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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJames J. "Jim' Jochen, Brazos Valley Heroes~- --~ D-FT1~6 BOAaD By Bill Youngkin Special to The Eagle James J. "Jim" Jochen of College Station was a teenager in Schulenburg, Texas, when Pearl Harbor was bombed. "I recall being surprised more than anything else that such a thing could occur," he said. "Although our contact with the world was through the radio and newsprint, I did not realize we were on the doorstep of war. Such is youth, where your thoughts about your world were limited to your school and town. And even though today our young people have so much more information technology available to them, I don't think they are more aware of the world around them than I was at that age." Life for Jochen began in Schulenburg on October 10, 1925. He was in school when the war began, graduating in May 1942 at the age of 16 years, seven months. As recalled by Jochen: "When I graduated I was asked by the local bank president to go to work at the bank. In my hometown and in that date and time, working at the bank was next to being St. Peter's personal secretary. l would later learn that the bank president was afraid he was going to lose his three employees, who were all draft-eligible. Since I was a year and a half away from being draft age and because I had suffered from an asthmatic condition as a child and might not be physically qualified, I was a likely candidate as their replacement. "I enjoyed the job, but seeing my friends who were in college made me think about what I was missing. So I enrolled at Southwest Texas State Teachers College in San Marcos. I enjoyed school and did well, but as my 18th birthday approached I wanted to and did apply for the Army Air Corps for pilot training. I passed all of the tests with flying colors but failed my physical because I did not make the weight limit and because of my asthmatic condition. "After that disappointment, (registered for the draft on my birthday and on December 1,1943, received my notice to report for a physical exam.. The physical did not reveal my asthmatic condition and I wasn't asked anything. I was given papers that were stamped `Army.' I was sworn in and told to report in 30 days. My great adventure was about to begin." period of their life they would never forget, that this ` period had more formative effects on their families, ? careers, character and their life than anything else they experienced, including the Depression years. It was "?: a time when the active focus of everyone's life and !' activities pointed in only one direction, victory in the war. All lives and all activities were brought to an abrupf ',', halt and the direction changed drastically for the next 'i. four or five years. For many it was changed forever." ~lochen would-enter the army training process, i', first at Ft. Sam Houston, then Camp Wheeler, Georgia,. Ft. Meade, Maryland, and finally Camp Butner, North °'. Carolina. "When we completed infantry training at Camp ` Wheeler, most everyone was being assigned to Ft. ''. Meade, Maryland, for overseas duty. I reported to Ft. Meade and before we were shipped out, we received a 30-day leave to go home. When I arrived home, my folks could not believe the change in me. I had added 35 lbs. of muscle in the right places and had no incidence of an asthmatic seizure. Leave was over quickly and before I knew it, I was boarding a Greyhound bus again, heading east once more. "It was not nearly as easy leaving on this occasion, as my time in the army made me realize what was really happening as well as what might happen. When I left to be inducted it was an adventure into the unknown, somewhat exhilarating. Now, I had an inkling of what was in store and what could happen. I didn't want to think that this might be the last look at the hometown and all it stood for, yet that morbid feeling could not be put aside completely. No exhilaration now, just trepidation." ` When Jochen arrived at Ft. Meade he was placed on orders along with several young soldiers to go to Butner, North Carolina, to become part of the 89th Infantry Division. What was. unknown to him until then was that Congress had passed a law requiring the military to hold all individuals not yet 19 years of age in the continental U.S. until the birthdates were reached. As a result of the law, soldiers were reassigned and shipped overseas while 18-year-olds took their place. When the 89th did ship out on December 28, 1944, it would be with the youngest personnel the army had ever assembled and shipped into combat. Next week, the conclusion of Jochen s experience in World War II. James J. Joclien's name is found on Jochen has written his memoirs of his life for his the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial. If you want to family. In detailing the World War II era, he had this to have a name added to the Veterans Memorial, for more say: information, to make a contribution, or if you know "Most individuals of our generation, those born a World War 11 veteran whose story