HomeMy WebLinkAboutMorris A. Maddox, Brazos Valley Heroes �
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- Morris A. Maddox „..... .
By Bill Youngkin infantry, the army sent me to the 1288 Combat Engineer Unit
1
Special to The Eagle in Camp Van Dorn, Miss. 1
[ "We loaded our equipment and headed by train to New
Morris A. Maddox of Bryan spent 18 months in the "Tree
Army” before he was drafted into the Army during World War York where we boarded ship for England. The next 10 days
11 and that time of service in the "Tree Army" helped him in were the worst of my life. We were down in the bottom of the
ship the whole time and we all were so sea sick. I was so sick
many ways in the "Real Army." P
that everything came up except my shoe laces. When we were a
Life for Maddox began on Christmas Day, 1922, in allowed on deck on the 10th day, that fresh air was the best 1 '
1 Madison County. According to Maddox, "1 was born on a farm
` in Madison County and attended Oak Grove and Willow Hole ever smelled in my life,
Schools before attending and graduating from North Zulch "We traveled by train to Chipping Norton, England, and
High School in 1939. I couldn't find any work so I signed up from there across the Channel, on barges, to France. We
for an 18 -month obligation with the CCC or what everyone landed in France in February 1945. Our first duty assignment
referred to as the "tree army". The tree army was a lot like was at Aachen, Germany, for the push into Germany. My last
being in the army because we wore old World War 1 uniforms duty before the war ended was on the Rhine River at Cologne, i
and learned close order drill. Our officers were also officers Germany.
from the regular army." 41
"We were building a 1,506 foot long Bailey bridge across
"I was first sent to Lufkin and then to Alto, Texas, where the Rhine outside Cologne. While we were building the bridge
we built another camp. We worked in a tree nursery, built one sight you saw all the time were bodies floating by in the
roads or did whatever was needed in the area. When my time river. We didn't know most of the time if they were American F
was up with the tree army, I returned to Bryan, where I got a or German. It was something that I never got used to. When
job with Hillier Funeral Home. l did pretty much everything we just about had the bridge completed, the Germans sent a
from driving the ambulance, working a funeral, whatever was large barge floating down the river, cutting our bridge in half.
needed except embalming bodies. We had to start over and by the time we had it completed and
"After Pearl Harbor was bombed, I knew 1 only had a short ready for use, the war in Europe was over.
time before my number would be called. I received my draft
notice and left with 26 other boys from Bryan on Feb, 22, 1943.
°I was sent to Marseilles, France, where we boarded
ship for the invasion of Japan. While on the way, the bomb
We thought we might be able to stay together but, when I
was sent to California, I never saw any of them again until we was dropped and the war was over. We almost tore up that
were back at Ft. Sam after the war, being discharged. ship celebrating, officers included. We changed course for
Boston Harbor and from there back to Ft. Sam by train where
"I don't remember all the boys who made up the twenty I, again, was with some of the original 27 who had left Bryan
seven but 1 do remember that Luke Ruffino was one of them. together.
Why 1 remember Luke is the first night in the barracks he said
something he shouldn't have said to one of the soldiers who "I was discharged on Oct. 28, 1945, and came straight
out ranked us. His comment got all of us assigned to KP duty home to Bryan. 1 worked at Lilly Ice Cream, but 1 had an
and dish washing for our first three days in the army. application in at A &M. I was hired by A &M to work at the
a "At Ft. Sam Houston, I was the only one sent to California University Police Department, basically doing night security
ti for my training. I received my basic training at Camp Roberts duty. That job led to a patrolman's job and eventually to the
in the field artillery. I had done a lot of drilling in the tree army Chief of Police of the University Police Department. I retired
before the war so close order drill for me was easy. Because of from UPD in 1985:'
• that experience, I was selected for a platoon drill competition When Maddox was asked what his time in service to
for Camp Roberts, which I won. his country meant, he said, "I wouldn't take anything for my
"From there it was on to Tarzana, Calif, just outside experience and I would do it again without any hesitation
Hollywood, where I was in the coast artillery. We would if asked. I guess that is easy to say when you're my age and
use searchlights at night searching for planes that might be know you're not going to be asked again. I am very proud of
flying in from the ocean. We were then sent to Camp Hahn for what we did.
artillery training in the Mojave Desert. Morris A. Maddox's name is found on the Brazos Valley r`
In the desert we had to sleep in pup tents. One morning a Veterans Memorial. If you want to have a name added to
A friend awoke to a 3 to 4 foot rattlesnake on top of his sleeping the Veterans Memorial, for more information, to make a
k bag. The army had been asking for volunteers for the infantry contribution, or if you know a World War ll veteran whose story
to go directly to Europe. After that sna ke incident, I volunteered needs to be told, contact the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial
because I hated snakes. Even though I volunteered for the atwww.bvvm.orgorBill Youngkin at (979)260 -7030.
The Eagle -.