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HomeMy WebLinkAboutProgram Agenda at a Glance 10:00 a.m. Opening Ceremony 10:15 a.m. Scope of Events 10:30 a.m. Simultaneous Interpretive Activities Gallery Talks -Group A Museum Veteran Panel -Group A Theater Meet WWII Authors Rotunda 1940’s Vintage Movie Rotunda Wall Educational Film The Overlook 11:30 a.m. Rotunda Activities Complimentary Lunch Rotunda 1940’s Style Show Rotunda 1940’s Music -Victory Piano Rotunda Meet WWII Authors Rotunda 1940’s Vintage Film Rotunda Wall Educational Film The Overlook 12:30 p.m. Simultaneous Interpretive Activities Gallery Talks -Group B Museum Veteran Panel -Group B Theater Meet WWII Authors Rotunda 1940’s Vintage Movie Rotunda Wall Educational Film The Overlook 2:00 p.m. Close of Event 10:00 a.m. Opening Ceremony -Rotunda Welcome Charles Schultz Posting of the Colors TAMU Color Corps Pledge Victoria Schaller National Anthem Ben Welch Prayer Neal Nutall Honoring the “Greatest Generation” Katie Elrod “Taps” Bugler, TAMU Corps of Cadets Retiring of the Colors TAMU Color Guard Scope of Event Tom Taylor “America” Rita Underwood 10:30 a.m. Simultaneous Interactive Events Gallery Talks -Group A -Museum Military Mike Blair, Avenger Mark Collins, African Americans in the Military Russell Howerton, Battle of Midway Ascencion M. Munoz, Army, Pacific Theater Al Postelwait, Chichi-jima, Bonin Islands Bill Ravey, Battle of Burma Victoria Schaller, WAVES Brenda White, African American Women Family Yolanda & Edward Kozlowski, Sweethearts Mary & Bill Lancaster, High School Memories Mike McKaughan, Father trained WASPS Joanna L. Yeager, Brothers in Service Home Front Marland Clemens, Child on the Home Front Frances Henry, Defense Dietician Perry Stephney, African American War Effort Nancy Ross, War Effort Archaeology Bob Warden & Team, Pointe du Hoc Ranie Arnold, Camp Hearne Veterans’ Panel -Group A -Theater Moderator: Tom Taylor CS Historic Preservation Committee Bill Adams -Army Field Artillery, Europe Bill Harper -Home Front Louis Hudson -Paratrooper, Europe Jim Newman -Submariner, Pacific Foster Thompson -Marine Pilot, Pacific Meet WWII Authors -Rotunda Educational WWII Film -The Overlook in the Museum Tuskegee Airmen Vintage Film -Rotunda, South Wall Wake Island Texas in WWII A.M. Program 2 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. -Rotunda Activities Complimentary Lunch 1940’s Style Show 1940’s Music -Pianist Jo Ann Cremin on the Victory Piano Meet WWII Authors 1940’s Vintage Film: Memphis Belle -on the South Wall 11:30 a.m. Educational WWII Film -The Overlook in the Museum Fly Girls 12:30 p.m. Simultaneous Interactive Events Gallery Talks -Group B -Museum Military Bill Adams, From Cadet to Officer James Boone, Philippines John Conkling, India Mike Cornelius, Red Ball Express Emilio Hernandez, Military Experience Al Postelwait, Chichi-jima, Bonin Islands James Wade, Battle of the Bulge Family Marguerite Anthony, Father in CIC Pat & Rodger Koppa, Youth & Family Memories Colleen Risinger, Military Family Kitty & Will Worley, Sweethearts Home Front Kathleen Heaton, Rosie the Riveter Eleanor Conkling, Riveter Peggy Hope, Ration Commission Claudine Hunting, Memories from France Archaeology Bob Warden & Team, Pointe du Hoc Ranie Arnold, Camp Hearne Veterans’ Panel -Group B -Theater Moderator: Calvin C. Boykin, Jr., Tank Destroyers, Europe Eddie Harrison, Buffalo Soldiers in WWII Joe L. Hedrick, Marine, Pacific Edward Kozlowski, Air Corps Navigator, Europe Yolanda Kozlowski, Army Nurse, Europe Gerald McCaskill, USS Tennessee Meet the WWII Authors -Rotunda Educational WWII Film -The Overlook in the Museum WWII Memorial: A Testament to Freedom 1940’s Vintage Film -Rotunda, South Wall The Best Years of Our Lives 2:00 p.m. Close of Event Texas in WWII P.M. Program 3 Lt. JG George H. W. Bush Above: President George H.W. Bush Directly below: Lt. JG Bush in an Avenger, Barbara III Below: His Flying Cross Medal Right: As a Naval Aviator Cadet in early 1943 Below right: USS San Jacinto 4 GEORGE H. W. BUSH U.S. Navy Reserves Pacific Theater On June 12, 1942, George H. W. Bush graduated from Phillips Academy and went directly to Boston to enlist in the United States Navy Reserves. At Corpus Christi, he was commissioned an ensign and received his Gold Wings on June 9, 1943, when he was 18 years, 11 months, and 27 days old, the youngest commissioned naval aviator at the time. After twenty months of training, Bush and his fellow pilots reported to the USS San Jacinto on February 6, 1944. They took their first cruise to the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad. The ship departed for San Diego on March 25, 1944, passed through the Panama Canal, docked briefly in San Diego, and then headed on to Hawaii, reaching port on April 20, 1944. Bush flew his first combat mission on May 21, 1944 in an attack on enemy ground installations and the harbor at Wake Island. Bush flew numerous missions from the USS San Jacinto, bombing land and sea targets with his Avenger. On August 1, 1944, he was commissioned a Lieutenant Junior Grade. On September 2, 1944 during a bombing run over Chichi-jima in the Bonin Islands, Bush’s plane was hit by enemy fire and crashed off the coast of the island. Bush parachuted to safety, but his crew was unable to escape, perhaps killed by the enemy fire, and perished. Bush was rescued after a few hours in an inflatable life raft by the submarine Finback and remained on the submarine for over a month while it patrolled off the Japanese coast. Lt. JG Bush returned to the USS San Jacinto in the fall of 1944 to fly additional combat missions before his squadron was relieved of duty after eight months of service. He