plow and make the turns. I proved to him that
I could lean the plow over on the side and hold it up enough to keep the
single trees from hitting the heels of the animals as I made a 360
degree turn at each corner of the field.
I
was given an easy to handle team and allowed to start behind all of the
others in the larger fields. We worked around the field until the lead
team caught up with me. Then I had to wait at the next corner until all
of the others had passed me. I then pulled in behind them. We continued
that way until enough of the field was plowed for me to drag it.
I
helped by riding a big dragy made from cross ties that was pulled by
four mules. The drag was used to knock the tops off of the just turned
soil to fill the low places as we prepared the field for planting. The
reins/lines filled my hands as I stood and fought to keep balanced on
the drag behind the mules. I ate a lot of dust.
The
blacksmith shop was down the hill near the barn. In the shop the family
made wagons, tools and did all sorts of repair work.
Woodworking
was done in a loft over the stables. Family members made chests, kitchen
cabinets and other items including gears etc. for grandfather clocks.
Farm
animals included cows, horses, hogs and sheep. One or more family
members cared for the animals, including medical care, shearing,
milking, and breaking horses to ride or to harness work.
The
kitchen and living room in the main Farmhouse were large rooms. The
living room featured a large wood-burning fireplace with a mantle where
the Bible was kept ready to be read several times a day. A grandfather
clock sounded and displayed the time. The time was kept approximate by
the time for sunrise as listed in the almanac. The kitchen featured a
large table and wood-burning stove. My mother began the day in the
kitchen preparing breakfast while the men were doing the chores. Her day
continued washing dishes and preparing dinner. There was some time out
to feed chickens, geese and guinea fowl and gather chicken eggs. And
there was always time for the family and grand children.
For
all she kept treats from the fruit trees and the garden. Special treats
were her pickled peaches and sweet potato pies. One had to be there and
smell a potato pie cooking to understand the longing for a first taste.
Or to be given a pickled peach while the main meal was being prepared.
Irish potatoes with butter from her churn on them are good memories.
Biscuits fresh from the oven and butter remind me of those days on the
farm. Mother would cook at least three pans of biscuits for every
meal—36 biscuits. I can still taste those biscuits and molasses.
The
main Farmhouse, orchard, garden, beehives and ash pit were protected
from the farm animals by a rail fence. Gooseneck gourds, with holes in
them for the blue bird nests, hung from the rail fence. Near the small
fence gate stood tall posts.
One
post was topped with a signal bell,. We came to the table for breakfast
and supper after we had milked the cows and fed all of the animals. Some
of the men did not have pocket watches. So, about one-half hour before
Mother had dinner ready she rang the bell to call the men to the
tablethe bell was used to call the men to the table for noon time meals.
Thus the bell was rung regularly, before meals. Ringing the bell at
other times was a call for help. All children wanted to ring the bell.
To ring it alone was one of the first tests of strength and weight.
Mother would blow a big conch shell like a horn to signal for help and
call the men for dinner bBefore we had a bell, mother would blow a big
conch shell like a horn. The low notes from the conch shellIt could be
heard for a mile or more.
The
other posts were topped with white martin houses, about the only painted
item on the farm. The martin houses had four nesting holes on each of
the four sides. The houses attracted martins and boys watching them
every spring. The orchard, located at the back of the house, included
apple, cherry, plum and peach trees with the honey bee hives near them.
The garden with the wood ash pit near the entrance was used to raise
peas, butter beans, green beans, tomatoes, potatoes and cotton for
Mother's sewing projects.
She
would spin the cotton into thread for knitting and card it into bats for
making quilts. She would also spin wool into yarn for knitting. The ash
pit had a pail under the end of it to collect the lye that was leached
out of the ashes to make soap.
An
old barn shed stood just outside the main Farmhouse yard. Mother kept
chickens and guinea fowl below the loft. It was also used to hang
tobacco to cure. The old barn was also used to hang tobacco to cure. And
to shelter us as we stripped the stems from the tobacco leaves as it was
prepared for market.and process. . Mother kept chickens and guinea fowl
below the loft in a part of the barn. In the loft she kept magazines.
Once as she was sorting the magazines she let me and my nephew, Henry,
make paper airplanes and sail them out of the loft door. What a noise
the guinea fowl made as the paper floated down among them.
The
large farm fields were down the hill in the creek bottom. There the
family grew corn, hay and sorghum. The corn was grown to feed the
animals and for the table. The hay was for the cows, horses and sheep.
The sorghum was for making molasses. The molasses was a feature of the
breakfast table and an ingredient in many of the cookies.
My
brother Harvey, his wife Nettie and their children lived in a house on a
knoll beyond the barns. Their yard was protected from the summer heat by
large shade trees. The trees, poultry and family feet kept the grass
from growing in the yard. The dirt and small rocks made the yard a dusty
or muddy place to play.
Leslie's
cabin was in a hollow, up from the barn. The main room in the cabin
featured two beds and a wood stove that Leslie made in the black smith
shop. The stove and fire were tended with a poker and a shovel that he
had also made in the blacksmith shop. The kitchen contained a commercial
wood stove. Leslie made the hard maple table and storage cabinets in the
wood shop over the stables. The china was visible through screen wire
mesh between the cabinet door stiles and rails.
Leslie
dug a well up the hollow from the cabin and covered with a stone with a
hole that he had chiseled in it The hole in the stone was large enough
to draw water from the well with a 10-quart pail. Kettles were kept near
the well for Monday laundry duty. Near the cabin there was a poultry
house where my sister-in-law Dora raised chickens and geese. The gander
chased everyone with his flapping wings and pinching. Some tufts of
grass grew in spite of all of the shade and poultry.
My
brother Harvey, his wife Nettie and their children lived in a house on a
knoll beyond the barns. Their yard was protected from the summer heat by
large shade trees. The trees, poultry and family feet kept the grass
from growing in the yard. The dirt and small rocks made the yard a dusty
or muddy place to play.
I
spent about a week in 1934 showing my nephew, Henry, how to make
whistles from the hickory nut tree limbs. We made whistles out of large
and small branches. We move the stoppers in and out to change the notes.
The bark dried out and split in a day or two
In
summary the farm was a haven where a child could learn many skills and
test himself every day. A haven until the jerks of life hit a family.
Several
jerks hit our family in March 1932. The men went to the blacksmith shop
after turned the horses out to pasture one day. I would have been in
too, but I had gone up to Leslie’s house to get his milk pails so he
could milk the cows before going home. The men were rained out of the
field. They turned the horses out to pasture and went to the blacksmith
shop. Leslie fired up the forge to weld a harness chain. Harvey and
Ernest got restless and decided to concentrate some crude oil into a
barrel. They continued to work with the oil as Leslie and Daddy took the
hot chain out of the forge to hammer it and complete the weld/joint. As
Leslie hammered on the chain at the anvil a spark flew into the oil
stream. The oil stream carried the spark into the barrel where the fumes
exploded.
The
oil was blasted over everything and ignited.. I was almost back when I
heard the explosion. Not knowing what it was, I ran the rest of the way.
Everyone rushed to get out of the burning building through the door and
window. By the time I arrived, my Dad and Leslie had gotten everyone out
of the shop. It was an awful mess. My Father and my brothers, Leslie,
Harvey, and Ernest had been were burned. Harvey and Ernest were still on
fire. I remember putting dirt and sand around their shoe tops to put out
the flames around their sock tops. The socks were burning like big wicks
on candles. Harvey was the most severely burned. He died the next day.
Leslie got a horse and went for a doctor.
Leslie
went home where he suffered for days before he went to the Veterans
Hospital in
Louisville
where he contracted tetanus double pneumonia and died about two weeks
later. My DaddyFather and Ernest recovered from the burns.
Daddy's
faith remained steadfast. He read the Bible every day. In August He and
Mother took the chairs from the kitchen and put them with pallets in the
back of the wagon. Grandchildren lay on the pallets and looked up at the
stars as they headed to the meetings and the grandchildren came back
sleeping
Another
jerk came our way right after Daddy and Ernest had recuperated from the
burns. We owing owed a lot of money.
So
my father, Roy, Ernest, and I set up a sawmill to earn money to settle
the debts and pay expenses. A 2 by 4 approximately 14 – 16 feet long
fell on the big saw blade. It shot back like an arrow, almost completely
severing my father’s left arm. More hospital bills and more money
owed. [I think this was in 1935, maybe 34, Alva would know.]
We
still went on making molasses in the field near the maturing sorghum
cane stalks. The cooking vat, about three feet wide, eight feet long and
six inches deep, was set up over a wood fire pit that was over a foot
deep. It took days to gather the firewood and haul it to the site. Two
horses or mules walked counterclockwise in a circle as they pulled the
tongue that turned the two-roller cane press that squeezed the juice
from the canes. Making molasses was a family event, a boy kept the team
moving. Daddy the cook tended the wood fire and watched the cook off.
The molasses was removed from the end of the vat near the fire exhaust
pipe. The juice end of the vat was near the open end of the fire pit.
Except in the morning, when the cooking began, the juice was moved
progressively toward the exhaust pipe end of the vat. Gates at the sides
were used to control the movement of cooked juice as the water was
boiled away. Never mind a thermometer the cook who had tended the vats
many days knew about the amount of fire needed and when the molasses was
done. Others spent the days knocking the leaves off of the cane stalks
and hauling cane and wood to the press and cooling vat site.
Eating
skimmings, the bubbles on the top of the cooking molasses, was a special
treat around the cooking vat. We could eat skimmings off of the boiling
molasses with spoons cut from sorghum canes as long as we were careful
not to get in the way or get too near the cooking vat.
The
farm was near Woodbury and the one two-room school where I attended
grammar school. One room was for the first five grades, the primer
[first grade] through the 5th grade. grades primer through 5th
and The other room was for grades 6 through 8. Grammar school was in
session from mid July through mid February. The path to school was
through the fields and pastures, ours and our neighbor's. A rule was to
close the gates or not to open them, climb over. The schoolhouse was up
on the side of the hill overlooking the town and boat docks on the Green
River. Thus the schoolhouse sills rested on brick posts. The front posts
were high enough for children to walk under the building. The other
feature under the schoolhouse was shelves to hold our lunches. After a
lunch was left there for a half of a day we could eat what the mice and
rats had left or go hungry. Some of us carried our lunches in Karo Syrup
cans to keep the rodents out. The privies and sassafras trees dominated
the property line further up the hill. The open field permitted ball
games to be played with balls made with saved string, when the boys
could get the girls to fill in on a team.
Inside
the schoolhouse held a coal stove, the teacher's desk and wide
seat/desks. Enough desks to seat 30 children, in six eight grades, each
year. Two of the upper four grades alternated each year. Parents tried
to enroll the children so they would not have to repeat a grade waiting
for the needed grade to be offered.
My
nephew, Henry, went to school with me for a short time in 1934. He
attended school in overalls that Dora had sewn. The overalls were the
first ones that he had that had gallowses that buttoned to the waistband
in the back. He was proud of the overalls and learned the ABCs and to
count some.
The
jerks were felt again when Harvey's children were placed in an Orphan's
Home. The youngest three were adopted. My Father got Homer, the oldest,
Homer, the eldest, and brought him to live with us. He ran away from the
orphanage and walked approximately 20 miles to our house. The sheriff
came to get Homer once, but my father would not let the sheriff him
take him.
Then
the unfathomable jerk hit us when My Father lost his farm where he had
toiled so many years. We became sharecroppers on the Cook place.
