HomeMy WebLinkAboutRuben Bond; Brazos Valley Heroes--11-13-05ttnt in 1 sClws of trilxucs to lIwjIIh( of °Tltc Grc<Ut�St
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"1 graduated from Bryan High in 1938 and enrolled
at A&M. It was apparent that war was approaching. To
prepare, the draft had started. In the summer of 1941,
1 was playing softball at Travis Park when Mr. Travis
Bryan Sr. came by and asked to speak with me. He
toll me it looked like I was going to be drafted and
I needed to come by his office at First National Bank
to see what could be done. Mr. Bryan was on the lo-
cal draft board and if he said It looked like I might be
drafted then it was pretty certain I would be.
"I went by his office and he said if I volunteered for
the Army Air Corps then I would probably be stationed
In Texas and wouldn't be drafted into the infantry. That
sounded good to me, so I enlisted.
"I was sent to San Antonio to be processed and
was then shipped to Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls,
Texas. On the way, our bus stopped in Fort Worth,
Where we were to make connections to Wichita Falls.
While we were waiting to load the bus there were two
young ladies who wanted to go to Wichita Falls also
but were told by the bus driver that the servicemen and
their families had priority and they would have to try to
catch a later bus.
"One of the young ladies was really, realty pretty. I
went over to them and told the pretty one she was going
to be my wife and the other one my sister and we would
board that way. When we started to board, I told the
bus driver, 'This one is my wife and this one is my sister,
and we really need to get to Wichita Falls as soon as
possible.' He looked at me and then the young ladies,
shook his head and let us board the bus.
"The pretty one finally took me up on my offer and
Glands has now been my wife for over 61 years. It has
worked out pretty well.
'When I got to Sheppard Field, my commanding
officer had been my commanding officer at A&M when
I was a'fish.' He helped me stay at Sheppard Field as
my duty station after training and I was able to stay
there training others for a few years.
good commander and we worked well together.
"We kept 50 bombers in the air pretty much the
whole time bombing Japanese positions. We never
lost a plane while I was there, but we sure had to patch
a lot of holes in most all of them.
'The day the war ended, I received the message
and as a result was late for a pre -flight meeting. When I
arrived, Captain Boyd wanted to know what my prob-
lem was since I was late. I told him, 'No problem. The
war is over - no more bombing.' That was the best
message I ever delivered to him.
"On the boat back, we all got partial pay before we
left. On a long voyage, you will have an opportunity to
try your luck in a card or dice game. Everything that
night want my way and I won $12,000. The next day I
took my money to Captain Boyd and asked if he would
hold it for me. He did and I was able to buy a brand
new car when I got home. That was big deal back in
those days."
Bond worked for the Houston Chronicle and Jesse
Jones for several years before eventually ending up at
First National Bank of Bryan, where he worked for 42
years until he retired.
"For those who served overseas, most of us were
lucky to come home alive. A lot didn't. You got at-
tached to your organization and the men you served
with. They were the type of men I liked to associate
with, then and now.
"I have been a Christian for over 70 years and I
have always let the Good Man guide me. I ask him
every day to do the same."
Reuben Bond's name can be found on the Bra-
zos Valley Veterans Memorial. For more information,
to make a contribution, or if you know a World War
II veteran whose story needs to be told, contact the
BWM at www.veteransmemofial.org or Bill Youngkin
at (979) 260 -7030.
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