flew his last combat mission on November 29, 1944. After he arrived back in San Diego with his squadron on December 22, 1944, Bush returned home to Greenwich, Connecticut on Christmas Eve. Following the end of his leave, during which time he married Barbara Pierce, Bush returned to Norfolk, Virginia and became part of VT-153, a new squadron of Navy torpedo bombers forming for the invasion of Japan. He was then sent to Florida, Michigan, Maine, and again to Virginia. When he was in Auburn, Maine, he learned of the death of President Roosevelt, and was in Virginia Beach, at the Oceana Naval Air Station, on V-J Day. On September 18, 1945, Bush was discharged from the United States Navy Reserves, having completing 58 missions, 126 carrier landings, and logging 1228 hours of flight time. He earned the rank of lieutenant in the navy reserves on April 1, 1946 and remained in the reserves until his resignation on October 24, 1955. George Bush Presidential Library Foundation Avenger Pre-flight check, 1942-1945. 5 Secure your legacy in Project HOLD! Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database Read the rest of the George H. W. Bush story at http://hold.cstx.gov. TEXAS ARMY NATIONAL GUARD 36th Infantry Division -the "Texas" Division “The 36th became the first American combat division to land in Europe. Fourteen of its members were awarded the Medal of Honor.” The 36th spent 400 days in combat, accepted the surrender of Field Marshal Hermann Goering, won seven campaign streamers for its colors, and took part in two assault landings. The Division had the ninth highest casualty rate of any Army Division in World War II. Organized at Camp Bowie (Fort Worth), Texas on 18 July 1917, the 36th Infantry Division drew from units of the Texas and Oklahoma National Guard. When World War I was over in 1919, the Division adopted a shoulder patch of an Infantry Blue Arrowhead with a green "T" superimposed over it. The arrowhead stood for Oklahoma and the "T," for Texas. After the war, the 36th was reorganized and became an "all Texas" division. The Oklahoma units became part of the 45th Infantry Division. On 25 November 1940, the Division was mobilized for World War II, with active duty station at Camp Bowie, in Brownwood. It took part in training maneuvers and in April 1943 began its move overseas. It landed in North Africa, conducted amphibious training and on 9 September 1943, landed in Italy at Paestum in the Gulf of Salerno. The Division fought in the Italian Campaign in such notable actions as Mt. Lungo, San Pietro and the Rapido River. In the Rapido River action, the Division lost the better part of two of its three regiments -141st and 143d -in unsuccessful attempts to cross the river. The attempted crossing was made to divert German troops from the landing of allied troops at Anzio. On 25 May 1944, the Division landed at Anzio and led the breakout toward Rome. The Division captured Velletri on 1 June 1944, and opened the gates of Rome for the 5th Army. The Division was then pulled out of Italy and landed on the beaches of Southern France on 15 August. Driving up through Southern France, the 36th was attacking and breaking the Siegfried Line when the war in Europe ended. . . . and Texans thank the 36th today, in 2005, for still looking after us . . . Barbara Donalson Althaus Bryan, Texas Texas Contribution March your story into HOLD! Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database Read more 36th Infantry Division at http://hold.cstx.gov. The 36th Division troops arrive on the beaches near Paestum, Italy on September 9, 1943. 6 Brazos County Contribution Fly your photos into Project HOLD! Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database Read the rest of the Bryan Air Base story at http://hold.cstx.gov. BRYAN AIR FORCE BASE and Colonel Joe "the Duck" Duckworth “Although saving many from death by their joint efforts at the only instrument training school of its kind, they are remembered as the first to fly into the eye of a hurricane.” Both the Bryan Air Force Base in Brazos County, Texas, and Colonel Joe Duckworth's system of instrument training are credited with being major contributors to the WWII aviation effort and the Berlin airlift in 1948. "For God's sake, get all the instrument flying you can," an English pilot wrote to his friend training in Texas. "It's the difference between life and death over here." The head instructor at Bryan AFB, Col. Duckworth, regarded as the "father" of modern day instrument flying, never saw combat and did not fly fighters, bombers, or helicopters. His standardized system of instrument flying, developed at the Brazos County base, was one of the most significant contributions made to pilot training, greatly reducing weather-related accidents. His Link trainer system continued in use throughout the USAAF. In the end, however, these accomplishments are widely forgotten. What is remembered is their feat of being first to fly into a hurricane! The story is told that on the morning of 27 July 1943, British pilots training on instruments at Bryan were surprised by news of a hurricane because of shutdown of weather-related information after Pearl Harbor. The Brits really started gigging lead instructor Duckworth about the frailty of their trainer when they heard the planes may have to be flown away from the storm. The problem was that few, if any, European flyers had ever experienced a true hurricane and thought it was just another big thunderstorm. Finally, Colonel Duckworth had enough ribbing and bet the Brits that he could fly the AT-6 "Texan" single engine trainer into the storm and back, showing that both the plane and his instrument flying technique was sound. Well, the bet was on. A highball to the winner! Colonel Duckworth then looked across the breakfast table at Lieutenant Ralph O' Hair, the only navigator at the field that morning, and asked him to fly with him. The rain was very heavy as they flew through the darkness and, by accident, suddenly broke into the eye of the storm. That night the bet was paid and no more comments were made on the "Texan" trainer or the value of instrument flying. After that flight, Bryan AFB became a Mecca for Allied pilots wanting to learn the fine art of "instrument flying" --saving countless lives. Barbara Donalson Althaus Bryan, Texas 7 A&M College of Texas Holding on to HISTORY takes ACTION! Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database Read more about Aggies at http://hold.cstx.gov. CORPS OF CADETS “Texas A&M is, of course, one of the oldest military schools in the country. They have about as fine a reputation in the field as anyone.” Maj. Gen. Wood Kyle, '36 Texas A&M was an integral part of World War II from the visit of President Roosevelt in 1937 to the address of General Dwight D. Eisenhower at muster ceremony in 1946 --both respected men visiting the A&M campus. Following President Roosevelt's visit, $2 million was spent at A&M to expand facilities to yearly house, train and feed 7,000 cadets. In all, more Aggies were on active duty than the combined total of VMI (Virginia Military Institute), Clemson, and the Citadel. Aggies served in every theater of the war furnishing more officers than West Point: 29 in the rank of general. Seven former cadets received the nation's highest decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor. Ten Aggies were confirmed air aces. But the toll was great. Some 953 former cadets were killed. "The military contribution of A&M during World War II was the most important single accomplishment of the college. The military service of 20,000 Aggies, 14,000 of them commissioned officers, overshadows all else," declared Edwin Kyle, former Dean of Agriculture, in 1950. Barbara Donalson Althaus Bryan, Texas Above: Billy Joe “B.J.” Adams, Class ‘41. In front of flag pole at Administration Building, A&M College of Texas (p.11.) Right: B.J. has morning breakfast after a night of planning the operation to capture the City of Munich, Germany. Left: Letter B.J. wrote to sister, Ola “Pauline” Adams Stickland (p.19.) 8 AGGIES IN THE MARINES “Aggies from the classes of 1935 and 1936 provided remarkable leadership roles in the Marine Corps,” says Al Kyle, son of General Wood Kyle ’36. “Out of the eight people from those two classes, five made general, and two of them — Hollis Mustain and Ed Hamilton — never had an opportunity to come up.” “You might be interested to know about some of the people who graduated from Texas A&M. It is a kind of a remarkable record for a school,” says Major General Wood Kyle ’36 in an oral interview in 1969. Back in the days of the Depression, the Army had a program taking in about a thousand ROTC students a year. Starting in 1935, the Marine Corps began to build up officer strength anticipating World War II and got permission from the Army to get some officers out of their ROTC units. So, in ‘35 we had roughly 100 from the ROTC units who came into the Marine Corps: Bruno Hochmuth, Ray Murray, Odell “Tex” Conley, and Wood Kyle attained the rank of general. Regarding General Hochmuth, Wood Kyle took over from him as Commanding General of the 3rd Marine Division, following Hochmuth’s death. General Murray attended Wood’s funeral. They remained good friends to the end. Albert S. Kyle, BSEE Duke, MBA, MPA Harvard Andover, Massachusetts Guadalcanal, Dec. 1942. Maj. W.B. Kyle, A&M Class '36, (p.10) Battalion Commander & Maj. Wendell Andrews, Battery Executive Officer, 1st Bn 2nd Marines Project HOLD– be “First In!” Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database Read the rest of the story at http://hold.cstx.gov. 9 AGGIES March your story into HOLD! Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database Read more on Wood Kyle at http://hold.cstx.gov. WOOD BARBEE KYLE U.S. Marine Corps (Retired) 2nd Lt. -Maj. Gen., Pacific Theater, Viet Nam At Tarawa we “simply picked up anybody we could find --and we joined them up and carried on the fight.” Wood B. Kyle, my Dad, accepted appointment as a Marine Second Lieutenant on July 11, 1936 after graduating with honors from Texas A&M. Following a tradition started during the Civil War when his grandfather served as Captain of Company D in Terry’s Texas Rangers; Wood, his father, and brother were Captains of Company D in the Corps of Cadets at A&M. Kyle served with the 2nd Marine Brigade at Shanghai, China October 1937 to April 1938, on the USS Lexington in 1939 -1940, and in the Pacific during World War II. When his battalion commander was seriously wounded at Guadalcanal, Major Kyle assumed command, refusing evacuation for his own wounds. Already a decorated combat leader with responsibility for 1000 Marines, he was 27 years old and was awarded the Silver Star Medal for heroism during this campaign. At Tarawa my Dad earned his second Silver Star Medal for courageous leadership when he personally led his men in an attack on the heavily defended central sector of the island. The assault on Tarawa was one of most violent amphibious assaults by the Marines in the Pacific, averaging 50 percent casualties, nearly all of which were suffered in three days. It was a miracle that Dad survived. After participating in campaigns at Saipan and Tinian, Lieutenant Colonel Kyle returned to the U.S. in October 1944. Some will remember the Saipan/Tinian operation as securing the airfield for the Enola