Purple Heart

Richard Barnes SmuinVeterans History ProjectMy name is Richard Barnes Smuin, I was born October 5th 1924 in a small town called Garfield Utah, this was a town just a few miles west of Salt Lak

My name is Richard Barnes Smuin, I was born October 5^th 1924 in a small town called Garfield Utah, this was a town just a few miles west of Salt Lake City. The town is now gone and has been for a few years. I lived there with my parents Amy Barnes and Marion Dennis Smuin, we lived in Garfield until I was one year old and my parents separated and were divorced. My mother and I moved to Kaysville, Utah to live with my grandmother Ann Webb Barnes. My grandfather Alexander Barnes died in 1913 as he was helping to build a church in Kaysville when he fell off the top of the building and was killed when a wheel barrel full of bricks fell on top him. My Grandmother was left with four small children to raise, my mother Amy was six years old at the time and she was the oldest. In a few years my mother and her two sisters Elva and Iris moved to Salt Lake City to live and work but I stayed to live with my grandmother until I was 18 and I was drafted into WWII.

It was fun living in a small town with a grandmother to spoil me. I went to Kaysville Elementary school and then out to North Davis junior high in Clearfield for a year then back to Kaysville where I went to the 10^th 11^th and 12^th grade. I graduated from Davis High School in 1943.

There was a lot of talk about the war but I was young and it didn’t seem to affect me too much, it seemed like a long way off. There was food, clothing and gas rationing. I wasn’t old enough to drive and grandma didn’t have a car anyway so that was no problem. Grandma always had a big garden so food was never a problem or at least that’s how it seemed to me.

On a beautiful Sunday morning December 7^th 1941, a few of my friends and I decided to go pheasant hunting in the marshes in west Kaysville. I remember my very good friend Rex Flint was with me. We hunted for a while then I got a little tired , I wasn’t much of a hunter as I hated to kill anything. I went back to the car to rest and listen to some of my favorite songs on the car radio. Suddenly the song that I was listening to was interrupted and a news announcer broke in and said “ The Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor.” I was shocked and ran to find my buddies to tell them the terrible news. Every one was very upset and we went to our homes immediately. It was hard to believe that this horrible thing could be happening to our country. The next morning, Monday December 8^th 1941, as we sat in our first period class in school we heard over the intercom -- President Franklin D. Roosevelt declare war on Japan. That very day many of the young men enlisted in one of the armed services. I wanted to go but my grandmother said that I was too young and I would have to wait and finish my junior and then senior year of high school. She said she wouldn’t sign for me to go to war that I would have to wait until I was eighteen. I wasn’t happy I wanted to enlist in the Army Air Force. Of course she was right, I was too young. So for the time being it was back to high school for me. Kaysville is a very small town this is where the high school was located for all of Davis County. The County had quite a few towns including Bountiful, Centerville, Woods Cross, Farmington, Kaysville, Layton, West Point, Clinton and Syracuse, the school was built in 1912. In 1943 when I was a senior in high school we had a little over 900 students. All of the students that lived in the towns north of Davis (the name of our high school) rode buses and all of the student that lived south of the high school rode the Bamberger. The Bamberger was a computer train that ran from Salt Lake City through Davis County, all of northern Utah and even up into Idaho. There was an agreement made with the Bamberger to pick up all the students that lived south of Davis and drop them off in front of the school -- after school they picked them up and delivered them back to there towns. Lucky for me I only lived one block from school. We could eat our lunch in the school cafeteria, go home or even eat at a little beanery that was located on the north west corner of the school. This was great for me because my grandmother (Ann Barnes) worked at the beanery and she saw that I got a good lunch every day. Thank goodness for grandmothers, I don’t know what I would have done without mine.

When I was in grade school I delivered news papers, it helped me to have a little spending money. My grandmother was a widow and in those days she had to support herself. She was very lucky to have brothers and sisters that helped her.

I played the trumpet in band my best friend Dee Rentmeister also played the trumpet and his father gave us lessons. We played pretty good together and at times we even were ask to play at weddings and other special events.

The last two summers before I graduated from high school I worked at a little resort just south of Kaysville called Lagoon, it was like a small Disney Land. There were lots of rides and a big swimming pool. I helped run the roller coaster and I was also life guard in the pool.

