Granddaddy Was Airborne! , livre ebook

Turner Publishing Company - Bart Hagerman

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187 pages

English

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Description

As an 18 year-old, Bart Hagerman volunteered for military service in April, 1943. Hagerman was wounded in action and hospitalized, then returned to the States and eventually to civilian life. After graduation from c college, he accepted a direct commission and was recalled briefly during the Korean conflict. He retired from the Army in 1978 as a lieutenant colonel and a master parachutist.

Sujets

Historical

Lettres et linguistique

Biography

Western Front

Autobiography

Informations

Publié par	Turner Publishing Company
Date de parution	01 décembre 1997
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781681622217
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0948€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

GRANDDADDY WAS AIRBORNE!
BART HAGERMAN
TURNER PUBLISHING COMPANY
Turner Publishing Company
Turner Publishing Staff:
Editor: Herbert C. Banks II
Designer: Heather R. Warren
Copyright 1997 Bart Hagerman
Publishing Rights: Turner Publishing Company
ISBN: 978-1-68162-222-4
Liabrary of Congress Catalog Card No.: 97-62515
This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Publisher.
This publication was compiled using available information.
The publisher regrets it cannot assume liability for errors or omissions.
Limited Edition
CONTENTS
Introduction
Dedication
PART I THE ARMY AND CAMP MACKALL
Chapter 1 You re In The Army Now!
2 Carrots For Lunch
3 Destination: The Sandhills!
4 Welcome To Camp Mackall
5 Army Chow
6 Post Recreation
7 Visitors From Home
8 Basic Training
9 The Dear John Letter
10 Airborne All The Way!
11 Aberdeen: My Oasis!
12 Weekends In Charlotte
13 The Inspections
14 Glider Troops vs Paratroops
15 A Loss Of Sack Time
16 Lost In The Boonies
17 Never Volunteer For Anything!
18 The Long-Legged Swede
19 The Best Soldier I Ever Knew
20 Weapons Firing
21 Memories of Don Wonderly
22 A Reduction In Rank
23 Glider Training
24 Where Did All The Screw-Ups Go?
PART II MANEUVERS AND CAMP FORREST
Chapter 25 Tennessee Maneuvers
26 The Parting Of The Ranks
27 The Girls We Met!
28 Jump School
29 The Division Ships Out
PART III OVERSEAS AND ENGLAND
Chapter 30 Crossing The Atlantic
31 The War Of The Floors
32 Eve And Her Apple
33 London: A City Ready For War
34 Those Paratrooper Boots!
35 Alert And Stand Down
36 Barbary Castle
37 Fun And Games In London
38 You re Never Far From Home
39 Raymond Chard: The Laundry Boy
40 The Replacements
41 I Remember Lilly
42 Thanksgiving Day, 1944
43 The Last Pass
Photo Album
PART IV COMBAT
Chapter 44 We Land In France
45 Combat Ready
46 The Enemy Lies Dead
47 The Children
48 The Watch On The Border
49 Sniper Fire
50 The First Big Attack
51 The Road Back To The Front
52 The Battle Of The Our River
53 Another Purple Heart
PART V HOSPITALS AND HOME
Chapter 54 The Hospital Trail
55 Home At Last!
56 The War Is Over!
57 Vacation On The Government
58 Life At Fort Benning
59 The Civilian Soldier
PART VI REFLECTIONS
Chapter 60 The Fights!
61 When Things Go Wrong
62 Combat Changed Us All
63 Gays In The Military?
64 The Friends Who Fell
Author s Notes
Epilogue
Index
INTRODUCTION
Like many other young men of my generation, my time in the military stands out as the most exciting days of my life. I recall and cherish many other exciting times, such my marriage, the births of my children and grandchildren, my 118 parachute jumps, and others. But, for sheer excitement and thrills galore, it s pretty tough to top World War II and life in the Airborne!
My children and grandchildren still beg me to tell them about my military experiences. It has been well over 52 years now since the end of World War II and my memories have begun to fade. So, before they are lost completely, this book is an attempt to record some of those events and experiences for those who may wonder what did Granddaddy do in the war?
Let me assure you that this is not a story of wild combat and a dashing, young war hero . Far be it from that! It is nothing more than the day-to-day story and impressions of an ordinary young man, caught up in the hysteria and patriotic fervor of the 1940s. Rather than being a hero, I was only trying to do my duty as best I could, survive the mess that I found myself in, and get home in one piece.
Understanding the attitude of young men in those days is important to this story. Few were looking for a way to avoid military service. Those who were denied the chance to join the military frequently suffered shattering consequences to their morale and self esteem. It was a blow to their macho and it was a social stigma that was tough to live with. In those days, there was nothing worse than to be classified as 4-F: unfit for military service.
By early 1943, most of my close friends already had left for the service, or were soon to leave. I was eager to join myself. I wanted a taste of the excitement before the war was over. The Airborne, I soon learned, provided all the thrills and excitement I could have ever wanted! Combat, however, was something else. No one is ever prepared to see his friends blown apart and to live in constant fear for his own life.