There
my Father had a heart attack and died. My brother Roy, my nephew Homer
and I continued with the farm work. We planted a crop in 1942. The last
jerk for me on the farm came when I had to leave the crop in the field
in July.
The
80th Infantry Division Origin
The
80th Division was constituted August 5, 1917, in the National Army as
Headquarters, 80th Infantry Division and was activated later that month
at Camp Lee (now Fort Lee), Virginia. The Division was made up primarily
of draftees from Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
The
80th Infantry Division was an Army Reserve unit, at Richmond, Virginia,
Division in 1942.
In
1999 the unit is headquartered at Richmond, Virginia and known as the
80th Division (Institutional Training). The unit mailing address is: 80th
Division The
division www site address is: http://www.usarc.army.mil/80thdiv/index.htm Uniform
insignia and patches, shown below, made the men in the 80th Division
easily recognized.
Blue
Ridge Division Shoulder Patches The
three mountain peaks on the shoulder patch represent the three states,
the origin of the unit. The division was nicknamed the "Blue Ridge
Division." Camp
Forrest
Camp
Forrest was built to the east of and adjacent to an old National Guard
camp, Camp Peay. The National Guard camp was built to the east of
Tullahoma in 1926. It covered 1,040 acres. and was named after 1920’s
Tennessee Governor Austin Peay. Camp Peay and an annexed 85,000 acres
was named Camp Forrest after Civil War cavalry General Nathan Bedford
Forrest. Camp Forest itself was a hastily erected mobilization
encampment in July 1942.
The
Camp became one of the Army's largest training bases during the World
War II period, between 1941 and 1946. The camp was a training area for
infantry, artillery, engineer, and signal organizations.
It
also served as a hospital center and temporary encampment area for
troops during maneuvers. Incoming troops were provided with amenities
such as service clubs, guest houses, library, post exchanges, post
office, hospital, religious services, theaters, showers, Red Cross, and
Army Emergency Relief facilities Recreation facilities included
swimming, archery, tennis, a sports arena and a 9-hole golf course.
There
was not much to see in Tullahoma in 1942 although the town was splitting
at the seams. The 1940 population of 4,500 population was increasing
rapidly. As the construction operational activity at Camp Forrest the
town grew to house the workers, Army personnel, and their families.
Army
unit maneuvers and Camp Forrest operations affected the whole community
in Coffee County. Civilians and military personnel became accustomed to
blocked roads, traffic jams, crowded stores, the absence of mail
delivery, and driving at night without lights. Soldiers were camping out
on lawns and in fields. Many crops and fences were being destroyed. 80th
Division World War II training at Camp Forrest in 1942
The
80th Division, Reserve Cadre, was ordered to active service on July 15,
1942 and John entered the United States Army on 16 July 1942 at ,
Kentucky. They traveled by bus, train and bus to Camp Forrest to arrive
at about the same time.
Note:
Present history, released by the Arnold Engineering Development
Center in 1998 does not show that the 80th Infantry Division was
stationed at Camp Forrest. The public release is on www site:
www.arnold.af.mil/aedc/factsheets/campforrest/htm
Upon
arrival each man was given a box and told to put his civilian clothing
for shipment back home. A physical inspection, a clothing issue, a
bedding issue and a haircut issue followed. John was assigned to Company
L, 80th Infantry Division for basic infantry training.
The
enlisted men slept in tents and fought the insects day and night. Duck
boards, installed between the tents and drill areas, kept the trainees
above some of the Tennessee mud and dust. Training started each day with
pushups to crawl backward out of the small tents.
Enlisted
Men's Quarters at Camp Forrest
Training
started with basic commands. Fall in. At ease. Put your leggings on.
Attention. Left face. Right face. Instructions like, "Pick up your
issue and at the command forward march, step out on your left
foot." Soon some commands and the associated Instructors body
language had the wondering men at a bivouac area and the commands,
"Halt: left face; at ease." Instructors talked about basic
hygiene and clothing care then gave the command, "Fall-out"
More of the same types of instruction followed as the instructor
prepared the men to march to the mess area.
The
instructors soon had the men listening to, "You had a good home;
but you left. You left. You left. You right. You left." "Count
cadence count." Marching men responded, "Your left.--Your
left. --Your left-right-left." And chanted, "I don't want no
more Army life. I wanna go; Oh gee, I wanna go home."
Trainees
spent about half of their day drilling and the rest of the time policing
up the grounds, picking up debris, rocks etc., off the duck boards and
drill area. There was time for Religious Services on Sunday morning and
a chance to go to the BX in the afternoon. At the BX one could get ice
cream, by the pint. A pint of ice cream could be eaten before it melted
while one stood around near the BX, no room for everyone inside.
As
soon as they could march without tripping on each other close order
drills began with wooden rifle models. Commands to handle the rifles
included, "Right shoulder arms. Left shoulder arms. Present arms.
Parade rest." Commands to march in columns included, "Forward;
march. March in Place. Column left. Column Right. Column halt. To the
rear." And soon more complex commands were given to ensure that men
paid attention, "Double to the rear. Double to the rear with a
slight hesitation and halt."
Artillery
Classes in session
Mixed
in with the troop movement drilling was the weapons training and
physical training. They learned to disassemble, clean, re-assemble,
safely handle and shoot weapons. Exercises like push ups, duck walking,
side straddle hop, knee bends, military press and other body movements
kept them on the move and often nursing sore muscles.
The
weeks passed as they trained, marched in reviews, and took time out for
their turn at general camp service duty. A promotion to Private with a
furlough occurred at the end of the basic training.
It
was good to go home, relax, and see everyone. The letters did not tell
the story that John was the most concerned about.
Further
Infantry training began when they returned from the furloughs. There
were chances to prove the lessons taught in basic training and toughen
up.
Thanksgiving
dinner introduced the men to new food, like stuffed celery, cranberry
sauce and mincemeat pie.
Before
December new barracks had been built. We moved into them, a whole
company crowded into the two story buildings and learned Army
housekeeping procedures.
Typical
World War II Temporary Barracks and Support Buildings Now
they were singing, "Swing those arms and cover down. Keep those
eyes off of the ground. There ain't no Jody boys lying around." Now
together and very loud, "Some hope."
Before Christmas the frosty morning silence was broken by men singing,
"I don't know what I believe. But, I'll be home by Christmas
Eve."
Column
of Four Abreast Marching to the Parade Grounds
John
remembered Buck Sergeant Tabor as a tough drill instructor during the
training period. Under Sergeant Tabor, John excelled and by January he
was promoted from Private to Sergeant, without holding the rank of
Private First Class or Corporal. By the end of January there were rumors
about some of the 80th Division men being assigned as cadre in a new
division that was being formed. Formation
of the 106th Infantry Division
The
War Department authorized the 106th Infantry Division on 29 November
1942. The first unit, the 106th Quartermaster Company was activated at
Camp Forest, Tennessee, on 15 December 1942 AT Camp Forrest, Tennessee.
The 80th Infantry Division furnished the cadre for the 106th
Quartermaster Company. The 806th Ordnance Company was activated 23
December 1942, at Camp Perry, Ohio.
The
Assistant Division Commander of the 90th Motorized Division, Brigadier
General Alan W. Jones, was named to command the 106th Infantry Division
on 20 January 1943
The
80th Infantry Division provided the officer cadre. The cadre included
the company commanders, regimental commanders, the General Staff
Officers and some Special Staff Officers. Other officers came from
Infantry Replacement Training Centers, Fort Benning and Officer
Candidate School. Most of the officers of the cadre attended special
refresher courses at various service schools per established procedures
to organize a new division, prior to the division activation.
The
80th Infantry Division prepared two complete 1250 enlisted men cadre
lists with qualifications and experience statements, for the 106th
Infantry Division. Major General Joseph D. Patch, the 80th Infantry
Division CO, blindly pulled the cadre list with John's name on it out of
a desk drawer in late January.
A
supplementary cadre of fifty specialists was assigned from Camp Wheeler,
Georgia.
A
World War I 1st Division Officer, Colonel Herbert T. Perrin, was
appointed Assistant 106th Infantry Division Commander on 2 February
1943. And Colonel William C. Baker Jr. was appointed Chief of Staff.
The
Assistant Chief of Staff Officers were:
A
World War I 106th Field Artillery Regiment, of the 27th Division,
Brigadier General Ronald C. Brock, was named to command the 106th Infantry
Division Field Artillery Commander. And Colonel Malin Craig Jr. was
assigned as the 106th Infantry Division Field Artillery
Executive Officer.
Fort
Jackson
Fort
Jackson was established on June 2, 1917, after the citizens of Columbia
donated the land, almost 1,200 acres to the federal government to train
soldiers for service during the World War I era. Donating the land
initiated a long tradition of respect, cooperation and friendship
between the city and the installation. Fort Jackson was incorporated
into the city in October 1968.
The
1,200-acre facility was called the Sixth National Cantonment, one of 16
national cantonments. Later it was named Camp Jackson then renamed Fort
Jackson, in honor of Major General Andrew Jackson, a native son of the
Palmetto State and the seventh president of the United States. Years
of Fort Jackson Growth
Within
11 days after the contracts to build the camp were signed the 110-man
camp guard arrived. The labor force was more than 1,200 men after two
barracks were completed. Nine thousand more laborers arrived during the
next two months.
Camp
Jackson changed, virtually overnight, from a sandy-soil, pine and
scrub-oak forest to an Army training center complete with a trolley line
and hundreds of buildings. During the three-month construction period
some 8,000 draftees arrived for training.
Members
of the national guard unit, the first soldiers to occupy the camp were
moved to Camp Sevier in Greenville, S.C., and incorporated into the 30th
"Old Hickory" Division. The 30th Division was also named in
honor of Major General Andrew Jackson.
The
81st "Wildcat" Division was the first military unit to be
organized at Fort Jackson under Major General Charles H. Barth, the
camp's first official commander. The 30th Division and the 81st
divisions, more that 45,000 men, went to France as a part of the WW I
America Expeditionary Forces. The
World War I Years
In
less than eight months, construction of the vast camp was complete. But
almost as suddenly as it began, the clamor subsided. With the signing of
the armistice in 1918, The 30th Division was inactivated in 1918. The
5th Infantry Division was inactivated in 1921. The 5th Infantry Division
also trained at Fort Jackson.
The
Cantonment Lands Commission controlled the camp from 1925 to 1939.
During that period the sleepy silence was broken by the occasional
reports of weapons being fired by men in the South Carolina National
Guard.
In
1939 Fort Jackson, under federal control, was organized as in infantry
training center. Four firing ranges were constructed, and more than 100
miles of roads were hard surfaced. The roads were named for
Revolutionary War and Civil War heroes. More than 500,000 men received
some phase of their training at Fort Jackson from 1939 through 1945.
The
30th "Old Hickory" Division was one of the first units to
train at the Fort, for World War II service. Other units that trained at
Fort Jackson during the World War II period were the 4th, 6th, 8th,
26th, 77th, 87th, 100th and 106th Divisions. The
106th Division Move to Fort Jackson
The
men from the various units had arrived at Fort Jackson by nightfall on
14 February 1943.
At
Fort Jackson a hurried period of intense training in administration,
motor vehicle maintenance, intelligence, clerical and courts-martial
procedures, signal-communications methods and procedures, supply
procedures, physical training, and medical field service procedures
began on 15 February and continued through the 28th of February.
On
1 March five reception units were formed to take care of the coming
fillers, the men who would make up the complete division.
The
fillers, recruits/inductees, began arriving on 12 March. By nightfall on
Sunday 14 March the five Reception Units had processed 3,400 men.