As we got a little older and entered high school a bunch of the boys decided that we would like to do something a little different so we formed our own little hillbilly band. Harold Hamblin played the harmonic, Rex Flint the guitar, Dee Rentmeister the gallon jug and I played the washboard, what a bunch we were. We all ended up in the services -- Harold, Rex and Dee, in the Army Air Force and I was in the Army. We had a lot of fun in our band, we played at school assemblies and believe it or nor we were even asked to play at some weddings. Larkin’s café, had a grand opened on Main street in Kaysville we were ask to play at the grand opening. Not too bad for a bunch of local high school kids.

I remember in our senior year at Davis we were ask to play at one of the schools last assemblies for the year, no one knew but for the fun of it our hillbilly band was going to play the school song (Dear Old Davis High School) for the very last song. We thought we were being kind of funny. When we finished playing the school song I thought the students were going to bring the roof down. I have never heard such cheering in my life.

We entered a contest in Ogden Utah that was sponsored by a radio station. We entered for kicks and we were amazed when we took 2^nd place. The station was very impressed with us and ask us if we would play for them on their station -- they even wanted to make a record of us but it was too late as we were all about ready to be drafted.

After graduation in 1943 (there was about 300 students that graduated that year). I suppose about half of us would be going in one of the services real soon. There was of no chance of us going to college in those days. I went to work for a few weeks at the Navel Supply Depot I was just waiting impatiently for my draft notice. I was anxious to get on with what I knew that I had to do. I loved my country and I hated those dirty Japs and Germans. We were young and we thought we were indestructible - we figured nothing bad could happen to us - we had no fear. I suppose that is one of the reason that young people are so desirable. We never even considered that some of us might never be coming back

I received my draft notice by mail the last of May and was informed that I was to report to Fort Douglas on June 8^th 1943. A good friend of mine Max Barton also received his notice, we were to report the same day to the base. I was glad that I had a friend that would be reporting with me. Fort Douglas is in Salt Lake City about 30 miles south of Kaysville.

I was a little nervous about going and I really hated to leave my grandmother alone. We had been living together for almost all of my life and I felt like she needed me to take care of her. Grandma seemed more of a mother to me than my own mother did. I know grandma hated to see me go, I would see her cry when she didn’t think I was looking. She was very worried about me and what might happen to me she was also very proud of me (grandmothers are like that). Of course she wasn’t alone as many of my friends had already gone or soon would be. What worried me about grandma was that she would be living alone, I felt like she needed me to take care of her. But it was really the other way around. I was the one that always needed my grandmother and she had always been there for me. I was very lucky to have such a loving caring grandmother.

When I arrived at Fort Douglas I had about a three day stay --- in that time I was sworn in - had my physical - all of my shots - even seen the dentist and had to have a tooth pulled. I was issued my new clothing including my uniform -- so I was all ready to go. I was disappointed that Max Barton and I wouldn’t be going together. We of course weren’t even allowed to go home and give our families a last good-by. I’m sure this was a good idea, it was pretty hard leaving your family not knowing when you might see them again. Off I went to California by train which took a couple of days. By this time I wasn’t sure I wanted to go but I also knew that it was expected of me and I was pretty excited. You might say that I had mixed feelings about the whole thing.

We arrived in Los Angeles and then it was north up the coast to Camp Roberts. This was kind of a shock it was all desert no lawn only sand, gravel, and dirt. As soon as I arrived I was assigned to my barracks and bunk. At least I wasn’t alone as a lot of young men were in the same boat from all over the country - feeling a little lost, homesick, and anxious.

I had met and become real good friends with two of the boys on other guns in our battery - Richard Root and Blaine Heglund, we became real close buddies . We decided that after the war was over that we were going to buy motorcycles and tour all over the United States seeing all of our other friends. We could hardly wait we were going to have a ball after we got rid of Hitler and all of his henchmen.

I soon found out that I would be in the artillery, I sort of figured this out after seeing the big guns and ammunition carriers. I was assigned to the 558 Field Artillery, Battery A - there were four guns A-B-C and D. Captain William Busch, was over our four guns and Sgt. Warren Lawrence was over the A gun, this is the one that I was assigned to.

The M-12 (our gun) is a modified tank with the M-12 mounted on the chassis, always followed by an ammunition carrier. Sgt. Lawrence ask me if I would like to drive the ammunition carrier - I said “yes” so I was promoted to a T-5. This was a great place to be if you were hit by a shell there wouldn’t be enough of you left to be picked up by a blotter. Some of the men I remember on the gun were William Depauw he was our gun sight - Robert Crockett, set the fuse and I fired the gun.