This book documents some of the experiences I had when as a teen-ager I left home for the first time, joined the army, and went to war. There were good times and there were bad times. My days in the military service remain as the greatest adventure of my life, but it s one I would hope none of my descendants will ever have to experience.
This book is lovingly dedicated to my family that always showed great patience in listening to most of these experiences time and again. It is, however, especially dedicated to my eight wonderful grandchildren who continually asked me, What did you do in the army, Granddaddy?
PART I:
T HE A RMY AND C AMP M ACKALL
C HAPTER 1
YOU RE IN THE ARMY NOW!
Ever since I could remember, I had known Joe Bailey Orr. As a young lad I had admired him as an outstanding football player at Bowling Green High School. Then, when I was playing football I knew him as a great fan of mine as well as a prominent lawyer in my home town. It was weird as to how he suddenly turned on me!
It was April 13, 1943, and I had volunteered for military service through the draft board. Actually, because I had volunteered, I ended up taking the place of someone who would have otherwise been drafted. Whoever he was, I guess they got him the next month!
Two of my friends, Bob Pearce and Robert Izzie Isbell, also volunteered with me and of course, we hoped to all be stationed together, wherever that might be. That worked out as we received consecutive serial numbers and ended up starting our military careers together.
I remember very well the morning we left Bowling Green aboard a charter Greyhound bus. The local draft board would ship their inductees to Louisville where they took a physical. Those that passed were given seven days to wind up their personal affairs and then to report back to Louisville. Those that failed were either real sad or real happy as they were returned to Bowling Green and were classified as unfit for service.
All three of us were confident of passing our physical and we were full of the enthusiasm that prevailed in those days. We were ready to serve. So ready were we, that we had decided to decline the seven-day delay in reporting. We were ready to go that very day!
We bid our parents and friends good-bye that morning and assembled outside the old armory building at 10th and Chestnut Streets. We laughed and joked all the way to Louisville and were delighted when we got to the armory which was being used as an Induction Center.
When we got off the bus, the first person I saw was Joe Bailey Orr. He wore the gold leaf insignia of a major and looked real sharp to us in his army suntans. Joe had been in the local unit of the Kentucky National Guard which had been activated earlier. Apparently, he had temporarily drawn this duty of meeting the new inductees and getting them started through the examination process.
Hey, Joe, I called out to him, the war won t last much longer after we get into it!
He smiled and came over and shook hands with all three of us. He agreed it was only a matter of days until Hitler and the Japs would be on the run now that Bowling Green was sending its finest!
We were all in good spirits as he showed us where to go and wished us well. From there on it was a matter of being punched and pinched, weighed and quizzed and we had all passed with flying colors. We had all been marked for the Army. It didn t surprise me as I had tried to get in both the Marines and the Navy and neither would have me because of my bad eyes.
Finally, we were all herded into a big room and told to hold up our right hand. We were administered the oath and then told we were now in the Army! We congratulated each other and filed out toward a waiting bus that was to take us to Fort Ben Harrison in Indiana.
In the area where the bus was parked, there was my old friend, Joe Bailey Orr. Proud of our new accomplishment of passing our physical and now being a fellow-soldier, I yelled, Hey Joe, I passed! I made it!
I ll never forget the look Joe gave me. His face turned red and he boiled with anger. It was plain he was anything but the good friend he had always been. He squared his shoulders and came at me almost on the run.
Who the hell do you think you are, soldier? he screamed in my face. Do you see this leaf on my collar? If you have anything to say to me you stand at attention and address me as Major Orr!
I was completely taken back at this sudden change that seemed to have come over my old friend. I stammered something and froze at attention.
With his face about six inches from mine, he then yelled, You don t have any business with me, soldier. Get your butt on that bus and get the hell out of here!
Dumbfounded, I answered, Yes, Sir! and climbed on the bus. All the other guys, including Pearce and Izzie who had observed what had happened, roared with laughter. They thought it was great fun!
It took me a few minutes to gather my wits and realize just what had happened. It really wasn t all that complicated. I had just got my first of many chewing outs . Major Orr had just let me know that after I took that oath, I was definitely a private in U. S. Army and no longer a carefree civilian!
C HAPTER 2
CARROTS FOR LUNCH
It was a relatively short trip from the Induction Center at Louisville to Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, our Reception Center, but it sure was a gigantic leap in our young lives. We definitely departed civilian