The
bands, 106th Division Artillery Band, originally the 222nd Field
Artillery Band, 40th Division (Utah National Guard) and the 423rd
Infantry Band, originally the 123rd Field Artillery Band, 33rd Infantry
(Illinois National Guard), were activated 15 February 1943.
The
insignia was a gold lion's head on blue background, representing the
Infantry, with a red border indicating Artillery support. The 106th
Division Insignia
Brigadier
General Alan W. Jones was promoted to Major General, and the 106th
Division was activated on 15 March 1943.
Major
General William H. Simpson, commanding the XII Corps and the Honorable
Olin D. Johnson, Governor of South Carolina attended the ceremony as the
106th Infantry Division was activated with John R. Fishburn among the
massed troops on 15 March 1943.
A
World War I veteran, Master Sergeant Jay G. Bower acting as a
representative of the 80th Infantry Division passed the colors to a
member of the 422nd Infantry Regiment, 106th Infantry Division,
eighteen-year-old Private Francis Albert Younkin.
The
Sixth Service Command supplied another 4,076 men and the First, Second,
Third, Fourth, Fifth Service Command each supplied a smaller number of
men. Each troop train was met with a band at the reception center. At
the reception center the men were assigned to the division units. All of
the men gravitated to a regimental, battalion, company, platoon or squad
assignment. The majority of the fillers had arrived by 25 March 1943
when the Division strength was 12,318.
Colonel
Herbert T. Perrin, the Assistant Division Commander, was promoted to
Brigadier General on 18 March 1943.
On
Saturday 27 March 1943 the 106th Division Infantry Regiments held their
first formal reviews.
Recruit/individual
training began before sunrise as the bugle sounded reveille on Monday 29
March 1943. It was time to prepare for breakfast, the daily barracks
inspections and colors. John R. Fishburn at the left side of a column
headed the men for the mess hall at the scheduled time. More than 12,000
of the 106th Division men were fed before 0700. The breakfast table in
the Army is a special place. Men were learning to hold flatware in the
little finger as they balanced a six-compartment stainless steel tray
while sleepy mess attendants hammered a fork, with two butter laden bent
tines, against a knife. Most of the time the butter landed in a
desirable spot on the tray. Sleepy men sipped coffee from special cups
and ate from cereal box bowls as they listened to the clamor of others
slamming their near empty trays against the side of garbage cans.
There
were more than 10,000 men afoot for training under regimental and
battalion control. Ten thousand feet were hitting the pavement/ground or
bridges in unison. Soon the bridges started to creak and men were
ordered to break step as they approached a structure, wood or steel. The
men repeated old chants and learned new ones to tell others about
themselves.
Dinner
at the mess added new adventures to the breakfast scene as men balanced
trays and asked a mess attendant to put the potatoes here and refused
gravy or asked for the meat where he wanted it. Some men just gestured
with the tray by moving it about. Each man tried to find a recognized
face before he sat to eat. Loners continued to sit wherever they could
find a place at a table. After the meal the men ambled or hurried back
to the barracks hoping that there would be a mail call.
The
marching men met and passed others uttering chants something like,
" Hold your head up high and turn your eyes this way. Company L is
passing by." "Swing your arms and cover down. Keep your eyes
off of the ground. You aren't behind the plow. You're in the Army
now." Some units sang a popular song like Don't Fence Me In heard
where men could gather around a radio or jukebox. And quickly added,
"I don't want no more Army life. I Wanna Go Home. Oh, Gee I wanna
go home." Then they found themselves being led to repeat an old
chant, "There ain't no need of going home. Jody's done got your gal
and gone."
Lonesome
men took up collections to buy a cracker box radio, and put them on
improvised shelves to listen to anyone's choice station, the first one
inside had the option to select a station and listen to the banter about
his choice.
The
individual training emphasized physical conditioning, tactical
procedures and rifle marksmanship. Duck walking, side straddle hop,
squats, deep knee bends, push ups, military presses with a rifle were
among the physical exercises. The obstacle courses were "Something
that your muscles won't let your mind forget." The marching and
problems went on through April. Officer and Non Commissioned Officer
[NCO] training included special and general service school courses.
Orientation courses were sandwiched in with other special training.
Hank
Williams expressed the feeling of men on guard duty, near and far, when
he penned;
Did
your hear that lonesome whippoorwill?
Did
you hear that midnight train whining low?
I
never knew a night could be so long, with time crawling by.
The
moon just went behind the clouds to cry.
I’m
so lonesome. I could cry.
Ten
officers and 33 enlisted men were picked as instructors for a school
that was established and met twice weekly for twelve weeks to educate
enlisted men that had not met minimum educational standards [less than
fourth grade] or who were not immediately suited to absorb the regular
basic training. Among the 430 men attending the classes were 123
illiterates, five that could not speak English, and 302 that had
recorded Grade V scores on the Army General Classification Test [AGCT].
On
1 May the Division insignia, a Golden Lion, was donned, as training
continued.
The
obstacle course training on 11 May included crossing the Ateree River.
One man slipped and fell into the swift current and two men pulled him
out. The obstacle course training ended with more marching and camping
out as the weapons training began early in June.
During
the weapons training the men took 16-mile hikes to the Leesburg firing
range where each unit camped and fired small arms, machine guns, and
mortars. Men looked down the sights of weapons and heard commands like:
"Load and lock." "Ready on the left." Ready on the
Right." "Ready on the firing line." "Ready; aim;
fire." Then each man looked for the red-flag [Maggie's drawers]
that signified a miss behind his target. The artillery units fired 37mm
Antitank guns when they were not standing gun drills. The available
special weapons were fired too.
On
Saturday 19 June 1943 the 106th Division held a full-strength parade at
Ancrum Ferry Field. During the ceremonies the first two medals for valor
were awarded to men in the 106th Division. Staff Sergeant Richard L.
Nierman, of Cumberland, Maryland and Private Robert K. Maahs of
Savannah, Georgia were awarded a Soldiers Medal for jumping into the
Ateree River on May 11, without regard to personal safety, to rescue a
comrade who had fallen into the swift current.
Corps
training tests over six days were started on Monday 5 July and ended
with the men being drenched by a pouring rainstorm. That basic training
period ended with many men receiving promotions to signify
accomplishment but no follow up furloughs were allowed.
The
first off duty activity at the end of a day or after the noon meal was
mail call. Each man stood waiting to hear his name called. When a man
missed mail call for days he ducked away from the crowd silently, sucked
the lonely feeling up and got busy. Leisure time during the individual
training period allowed the men to organize sporting events, attend
dances, write letters and go to the BX. They organized a boxing
tournament, a baseball team, a softball tournament, and a basketball
league. On 8 May the division boxing team won the Fort Jackson,
"Tournament of the Champions." Title. The baseball team led
the league until the last four games. In those four games they dropped
back to third place. The parlor snakes attended the weekly dances, at
the Service Club. Songs like; In The Mood, Little Brown Jug, and
Pennsylvania 65,000 by the Glenn Miller Orchestra were featured on the
juke boxes at the dances. Jazz buffs imagined a night watching Gene
Krupa hammer on the skins. Some had a taterbug to pick during evening
sing alongs.
Many
letters to buddies, friends and relatives were in strange scrawls
because of the conditions under which they were written. Letters were
written sitting on a footlocker, a bunk or sitting at a table in a Day
Room. Some tired men finish writing a letter under any available light,
the entry light, a light over the stairs, over an escape ladder or in a
latrine, after the lights in the barracks had been turned off.
When
men gathered and sang songs like You are My sunshine someone would
interject lets sing a song that he had heard as a boy, Often the song
was Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain and wet eyed men turned away.
Forays
were made to the BX to get writing paper, stamps, envelopes, candy, ice
cream [pints], toiletries, shoe/boot polish and brushes.
Soldiers
kept the photographer at the BX busy making portraits of men wanting to
say, "You should see me now." Unit
Training
On
Monday 12 July the Division began twelve weeks of unit training and
regimental tactical exercises. The majority of the time was to be spent
in the field. But the Division school classes continued to be held
during the Unit Training period.
On
22 July the Commanding General of Army Ground Forces, Lieutenant General
Lesley J. McNair inspected the Division and expressed satisfaction with
what he had found. Another one of the important reviews was a review in
honor of General Enrico Gaspar Dutra, a Brazilian Minister of War
The
Division was reorganized, in accordance with the latest change in
Tactical Organization, in August. A Cannon Company was incorporated into
each infantry regiment. The Special Troops were organized into a
battalion, and the 106th Division Artillery and the 423rd Infantry Bands
were amalgamated into the 106th Infantry Division Band. The diagrams on
the following pages show the organization of a World War II Infantry
Division. The details are approximate since the diagrams were drawn from
text descriptions of units in action. Some of the organization details
are shown on page 629 in the book A TIME FOR TRUMPETS. Charles B. Mac
Donald wrote A TIME FOR TRUMPETS.
The
beginning of September caused men to remember apple harvests. Others
thought of the songs that described the days before Indian summer back
home, e.g. September Song. Some thought of persimmon trees and wild
grapes and the hunts coming up at home. There were thoughts of that Jody
boy each time that proud men showed pictures of girls. Athletes
remembered football practices and football games.
Combat
firing proficiency tests occurred as the Unit Training period ended
about 1 October. Each rifle platoon, each .30 caliber air-cooled
machine-gun and 60mm mortar platoon, each .30 caliber water-cooled
machine-gun and 81 mm mortar platoon and each mechanized cavalry platoon
ran through its paces. The field artillery batteries displayed their
skills.
Division
schools, Officers and NCO, radio operation and maintenance,
intelligence, gasoline engine maintenance, artillery mechanics,
air-ground communications, ground communications, small arms and mortar
maintenance, ammunitions handling and ordnance supply procedures, were
in session during the unit-training period.
There
was time for sporting activities during the unit training period too.
The 424th Infantry Regiment won the Division swimming and volleyball
tournaments. And, the 422nd Infantry Regiment won the boxing tournament.
Leisure
activities were enjoyed when possible. Letter writing continued as time
permitted, when the paper could be kept dry and the fingers were warm
enough to hold a pen or pencil.
In
the field men gathered around small fires when they could and talked
about whatever came to mind. Some took out a harmonica and played as
others sang. Red River Valley was remembered by many. Others thought of
On The Banks Of The Wabash, Little Wabash in Illinois and namesake on
the Illinois-Indiana border and on up to the northeast in Indiana. Command
Post and Team training
Command
post exercises began on Monday 3 October 1943. The CP exercises were the
lead-in to the combined training period of training. The Regimental
Combat-team, CT, exercises began on 1 November 1943 when each Battalion
and Battery underwent combat firing tests. The going got tougher as the
men hardened and began to feel that they were real soldiers. The tough
kept going. The Division [D] series of problems followed on the heels of
the combat firing tests.
The
D series of problems, in which the 106th Infantry Division participated
as a combat team, were judged by officer-umpired from the 78th Infantry
Division. The weeks of exercises continued with winter maneuvers.
The
maneuvers were a first for the 106th Division. The misery of field life
continued. The winter rain and sleet chilled the men to the bones as
they worked through one problem after the last one until Christmas Eve,
Friday 24 December.
There
was a three-day respite before another week hard work before the troops
moved back into the Fort Jackson cantonments to prepare for the XII
Corps maneuvers.
The
XII Corps cumulative Status of training Report was published on 6
January 1944. The report disclosed the following ratings: Air-Ground and
field Artillery Battery Tests, Very Satisfactory; MTP, Physical Fitness,
Platoon Combat Firing, Satisfactory; Field Artillery Tests,
Unsatisfactory.