Gay. Marine history describes “one of the most sickening stories of the war has come out of the Saipan campaign, namely the account of hundreds of Japanese suicides in the Marpi Point area. The interviewer described some of the Marines crying as they watched.” Major General Kyle subsequently retired from active duty after 32 years of service August 31, 1968. His account only hints at the high stakes of those battles, given the routine tone of the veteran. It was a desperate struggle, won by acts of individual courage within an extraordinary military organization: the U.S. Marines. My Dad, Wood Kyle represents the best of them. Al S. Kyle, BSEE Duke, MBA, MPA Harvard Andover, Massachusetts 10 BILLY JOE ADAMS United States Army (Retired) 2nd Lt. -Major, European Theatre “That day -the bombing of Pearl Harbor -was ‘changing day’ in my life. My whole attitude changed.” As a student at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, I was fortunate to enroll in the advanced ROTC program that would lead to being commissioned a Reserve Officer in the Army. I would receive $21 per month for those times when I was enrolled in ROTC or attending summer camp. This added income had its enticements for me. In the springtime of my senior year, those of us enrolled in Advanced ROTC were informed that the Army would very likely call us to active duty for one year of training some time within the 12 months after we received our commissions, but it happened sooner than that. We had Commissioning and Final Review on Saturday, June 7, 1941 and I was ordered to report to Fort Sam Houston, Texas on Sunday June 8, 1941. After completing 3 months of schooling at the Field Artillery School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma in October 1941, I was assigned to A Battery, 26th Field Artillery Battalion, 9th Infantry Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. On Sunday, December 7, 1941, I took my car to the battery motor pool to wash it. With the radio on, I then heard the initial broadcast of the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. That day was “changing day” in my life. I soon realized the impact of that attack not only upon our nation but also upon me as an individual. My whole attitude changed. I began to want to do whatever I could to help my country thoroughly defeat Germany, Italy and Japan as soon as possible. It honestly was with regret that I was reassigned back to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, as an Instructor rather than remaining with the 9th Infantry Division as they were preparing for combat somewhere in the European area. Now, fast forward to January 1945, I was a member of the 20th Armored Division and we were deployed to the European Theater, finally. Our division had some 20 days or so of combat. Very soon after the cessation of hostilities in Europe, we were ordered back to the States, for training to prepare for the invasion of Japan. We were well aware that the war was not completed and were glad to contribute our part. Being aware of the difficulties and casualties of the invasion of Normandy, we did envision a high casualty rate. Consequently, when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were attacked with atomic bombs on August 6 and August 9, I was relieved and very happy. This service provided me with valuable experience in my subsequent careers in the Regular Army and for my position on the faculty and staff at Texas A&M University. B. J. Adams College Station, TX Below: Sight seen disembarking from transport troop ship in Le Havre harbor, France. First glimpse of destruction. (For more pictures see p. 6.) Disembark your memories onto Project HOLD! Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database Read more about Billy Joe Adams at http://hold.cstx.gov. 11 EDWARD M. HARY, JR. U. S. Navy -Submarine Service Torpedo Man 1/C, Pacific Theatre “Would I make the same decision today if I were confronted with the war situation we faced in 1941? You ‘betcha’ I would. I was glad to serve my country.” On December 7, 1941, I was attending Texas A&M College on a football scholarship. My roommate and I were on our way to breakfast when we heard that the Japanese were bombing Pearl Harbor and that President Roosevelt would declare war on Japan. I knew immediately that I would leave school to enlist in the U. S. Navy. I stayed in boot camp just long enough to get all the necessary shots and was transferred to Balboa Park (Worlds Fair grounds). Eventually, I "volunteered" for submarine service. In order to qualify for sub service in peace time, you had to be physically sound, have good eyesight, normal hearing, and all of your front teeth. I qualified my first six weeks during my first patrol run which was on the USS Cachalot, (SS 170). Our primary duty was to observe the Japanese activities, go out to sea at night and report to our bases in Alaska. They would send planes into the area to hinder enemy activities. Of course we were given the directive to destroy any enemy naval vessels we might encounter. We had only one direct contact with the enemy when we sighted a troop-transport pulling into port. We fired two torpedoes at the ship. Immediately one of the lookouts on our submarine, a young man whom we suspected of being much too young to be in the armed services, and who had a definite lisp, reported to the Captain "widdle boat tumming up atern, sur." The Captain asked another lookout what he said, and when the Captain looked back there were two torpedoes approaching from our rear. Luckily one missed by ten yards and the other by a hundred yards. We had to dive to two hundred feet to avoid the enemy, thinking that it might be