Our M-12 was the number one gun in our battery- we of course felt like it was very special, and so it should have a very special name. We didn’t know that the guns weren’t allowed to have names like aircrafts were. We decided on the name “Aiming Circle Annie” the aiming circle was always with our gun. The aiming circle could lock in on a target, then we would give the other guns the coordence to fire- then any one of us could zero in on the target and fire. Sgt. Lawrence had to talk to Captain William Edwards about putting the name on our gun-- the Capt. didn’t think this would be proper and didn’t want to do it but after thinking it over for awhile (and a little pressure) he decided that it sounded like a pretty good idea. We had a stencil cut - we painted it on and the name “Aiming Circle Annie” was official. I believe we were the only gun in the Army that ever had an official name, at least that is what we were told.

A picture of our gun was in Newsweek 9-25-44 -- in the original picture you can read “Aiming Circle Annie”. The serial number was also on the side 405557. This picture was taken early in September 1944. There is also this same picture in -- Stephen E. Ambrose book called “Citizen Soldier” --between pages 224 and 225, there are several pictures. On top of our picture it reads “ A 155 mm mounted on a Sherman tank chassis fires across the Moselle River, September.” I am the soldier on the far right, firing the gun -- we were all very proud of that gun.

Meanwhile back to Camp Roberts, to continue my story about our training. They took us to the mountains to train and fire our guns. The first Time I fired the gun I could hardly believe the noise it made. We were told to always open our mouths and turn our heads or we might break an ear drum. The M-12 was a very powerful gun. We had to attend a lot of schooling, go on 25 mile hikes carrying full gear. We did callisthenic’s every day for at least an hour, we also had to crawl under barbed wire with machine guns firing live ammunition over us - we sure learned to keep our heads down and our bodies flat. We had to be up at 5:00 A.M. for role call and breakfast. We at times had to pull K.P. or guard duty plus any other training that they could think of. Then we might be through by 5 P.M.. We had till nine and it was lights out and to bed for us, that was okay with us as we were pretty tired by this time. We had some weekends off unless we had K.P. (kitchen Police) or guard duty.

Sometimes we would go to my friend Richard Roots hometown, he lived in Turlock California, this wasn’t too far away. I had a lot of fun and met his mother and brothers. It sort of made me a little envious that he lived so close to Camp Roberts that he could go home on weekends.

We just ran around having fun - we went in to Auburn quite often - went swimming - just fooled around having a good time, I did get quite homesick at times.

I was able to go home on a furlough the Christmas of 1943 I was also made an Elder in my church on January 9^th 1944 ( The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.) This made grandma and me feel better about me being in the war. It was so good to be home - I don‘t think people appreciate their homes until they have been away for awhile. I had a good time while I was home my Aunt Elva Hoagland had a big Christmas party for me and I also got to see my mother. By this time my mother had remarried his name was Earl Von Harten and they had a little girl named Joann. So I had a half sister about twelve years younger than I was

I missed all my friends that were now in the service -- but -- I did get to see all the girls and that was always fun.

When I got back to Camp Roberts we continued our training , it was a lot of work but it sure kept us in good shape. We were young and it didn‘t bother us - only of course we would have rather been home. I was stationed at Camp Roberts until “D Day” the 6^th of June 1944. On the 8^th of June 1944 we left Camp Roberts for Camp Shanks New York -- we knew that we were finally on our way. We seemed to take the scenic tour going to Camp Shanks. We left Camp Roberts on the 8^th of June- then went down through Arizona all along the southern states and up into Canada --- finally we arriving in New York on the 13^th of June. As we traveled we stopped several times and got off the train in the middle of no-mans land and did callisthenic’s. I suppose they thought we needed a little exercise after being cooped up in the train for so many day’s. Sleeping wasn’t too bad - we just had to pull a bunk down, when you are our age you can just about sleep any place. The food wasn’t too bad we weren’t allowed off the trains to wander around the station or go into towns, this turned out to be a good idea. One day as we were traveling through the southern states one of the fellows got pretty close to his home town. I guess it was more than he could stand - I am sure he was pretty darn homesick, so he jumped the train and went home, The M.P’S found him but he never did come back to our outfit. I never did find out what they did to him. This being away from home and going over seas was pretty darn hard on a lot of the young men.