The
men, red legged men, in two of the Field Artillery Batteries had fallen
down in their field tests. They retook and passed the tests between 9
January and 19 January.
The
individual marksmanship scores with the different weapons were;
M1
rifle 88.6 percent
'03 rifle 88.1 percent
Carbine 77.6 percent
0.45
pistol
68.6 percent Submachine gun
100.0 percent
There
had been equipment substitutions during some of the tests. In the ground
or train defense type .30 caliber machinegun replaced the combat vehicle
weapon of the same caliber. The M1917.M1918 155mm howitzer was
substituted for the M1 155mm howitzer, and scout cars were used instead
of light armored cars.
During
the year there were several changes in the Division staff. And the
Division strength had changed. Up until September the Division had been
over the listed strength; then 3500 men were transferred out, the
transfers reduced the enlisted ranks to 12.301. The officer ranks had
increased from 703 to 789 and the warrant officer ranks had increased
from 2 to 38. The AGCT grouping for the Division at the end of the of
the Combined training period were:
Grade
I
4.3 percent
Grade II
31.2 percent Grade III
33.2 percent
Grade
IV
27.6 percent Grade V
3.8 percent
The
trek from South Carolina to Indiana
Seventy-one
days on roads and maneuvers afield.
This
account of the Tennessee maneuvers was in the book ST VITH: A LION IN
THE WAY. Colonel R. Ernest Dupuy wrote the book. Henry R. Fishburn
edited the story for this biography.
On
this trek the Army wrote a new meaning to the Philadelphia catechism.
Their catechism might have been:
Six
days shall thou soldier and do all thou art able
On
the seventh police the bivouac and stay able
The
422nd Infantry CO Col. Walter C. Phillips led the 106th Division's trek,
in a truck convoy, from Fort Jackson, South Carolina to Fort Atterbury,
Indiana on 20 January 1944. The 423rd Infantry CO Col. Charles C.
Cavender led the second convoy on 21 January 1944, John R. Fishburn was
in the trucks. And, the 424th Infantry CO Col. J. L. Gibney led the
third convoy on 22 January 1944.
The
likely assigned route for the motor truck convoy from South Carolina to
Tennessee, based on 1997 American Automobile Association maps of South
Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee was:
US78/US378
from Fort Jackson rear Columbia, South Carolina to Columbia, South
Carolina;
US78
from Columbia, South Carolina to Athens, Georgia or US378 from Columbia,
South Carolina to US78 near Washington, Georgia and US78 to Athens
Georgia;
US78
from Athens, Georgia to Atlanta, Georgia;
US41
from Atlanta, Georgia to a secondary road near Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia;
A
secondary road from US41 to US27 then US27 to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia;
US27
from Fort Oglethorpe, Feorgia to US41 in Chattanooga, Tennessee;
US41
from Chattanooga, Tennessee to the destination near Murfreesboro,
Tennessee
The
first movement of each Infantry Regiment was to an overnight bivouac
just outside Athens, Georgia. While at the Athens bivouac the men
discussed the girls at the next bivouac a WAC training center at Fort
Oglethorpe, Georgia.
When
each Regiment reached the second overnight bivouac, at Fort Oglethorpe,
they found themselves restricted to their bivouac area. They were not
allowed to meet the girls.
Each
Regiment reached the Division assembly area in Rutherford County, near
Murfreesboro, Tennessee by nightfall of the third day. The three-day
trek had covered 442 miles, give or take. The total elapsed time was
five days.
The
men found warm sunny weather in Tennessee. It felt like springtime,
although it was still wintertime, January. More than 20,000 men,
gathered in Tennessee for Second Army sponsored maneuvers, reveled in
the sun, for about a week, and participated in map exercises held in one
of the maneuver area theatres and watched a field demonstration
illustrating execution of staff plans.
The
first field problem began on 31 January with the XII Corps Blue Forces,
including the 78th Infantry Division, the 106th Infantry Division
including John R. Fishburn, one tank battalion and two tank destroyer
battalions with Tactical Air Division support, assembled south of
Murphreesboro. The Corps mission was to advance north through
Murfreesboro, in Rutherford County and seize the general line Greenwood-Bairds
Mill-Gladeville, in Wilson County, defended by the Red Force consisting
of the 26th Infantry Division [reinforced], supported by Red Tactical
Air Division. As the exercise began the winter weather returned with
cold rain, sleet, and snow.
The
106th Division advanced in three columns and reached the XII Corps
objective by the afternoon on 1 February and continued turning the Red
Force flank until the maneuver ended on 2 February.
The
Red Forces moved north to defend positions along the Cumberland River in
Wilson County. The Blue Force mission was to advance north rapidly with
the 106th Division, destroy the Red Forces encountered, and seize the
Cumberland River between Lebanon-Beloat Road-Old Lick Branch in Wilson
County.
The
106th Division, with John R. Fishburn in the 423rd Infantry Company L
ranks, began the second exercise on 7 February accompanied by the
falling cold rain. The men continued the advance to the river and
successfully completed the exercise on 9 February as the cold rain
continued to fall.
The
rain surrendered to cold days before the third problem began on 14
February. On 13 February the temperature went down to 13 degrees above
zero Fahrenheit.
By
14 February the line up had been changed. The 106th Infantry Division
With John R. Fishburn in the Company L 423rd Infantry ranks [less CT
424], the 78th Infantry Division, the 17th Airborne Division and an
armored group of three tank battalions made up the XII Corps Blue Forces
that were concentrated west of Lebanon in Wilson County. The Blue Forces
had a mission to advance east, seize rail facilities at Carthage
Junction and destroy the Red forces west of Caney Fork in Smith County.
The
Red opposing force consisted of the 26th Infantry Division, CT 424 and a
Tank Destroyer group of three battalions, concentrated west of
Rome-Alexandria in Smith and Dekalb Counties.
The
Blue force moved out in the cold on 14 February to perform the initial
part of the problem, securing the Liberty-Hames Gap-Rome as a line of
departure for the coordinated attack. The Blue force had accomplished
the first part of the exercise by noon on 14 February as the temperature
rose. Late in that afternoon, 15 February, an attack on the Red force
was launched. The 106th Infantry Division, reinforced by the attached
armored group, advanced with two regiments abreast. When the operation
ended on 16 February the Blue force was approaching New Middleton in
Smith County.
For
the fourth exercise, 21 to 24 February, the XII Corps [Blue] force had
the 106th Infantry Division with John R. Fishburn in Company L, 423rd
Infantry, the 26th Infantry Division and 15th Armored Group of three
tank battalions concentrated north of Lebanon, in Wilson
County-Gordonsville, in Smith County. The mission was to break through
the Red force {78th Infantry Division, 17th Airborne Division and Tank
Destroyers between Vine and Cottage Home, capture the high ground near
Milton, in Rutherford County, then advance south to capture Wartrace, in
Bedford County, to prevent a Red force concentration.
The
Blue force advanced slowly on 21 February, but by evening on 22 February
the 106th Infantry Division reinforced by the 15th Armored Group, had
broken through a created gap in the Red positions at Milton. Early on 23
February a strong Blue attack was launched which by nightfall had
secured the first objective, the high ground south of Milton, and
enjoyed a warm 72 degree-day. The 106th Infantry Division continued the
attack successfully during the night to end the exercise early on 24
February.
The
fifth exercise, last of February-beginning of March with John R.
Fishburn and other the men in the 106th Infantry Division on the Blue
force, with the XII Corps, The 26th Infantry Division, and an armored
group of three tank destroyer battalions. The Blue force, commanded by
Maj. Gen. Willard S. Paul, was concentrated east of Murfreesboro, in
Rutherford County. The mission was to drive any Red forces encountered
north of the Cumberland River, estaablish a bridgehead north of the
Cumberland River, and advance to the north of Hartsville, in Trousdale
county.
The
Red force, commanded by Maj. Gen. Edwin P. Parker Jr., included the 78th
Infantry Division, the 17th Airborne Division, and a tank destroyer
group of two battalions, was concentrated north of Lebanon-Gordonsville,
in Wilson and Smith Counties.
During
the first day the motorized 106th Infantry Division moved into an
assembly area at Bairds Mills, south of Lebanon in Wilson County. Early
the next morning the 106th infantry Division moved out in an attack to
seize the south bank of the Cumberland River. The attack moved slowly.
Blown bridges and mines, as well as by the Red enemy resistance, delayed
the Blue force along Spring Creek. The 106th Infantry Division in the
Blue force crossed Spring Creek and reached the Cumberland River at
Hunters Point and northwest of Providence by the close of the exercise.
The 26th Infantry Division in the Blue force reached the Cumberland
River in the vicinity of Cedar Bluff by the close of the exercise.
Maj.
Gen. Alan W. Jones commanded the Red Force during the sixth exercise, 7
to 9 March 1944. The CT 328 of the 26th Infantry Division, the 106th
Infantry Division and a tank destroyer group of three battalions was
with the Red Force during the sixth exercise. TAD and Army Service Units
supported the Red Force.
The
Red Force concentrated east of Bellwood-Watertown, in Wilson County,
Tennessee had the mission to occupy, organize, and defend a position
within the assigned sector along the general line Rome
(inclusive)-Holmes Gap (inclusive) to protect the north flank of the Red
Force.
The
Blue Force included the XII Corps (the 26th Infantry Division less CT
328, 17th Airborne Division and an armored group of two tank battalions,
commanded by Maj. Gen. Gilbert R. Cook, was concentrated west of
Leesville. The Blue Force mission was to capture the high ground south
of Carthage, in Smith County, and there prepare to operate to the
southeast.
During
the first day the Red covering force withdrew under pressure, but the
outpost line remained intact. Throughout the day and evening, barriers
including mined and mustardized demolitions were executed by
Red
Force engineers, and units on the battle position continued organization
of the ground.
By
1400 of the second day the 422nd Infantry Regiment had withdrawn from
outpost and was assembled as a force reserve near New Middleton. The
422nd Infantry Regiment had suffered a thirty-two percent loss to
casualties.
At
about the same time on the second day a Blue Force attack against the
Median Line of Resistance [MLR] two miles north of Commerce was repulsed
by the 424th Infantry Regiment, but pressure in that vicinity continued.
The Blue Force launched a coordinated attack on the Red Force at 0900 on
the third day aimed at penetrating the Blue Force line near Grant to
seize the XII Corps objective.
At
about noon, The Blue Force Infantry, supported by tanks, attacked in the
sector of the 423rd Infantry Regiment. The Red Force Tank Destroyer
units and Infantry Anti-Tank weapons destroyed most of the tanks. The
422nd Infantry Regiment, the Blue Force reserves, counterattacked at
1315 and at the termination of the exercise Grant was still held by the
Red Force. In its sector, the 424th Infantry Regiment committed its
reserve battalion and halted the Blue Force advance.
The
rain continued on into March when it rained seventeen more days. Mud was
everywhere in the bivouac area, on the roads, on clothing, and on
bedding. Men slogged from place to place and kicked the grass, weeds and
clay off of their wet boots!
The
seventh exercise [13 to 17 March] began in a snowstorm that changed to
rain and sleet. Frost filmed the soft mud. The storm ended with thunder,
lightning and a continued downpour of rain.
Maj.
Gen. Alan W. Jones commanded the Red Force in the exercise. The Red
Force included the 106th Infantry Division, an attached tank destroyer
group of three battalions, and tactical air support. Concentrated north
of the Cumberland River, east of Gallatin in Sumner County, the Red
Force had the mission to defend the river line from Lock 4 to Lock 7.
