HomeMy WebLinkAboutJames L. Boone, Jr., Brazos Valley Heroes
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One in a series of tributes to members of "The Greatest Generation"
who served our country during World War II
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James L.
V oone Jr.
MR.
By Bill Youngkin "it wasn't long till I was boarding that troop ship for the
Special to7heEagle South Pacific. I eventually ended up as a replacement with the
37th Infantry Division, which was an Ohio National Guard unit.
James L. Boone Jr. of College Station has lots of memories They had been overseas for 43 months. They were friends and
from the war, but one that stands out is his memory of a memory. neighbors before the war and were to the point where, if they
As recalled by Boone, "While in high school at Beasley, Texas, didn't have Japs to fight, they would fight each other and then still
in 1938,1 remember reading the book'Lest We Forget, which was be friends after.
about the war to end all wars, World War 1.1 remember thinking "I was a field wire lineman, which called for me to lay phone
shucks, they've had the last war and I missed it. In November 1944 lines to the CP and sometimes operate the phones at the front You
as I was climbing a ramp to get on a troopship in San Francisco for couldn't carry a rifle and lay wire at the same time, so those guys
the South Pacific, I had a flashback to that thought I had that day looked after us. They had our backs, as the expression goes.
in school and realized how wrong that thought was. Not only was
I headed to war, a minister, located at the bottom of the ramp, was "One thing you did not want to be was a Japanese straggler
passing out New Testaments. I remember thinking not only did I If the Filipinos caught them, their death was going to be terrible.
not miss going to war, it might be a one-way trip" If they were a straggler or lost from their unit, they started trying
Life for Boone began on May 5, 1923, on a farm near Alief, to find U.S. troops.
Texas. As recalled by Boone, "I remember being able to look out "The 37th was a highly effective unit. We never pulled
the window of my home to see the flashing red light atop the back, always pushing forward. At Balate Pass the 25th Division
Esperson building in downtown Houston. In 1929 our cotton crop had bogged down and we were sent to relieve then. We passed
was so good it looked like snow. My Dad said we were finally going through their lines and kept going. We had a great commander
to make some real money. Then the crash happened and cotton named General Robert Beightler who was the only National Guard
sold for four cents a pound. Commander that kept his command throughout the war. He used
"My dad then had to become a full-time teacher. He had artillery and air support before we were sent in. Healsohad leaflets
two years of college at A&M before his dad died and he had to dropped to let the Japanese soldiers know that the 37th was
quit school to farm the land. He became the superintendent of coming. If they had this leaflet on a stick and they held it up and
the school in Beasley, which is located near Rosenberg, Texas. I surrendered, they would be treated well. When everyone else was
f, graduated in 1940 and headed to A&M, where I was a member having the Japanese fight to the death, they were surrendering to
of the Class of '44. us. Needless to say, General Beightler was loved by the troops
"When the warstarted so manyof my classmates dropped out "I ended up contacting hepatitis and was hospitalized and
to volunteer. One was my'fish'roommate, Harold Cobb. He went in a coma for about three weeks. When I came to I found that I
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into the Air Corps. It wasn't too long before we received news that was being treated by the actor, Lew Ayers, who had starred as the
he was shot down in the Pacific. He and his crew were captured Young Dr. Kildare in the movies. He was a good actor and he was
and the Japanese executed them by chopping off their heads. That a good medic.
brought the war back to the campus. "I came home on Lincoln's birthday in 1946. When we sailed
"As others from my class have related in their stories, we were under the Golden Gate Bridge, there were tour boats filled with
inducted into the army as a class and shipped out for training but girls waving American flags and people on shore doing the same
returned to school to finish the semester before being sent for thing and cheering for us. It was quiet a welcome home. The ship
permanent assignment. I had been in a signal corps unit at A&M I was on was mostly Texas and Oklahoma boys and we played
and we were all sent to Camp Roberts in California. We checked dominoes they whole way back. I was discharged at Camp Fannin
into a replacement center that night and the next morning we near Tyler, which was being run by German POWs. I decided I
found out we were in an infantry training center. One of the guys would remain in the reserves and returned to A&M to finish my
said that someone had made a mistake because we were in the degree and then my masters. In 19521 returned to A&M as part of
signal corps. One of the drill instructors said,'The Army does not the faculty, where I remained until I retired in 1988. I also retired
make mistakes; and for us to fall in. The Dls were all veterans who from the Army Reserves after 36 years with the rank of colonel
knew what they were doing, which was to prepare us to do ourjob
and be able to come back alive. When asked about his World War 11 experiences, Boone
responded, "if I was asked to do it again, I would."
"I was sent back to A&M under the AST Program, which
allowed us to continue our education before going to OCS. I was lames L. Boon's name will be added to the Brazos Valley
eventually sent to Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey, for signal Corps Veterans Memorial this Veterans Day. Ifyouwanttohaveaname
OCS. About halfway through OCS,12 to 15 of us were called in and added to the Veterans Memorial, for more information, to make
were told by the commander that we were being sent back to the acontribution, orifyouknowaWorld Warllveteran whose story
tea, troops. We were victims of a quota. The army didn't need any more needs to be told contact the BWM at www.veteransmemorial
second lieutenants. org or Bill Youngkin at (979) 260-7030.
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