I was seeing a lot of country that I had never seen before. Before being drafted I had never been out of the state of Utah. Of course we didn’t get to see a heck of a lot of scenery from a train window. I had now been in several states, and even a foreign country. When we arrived in Camp Shanks and got settled in we were given a week end pass --- wow --- off to New York City, Richard, Blaine and I went. We were walking down the sidewalk in New York City there were so many people that before we knew it we were being pushed right out in the center of the street. We seen the Empire State building - it amazed me that we were unable to see the top of it.

We went to a dance at a large ballroom where there were two bands playing on a huge stage that turned around. There was continuous music and dancing going on all of the time. One band would play for awhile and then the stage would turn and another band would be on the other side and would just continue playing as it turned around. I had never seen anything like that before - it was quite amazing. We met some girls there and danced with them for a few hours, we had a great time -- but --as all good things go it ended too soon. We didn’t know how to get back to our camp but the girls were able to give us real good directions. We had to take the subway and transfer several times - we made it back to base without being late, a little worried but we made it okay. We never did get to see the girls again, they sure showed us a good time. They knew that we would be going overseas very soon. I know a lot of men met and married girls from other nations. For me - I will take our wonderful American girls any day.

I was seeing and doing things that I had never done before. I was only eighteen years old and I felt like I had already seen the world --- boy did I have a lot to learn.

We left Camp Shanks on July1^st 1944 and sailed on the USAT Edmund B. Alexander - we weighed anchor on July 2^nd 0203 hours. I can remembering passing the Statue Of Liberty --- I can’t begin to describe how I felt---it was the saddest most depressed feeling that I have ever had. I didn’t want to leave my country and for two pins I would have jumped overboard. Of course most of the men were feeling the same way, It was just a very sad time for all of us.

A lot of the boys were seasick, lucky for me I wasn’t one of them. We had a Sgt. By the name of Andrew Margello we could make him seasick by just swaying back and forth - the poor guy was sick all the way. We thought that it was quite funny, we were the sick ones for being so darn inconsiderate.

We slept in bunks and the food was very good. We spent the 4^th of July on the ocean. That day I can remember thinking --how glad I was to be an American -of course there was no celebration going on - we would celebrate when this terrible war was over and we were back home. The only entertainment we had was to walk the decks, eat, sleep, and wait.

We did have a scare one day when there was an enemy submarine alert. They had us all come to the top deck and put on life jackets - this really put a fear in us. We were in a large convoy with several navy boats along. That was the one and only scare we had on the way overseas.

On July12^th 1944 we dropped anchor in Liverpool England.

July 13^th 1944 We left England for Morton Paddox ( this was a small base) arrived July 14^th . We stayed here for a few days for R & R (rest and relaxation).

We were then given some time off for leave. One day some of the gang went into Coventry England - we happened to see an amusement park, we went in for a little fun we weren’t disappointed as we met some girls there. We had a good time with them, we went on some rides, we were really enjoying ourselves, we needed a little rest and relaxation. It was getting a little late and we hated to leave the girls, so we ask them if they would like to see the show with us - they of course said “yes“. I don’t remember anything about the show but I do know that it was a lot of fun being with girls again. It was fun listening to them talk - they were pretty hard to understand and they had to repeat themselves quite often. They talked so darn fast and had such an accent that it was hard for us to understand them. The girls could understand us a little better as most Americans talk a lot slower. We had the money for the show but the girls had to help us figure it out because we knew nothing about English money.

We were to meet a truck at a certain time that would take us back to the base --- but of course we were late and missed our ride. This made us a little nervous because if we weren‘t back on base at a certain time we would be considered A.W.O.L. (absent with out leave). This was really bad as you would be put in the brig or you could even receive a court martial, we didn’t know what to do. I seen an English gentleman walking down the street and I ask him if he could tell us how to get to the nearest American base. He gave us directions and then we had to walk about ten miles. This wasn’t very easy as in England they had blackouts every night - this was so the Germans would not be able to see the cities at night and bomb them. We finally arrived at the base and turned ourselves in to a Major -- we told him that we had missed our ride and could we PLEASE stay there. He of course said “Yes--- they put us up in some extra bunks for the night. The next morning he wrote a note for us to give to our Captain, they then drove us back to our base. Capt. Busch, said everything would be just fine --- so we weren’t considered A.W.O.L. This was a good lesson to always remember, NEVER be late for your ride back to base.