Note:
Lock 4 and Lock 7 were inundated when the Tennessee Valley Authority
{TVA) built the Kentucky Dam. Thus sites of the exercise may not be
shown on maps made in the last half of the 20th Century.
Against
the Red Forces were committed the XII Corps' Blue Forces, commanded by
Maj. Gen. Henry Terrell. The Blue Forces consisted of the 17th Airborne,
the 26th Infantry Division, the 78th Infantry Division, and an armored
group of two tank battalions. The Blue Force concentrated mainly north
of Murfreesboro, in Rutherford County, Tennessee had been assigned as a
mission to advance north, force crossings of the Cumberland River
between Locks 4 and 7, and capture Westmoreland in Sumner County,
Tennessee.
On
the 13th of March the 106th Infantry Division covering force, consisting
of two reinforced rifle companies, assisted by mock demolitions executed
by the engineers, inflicted a considerable Red Force delay south of the
river. But the covering force was cut off by the late afternoon as the
Blue force overwhelmed and surrounded them. By nightfall the Blue forces
were on the southern bank of the Cumberland River all along the line.
The
next two days, the 14th and 15th of March, were spent in Blue Force
preparations to cross the river while the 106th Infantry Division
Artillery and Red Tactical Air Division impeded their movements by heavy
concentrations of artillery shelling, bombing, strafing and gassing. Red
Force patrols crossed the river and obtained a lot of vital information
about the Blue Force activities.
Early
on the 16th of March the Blue Force made a river crossing in assault
boats, gained a toehold, built up its strength and advanced northward. A
succession of counter attacks by the Red Force 106th Infantry Division
held the main Blue force south of the Gallatin-Hartsville highway. The
exercise closed on the 17th of March with the 106th Division clinging to
a line generally north of the Gallatin-Hartsville highway. But the Blue
force had penetrated the line to the vicinity of Rogana on the west
flank.
The
Red force had carried out a delaying action to the best of its ability
against overwhelming Blue forces. The Red forces had had a dress
rehearsal for battle. But, the rehearsal had been in the open where they
had the liberty of mobility in action, and no defensive trench-line
cordon to induce false confidence.
During
the eighth and final exercise (20 to 23 March), the 106th Infantry
Division was in the Blue Force with the XII Corps (the 26th Infantry
Division, the 78th Infantry Division less CT 311 and an armored group of
two tank battalions). The Blue force, commanded by Maj. Gen. Terrell,
was concentrated around Westmoreland in Sumner County. The Blues had as
their mission to advance south, force crossings of the Cumberland River
between Lock 4 and Wilburn Creek, and capture the high ground north of
the general line Gladeville-Watertown in Wilson County.
The
Red Force, commanded by Maj. Gen. William M. Miley, ranks included the
17th Airborne Division, CT 311 of the 78th Infantry Division, and a tank
Destroyer group of three battalions concentrated around Lebanon in
Wilson County. The Red Force mission was to defend the Cumberland River.
On
the 20th of March the Blue Force advanced with three Infantry Divisions
abreast. The Blue Force met no resistance and very few demolition and
gas delays. The Blue Force secured the north bank of the Cumberland
River at most points along the front by 1020 hours. Strong combat
patrols crossed the river by boat and ferry during the evening of the
21st and early morning on the 22nd. The strong river current made the
boat and ferry crossing extremely difficult, and several boats were
lost.
All
foot elements of the 422nd Infantry Regiment and 424th Infantry Regiment
had crossed the river by 1845 of the 22nd. The 1st and 3rd Battalions of
the 424th Infantry Regiment met strong resistance four miles south of
Hunters Point where they ran out of ammunition and were captured. The
2nd Battalion withdrew. The 422nd Infantry Regiment advanced against
light resistance. At midnight the 422nd Infantry Regiment was ordered to
withdraw to the area Dixon-Centerville to protect Averitts Ferry. Red
units passed in the rear of the 422nd Infantry Regiment and seized
Averitts Ferry. During the morning of the 23rd of March, the rest of the
Blue Force was withdrawn to positions to protect bridge sites.
With
eight exercises behind them the 106th Infantry Division concluded the
1944 Tennessee Maneuvers. They had participated in the exercises under
particularly trying weather conditions. Now the Division was a trained
combat team in theory. During the maneuver exercises personnel had been
transferred to/from the division in about the numbers that could be
expected during combat conditions.
On
1 February there were 912 officers and 12,556 enlisted men in the
division. During February 232 enlisted men arrived and 94 enlisted men
were transferred out. There was a turnover of officers too.
On
1 March there were 707 officers and 12,950 enlisted men in the division.
And, during the month 1,157 men were transferred from the Army
Specialized Training Program into the Division. Of the 871 men that were
transferred out of the Division, almost 700 were sent to the replacement
pool at Fort Meade, Maryland. The others went to service command units
and officer candidate schools. Now it was time to complete the trek to
Indiana, the maneuver exercises were over.
On
27 March the first of three truck-convoys left the Tennessee area to
take the 106th Infantry Division to Camp Atterbury, Indiana.
The
single route north can be followed approximately, on 1997 American
Automobile Association maps, through Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana.
The route can not be traced with certainty because records of the route
have not been found and signs are hard to read from the backside so the
men on the trek did not note details about the route.
Because
the men had been up and down highway US 231 many times it can be guessed
that the trucks moved north on US 231 to US 31E near Bransford,
Tennessee. Then each of the three convoys turned right on US 31E to US
31W at Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Each convoy rolled north on US 31W to
Fort Knox, Kentucky and an overnight bivouac 129.5 miles from the
starting point.
Each
convoy left Fort Knox, Kentucky after an overnight stay at the famous
fort. They took US 31W north to the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky.
In Louisville US 31W joins US 31E, so the convoy rolled over a US 31
bridge across the Ohio River. They completed a 110.2 beeline along US 31
to a typical World War II camp, Camp Atterbury, Indiana, on 31 March
1944.
During
the 71 days almost 700 miles had been covered during five days in the
convoy journeys. One can guess that they traveled another five hundred
miles to/from the maneuver exercises. The men had slogged maybe five
hundred miles over the Tennessee hills during the maneuver exercises.
Surely they kicked five hundred pounds of mud, grass and weeds off of
water soaked boots. Camp
Atterbury, Indiana
Camp
Atterbury was established as an U.S. Army camp in 1942, during the
height of the construction of facilities for training men for military
service in World War II. The buildings were built from the same drawings
that were used to build many of the other World War II training camps to
house men as they were trained to serve in the Army, Navy and Marines.
So, the buildings at Camp Atterbury looked like the buildings at Camp
Forrest, Tennessee.
The
barracks buildings were based on Chicago frame construction techniques
without any interior walls. The exterior walls included sheathing, lap
siding and single hung windows, often referred to as barn sash windows.
Two posts spaced about 12 feet apart supported the beams that supported
the floor joists for the second story or roof supports. One end of the
bottom floor of each barracks was dedicated to the latrine, [showers,
wash basins, water closets and urinals] the coal fired furnace and the
coal fired water heater. The latrine could accommodate a thousand men, 8
to 32 men at a time. The ceiling was the exposed structure and the
bottom of the tongue and groove floorboards for the second floor. Tongue
and groove flooring was also used on the first floor. Closet like
shelves, that supported closet rods, adorned the interior walls between
the windows. On the closet rods men hung uniforms with the left sleeve
visible. Space on the closet rods for each person depended on how many
men were occupying the barracks. Mops, brooms, soap, water and ever busy
trainees kept the unfinished flooring clean and ready for daily
inspections.
As
the US Armed Forces moved up the Italian Peninsula and into France,
Belgium, and Germany the training camps became Prisoner Of War Camps.
Camp Atterbury among others became an Italian Prisoner Of War camp. The
Italian prisoners built the Chapel in the Meadow. The three walls of the
Chapel were built with surplus material from other construction projects
to house the twelve builders and the Clergy. It has been reported that
the builders used their blood to make the paint for a part of the
interior decorations. The chapel has been restored and a fourth wall has
been added to protect the interior.
The
Indiana National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve occupies the majority
of the facilities at Camp Atterbury. That portion of the camp extends
southward from just west of Edinburgh almost to Columbus. Much of it is
a Reserve Forces Training Facility. Part of Camp Atterbury, like most of
the other World War II camps, has been returned to local control. The
grounds have been converted to a Job Corps training camp, recreational
areas and a Memorial Area. 106th
Division Training at Camp Atterbury
The
106th Division moved their barracks bags into the temporary quarters at
Camp Atterbury. Interested journalists brought their experience running
a Division newspaper while they were in Tennessee and set up the
Division newspaper, The Cub, again. Before the Division had their
offices in order personnel transfers began. John Paul Kline arrived on
28 March 1944, from an Army Special Training Program assignment. He was
assigned to the 2nd squad, 1st Platoon, M Company, 423rd Infantry
Regiment.
In
April 3,145 enlisted men were transferred out. The trained men were
replaced with 1,220 ASTP Students, 1100 Air Cadets, 2,800 from various
sources and 1,500 men from other divisions. John R. Fishburn was still
with the 106th Division. He was relieved and encouraged.
The
good feelings included the promise that his girlfriend from Butler
County, Kentucky, Frances, would move to Indianapolis or Columbus and
find work. They could see each other again. The 14 months in South
Carolina and Tennessee had assured them that their relationship was a
lasting one. Frances found work in Indianapolis. John spent his passes
there or with his family members that had relocated to Greencastle,
Indiana.
The
recent arrivals were classified and assigned to basic, individual, unit
and combined training classes according to their training needs. The
106th Division was forced to began the 1943 training regimen once again
in April 1944. The training was intensified because the men seemed to be
destined for a gangplank at any time.
The
training began under Regimental and Battalion Control. Assigned cadre
took to the roads again with men headed to grinders, to gymnasiums, to
obstacle courses, to classes, to parade grounds and to the mess halls.
It became a habit to keep a cover under the belt and listen for the
commands to fall in, to fall out and to police the grounds.
Men
in ranks repeated after leaders, "I went down south to see my Susie
Ann. She met me at the door. Shoes and socks in her hands and feet all
over the floor. Get along home Susie, one, one night and day."
"Swing your arms and cover down. You are not behind the plow. You
are in the Infantry now." "I have been working on the railroad
all of the live long day just to pass the time away." "I don't
know what I believe but I will be home by Christmas Eve." "Ain't
no need going home. Jody boy has done got your gal and gone."
"Going off to the country. Going off to the country. Can't take
you. Nothing up there that a gal like you can do."
From
dusk to dawn men on guard duty jumped at strange sounds and thought. I
never knew that a night could be so long.
In
April 3,145 men were transferred out. Buddies were gone and new
alliances were made at the mess tables, the BX and during off duty
hours. John's Gal from Kentucky, Frances, moved to Indianapolis and
started working there. John and Frances continued to spend as many hours
together as they could. Their relationship of many years changed. They
now hoped that the ides of time would allow them to be together for
years.
In
May 877 more men said their good byes. And the Division put on a two-day
demonstration for the Hoosier State Press Association.
During
the leisure hours the Division baseball team won the Indiana State
championship and played in the National Semi-Pro Tournament at Wichita,
Kansas. The Medical Detachment, 424th Infantry Regiment, won the
Division softball championship. Company C, 331st Medical Battalion took
the Division volleyball crown. Staff Sergeant William K. Dwyer, Company
K, 422nd Infantry Regiment, carried the table tennis crown away from the
tournament.
