Service History

Service History of Lloyd E. Paris

 

I was called to service in April 1943 and sworn in at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. I worked in an office typing up forms for new inductees. In May '43, I was shipped by train to Camp Shelby, a military post who's North Gate begins at the southern boundary of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on United States Highway 49, and assigned to the Fighting 69th Infantry Division, which was famous in WWI.

Basic training was tough learning all types of duties such as KP, guard duty, carbine parts, barrack duties, laundry items, back packs, parades, 5 mile marches, 10 mile marches, and so forth. With back pack, rifle and ammunition, target practice, training films.

 

The training had been rough but I survived and after 13 weeks of basic training, I got a weekend pass into Hattiesburg - big deal! Later I got leave to go home.

 

In early May '44, shipping orders came to load up all clothing and equipment and go by rail to the east coast.  I was on board a Liberty ship to Europe - a big convoy with escort ships loaded with supplies and equipment. There were false alarms of enemy subs along the way. After several days, we saw land (England) and we went off to a Replacement Center near Nottingham and Sherwood Forest (of Robin Hood fame).

 

We learned about British people, marching, training films, war lectures, and watched the bulletin boards 2-3 times a day for shipping orders. Everyone talked about D-Day; we sensed that the war was about to start. Planes were flying on bombing missions day and night.  Guys were shipping out every day and finally my name came up: going to Reading, a town in the Thames Valley United Kingdom to the Berkshire barracks and the 101st Airborne Division as a replacement.

 

On June 6, 1944, I was assigned to the Glider Battalion and kept on training while information trickled from the front lines. Many of our troops were killed or wounded. We trained, day in and day out. We did dry runs in gliders at an airport and forced marches through the beautiful small villages of England.

 

A weekend pass was granted into Reading and finally one into London.

 

The towns and countryside were as beautiful as was talking to the British people learning their expressions and accents. We ate fish and chips, meat pies, tea, and biscuits. Smoking was allowed in the theaters where they played "God Save the King" at every showing.

 

Time and summer passed. They have "double summer time" - it stays light until ten o'clock.

 

The war is going well, but General Patton over ran our drop area in France so it is back to the barracks. This happened twice!

 

Finally, we went to the airport, onto the gliders, and headed across the channel for a drop area in Holland for the Airborne Invasion in September 1944. Hundreds of gliders (British "Horsha" and American) were pulled or towed by C-47 and C-54s. Even with German flak (aerial bursts), we managed to reach our drop area. Some landed nose down, crash landing missing the landing area and many were injured. We got our group together and headed for the hedge rows which were filled with waiting German troops.  We chased them over the dikes across the canals, shooting at snipers that were posted in the windmills. While moving to a new position, a German "Potato Masher" (hand grenade) landed in front of me and blew up. I got shrapnel in my body plus dirt and gravel in my eyes.  I couldn't see and was somewhat "cuckoo". I was sent to the medics who cleaned out my eyes and checked for shrapnel - there were small pieces. I had a short rest and went back to the front.  One or two "R&Rs", then behind the lines for a shower, and finally a good meal at a Dutch school.  During the night, German artillery was coming in and one hit our 3-story building, came through the roof, down two floors, and landed on the piano. It was a dud, thank God.

 

At the end of November '44, we finally got relieved and went back to Mourmelon Garrision, France (an old cavalry base) for R&R.  This was in December and we had been on the front lines about 80 days -the longest of any division up to that time.

Groups were getting 3 day passes into Paris traveling by 6x6 trucks.  My group got to go about Dec. 10. Since my last name is Paris and being my birthday on the 11th, it was unique to be in Paris and stay at the Hotel de Paris. Now we were seeing the sights, having some good food while celebrating.

 

The next day or two were terrific and then suddenly, the Military Police were all over the place telling us to go back to our hotel at once and wait for the trucks to pick us up.  We had no idea what was going on. No one knew for sure, but rumors were that the Germans had broken through our defenses in the Ardennes. Where's that?

 

Overnight we were headed for Belgium. It's now Dec. 18 and we are in Bastogne, Belgium.  We were assigned our positions and waited for the attacks that came just before every dawn. There was snow on the ground; it was cold, making it difficult to dig a foxhole unless one was in the pine forests where the pine needles kept the ground warmer. The days were foggy days. It snowed like crazy; a foot or more was on the ground.  We did a little ground patrol at night to looking for the Germans. Sometimes, we could hear them talking.