A few days later our base had a dance and they invited people from nearby towns to come. It was held on the base and these same girls that we met in Coventry came and brought some girl friends with them.. The band was made up by our own G.I’s and we had a real good time again. I think the English girls liked the American men sometimes better than their own men. We made more money than the English boy’s did so we had more money to spend on the girls and besides that we were Americans and that of course was a big plus --- at least we thought so.

We were told that the English men weren’t too fond of us --- they had a saying that there was three reasons they didn’t like the Americans.--- They said we were overpaid, over sexed and over here. I know that there was things going on that shouldn’t have been but not for me I had been raised in a good religious family (Latter Day Saints), and I was brought up with better morals that a lot of the young men seemed to have.

It was interesting though as my grandparents on my fathers side had both been born in England (James B. Smuin). On my mothers side my great grandfathers name was Edmund Webb he was born at Linton Cambridgeshire England July 26^th 1822. In 1854 he came to Kaysville Utah. His home is still standing (in 2005)also the street he lived on was named Webb after him. They all came to America as converts to (The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints).

It was interesting to see England and the English people and I am sure they were glad to see us. After all who is it that is always called on to help ANY nation -- when there is trouble in the world or in time of war. Your right, the good old AMERICANS.

August 9^th 1944 --- We left Morton Padox arrived in South Hampton England the same day.

August10^th 1944 --- A Battery (our firing section) traveled separately by LSD (landing craft), for some reason they sent us separately across the English Channel.

August 11^th 1944 --- We Dissembled at Utah Beach -- I kind of thought this was ironic as it was the name of my home state. I wished that I was back home now - I was a little homesick. We were a little late arriving as we had crossed the English Channel separately, we were about 25 miles behind the rest of our battery. We could travel about 25 miles an hour so it didn’t take long to catch up.

August 12^th 1944 ---We left Utah Beach and arrived at LeFoyer France stayed about two miles outside of town -- we always stopped a few miles outside of the towns. As we traveled through France the people were so glad to see us that they would run out into the street and hug, and kiss us. They also brought out loaves of home made bread and bottles of wine - they were thrilled to see General Pattons 3^rd Army.

August 14^th 1944 --- We left LeFoyer and arrived just a few miles outside of Parigne L’Eveque on the 15^th of August.

August16^th 1944 --- Left Paraigne L’Eveque and arrived about five mules outside of Verdone. We always parked a few miles out side of the towns, it was a lot safer for us and we were kept out of any danger that might occur if there happen to be Germans hiding in the towns.

August 17^th 1944 --- Left Verdone and arrived in Coyes.

August 18^TH 1944 ---arrived five miles N.W. of Orleans. We ran out of gas and had to wait here a few days for our gas supply to arrive. This was a serious situation because we of course couldn’t travel but we could still fire our guns. The bad thing was that if the Germans found out where we were we would be like setting ducks. The only thing we would be able do was to abandon our equipment and make a run for it -- the problem was that there was no place for us to run. It was a good thing that General Pattons 3^rd Army was going pretty fast through France.

The gas finally arrived but it took a little time to fill our tanks - we only had five gallon cans and we had to fill our tanks by hand --- our tank held 200 gallons.

We found a few ways to amuse ourselves as we were waiting for the gas to come. One day I happened to notice a farm house off in the distance. I ask a couple of my buddies on our gun if they thought that we should go to the farm and see if we could get some fresh eggs. They were all for it so off we went knowing that if anyone saw us we could be in big trouble. There could have been German soldiers hiding out there for all we knew. There are times when teen agers don’t act too smart and this was one of them. Off the three of us went we walked down to the farm house and tried to ask the farmer for some eggs. He was having a hard time trying to understand us so I made a sound of a clucking chicken and wiggled my elbows. This the farmer seemed to understand because he went to the farm house and brought us back a bucket of eggs. We thanked him the best we could ( the Frenchmen were so glad to see General Pattons 3^rd army that they would do almost anything for us) I put the eggs in my helmet and off we went back to our gun. We made a small fire and I cracked the eggs in my helmet and scrambled them. I don’t believe that I have ever tasted anything so good in my whole life. They were so much better than the powdered eggs that we had been eating.