In
June 195 men departed after a demonstration for the Under Secretary of
War, Robert P. Patterson. Five thousand visitors attended an Infantry
Day exercise on 15 June.
The
423rd Infantry Regiment Team won the Division's 1944 boxing championship
by winning four of the individual boxing championships. The Division
Artillery won three boxing championships. The 422nd Infantry Regiment
won one boxing championship. The Special Troops took one boxing
championship.
Men
from the 106th Division participated in Independence Day parades in
Indianapolis and Cleveland at the same time and 136 more men rambled
away during the month.
In
August 2,894 more were ordered away. Most of the men transferred out,
6,100, during those five months went to the Fort Meade, Maryland
replacement depot. Over 60 percent of the trained Division Personnel had
been taken from a Division that had trained to serve as a unit, before
the unit was sent to the field. The remaining 40 percent had put 110
percent effort into preparing for any assignment.
As
the apples ripened and the corn husks on bulging ears turned brown the
men in the 106th Division continued to prepare for their call for
movement to the east coast. Few expected to go west. The war in the
islands seemed to call for a different organization. Men prepared their
last testaments and verified their life insurance policies in September.
The call came early in October.
John
said good byes to his family and Frances. He left Indiana feeling that
pride of knowing that he had melded the pride of his family, the 80th
Infantry Division and the 106th Infantry Division together and had taken
all of it as a way of life that he could be proud of. Outward
bound
An
advance party left Camp Atterbury early in the month and sailed from an
eastern seaboard port toward England on 8 October 1944.
The
trains started leaving Camp Atterbury, Indiana right after breakfast on
Monday 9 October 1944. The train stopped along the tracks for snack
meals at noon and in the evening. In the morning of 10 October the train
stopped along the tracks for men to relax weary muscles and eat boiled
eggs, pork, an apple, and bread. The food was washed down with water or
coffee. Condensed milk and sugar made the overcooked coffee acceptable.
The
train stopped at Camp Miles Standish near Boston, Massachusetts late in
the afternoon on 10 October. Finally, tired men could drop their
barracks bags and prepare bunks for a night of needed sleep in quarters,
barracks, that were carbon copies of the ones that they had left at Camp
Atterbury. It was easy to find the showers and the other facilities.
Camp
Miles Standish was a staging camp for men to prepare to move overseas.
The
preparation for sailing began early on 11 October. The ships for their
Atlantic passage were refitted ocean liners from the Cunard Lines and
the United States Lines.
The
data the Cunard Lines ships was taken from Cunard Lines internet
pages/files. The
Ships from the Cunard Lines
Launch
date - 21 April 1913 Passenger
accommodation - 597 1st class, 614 2nd class, 2,052 3rd class
The
Aquitania
The
Aquitania was requisitioned as a troop transport on 21 November 1939. It
was used to transport Canadian troops until it was refitted in America
and defensively armed with six-inch guns in 1940. After the refitting it
was based in Sydney Australia and transported Australian and New Zealand
troops. The Aquitania made two passages between Pearl Harbor and San
Francisco. Then she was used as a troop transport on the Atlantic until
after WW II Canadian and American troops had been repatriated. Then it
was used to transport the wives and children of Canadian servicemen to
Canada.
Gross
Tonnage - 83,673 tons Dimensions - 300.94 x 36.14m (987.4 x 118.6ft)
Number of funnels - 2 Number of masts - 2 The
Queen Elizabeth [The Grey Ghost]
During
March 1940 four of the world's greatest liners, the Mauretania,
Normandie, the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mary, were berthed
alongside each other. The Queen Elizabeth set sail for Singapore on 13
November 1940, via Cape Town. She was refitted and defensive armament
was added at Singapore. On 11 February 1941 she sailed from Singapore to
Sydney, arriving on 21 February. Then the interior décor was removed
and she was refitted internally to carry troops. Following the refitting
she made voyages carrying troops to the Middle East. Then five more
months were spent carrying troops from Sydney to Suez, and returning
with German POW's.
After
the US entered the war the Queen Elizabeth sailed to Esquimalt, in
Canada, and carried troops to Sydney. In April 1942 the Queen Elizabeth
home ported in New York. In New York the accommodations were altered to
carry 10,000 men. In June 1942 it began to make voyages from New York to
Gourock and then to Suez, via Cape Town. In August 1942 it began a
shuttle service between New York and Gourock until the war in Europe
ended. Despite the ever-present threat of U-boats the ship continued its
service unscathed. After the war in Europe had ended the Queen Elizabeth
used on the Pacific Ocean to transport troops for the war against Japan.
The
Queen Elizabeth was used to repatriate American troops until October
1945. Then she was used to repatriate Canadian troops. When the Queen
Elizabeth was released from Government service on 6 March 1946 she had
carried 750,000 troops and traveled 500,000 miles during her wartime
voyages. United
States Lines Ship
Gross Tonnage - Dimensions - 264.76 x 29.56m (705 x 85ft) Number of
funnels - 2Number of masts - 2 Construction - Steel Propulsion -
Twin-screw Engines - Steam turbines Service speed - 20 knots - Launch
date 1913 The
SS Manhattan
[USCGS Wakefield] 106th
Division's Atlantic Crossing
The
106th Division Advance Party departed from Camp Atterbury, Indiana on 8
October 1944. Records of the Advance Party Atlantic crossing have not
been found.
John
Paul Kline recorded this sailing of the Queen Elizabeth. Henry R.
Fishburn edited the story for this biography.
The
men in the 423rd Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Battalion, 424th Infantry
Regiment, without the Artillery, crowded onto troop trains carrying
their barracks bags on Tuesday 16 October 1944, arrived in New York
after dark, and boarded a Cunard Lines Ocean Liner, the Queen Elizabeth.
John P. Kline was assigned to stateroom B-95 with eight or nine other
company members. The Queen Elizabeth, the Grey Ghost, sailed from New
York early in the morning of 17 October 1944. The passengers stayed
below as the Grey Ghost was bid adeu and passed the Statue of
Liberty.The voyage across the Atlantic was peaceful. No one was placed
on alert. Men passed the time talking, singing, writing letters and
eating. Some men were sick before the lines were removed from the bits
on the wharf. They claimed a spot and hung on.
The
Cunard Lines crew served British greasy sausage, English sausage, and
potatoes and an American selection of spam sandwiches and Malo Cups.
John Paul Kline ate mostly Spam sandwiches and Malo Cups, for he could
not stand the greasy English sausage and potatoes. Although the Queen
Elizabeth had been refitted as a troop ship in Australia John Paul Kline
decided that he would like to sail on her with his wife and family,
after the war.
The
passengers were placed on alert and stood on the outer decks with life
belts on as the Grey Ghost arrived at Glasgow, Scotland, Firth of Clyde
on 22 October. The crew explained that standing on deck with life belts
on was a standard procedure when entering a harbor, where the submarines
could be lying in wait. The passengers learned of two events after they
had disembarked. Two submarines had chased the Queen during the
crossing. The ship had a record of out-running fifty submarines on one
mission.
The
Queen Elizabeth passengers left Glasgow by train late in the evening and
rode all night. Breakfast was coffee, chips and meat pie on the train.
The train arrived at Cheltenham, England on 25 October. The 423rd
Infantry Regiment was billeted on the grounds of the
Cheltenham-Steeple-Chase track about one-half of a mile from town. John
Paul Kline's, Company M, Heavy Weapons Machine Gun squad was billeted in
the press building.
The
story of this sailing of the Aquitania was published in the April, May,
June 1997 issue of The CUB of the Golden Lion, a publication of the
106th Infantry Division Association, Inc. Bill Bucher Jr. wrote the
story. Henry R. Fishburn edited the story for this biography.
On
Friday 20 October 1944 the 422nd Infantry Regiment and the 1st and 3rd
Battalions of the 424th Infantry Regiment, without the Artillery,
climbed into trucks at Camp Miles Standish near Taunton, Massachusetts.
They were given strict orders to travel a circuitous route, with the
greatest secrecy, to the Port of New York. Under the cover of darkness
they stood nervously and gazed at the big ship before them. They were
filled with a mixture of awe, excitement and foreboding because many of
the men had never seen an ocean before. The name of the Aquitania had
been painted over but the size of the ship and the four rakish funnels
marked her as the famous Cunard liner Aquitania. The last man boarded
her and settled into quarters on the six passenger decks before the
bewitching hour to begin the transatlantic crossing.
Late
in the morning on 21 October 1944 the Aquitania backed out of the dock
in the Port of New York and turned toward the open sea and Greenock,
Scotland. Many of the passenges manned the rails as the ship sailed by
the Statue of Liberty. The Lady seemed to lift her torch in solemn
tribute to American Men and Women on their way to battle. Many wondered
would they ever see "the great lady" again. The jubilation
felt by the passengers was short lived.
Seasickness
struck many of the passengers as the ship reached the cruising speed on
the open seas. "We had a short religious service," wrote
Milton Weiner (424/M). " The Rabbi said he expected all of us to be
at each daily service no matter how seasick we might be. The next
service the Rabbi attended was when we were docking at the Firth of
Clyde, Scotland."
The
Aquitania traveled a zig-zag course alone to fend off U-boat attacks.
The turns added yaw to the pitching and rolling motion of the ship. The
"Limey" food that did not agree with American stomachs
compounded the motion of the ship. To ward off the seasickness Jim
Rupert recalled, "They tried to keep us moving. When one group was
sleeping on the bunks another was volunteered for the mopping details or
waiting in line for the next meal." The meals were served twice a
day and it took two hours for the men to pass through the line. Hershey
bars helped many make it through the trip, which lasted eight long days.
The
North Atlantic was rough but kind. The voyage was uneventful except a
freighter crossed the path of the Aquitania. A shot, from one of
Aquitania's big guns, over the bow of the freighter convinced the
freighter's captain to keep his distance.
As
the Aquitania approached Scotland two Allied escort ships materialized
out of the mist and English flying boats flew out to greet to greet the
big ship. The Aquitania landed at Greenock, Scotland on the Firth of
Clyde on 28 October. Grateful passengers disembarked and boarded trains
headed south for the midlands of England. The trains stopped at
Adderbury, Banbury and Chipping Norton in the Midlands.
The
story of this sailing of the Wakefield was published in the October,
November, December 1997 issue of The CUB of the Golden Lion, a
publication of the 106th Infantry Division Association, Inc. Bill Bucher
Jr. wrote the story. Henry R. Fishburn edited the story for this
biography.
On
10 November 1944 the 589th, the 590th, the 591st, and the 592nd Field
Artillery Battalions, Headquarters Battery, the 106th Division Artillery
and the Division Special Troops prepared to move out of Camp Miles
Standish near Taunton, Massachusetts.
They
marched to the mess hall, where they were served an early breakfast,
moved out of their clean barracks, and boarded a troop train in a cold
rain. The weather could not dampen their excitement. The young soldiers,
many were eighteen or nineteen years old, were on their way to the
European Theater of Operations. Most tried not to think about what might
be waiting for them upon their arrival in Europe. After arriving at the
Port of Boston they shuffled their barracks bags along in the rain as
they stood in line to go aboard the USCGS Wakefield.
They
pushed into cramped compartments filled with five high bunks, from the
deck to the overhead, and stowed their gear any place that looked
acceptable. The bunks were fastened up to the stanchions that supported
the back corner of the bunk frames as everyone crowded into their
assigned space. A chain was fastened to each front corner of the frames
and the overhead to support the weight of the men in the bunks. The
bottom two bunks had to be chained up when the deck was swabbed.