a destroyer. Since there were no depth charges dropped, it was assumed that it was an enemy submarine. This was just about all the activity to note except that we were caught in a hurricane for five days with winds up to eighty miles per hour and a temperature of twenty below zero. After my discharge from the U. S. Navy, I enrolled in Texas A & M College again and received my B.S. degree in 1949. Then I worked at several enterprises but ultimately ended up working for Foundation Seed Section of the Agricultural Experiment Station, College Station, Texas. Since retiring in 1982, we have continued to live in Bryan, Texas, and feel blessed to have shared almost 62 years of marriage with my wife, Ruth, and a large family. Our three youngest grandchildren are all enrolled in Texas A & M University for the fall 2005 semester. Edward M. Hary, Jr. Bryan, Texas AGGIES Sink into History! Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database Read more about Edward M. Hary, Jr. at http://hold.cstx.gov. 12 GERALD McCASKILL U. S. Navy -USS Tennessee Pacific Theatre “In nine months aboard ship I had been in five major battles and had just turned 19. The war and the Navy changed my life. The GI Bill enabled me to go to A&M.” Even though Gerald McCaskill did not join the war effort until 1944, he was in three major battles within less than three months from the time he left home and Mother. It all started when I was inducted into the Navy March 15, 1944, left for training and ultimately joined our ship, the USS Tennessee, in Hawaii. My job during a battle was damage control. In other words, if a water or electric line should be hit, our duty was to stop the flow of water as best we could until a repairman could get through. When we were engaged in the invasion of Saipan and Tinian in the Pacific, we were hit by three shells from a Japanese shore battery on Tinian. We had quite a bit of damage in our station, mainly broken water lines and structural damage. We had a strange kind of funny thing. It happened that the deck above us was a vegetable locker and a lot of potatoes came down on us. Usually, we would shell for 3-5 days before the invasion, then our ship would “lay off” and stand by for “calls for fire” from our troops after our forces landed. The USS Tennessee fought in Guam, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and the Philippines twice. We were hit by seven Kamikaze suicide planes on April 12 --the same day President Roosevelt died. It came over the P.A. system right way. We were real sad that day with 110 injured and the 26 burials at sea. Yet when we had to go back to the Philippines I didn't think too much about it. That was where my ship went. That was where I was going to be. When the USS Tennessee entered the Surigao Straits, it played an important part in the last battle between huge fighting ships. Admiral Ohlendorf had his six old battleships position themselves across the Straits so that all 14” turrets could fire simultaneously where the Japanese could only fire their forward turrets. The battle, begun at a distance of 10-12 miles, was over in some 20 minutes. We assumed that next we would be going to Japan and had started reloading for invasion when word came they dropped the bomb at Hiroshima. I was glad. The dropping of the atomic bombs and the final surrender of Japan was good news to our crew and I know for the guys in the Army and Marines. “I told my kids that I hoped they never had to go serve but if they did I hope they would go and serve with honor. I cannot abide that anybody would not go serve with honor.” Gerald McCaskill Barbara Donalson Althaus College Station, Texas Bryan, Texas Sail on to Project HOLD! Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database Read more about Gerald McCaskill at http://hold.cstx.gov. USS Tennessee 13 ERNEST WARNER SPRADLEY US Army Air Force (Retired), R.A.F., R.C.A.F 2nd Lt. -Lt. Col, Northern African Theatre “At Malta we went up in four’s. There were usually 150 to 175 of them and we were always sadly outnumbered, so the job we had to do was cripple them up as much as we could when we got the chance.” E. W. Spradley, our Dad, was just 22 and one of the first 50 Americans to join the RCAF in the summer of 1940. Six months later he was sent to duty in England. Throughout 1941, he flew Spitfires in France, Belgium and Holland and the RAF raids on Brest. In January 1942, his assignment in the Mediterranean shifted from ferrying supplies to the British at Malta to protecting Malta. Spradley flew off the HMS Eagle where he was to spend three months during the siege of Malta as a member of the 249th Squadron RAF. After the Malta campaign, E.W. was sent to the Gold Coast of Africa to ferry Spitfires across the dangerous Congo jungles to Cairo, Egypt. His pilot record book with the RAF indicates that he had extensive night training and instrument flying experience. In February 1943, E.W. transferred from the RAF to the United States Army Air Corps and flew cargo and supplies on DC-3's with the 9th Squadron. His transfer to the USAAF was preparatory to his marriage 9 March 1943 in Cairo to Josephine "Josie" Martin, a nurse also stationed in Cairo --the first wedding of American forces in the Middle East during WWII. By 1944 E.W. had been transferred stateside as an Instrument Pilot to train pilots for six weeks at Bryan Air Field --the only instrumenttraining school of its kind in the United States Army Air Force. The unique school selected only the most experienced pilots such as Spradley who had flown over 120 combat missions and had 210 combat hours as a Spitfire pilot. Among the honors E. W. "Bill" Spradley received with the British were the Cross of Malta, the Canadian Overseas Ribbons and the African Star. While in the US Air Force, Spradley shot down four enemy aircraft and was a Command Pilot with more than than 3500 flying hours in his career. Bill Spradley stared death in the eyes, not once but many times, making split-second decisions. Never bragging about his flight prowess, refusing to talk about his decorations and the war, Bill would probably say "others don't have to know what I have done, I know.” Lt. Col. E. W. Spradley died at age 54 in 1973 – on his wife’s birthday. They are buried together at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio. Jane Spradley Haley Janice Spradley McCarthy Susan Spradley Bell Missouri City, Texas Katy, Texas Houston, Texas Early Aviation Volunteer Seek, Scan, Record! Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database Read more about E.W. Spradley at http://hold.cstx.gov. 14 JOSEPHINE MARTIN SPRADLEY, R.N. United States Army Nurses Corps Second Lieutenant, North African Theater “Our mother signed up along with her closest friends from nursing school before Pearl Harbor, probably because they knew a war was coming.” After graduation from nursing school on May 17, 1940, Josie stayed on at Santa Rosa Hospital in San Antonio, Texas for six months. During that time, she joined the army reserves and trained at Camp Bowie in Brownwood, Texas. On February 15, 1941, Josephine Martin was assigned to active duty as a registered nurse in the US Army Nurses Corps and commissioned a Second Lieutenant. Before being sent overseas, she also trained at Camp Polk, Louisiana and at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas where she treated many burn patients. Josie was assigned to Cairo, Egypt arriving on November 1, 1942 shortly after Rommel's defeat at El Alamein and was stationed at the newly opened 1,000-bed 38th General Hospital, Delta Service Command --where she nursed many soldiers wounded on the battlefield. Then romance bloomed for Josie amid the chaos of war. She met and later married Flight Lieutenant E. W. Spradley of the Royal Air Force in March 1943. But they were soon to be separated as her husband resumed flying duties in North Africa. Josephine Martin, now Mrs. E. W. Spradley, stayed at the 38th General treating the wounded and those sick from the extreme heat and an appalling list of diseases ---typhus, smallpox, dysentery, venereal diseases. Sanitation, clean water and facilities became top priority for the hospital. In January of 1944 Spradley and his wife were both transferred to duty stateside. "Daddy had told her not to leave Egypt by convoy but to fly out because ships were being torpedoed in the Mediterranean. The next thing he knew Mother turned up in Italy in a convoy torpedoed in the Mediterranean and rescued from the sinking ship!” When Josie finally arrived stateside in March, she was assigned to Baxter General Hospital treating thoracic (chest) injuries in Spokane, Washington in December December 1944. Although she had requested a transfer to Ephrata, Washington where husband Bill was training pilots, the closest she came was Spokane --100 miles away. Still, the two were not close for long. Josie left the Army in May to become a mother and returned to Texas to give birth to identical twin daughters. Josie later refused her veteran's benefit, probably thinking “the men did all the fighting.” Josephine Martin Spradley is buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery along with her husband, Lt. Col. Ernest Warner Spradley. Both died premature deaths, she at age 49 and he at age 54. Susan Spradley Bell Jane Spradley Haley Janice Spradley McCarthy Houston, Texas Missouri City, Texas Katy, Texas Women in the Military Hold on to your heart! Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database Read more about Josephine Spradley at at http://hold.cstx.gov 15 Youth Memories of WWII WILLIAM J. JOHNSON US Army, 755 Tank Battalion Purple Heart I asked my Dad, on the 50th anniversary of WWII, where he was 50 years ago and his reply came quickly, “I was in a foxhole in Italy.” On that mid-August day in 1945, I can still feel the cold, wet washcloth on my face as my grandmother “cleaned me up.” She changed my clothes so we could go to the Methodist church three blocks away to give thanks to God for the ending of the war. Only four years earlier on March 15, 1941, my father, William J. "Bill" Johnson, answered the call of duty to his country. Tears still fill my eyes even today. Bill, still struggling with his wife's death when he was drafted, had to leave his 18-month-old daughter in the care of his sister --for as long as he was to be gone. What a sad day in the Johnson household. My Dad went to Fort Sam Houston and then on to Fort Knox, Kentucky and was shipped out to the European Theater. He fought in four major battles. Dad was seriously injured in April of 1945, just four months before Japan surrendered. Although he spent time in the hospital and received the Purple Heart, he was back on the battlefield as the war came to an end. But expectancy turned to misery when Daddy was supposed to return home. We got all dressed up and went down to meet his train but he was not on it. We waited for hours before giving up and going home --a terrible experience for me as a six year old. Then a knock on our door woke us up in the night. It was my Dad! He rarely talked about the war and his experiences, but I know he had deep emotions even though they were never expressed. Years went by and Dad rebuilt his life. As his daughter, I would like to honor him for his heroic service and personal sacrifices to his country. It is hard to find the right words to thank him for being a courageous soldier. William J. Johnson died in 2001 at the age of 82. Doris Johnson Emshoff Bryan, Texas Document Dad! Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database Read more about William J. Johnson at http://hold.cstx.gov. 16 Pictured: William J. Johnson, Co B 755th Tank Bn M, APO 306 NY NY, USARMY, letter written to his sister, and his Purple Heart. EDDIE EARL HARRISON An Aggie Remembers Buffalo Soldiers & Home Front Captain -Colonel, Korean War Eddie reminds us that all those who served, on whatever front, are part of what Tom Brokaw called “The Greatest Generation.” When Judge Eddie Harrison speaks of the heritage of the “Buffalo Soldiers,” given that name as a mark of respect by the Native Americans who fought them, his unique understanding of what it means to fight a two-front war (for victory in combat and for civil rights at home) is evident. Like veterans of previous wars, the “Buffalo Soldiers” returned home with high expectations of respect and a better life but found little had changed. Unlike veterans of earlier wars, the African Americans of World War II were not willing to accept what they found. They brought a sure knowledge that they could fight great odds, endure tremendous sacrifice and continue through to victory. As a veteran of the “home front,” Eddie Harrison went on after World War II to serve as one of the first generation of African American officers to command integrated units. His sense of civic duty that led him to collect scrap along the fence rows, propelled him to a career as municipal court judge. Although three of his brothers served during World War II in the segregated military units (the “Buffalo Soldiers”) that were part of every war America fought through World War II, Eddie Harrison’s memories of wartime service are those of a man too young to serve in the military but old enough to be a veteran of the often forgotten “home front.” For Eddie and the other young brother left on the home farm, war time meant years of hard work doing their part to support the older brothers. For Eddie and other home front veterans, the war years were a time of victory gardens, scrap drives, war bond sales and the daily challenge of adjusting life to the needs of an economy and society at war. Eddie remembers gathering all kinds of metal from fence rows and fields. When the scrap truck came along, the boys would flag down the truck and help load the scrap. Everyone raised victory gardens to help provide basic food items and to free resources for the war effort. Things we take for granted required remarkable efforts and a tremendous spirit of community cooperation. From the military discipline and experiences of the soldiers and from the experiences of those at home, a discipline and sense of community action grew that had a direct impact on the future of America. Judge Harrison remembers World War II as a time when a united effort in three major areas combined for the victory that has defined our world: (1) the military, (2) construction, manufacturing and war production, and (3) the “home front.” Eddie Harrison, BS Prairie View, MS TAMU James Ferguson, BA, M.Div. US Army, 1st AD (retired) U.S. Army Captain -Colonel, Korean War Okla. Natl. Guard Chaplain Harrison's career began in the US Army just after WWII. He served during the Korean War and retired Greatest Generation! Greatest HOLD Contributors! Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database Read more about Eddie Earl Harrison at http://hold.cstx.gov. 17 VIRGINIA KELLEY FORD Home Front -Firestone Factory “My Mother seemed satisfied doing her job, no matter what, because it would help bring my brother and the others home.” I was four years old when the world changed on December 7, 1941. My brother, Edwin Verne "Beany" Ford, Jr. who would turn 18 on the 21st, was a senior in high school. Because he was in ROTC, he signed an agreement that he would graduate and then go to San Antonio for a two-month radio and electronics course, after which he would enter the Army and serve in the Signal Corps. We lived in Dallas, with our mother, Virginia Kelley Ford; her brother, Oliver Sims Kelley (who was too old for the draft); their sister, Exa Kelley Williams; and the sister’s 19-year-old son, Ivy Albert Williams, Jr., who enlisted Monday, December 8th. My mother, who was employed full time, suddenly changed jobs and went to work at the Firestone Plant in Dallas. Right before Pearl Harbor, her sister, who had recently become a widow, had moved in with us. She became the the homemaker and stayed home with me while Mother went to work at a defense plant lining fuselages of airplanes. I learned later that both she and my aunt had applied for work at defense plants, but they decided Mother’s job was the better one for our family. The main difference for me was that Mother now worked the midnight shift. She would be home when I got home from school until I went to bed. She then left to be at work by midnight. She did not get home until after I left for school. She would occasionally bring home leftover endings of black rolls used to help line the fuselage. They would be placed in the bathtub and covered with water. After several hours they would take them out of the tub and the blacking would be peeled off, leaving white cloth. These remnants, too short to be used on the fuselages, would make dish towels and aprons for us, or we could save it for lining homemade quilts. Her job would continue until the war ended. I think Mother received a significant increase in pay and I never never really heard her complain. Mother never talked about feeling patriotic, but she never complained about her job like she had other jobs. My brother served in the Army as a courier in the Signal Corps. He was on the Queen Mary headed home from Europe after V-E day. He was supposed to have leave and then be shipped to the Pacific war zone but was home on leave on V-J day. Patricia Ford Koppa College Station, Texas Women Working on the Home Front Virginia Harriet Kelley Ford with daughter Patricia Dana Ford (Koppa), in 1940. Preserving History, It’s a JOB! Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database Read more about Virginia Kelley Ford at http://hold.cstx.gov. 18 OLA PAULINE ADAMS STRICKLAND Home Front -Link Training Instructor “Sis had never even flown in a plane, much less ever had any training in flight.” Even before the United States formally entered World War II, Terrell, Texas was involved with the Lend-Lease Agreement with Great Britain. A British Flight Training School was set up in Terrell and began training cadets for the British Air Force, the RAF, in August 1941. There is an RAF section in the cemetery in Terrell for those students who were killed while in training. As one can tell, this was a few months before Pearl Harbor and the formal entrance of the United States into WWII. Pauline Adams Strickland was hired, probably about 1943, as a Link Training instructor. To the best of my knowledge, she had never even flown in a plane, much less ever had any training in flight. Her son states that she did go up in an airplane every once in while and that the instructor pilot would let her "take the stick and fly some." After the boys graduated and left to return to England and combat duty, she would try to keep up with her students as much as possible. I remember that she kept a list of all her students and would go over it from time to time and silently, or in a low tone, wonder about her boys. While still in training, one of her students did have to bail out at night somewhere around Greenville, just north of Terrell. He parachuted out safely but got caught in a tree. In the darkness and not knowing how high he might be dangling, he remained in his parachute all night. As it was getting light, he found that he was about 2 feet off the ground. By any definition, my sister, Pauline, was an active participant in supporting World War II on the home front. And she too was a member of “The Greatest Generation” as described in the book by Tom Brokaw. Billy Joe Adams US Army (retired) College Station, Texas Never Scanned? Everyone Can! Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database Read the rest of Sis’s story at http://hold.cstx.gov. 19 Above: Working women wore slacks. Upper right: Pauline is on back row second from right in Link Trainer photo in Terrell, Texas. Right: Pauline with son, Bob. What is Project HOLD? Project HOLD is an Historic Online Library Database provided by the City of College Station through the guidance of the Historic Preservation Committee to digitally record our history. Community members are encouraged to rummage through their closets and attics to find scrapbooks, letters, receipts, photographs, bulletins, family histories, articles, postcards, memoirs … (well, you get the idea!) to share with Project HOLD. Heritage writers are encouraged to deposit work into Project HOLD for all to benefit. Who scans these documents? The City of College Station Neighborhood Services staff and volunteers. We are always looking for volunteers to help with the collecting, cataloging, and scanning. Computer knowledge is not a requirement. We will train you. What will happen to the documents I loan to HOLD? Your documents will be placed in archival (acid-free) containers and handled with the greatest of care. You will receive a receipt for the items and their condition will be noted. The scanning process does not harm them in any way. If you like, we will come to your house and help you choose and gather the documents. Reference Notes Project HOLD: Historic Online Library Database HOLD photos top to bottom: WAVE Marie Bennett Alsmeyer (Donated by same); President Truman’s Thank you letter (Donated by Marguerite Anthony); Road to Baguio: Shear cliffs to shear drop, foot troops protect tanks on road (Donated by James L. Boone, Jr.); and World War II Ration Book. (Donated by Mary Ellen Bell.) Go to Project HOLD! http://hold.cstx.gov Call HOLD staff at 979.764.6262! 20 LT. JG GEORGE BUSH George Bush Library Museum Foundation A&M COLLEGE of TEXAS, CORPS OF CADETS "Wars," The Eagle, 22 September 2001, A10 Barbara Donalson Althaus, Kyle Tough, Story of Edwin J. Kyle © 2003 John M. Moore, "Mr. A&M Retired, But in Name Only," Houston Post, 20 December 1950; Henry C. Dethloff, "Texas A&M University," HOTOnline at tsha.utexas.edu/handbook; "History," The Eagle, 4 October 2001, A3. BRYAN AIR FORCE BASE "Bryan Air Force Base," Handbook of Texas Online, HOTOnline; Texas Transportation Institute, Vol. 40, No. 3 online at tti.tamu.edu; Bill Page: www.hurricaneconsulting.net. WOOD BARBEE KYLE 1967 Oral History Transcript excerpts, Benis M. Frank, History and Museums Division, HDQ U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C. Published 23 Feb 1977 by Director of Marine Corps History and Museums, HDQ USMC, Washington, DC 20380. "Campaign for the Marianas, Historical Division, U.S. Marine Corps, 3 March 1947. TEXAS ARMY NATIONAL GUARD, 36TH Infantry Division -the "Texas Division" Texas Military Forces Museum, Camp Mabry, Austin, Texas online at www.kwanah,com/txmilmus/texas.htm. 36th Infantry Division, "History of Texas National Guard," online at www.agd.state.tx.us/36id/history/txarnghistory.htm. WORLD WAR II "World War, Second," Compton's Encyclopedia. F.E. Compton & Company: Chicago, 1952,15:245.