We had K- rations to eat - I didn’t like those at all. Then we got C- rations - they were a lot better. The C rations came with three meals to a box- breakfast, lunch and dinner, each meals was about the size of a pound of butter. Our kitchen traveled with us so at times we did have good hot meals that was sure a treat when we got to eat a good meal. About this time I had lost around 25 pounds, this sure wasn‘t like grandmas cooking.

The first thing we did when we stopped was to set up our gun -- now the 2^nd thing we did was to dig a trench for our toilet. We always slept fully dressed including shoes and socks - we slept on the good old hard ground, this didn’t seem to bother us as we were pretty tired and could have slept any where. Our helmets were not only used to protect our heads we used them to wash in, cook in, wash clothes in, some of the boys at times even had to use them as a toilet. Lucky for me I never had to do that.

One day we seen a V-1 rocket fly over - this was a German made rocket called a flying bomb, it was rocket powered and didn’t have a pilot. The only way they had to guide them was to point them in the direction that they wanted them to go put the amount of fuel in them that would take them to get there - then let them fly. It could hit within a radius of 15 miles. It traveled a little over 400 miles per hour, and had a wing span of 17 and ½ feet, it held 1,870 pounds of fuel. To shoot them down was said to be unrealistic and very dangerous. When the people in England heard one fly over and the motor didn’t stop -- they could breath a sigh of relief. But if the motor stopped - then they just might be the one blown off of the map. A direct hit would normally totally destroy two houses and often would wreck as many as six others, it could do considerable damage for 100 yards around. The people in England suffered a lot of mental anguish from these.

August 23^rd 1944 --- Left Mulum at 1200. Arrived at Fountainblue 1900. We then left at 2300 for change of station - we were here for five days. One day they loaded us into trucks and they took us into town - we were told to bring clean clothes as we were in for a surprise. What a great surprise that was -- there was a hugh tent and inside they had built a wooden floor and installed several showers, there was also hot and cold running water - it felt wonderful-it sure boosted our morale - this was our one and only shower. We stayed in Fountainblue France for three days, it was nice to have a little break.

August 27^th, 28^th and 29^th 1944 --- We traveled through Nagus, Epernay and Reims. We fought the Germans all the way through France. The M-12 was a big supported to the infantry, I seen fighting that I will never forget. The Infantry was glad to have our help - we in turn couldn’t have won the war without the infantry, These men were always on the front lines, they took the brunt of the fighting.

One day Lt. Edwin Switzer our forward observer had been keeping an eye on a building that the Germans were (supposedly) using as a hospital. The Lt. Had been observing this so called hospital for a couple of days. It had a big Red Cross on the top of the building and all of the trucks that were going in and out also had a Red Cross on them. The only thing he could see was a lot of trucks were going in with something hanging out of the back of them. There was no other activity going on that looked like this was a hospital. Now this was a good trick for the Germans because they knew that we would not hit a hospital. Any time they could get away with it they would put a big Red Cross on their buildings. The Lt. knew that this was no hospital so he phoned back to us and gave us the coordinates, we fired a shell in and got a direct hit --- would you believe that old hospital blew up just like an ammunition dump. There little trick sure backfired on them.

September 2^nd --- We arrived at Hilaire. From September 6^th until September 21^st 1944 we went through St Marie Aux Chenes, Vionville, Gorze, Pagnz, Sur Mozell, and Vittonville. The 3^rd Army was on the roll. Of course fighting all of the way.

October 2^nd 1944 --- Captain William Busch assumed command of A Battery. Captain William Edwards was transferred to HQ Battery.

October 8^th 1944 --- One of my best friends Richard Root was seriously injured. I didn’t even hear about this at the time as he was on another fire mission. I felt terrible about it --- he was one of the three musketeers.

As we traveled across France we found many houses abandoned. These homes were left as if they had just gone to the store. When Germany invaded France the people had just about enough time to take what they could carry and the cloths on there backs. I can understand why they were so thrilled to see the Americans.

As we traveled across France we came to an abandoned town - it was a pretty good size town but there wasn’t a person to be seen there. It looked like every one had up and left on the spur of the moment. The houses were clean the beds made, clothing in the closets, it just seemed strange. We spent the night in a very nice house, we found out that it had been lived in by a German Col. he must have moved in when the German’s occupied France.