A
mattress, a sack to cover the mattress and a blanket, whether one needed
it or not, were provided. We were, in most cases, allowed to select a G.
I. to alternately sleep in the bunk. The mattresses on the bunks rested
on a heavy off-white canvas that had been fastened to an aluminum frame
with a one-quarter-inch cotton line. The line had been routed through
eyelets in the canvas and passed around the two-inch diameter frame. It
was functional but many found that they did not miss a pillow when their
turn came to sleep on a bunk. The lines on some of the bunks had to be
tightened so the man below was not crowded from someone in the bunk
above. Slim men slept in the bunks that were behind ventilation plenums.
Ventilation
in the compartments was inadequate for the number of men assigned to
them. The ventilation had been designed for twelve percent of the people
that were now in each compartment. Similar accommodations for life rafts
had been addressed. The Wakefield had been fitted with seventy-six
inflatable life rafts that hung along her sides, and the passengers were
told to wear a "Mae West" life vest at all times except when
they were asleep or in a shower.
By
10:30 a.m. that morning the preparations for sailing were completed as
the United States Coast Guard crew manned sea and anchor stations. The
Wakefield pulled out of the Port of Boston and headed into the driving
wind and rain of a North Atlantic Ocean storm.
The
ship sailed alone as she was steered in a zig-zag course to the
southeast. Unescorted travel was a very dangerous gamble, although
German U-boats had not been seen along the East Coast for months.
The
voyage was not easy. The ship rolled, yawed and pitched on the storm
driven waves. "As the aft end of the ship rose out of the water the
screws acted like giant hands that vibrated the entire ship until the
blades were under the water again," said John M. Roberts (592FAB).
Seasickness was rampant among the passengers. Most of them had never
experienced a ride that was remotely similar to that ride before. All
wanted the ride to end.
Coast
Guard cooks and bakers prepared the meals and shepherded KP
"volunteers" turned mess cooks by Army selection criteria. The
chow line extended half the length of the ship and it took two hours to
reach a serving table and the Master At Arms who was counting the men
who approached him and slid a tray along the serving table. "Two
meals a day were served to those who were able to stand in the chow line
and able to eat," observed Frances Aspinwall (589FAB) in his 1953
battalion history.
The
head (latrine) was an experience by itself. The stainless steel urinals
were shaped like the urinals in many public rest rooms. The commodes,
supported above the deck, were shaped like a rain gutter with slat seats
that stretched from rim to rim. Seawater was piped into one end of the
troughs and flowed all of the time. Water and waste sloshed about as the
ship wallowed on the sea. The troughs were aligned with the ship's keel
but the passengers and the crew stayed away from the ends of the troughs
and walked carefully around the waste. "You never sat on one of the
holes at the end," John M. Roberts wrote with wry humor. "As
the water hit the wall at the end of the trough, the water (and whatever
was in the water) splashed and slopped up through the holes."
On
11 November the ship reached calm seas and the eerie glow of
phosphorescence in the water around the ship that night revealed to the
passengers that they were following the southern route across the ocean.
Many of the passengers went up on the outside decks to escape the odor
of stale food, tobacco, and seasickness that permeated the air in the
compartments. Flying fish and porpoises cavorting along the side of the
ship provided an interesting diversion from the monotony.
In
the afternoon of 16 November 1944 the English coast emerged from the
mist. Sighting land signaled that they had crossed the Atlantic. The
Wakefield was met by a destroyer escort as she sailed into the Saint
George's Channel, where she anchored for the night. As the daylight
faded restless men saw the damage wrought by German bombing and the
anti-aircraft batteries mounted along the shoreline of the English
Channel and the city [Liverpool]. The city, under blacked out rules,
fell silent as dusk turned to night.
The
next morning an English pilot was brought aboard. The lumbering
Wakefield began a slow approach to the docks at Liverpool. The ships'
crew threw the lines over to the crews on the pier as a brass band
played greetings. That was a pleasant taste of English hospitality. It
was a moment that many of the passengers and crew would long remember.
The
passengers were grateful for their safe passage and eager to plant their
feet on land. Again the long lines formed and the men shuffled their
duffel bags along as they disembarked. Thoughts of pleasant experiences
they would have in England came to them as they boarded a train for the
midlands of England. Preparation
to sail to France
John
Paul Kline recorded the activities and other scenes, written below,
around Cheltenham.
The
423rd Regiment left Glasgow on a train late in the evening and rode all
night. Coffee, chips and meat pie was served for breakfast, on the
train.
We
arrived at Cheltenham, England on 25 October 1944. The 423rd
Regiment was billeted on the grounds of the Cheltenham Steeplechase
track, about one-half mile from town. My squad was billeted in the press
building.
The
surrounding countryside was very hilly. It was a beautiful area. Before
the June invasion of Normandy, the track area and grounds had been a
very large encampment. There were countless wooden floors, in row by row
formation throughout the grounds. They were used as floors for the
hundreds of squad tents sheltering the multitude of troops.
My
squad was fortunate to have quarters in the Pressroom, atop the Main
Grandstand, overlooking the finish line on the track. Below us in front
of the Grandstand building, was a picturesque recreation building. It
was used for administrative purposes when the track was active. It had a
lounge, and a pool table. We enjoyed it. Some of our troops were
billeted in metal "Quonset" huts, a building that looks like a
very large steel culvert pipe, sawed in half horizontally, lying on its
side.
We
spent many hours training and marching. The training was tough. We found
very little physical evidence of the war, except the encampment area at
Cheltenham Steeplechase track and munitions stored in protective bunkers
along the roads, as we marched around the hilly countryside.
We
could not see any damage that been done by the German bombers. During
one of the marches, we came across the remains of an English bomber,
lying scattered across a hilltop. The training was tough, but we did get
a few evening passes into town.
To
me, a country village boy, Cheltenham was a unique picturesque town.
Most English towns were, I suppose. We walked into the town to find that
it was always filled with soldiers. It was little wonder that the
British were glad when we all went home. Most of our free evenings were
spent walking the streets, having a few beers, trying to find some
familiar face and some place to eat. The streets were crowded, the beer
was warm, and we found very few familiar faces and a few places to eat.
Food was not plentiful. We probably had more to eat than the local
townspeople.
I
remember going into town for dinner one evening. After a couple of warm
glasses of ale in a Pub, I found a little restaurant on a side street
where the tables were covered with quaint little embroidered
tablecloths. Sitting at the table was relaxing, but the meal was sparse.
I don’t remember what I had to eat. I have a great distaste for lamb,
so I am sure it was that.
John
R. Fishburn remembered training to disembark from a ship via a cargo net
ladder. Crossing
the English Channel
John
P. Kline recorded crossing the Enblish Channel on the Duke of
Wellington as follows:
On
28 November we boarded a train, at the Port of South Hampton and boarded
the Duke of Wellington, a small English craft, on 29 November
1944. The Duke had seen a lot of action and was showing its age. The
crew called the attention of the small number of troops to the ominous
signs all about, like "Don’t Prime Grenades" and
"Keep Weapons Unloaded." The English Channel was very
rough. I understand that it is always choppy.
I
had never been on a sea-going vessel, other than the "Queen"
on our way across the Atlantic Ocean. The Duke pounded the
waves with its bow as she pitched and rolled like a roller coaster. We
were happy to stand to on the outside deck with life jackets on,
standard practice when entering a harbor area, as we entered the
temporary harbor at Le Havre, France.
The
city had been leveled to the ground and the original docking facilities
had been destroyed during the battle for the city in September 1944. I
saw a few German pillboxes that had been camouflaged to represent
commercial buildings and a partially demolished house on the beach, with
a bathtub hanging out of a window. The harbor was now made up of many
old ships, cabled together to make the temporary harbor. We disembarked,
formed up on the docks, marched nine miles and climbed into trucks late
that night, in a very heavy rain. The truck ride ended when we arrived
at Field J-40 (a staging area) near Rouen, France, on 1 December 1944.
Some
men in the 422nd, 423rd, and 424th Infantry Regiments left the Midlands
of England in trucks on 1 December 1944. The passengers on the trucks
embarked on the SS Monowai on 2 December at the Port of Liverpool,
England. The Monowai sailed to Le Harve, France where she sat at anchor
in the Seine Estuary in bad weather until 6 December before she tied up
to a temporary pier at Le Harve, France. The passengers disembarked,
formed up on the docks, marched nine miles and climbed into trucks, in
snow and mud. The truck ride ended when they arrived at Field J-40 (a
staging area) near Rouen, France, on 6 December 1944.
The
Infantry truck drivers with the trucks, men in the 589th, the 590th, the
591st, and the 592nd Field Artillery Battalions met sailors who wore
Amphibious Service Patches, when they were in a dress uniform, or US
Coast Guardsmen. and embarked at Weymouth in LSTs on 1 December. Those
proud daring men sailed the Large Slow Targets.
The
men on the ships welcomed passengers for the return crossing in their
thoughts or the flags that the signalmen ran up on the signal lines.
Here are the flags that a signalman used to display his thoughts [WELCOME]
to all:
The
British Admiralty designed the LST; but the 416 foot long ships with a
50 foot beam cruised at about 12 knots under the thrust from two screws
driven by two 1200 horsepower General Motors Diesel engines. The ships
often rode to the tops of a swell and shook like a coon in the mouth of
a hound dog when the screws came out of the water. The ride on a LST in
a storm was anything but pleasant. The ships vibrated when the sea was
becalmed. At anchor the clamor of two or three of the Superior Diesel
auxiliary engines continued to turn the direct current electric power
generators. All three generators were paralleled when the tank deck
exhaust fans were turned on.
The
exhaust fans vented through the main deck created more noise than the
vehicle engines on the tank deck. The roar of the fans was deafening and
the spray was like being in a driving rainstorm.
The
LSTs anchored in the Seine Estuary off of Le Havre, France that night.
They changed their nickname to that of all ships at anchor, Large
Sitting Targets. The LSTs lay at anchor and tossed drearily.
The
crews occupied most of the berths and the passengers rested where they
could find a place out of the rain. The two meals a day were served at
the galley cafeteria counter. The counter was located along the aft side
of a passageway athwart the ship with a ladder that led down to the aft
crew's quarters, aft mess tables and the starboard mess tables beyond
the scullery. A hundred and fifty men could be served before the crew
ran out of mess trays. Then the wait began as the trays were washed by
hand in the scullery and slung dry again. The flat ware was not ever
dry. John's nephew can tell about working in the scullery and in the
galley during his service on the USS LST 500.
Only
one mess cook could squeeze into the scullery and stand at either of the
two sinks. Gloves protected the mess cook's hands from the scalding
water that was needed to clean the trays, flatware and mugs for 150
crewmen and the passengers.
After
three weary days the LSTs were sailed up the Seine River to Rouen. The
artillery vehicle drivers drove their equipment to Yerville to bivouac
in pup tents for three days as the cold rain drenched them and chilled
them to the core.
The
following text is from the document that my brother Elvis Mac Fishburn
and I wrote after we visited Uncle John in October 1998. Since we
finished the first draft Uncle John, his daughter Frances, Mac and I
have started at the beginning and have been working on what we can find
to do immediately.
John
entered the United States Army on 16 July 1942 and was assigned to
Company L 80th Infantry Division for basic Infantry training
at Camp Forest Tennessee. Camp Forest was a hastily erected mobilization
tent encampment. Duck boards, installed between the tents and drill
areas, kept the trainees above some of the Tennessee mud. Trainees spent
about half of their day drilling and the rest of the time policing up
the grounds, picking up debris, rocks etc., off the duck boards and
drill area. John was promoted from Private to Sergeant within six months
after entering service, without holding the rank of Private First Class
or Corporal. John remembered Buck Sergeant Tabor as a tough drill
instructor during the training period.