 

We were surrounded by the Germans without food (1 K-ration/day), with no ammunition or fuel for the tanks. The tanks cannot move and we only fire if absolutely required - a matter of life or death. We were in a mess.  Nothing was moving, but the Germans were attacking and shelling artillery continuously. Cloudy, foggy, and snow prevented planes from getting through. One airdrop was attempted but the fog came in and all our supplies ended up behind the German lines - shucks! Finally on the 25^th the sun broke through, we heard the C-47s and we looked toward the sky - "here they come" and for Xmas night I got a turkey leg - that's all.

 

One morning we were dug in at the edge of a pine forest at an "outpost" - about 100 yards apart.  The Germans came in their white outfits blending in with the snow and the tanks behind.

 

Both sides fired rifles. One bullet got my foxhole buddy in the head and he dropped down. I stopped firing as the German flame thrower came by.  I got fuel all over me and the flame did not catch.  Later, an hour or two, the Germans were pushed back and I stayed quiet. I finally crawled through the woods and found our command post; they thought I was dead or captured. The flame thrower fuel was like diesel oil and I had no change of clothes until I got wounded in January, 1945. That fuel smell stuck with me for years.

Soon General Patton broke through the lines with his armored division. Now, with dropped food, fuel, ammunition and medical equipment, we took back the ground we lost. We were in the "doughnut hole" and with General McAuliffe's response of "nuts" to the request for surrender; things are back to normal - as they say.

On January 10, 1945, we marched through Bastogne, a Belgian municipality located in the Walloon province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, as artillery from the Germans came in. One lands close by and we scamper for cover in the ditches. Something like a baseball bat hit me in the foot as I headed for the ditch. When the shelling stopped and we were told "back on the road", I realized that I could not walk.  Shrapnel from the German 88 artillery got me in the left "cuboids". Later, medics came to pick me up and took me to the field hospital in Luxembourg. From there, I went across the English Channel to a hospital in England.  I kept the shrapnel and put in for the Purple Heart Medal. Recuperation lasted until April. Since I could not walk well, I was reassigned to the 9th Air Force. They said the war would soon be over and it takes too long to get trained troops from the U.S. and put them in the front lines, so to speak.  No one could prove this, or have never heard of this. Anyway, I am now in the 9th Air Force as a typist assigned to Base Air Depot Area, "BADA" in Compiègne, France (where the WWI peace treaty was signed in the rail car). Then I was back on a ship and across the channel to La Harve, France. While crossing the channel, they announced over the public address system that President Roosevelt had died - April 15, 1945.

The base had all sorts of equipment: tires, jeeps, plane trucks, Jerry cans, gasoline, and even airplane engines in crates. In the three months here, I toured the area including the Chateau where Marie Antoinette lived with beautiful gardens and a view facing her homeland, Austria. I also was allowed to take a 5-day leave to Nice, France by way of Villa Cou Blair Airport. Nice is the California of France - beautiful city on the Mediterranean. I toured the perfume factory at Grassa, Franc, saw the stage play "Dear Ruth" and the Russian Red Chorus, and enjoyed walks on the beach.

Soon they needed help in Erding, Germany (a former German Air Force Base) which was badly bombed. We have to clean it up and get it back in operation for us to use.  I go by plane but others go with equipment by train - a 3-day trip.

While in Erding, I went on weekend jaunts. Someone from the motor pool would requisition a 6x6 - no comforts at all - and take the ones who signed up for day trips. The mess hall would sometimes give us box lunches.  We went to Bavaria, saw old castles such as Schloss Linderof (Mad King of Bavaria).  Also went to Oberammergau and Mittenwald (where they make violins). We visited the ski area for the 1936 Olympics (Garmish and Partenkirchen). Several times we passed through Munich which was completely devastated, except for an old running trolley.

In late October I had enough points to go home. In Cherbourg, Normandy, France they have many tents set up for GIs to wait for ships with available space to return us to England. One group of tents was called Camp Phillip Morris and another Camp Lucky Strike. We were here several days because the channel storms were so rough that the ships couldn't dock.  Also our tents were nearly torn to pieces with the gales.  We went to a base where homeward processing took several days, giving us time to go into London. Sergeant Manning and I stayed at the United Service Organizations (known to us as USO) Hotel and ate at the Marble Arch near Buckingham Palace, in England.  We saw a movie or two and the stage play "The Madding Crowd", toured parts of London including Madam Toussaint's Museum and saw the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace.