needs to be told, between the years 1918 to 1928 or thereabouts, contact the BWM at www.veteransmemoriaLorg or Bill would probably say that the World War II years was the Youngkin at (979) 260-7030. ~- -, ~ DOARD ~~ By Bill Youngkin Special to The Eagle ` refreshed and resumed my run even faster than before and didn't feel the need for any other rest stops. "We got behind a building that gave us protection ' rest of the company. We had had our baptism of fire . Second of Two Parts that was filled with bags of fertilizer. We got on the roof James J. "Jim" Jochen of College Station had just with our machine gun and began firing. Between that turned 19 years of age when he and the men of the and our 81 mm mortars we used on the target, the `"- 89th Infantry Division boarded ship for Europe and the enemy soon left for better places. When things quieted battle about to begin, the Battle of the Bulge. down, we made our way back to town and rejoined the Jochen recalled: "When we arrived at Le Havre, and had survived.- France, we were loaded aboard trucks with open-air trailers. It was at night, in sub-zero weather with ice and snow everywhere. The trip was brutal, with wind tearing at our soul. We spent almost five hours in a rolling deep freeze and when we finally arrived, it was difficult to walk, as everyone was just about frozen. Our destination was Camp Lucky Strike." At the Camp Lucky Strike replacement center, the 89th unloaded and set up operations in the almost knee-deep mud and removed the cosmoline from their weapons and equipment. It was also where they received their first casualties of the war when two men were killed by German mines that had not been removed. The 89th would be loaded aboard boxcars referred to as 40x8's to Luxembourg. As Jochen recalled: "Because of my German heritage and limited language skills, I was sent out to barter food from the locals. I had limited success, but it was enough that it became my permanent job with my squad. We were now part of Patton's Third Army and we headed to the Sauer River. As we got closer to the front lines, we began to see lots of dead animals, destroyed vehicles; there was destruction everywhere one looked. "Our initial objective was the town of Ernst on the Mosel River, and our orders were to take and clear the town. As we neared Ernst you began to hear the 'trump' sound of artillery fire. Reality was really beginning to set in. As we entered the town, we began to receive sniper and machine-gun fire from across the river from a village on the other side. "Our officers put a plarrtogether to silence the fire. ' The plan sounded practical to me until our machine- gun crew was designated for that assignment. Very quickly some very troubling questions occurred to me, like how far we hatl to go, how much cover, was there an ambush waiting for us. We didn't have time to hash out those unknowns and suddenly we were on our way. "With our guys firing to distract the Germans on th '' other side of the river, we headed across a grape arbor About halfway across I came to a spot where the vine were particularly thick. I stopped, crouching dow trying to catch my breath. Very quickly I got a shower "This event made a lasting impression in my ;; memory. Many years later, in casual conversations ''- with others who had similar wartime experiences, it seemed true that the most vivid memories of all were ;, that first day. Subsequent activities, frantic though . they were, are not etched into the memory as firmly as that very first encounter." The war soon settled into a routine of taking one objective and then moving on to the next, to include crossing the Rhine and into and across Germany. As recalled by Jochen: "On Easter Sunday we had a brief pause and =" we were able to attend a hastily conducted religious service before we moved out. We loaded on trucks '. to catch up with our tanks. We came to a barricade in the road that a hole had been blown through. We were on high alert and I was out of my seat with one leg over the sideboards. I felt the truck lurch and felt an impact of something hitting me and then nothing. I was out cold. I didn't know it, of course, but my war was over." Jochen would be hospitalized and delivered back to the U.S. to heal and recover. "I had a cast on my leg and then crutches. I was transferred to Ft. Sam Houston, now on a cane, until I was discharged on January 29, i 946. My great adventure had ended where it had begun." For his service, Jochen would be awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Jochen would marry, become employed with Shell Oil Inc. and ANR Production Inc., raise a family and retire in College Station in 1985. He is proud of his family, proud of his career and proud of his service to his country. As he ' said, "World War II was a period of my life that I will , never forget." ' e If you want to have a name added to the Veterans Memorial, for more information, to make s a contribution, or if you know a World War II veteran n whose story needs to be told, contact the BWM at www.veteransmemorial.org or Bill Youngkin at (979)