In
January 1943, John was reassigned to Fort Jackson South Carolina, and
promoted to Staff Sergeant. He became part of the Cadre to form the 106th
Infantry Division and was assigned to Company L 423rd
Infantry Regiment, 106th Infantry Division. The first WWII
mobilization draftees, 18 and 19 years olds, were assigned to the 106th
for infantry training. The 106th Infantry Division departed
from Camp Forest to participate in the 1943 Tennessee Maneuvers. And,
John was promoted to Technical Sergeant during the maneuvers.
John
reflected on the first time that he pulled guard duty. Each Regiment had
their own guardhouse for the confinement of the Regiment prisoners. The
prisoners were required to stand guard mount, where they stood with
their arms folded during the change of guard. The guards carried live
ammunition. Perhaps the live ammunition discouraged escape attempts.
During the guard mount the guards were given special orders like, no one
shall enter certain areas unless accompanied by the Officer of the Guard
or the Officer of the Day.
One
day the Commanding General, unaccompanied, approached a Private on guard
and requested entry to a restricted area. The Private recognized the
Commanding General but would not grant him access to the restricted
area. The General asked to see the Private the next morning. The General
spot promoted the Private to Corporal, when he reported.
Following
the Tennessee Maneuvers in April 1943 the 106th Infantry
Division reported to Camp Atterbury, Indiana. While at Camp Atterbury
the 106th Infantry Division lost over 7,000 enlisted men and
600 officers who were sent to replacement depots. The remaining nucleus,
or cadre, was tasked to train new replacements.
The
Division was then fleshed out with personnel eliminated from cancelled
training in the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) , Army Air Corp
, Coast Artillery, Quartermaster , Band , Special Services , and other
sources. Infantry training resumed and continued through the fall of
1943. The Division was then transferred to Fort Deavens, Massachusetts,
where the Division trained to debark and embark to/from ships using
cargo netting on the sides of ships, walls or cliffs.
In
October 1944, the 106th Infantry Division moved via troop
train to New York City where they embarked for England on the Queen
Elizabeth. Upon arrival in England the training continued in
debarking/embarking from/to ships, communications procedures and basic
German phrases.
Le Havre, France was captured by the Allied Expeditionary Forces
on 17 September 1944, therefore the 106th Infantry Division
crossed the English Channel and landed at Le Havre without resistance.
From Le Havre the 106th Infantry Division moved through
Belgium to the "Forest of Ardennes" in the northern part of
France, a two day 207 mile trip by truck convoys. Upon arrival the 106th
Infantry Division, which included the 422nd, 423rd,
and 424th Infantry Regiments, moved up to the front on 10
December and replaced the 2nd Infantry Division on the line
south of the 99th Infantry Division in the Siegfried Line ,
the western frontier of Germany. The 106th’s positions
extended for 18.5 miles and jutted out into Germany in a salient
extending approximately 7 miles. The Germans launched their Ardennes
Offensive (Battle of the Bulge) at 05:30 hours on Saturday 6 December
1944 and sustained the offensive until 01:00 hours 24 December 1944.
The
26th German Panzer Division under the command of Peiper
attacked the center of the American lines in the forest, pushed the 99th
and the 2nd Infantry Divisions back toward the Elsenborn
Ridge and surrounded the 106th Infantry Division. During
attacks on the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th
of December the 423rd Infantry Regiment was annihilated. The
423rd Infantry Regiment lost their colors, and John was
wounded two or more times. He suffered shrapnel wounds in the left
cheek, forehead, back, legs, and lost the heel on his right foot.
The
422nd and 423rd Regiments of the 106th
Infantry Division Regiments being surrounded, out of ammunition, and
sustaining heavy losses surrendered after inflicting heavy losses on the
Germans.
After
his capture on the 19th of December 1944, perhaps by the 26th
Panzer Division, a fellow prisoner picked shrapnel from his back and
helped him with other wounds.
After
surrendering the Infantrymen were marched 60 miles to Limberg, Germany
and then into a rail yard where they were loaded into 4-and-8 railroad
cars (designed for 40 men or 8 horses). Sixty-to-a-hundred were loaded
to a car. In the cars containing 60 men there was room for half to rest,
sitting or prone, while in the cars containing 100 men there was
standing room only for both the living and dead.
John
was imprisoned in Stalag 5A and 3B with British prisoners. The British,
who had been incarcerated there since the battle of Dunkirk, had the
camps well organized. One German Doctor gave him a casual look and did
nothing to treat his wounds or relieve his suffering.
After
about three and one half months in prison and as the Russian and
British/American Forces advanced toward the camps the prisoners were
again crowded into box cars and provided the typical five gallon bucket
for their toilet use. The battle lines moved back and forth with
advances by the Russians and the British/ American Forces. Meanwhile,
the train was shuttled up and down the tracks for nine days and nights.
The prisoners were not given any food or water nor allowed to leave the
train. John’s only relief was catching a sooty-dirty-snow ball, thrown
by a German guard. On the ninth day a number of American P-47 aircraft
attacked the train.
The
bombing and strafing destroyed the rail cars and many were killed or
wounded. One man died with his head in John’s arms. After the air
attack, the prisoners escaped from the damaged cars or were released by
the guards. Later the guards tried to reload the prisoners into the
serviceable cars. Faced with the possible penalty of death the prisoners
refused to board the train again. Then the guards began walking the
prisoners 15 to 20 kilometers a day, toward the east then toward the
west, keeping them constantly on the move. During the marches a German
guard would ride ahead on a bicycle and select a place for them to
overnight. They were held three or four days in an old brick factory
where they were infested with body lice. It was too cold for them to
remove all of their clothing to wash each item and attempt to kill the
lice. Therefore, they were unable to rid themselves of the lice. The
small ration of black bread and weak turnip soup and lice assured a
miserable existence, night and day. Good fortune came on Friday, April
13, 1945.
The
2nd Armored Division liberated the prisoners in John’s encampment, as
they were marching along a road. The 2nd Armored Division was under
General Patton’s Command. After liberation they were sent back through
France to Camp Lucky Strike, located at Le Havre. There they received
medical care and liberal supplies of DDT, delousing powder. John applied
the powder liberally and got the first nights sleep in months. John was
also promoted to Master Sergeant while he was at Camp Lucky Strike.
After medical evaluation and processing John boarded a troop ship and
returned to the United States.
On
the troop ship, crossing the Atlantic, most of the passengers were Non
Commissioned Officers. But despite his rank, John volunteered for a
detail delivering food from the ship stores to the troop galley and
bakery. The detail provided access to processed food that John stuffed
into his field jacket pockets. He and his friends would later enjoy
fruit cocktail, evaporated milk, cereal and other items while top-side.
They all gained weight. He debarked from the troop ship in New York and
returned to Camp Atterbury, Indiana for processing.
John
was given a 65-day convalescent leave and a check for $2500.00. John did
not have enough cash money to return to Greencastle, Indiana, where his
mother lived. In Indianapolis, Indiana, John presented the check to five
or more banks before he could get a banker to call his mother, verify
that she had a bank account, and verify that she would stand good for
the check. He finally got the check cashed and left the bank with a fist
full of cash, more money than he had ever seen in his hands. John spent
$1500 during the first 15 days of the convalescent leave. He bought
presents for Frances. John and Mary Frances Neighbors, from Anderson,
Indiana were married on 16 June 1945. After the Convalescent Leave he
reported to Miami Beach, Florida for further processing.
John
was separated from the United States Army on 28 October 1945. He
returned to civilian life and took various jobs. One of the jobs was in
a lamp factory where he painted lamps. The work encouraged him to
re-enlist in the United States Army in August 1949. He returned as a
Technical Sergeant and was assigned to the Third Armored Division as a
Platoon Sergeant to train recruits until June 1950.
Shortly
after the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 reassignment orders
arrived. In July 1950, John was reassigned to the 2nd Infantry Division
in Korea. John was wounded in September 1950. The wounds included the
loss of the thumb from his left hand, and other shrapnel wounds. He was
medically evacuated to the Naval Hospital, Great Lakes, Illinois. John
compliments the Naval Hospital for the excellent care he received during
four months of hospitalization. After he recovered from his wounds, he
returned to Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Back
at Fort Knox he was assigned as a Platoon Sergeant, training recruits,
in the 3rd Armored Division. In March 1951 he was again promoted to
Master Sergeant, pay grade E-7. The promotion required reassignment to a
command or committee function. John then served on the Infantry Rifle
Marksmanship Committee until December 1955.
In
December 1955, he was reassigned to France for a three-year tour with
the Paris Eine Area Command. Just before the termination of his
enlistment, John was returned to Fort Hamilton, New York where he
re-enlisted on 3 August 1958. After re-enlistment, he was returned to
Fort Knox, Kentucky.
At
Fort Knox, he participated in a Medical Research Laboratory. The
research included exposure of personnel, equipment, and laboratory
specimens, to hot and cold climatic conditions while evaluating the
ability to rapidly adapt to different climates. In March of 1960, John
was assigned to a one-year tour in Korea, with the 7th Infantry
Division. In March 1961 he returned to Fort Knox, Kentucky.
He
returned to his Committee role in Infantry Rifle Marksmanship Training.
In December 1961 he returned to Korea for another one-year tour, and was
assigned to the First Corp.
In
December 1962, he again returned to Fort Knox, Kentucky and his
Committee role in Infantry Rifle Marksmanship Training.
In
September 1965, John got two wishes. He got the third rocker when he was
promoted to E-8 and transferred to a United States Army Pacific (USARPAC)
assignment in Hawaii. It was while on this assignment that John called
General Westmoreland by mistake. He enjoyed a personal chat with the
Commander Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV). His eyes sparkled
and a broad smile covered his face when reflected on that incident.
Seldom does any enlisted soldier experience an opportunity to address a
Four Star Commanding General. Upon completion of his Hawaii assignment
John was posted to Fort Riley, Kansas
At
Fort Riley he received training and orientation for Vietnam. In October
1968 John went to Vietnam where he was assigned to the 1st Cavalry
Division. He served in the 1st Cavalry Division with the first Corp and
fourth Corp. In February or March 1969 a VC 88mm mortar struck his hooch
and sprayed the interior of the building with shrapnel. He had just
returned from the shower and was wrapped with a towel. Shrapnel wounded
both legs. When reporting for medical care the medics questioned how he
received the wounds without having holes in his fatigues. He doesn’t
recall being awarded a Purple Heart for those wounds and tends to
dismiss the entire experience as routine in an Infantryman’s career.
Upon completing his Vietnam tour in October 1969, John got a terminal
assignment to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. There he was medically evaluated
and processed for retirement. Master Sergeant John R. Fishburn was
officially retired from the United States Army at Fort Knox, Kentucky on
1 July 1970. Generals
Served Under:
Bradley
Europe
Major
General Alan W. Jones
Europe
Awards
and Honors:
Combat
Infantry Badge Three times (About 160 Infantrymen have earned CIB three
times, in three different Wars.)
Family:
Wife: Mary Frances
Children:
Sherry G. 29 January 1948
As
told to Elvis Mac Fishburn (nephew) on 29 September 1998
Foot
Note
Uncle
John is enjoying his retirement, looks well and was going fishing with
his grand sons on the day I interviewed him. He explained to me how they
were catching catfish from a tank using dog food as bait. |
|
Page last revised 11/26/2006 |
|
|
