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JCSM Shareware Collection 1996 September
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JCSM Shareware Collection (JCS Distribution) (September 1996).ISO
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1994-03-22
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214 lines
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* *
* THE 4TH DIVISION RETURNS TO THE US *
* *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As earlier letters indicate, we had speculated on whether we
would be sent to the Pacific once the war in Europe was
over. Nevertheless, news that this was going to happen came
as a rude shock. With nearly a year of combat behind many
of us, we felt we had done our share. Washington, however,
had other thoughts. Invasion of Japan would take a great
many divisions, and the 4th was to be one of them. After
returning home, we would have thirty days leave, followed
by intensive training. We would then move on to the Pacific
for the invasion of Japan.
Since beginning work on this book, I have obtained a copy
of the plan for the Japanese invasion, DOWNFALL. The first
phase called for an invasion of Kyushu, the southernmost
island, and the buildup of a logistic base there. The 4th
would take part in the second phase, a landing on Honshu,
near Tokyo. Particularly after the fighting on Okinawa, heavy
casualties were expected. We approached this task with no
enthusiasm but surprisingly little protest. I did not mention
that we were headed for the Pacific in my letters home. With
my brother already there, I thought it best to postpone
breaking this unwelcome news to my parents.
Dear Dad, June 11, 1945, Bamberg, Germany
I have hesitated for some time now to write this news to
you, since there is always the real possibility that something
will intervene to make it impossible. It can be expected that
I shall reach the United States sometime between July 1
and 15. When I reach the States, they'll send me and others
from the division living near there to a post in the vicinity
of Aurora. From there we shall be released for a leave,
probably thirty days.
I do not know where we shall be stationed in the States at
the end of the leave or how long we'll remain there. Your
guess is as good as mine. My leave I plan to spend in this
manner. Several weeks with you in Aurora, a week in New
York, and a week in Florida.
Love, John
Dear Folks, June 15, 1945, Bamberg, Germany
Staff Sergeant Dunbar, who was chief in our fire direction,
is leaving tomorrow on advance detail. He will go to Erie,
Pennsylvania, for his furlough. I gave him your phone
number and asked him to call, so don't be surprised if you
hear from him.
My love, John
As these letters indicated, the 29th moved from
Gunzenhausen to a bivouac area near Bamberg, which is
northwest of Nuernberg . There I again found myself dealing
with an unpleasant task. A group of enlisted men were
playing with a small gun, passing it from hand to hand.
Suddenly the gun went off, and one of the men fell over
dead. Tommy asked me to investigate the incident and make
an official report. It was, however, pointed out to me that,
if I recommended a court martial, it would mean that some
of our senior noncommissioned officers would have to
remain behind in Germany. We were already losing a
number of them under the point system, which permitted
enlisted men with the most service to get out of the army.
Fortunately, given the circumstances of the shooting, it was
not difficult for me to rule the death an accident.
From the bivouac area, we moved to a tent city near Le
Havre. Tommy sent me ahead with the advance party. The
trip across Germany was depressing, since we drove through
one ruined city after another. It was only when we reached
France that we left war's devastation behind. My final letter
from Europe was written from Le Havre.
Dear Folks, June 27, 1945, Le Havre, France
Well, France again. Eleven months from Normandy to the
heart of Germany, four months to get back here. We came
here with night stopovers at Kaiserslautern, Metz, and
Soisson.
Must cut down my number of correspondents now that I'm
coming back to the States. It has to be done sooner or later,
doesn't it? But they really are all wonderful persons who are
really very worthwhile friends.
Well, I still expect to be home in the middle of July,
discounting any serious difficulties in the interim. See you
then.
My love, John
PS I now have 90 points, which means that it will not be
impossible to become a civilian again. But I wouldn't be at
all surprised to see myself in the army for some time to
come.
The 29th returned to the US on the SS Hermitage. My task
on board was to arrange entertainment. With the help of the
ship's orchestra, I managed to scrape together a pretty good
variety show. The high point was a young soldier who was
a woman impersonator. He always carried girl's clothes with
him and created a sensation when he (she) suddenly
appeared on stage.
After a brief period in a camp near New York city, we
traveled by train to an army camp just west of Aurora,
Illinois, where my parents were living. As the train went
through it, there was a brief pause in the station. I was
tempted to jump off but was too disciplined to do this. I
wished later I had.
A TERRIBLE SHOCK
The next day, shortly before I was to travel to Aurora, I
received word that my mother had died the night before.
Although I had been aware that she was ill, I had no idea
that it was so serious.
Thus, my homecoming was a sad one. My father, my sister
Margaret, and I traveled east by train to Philadelphia, my
mother's hometown, for her funeral. After that, I gave up
any idea of visiting girl friends in New York or Florida. I felt
it my duty to remain with my father, whose health was still
precarious. After traveling to Minneapolis to visit my father's
brothers, we returned to Aurora.
We were in Aurora when atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima
and Nagasaki and the war ended. (It should be a sobering
thought for Europeans that, had von Rundstedt's offensive
succeeded in delaying Allied operations, a German city could
have been the first victim of the atomic bomb. Europeans
should also reflect on the consequences of a protracted war
in the Pacific. The US would have neglected Europe and
concentrated on the defeat of Japan.)
Truman's decision to use the bomb was certainly not
unpopular among those of us scheduled for the invasion of
Japan. Now that I am better informed on our invasion plans
and the Japanese plans to defend their islands, I am
convinced that many more would have been killed than were
killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There are those who claim
the Japanese would have surrendered anyway, but there is
no way of proving this one way or another. All I know is
that, having survived the war in Europe, I considered my
chances of surviving the invasion of Japan very small.
At the end of my leave, I traveled to Camp Butner, near
Durham, North Carolina. Shortly after arriving there, we
received word that the division would be broken up. My final
letter was to my father.
Dear Dad, August 28, 1945
The army has not announced its new policy on officers yet,
but this should come before the weekend. The rumors do
not seem unfavorable.
Princeton starts November 1 with its fall semester. Columbia
begins September 24. From information gathered thus far
Princeton seems to have by far the better foreign service
school.
My work has changed. I'm now a battery commander. The
work should have become fairly familiar by the time the
army releases me, but it serves to keep me out of mischief.
Besides after two and a half years of staff work, having a
command is a welcome change.
John
One day, Tommy called me into his office. He said, "John,
you have been telling me for years how the battery
commanders should run their batteries. I am going to give
you B Battery." While I would have welcomed this earlier,
this was not an easy time to get such an honor. With the
division breaking up, conditions were chaotic, and it was
difficult to maintain discipline. Had it not been for Enon H.
Edenfield, the First Sergeant, I wonder whether I would have
managed it.
About that time, Ed Cissel and Lorton Livingston came to
visit their friends in the battalion. Ed had become ill in the
Siegfried line in the fall of 1944 and had been leading a
team of veterans whose job it was to buck up morale in
factories. Lorton was wounded when his jeep hit a mine in
the snow on a bridge when we were pushing back the
Bulge, and he was returned to the US.
At that time, I was uncertain what to do with my life. I
wanted to return to college but was not sure where. Both
Lorton and Ed urged me to go to Princeton. Lorton had
graduated from there before the war, and Ed was returning
to complete his education. This turned out to be a fateful
encounter, since I not only finished my bachelor work at
Princeton but also attended graduate school there.
Another event also had an important influence on my future.
On my way to Princeton, I stopped in Washington, DC and
visited the State Department. This led to my taking the
Foreign Service officer examination several years later and
ultimately spending twenty-five rewarding years in the
Foreign Service.