HomeMy WebLinkAboutBill Kling Transcription #3City of College Station
Heritage Programs Oral History
Interviewee: Bill Kling
Interviewer: Tom Turbiville
Place: College Station, Texas
Project: Veterans of the Valley
Transcriber: Brooke Linsenbardt
00:00: Tom Turbiville (TT): B.J. Bill Kling started Kling Engineering in 1975. But by then his own surveying skills had been tapped in most every arena that you can imagine. Including
in World War II as in infantry soldier with the 102nd. His unit sailed overseas late in the European campaign. In 1944. In time for the Battle of the Bulge. In time to witness the surrender
of thousands of German troops. Many soldiers who were interrogated by Bill Kling. After the war, Bill Kling entered Texas A&M as a 30 year old freshman. After the war, he met Floris
and they’ve been married for 57 years. Like so many soldiers of that time, what was supposed to be a one year hitch, changed after the events of December 7, 1941.
00:45: Bill King (BK): October ’41, my draft number came up and I had an opportunity to be deferred because I was doing some work for Matagorda County. Livin’ in Bay City. I chose to
go ahead and enter the service and serve my years’ time. And, and come back and get back my, my life. But Pearl Harbor came along about that time, in December of that same year. So,
it was, almost five years later before I, got to take up my civilian life again.
TT: Bill Kling moved from base to base. Fort Sam, Fort Sill, Camp Barkeley. Eventually to Fort Devens, Massachusetts.
01:30: BK: And our mission there and what we did for the next several months was to de-, establish the routine that was used for landing craft throughout the Pacific and European theatres.
TT: In the winter of 1942, Bill Kling found himself stationed near Lake Huron in New York. Pretty cold there, so he looked for a change.
01:52: BK: Snow was about two feet deep. And it was cold. Being from Texas, I was ready to get out of there. So there was an opportunity to apply for officer’s training school. So I
applied for, for officer’s training. And was accepted and sent back to Fort Sill for officer candidate’s training. In December of that year, I was. Graduated as a second lieutenant.
In January, assigned to the 102nd division which was being formed at Camp Maxey.
TT: That was in Paris, Texas where he was joined by other soldiers. Soldiers from New York, from Illinois. Guys not quite accustomed to the Texas terrain.
02:33: BK: Well they spent their lives on concrete pavement. And they didn’t know about post oak trees and grass burs and we, we’d go out in the field and it was a, it was a real learning
experience.
TT: More moving for Bill Kling. From Paris, Texas. To Camp Swift near Bastrop. To Fort Dix, New Jersey. Eventually to New York for a direct boat ride to the European theatre at Cherbourg,
France. Tomorrow Bill Kling will talk about his service in Europe, the Red Ball Express. How his skills of surveying were used to fight the war. I’m Tom Turbiville. This is Bravo Brazos
Valley. Brought to you by Meis and Associates.
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