My father was in Savannah from November 1940 to August 1941 for Army Air
Corps basic training. He eventually shipped off to England in 1943 to
service P-38's and, later, P-51's. He's now a retired reserve officer
Lt. Colonel. Here's an excerpt from his "life story" that I've not
quite finished prepping for print. ("Al" is his oldest brother)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Al and I tried to get work at the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Co. We were
rejected for not having machine shop experience. Then we came up with
the idea of enlisting in the Army. The United States wasn’t going to
war, we thought. Hah! The plan was to go to military school, learn a
trade, buy out for $100 and then get a good job in a defense plant.
That’s how it could be done then, and Roosevelt said we would never get
involved in a European war.
So, we enlisted into the Army Air Corps on Nov. 23, 1940, and were sent
to Savannah, Ga. We had basic training in the cold, damp weather
typical of Georgia winters. The base had no permanent buildings except
for the main hangar. The entire base was in the process of being built,
and with Al’s and my experience in carpentry, we were recruited to help
the contractor. From February through June, we helped construct many
buildings including the theater, bowling alley and gas station. At the
same time, we had other duties such as marches, rifle range and guard
duty. July found us both chosen for a special detail known as base
beautification, the personal or pet project, of the base commander Brig.
Gen. Lewis H. Brereton. Our work consisted of transplanting crepe
myrtles and palm trees throughout the base. The palms lined the streets
around the barracks and other buildings, and the crepe myrtles were
planted in selected areas. The trees are still there today.
In August, my mother had taken ill, and for some reason unknown to me,
her doctor said she would recover more quickly if Al and I were
stationed closer to home. So, in the latter part of August, we were
transferred to a new air base in Windsor Locks, Conn., and became what
is generally known as “backyard soldiers.” The base later was named
Bradley Field in honor of Lt. Eugene Bradley, the first pilot to be
killed at the base. Al and I actually witnessed the crash that killed
that young officer. We happened to be in the officer’s quarters washing
windows and overheard Bradley talking to a fellow pilot about the next
day’s “dogfight,” which ultimately resulted in his death. It was
believed that a tight turn made Bradley black out and his P-40 dove
5,000 feet into the ground.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Chuck Norcutt
Gary Teller wrote:
> In the last couple of years I have bought so many 35mm cameras that still
> had a roll of film inside. Most of the about to be former owners are
> surprised. After rewinding it I tell them to take it to Wal-Mart, spend a
> few bucks and take a chance that there might be a real family treasure
> amongst the prints.
>
> In a related vein, my late mother left a large amount of black and white
> prints she took during the war years in Savannah, GA. At that time a lot
> of Army Air Force & Coast Guard men & women were in training there. Most
> of the photos of the service men are of little value to me personally and I
> would love to send them to their families-especially those whose loved one
> didn't come home alive. Unfortunately, Mom seldom wrote a surname on the
> backside. Kinda makes it difficult to find "Bill" or "Richard",
> etc. However, I can't quite bring myself to get rid of them.
>
> Thanks for sharing the web site, Ali.
>
> Gary
==============================================
List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================
|