I finally left from Southhampton, England on the USS Enterprise, CVN65, with thousands of other GIs. Five day later, we landed on the east coast and were on a troop train to Fort Knox, Kentucky. All the bases were busy, wanting to get most of the GIs home by Christmas 1945.

I was honorably discharged on the 14th of December, 1945, soon after my 22^nd birthday and headed home to Franklin, Indiana. I was assigned to the "Inactive Reserves" and was presented the Purple Heart Medal and the Bronze Star Medal, including a picture of the presentation.

I used my GI bill at Franklin College, Indiana, and helped on the family farm.  I spent the winter of ‘47-48 in Phoenix, Arizona working at the Salt River Valley Water Users Association and saw most of the Phoenix area and Nogales, and even went to Mexico one weekend. I tried to re-enlist in Arizona but came back home by bus stopping to see relatives in Fort Collins and Denver, Colorado.

I did re-enlisted in June 1948 and got my PFC rank back - big deal.  I was sent to Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois and worked in "Personnel" at the Headquarters filling forms for new students from all parts of the world. The courses were in many lines of work: jet engines, flight school, weather. I got a promotion to Corporal and then to Sergeant while at Chanute AFB, Illinois. 

In the fall of 1950 I volunteered to a one-year tour of duty in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Note: I signed up for 3 years, because it was during the Korean War - all enlistments were extended 1 year so - becoming a 4 year enlistment. What a background check - they wanted white males. Family and neighbors were questioned.  I was cleared, given a passport, shots, a briefing. The plane was loaded with replacements for Andover AFB, Massachusetts, Greenland, the Azores (Island in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean), Cairo, Egypt, and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

As a Sergeant (3 stripes) at Base Headquarters 1414th Air Base Group, MATS Saudi Arabia,  I maintained monthly reports of all the military on the base separated by name, rank and duties; departures, new arrivals and promotions. While there I was promoted to Staff Sergeant. The heat was unbearable. We lived in metal Quonset barracks (a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated steel having a semicircular cross section). Yet, there were permanent buildings such as: headquarters, mess hall, library, and theater.

Things are going along fine. This base was the connecting link to the world. Flights stop for the Korean War with troops from several countries, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) Air Jubuti, Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Ethiopian, Trans World Airlines, and Pan Am to name a few. It is a five-day work week and on weekends we could fly over to Bahrain Island, an island country in the Persian Gulf. We tour the area where there are plenty of duty free shops. We could get a jeep from the motor pool and go to the beach, have a boat ride on one of our boats, see some oil refineries and swim in the gulf where the salt water is so thick you just float.

I worked part time in the library and the base radio station. It was next door where we could listen to news and music plus programs from home starring Bob Hope, Jack Benny, and Red Skelton, and so on. - all on 16-inch transcriptions.

An offer for a 5-day leave to Beirut, Lebanon came in and I took it. I stayed at the Hotel Normandy, saw the local sights and souvenir shops, the beach on the blue Mediterranean, a tour over the mountains to the ruins from the time of the Crusades) in Baalbek, a town in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon and down in sheep herding valleys and through the Cedars of Lebanon (mentioned in the Bible).

Before I knew it my year was up. I make 3 choices for my next assignment and I got March Field, California.  I reported there Nov. 1, ‘51. I've been assigned to a detached service at Nellis AFB, southern Nevada, near Las Vegas.  I am now acting 1st Sergeant for a thirty men, the "Airways and Air Com Service - AACS. We run the control tower for the base.

I tour the area: clubs, Lake Mead, Boulder Dam, Furnace Inn, Death Valley, Mt. Charleston and Valley of Fire. I had two weeks of training at Hamilton AFB along the northern shore of San Francisco Bay in Novato, California

Before I knew it; it's my time for military discharge. Our Lieutenant and Major try to re-enlist me but I wanted to call it quits. I was honorably discharged in June 1952, giving me nine and one-half years toward retirement from the military service.

My final salute: June 14, 1952.

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