We were told to be very careful as some of the houses could be booby trapped by the Germans - we were told NOT to sleep in the beds as they might be the first thing that they would booby trap. They knew how tired we would be and how good a bed would feel to us -- especially after the terrible conditions we had been sleeping in.

We looked the house over - it was large and had an upstairs and a basement. The basement was full of liquor. I took a bottle of champagne upstairs to show the boys and they opened it up and passed it around. Just one taste of that made me wonder why on earth any one would want to drink it. That was the nastiest stuff I had ever tasted.

We were so tired and hadn’t slept in a bed in what seemed like years so to bed we all went and had a good nights sleep. That bed sure did feel good - we also woke up the next morning still alive, so there hadn’t been a trap set for us (lucky for us). When the French or (Germans) left that town it must have been on very short notice, who would clean their house and make their beds if they had any idea that they were leaving. I’m sure we caught them with their pants down, (so to speak). We didn’t do any damage to the houses other than leaving them in a mess.

October 31^st 1944 --- Leaving Vittonville, to day. It’s Halloween back home, there will be no trick or treating for us - although we would sure like to pull a few more tricks on Hitler and his madmen.

All through November we traveled through several towns --- Pierre Point, Himeling, Briestroff Le Grande, Merlicl, Laumesfeld, Monneren, Ritzing, Merchweiller and Mandern. General Pattons 3^rd Army, was on a roll. On December 1^st we stopped in Brettnech. There was a lot of fighting going on as we went through these towns.

One day I got quite a surprise -- some one came up to me and said “Hello Dick” I was shocked to see my cousin Jack Smuin (he lived in Lehi Utah) he was a Sgt. In the Army. I have no idea how he found me but it was great for me to see someone from home also a cousin. We were able to talk for about an hour, I know how pleased my father would be when he heard from Jack that I was still O.K. I never did get to spend much time with my father as he and my mother were divorced when I was only one year old. My dad, Marion Dennis Smuin, was a veteran he served in the Army during WWI.

Our mail kept up with us pretty good and receiving mail from home was probable the biggest morale booster that we could have. No one will ever know what hearing from home did for us. I always received a lot of mail and I felt darn sorry for the boys that didn’t get any (and there were a few of them). I often received packages from home mostly cookies and good things to eat. My Aunt Elva Hoagland (my mothers sister) would send me the best homemade cookies, they were always sealed up in a can. Being sealed kept them fresh. I was sure a popular guy when I got those packages, I of course had to share them.

I received a lot of letters from the girls my age --- especially Geraldine Sanders she was a very good friend and ended up marring one of my buddies Robert Major from Kaysville. Getting mail was the best thing that could happen to me. I didn’t have any special girl friend at this time but I sure loved to hear from them. I can never express my appreciation to all of the people that wrote to me from my home town - those letters made it so I could just keep hanging in there.

One day during November as we were traveling through one of the French towns I happened to go into a bombed out house - it was towards evening. I seen a trumpet on a shelf (WOW) did this make me happy, I hadn’t been able to play my trumpet for a long time. I was thrilled and started playing (the men loved it). One tune I played was “Silent Night” as I finished the song the Sgt. Came in and told me to stop -- we sure didn’t want the Germans to be able to zero in on us and my playing the trumpet would have been a dead give away.

We also ran out of gas again (this was the2^nd time) this always made me feel uneasy -- I was sure glad to see the trucks finally arrive so we could gas up. We were traveling through France so fast that at times it was hard for them to keep us in gas.

The Sgt. spent most of his time out in front observing for us. One day he seen a German, train -- he phoned back to where we were and gave our tank the coordinates. We zeroed in on the train and starting with the engine we knocked it out car by car and it was a long train. There was one train that would be doing us no more harm. We never got to see a lot of things we hit as we quite often traveled a few miles behind the observer. We could fire as far as fifteen miles away and get a direct hit.

The experience that affected me the most was the day we were traveling through a town when a jeep passed us carrying a trailer behind it. The jeep, pulled over to the side of the road and dumped it’s cargo --- which just happened to be several dead American soldiers. They were stiff as boards and tumbled off that trailer like a bunch of dominos. I will never forget that sight - I felt terrible --- it just seemed like it could have been handled with a little more respect and dignity. Here were young men that had given their lives for their country and they were just dumped out on the side of the road and left like so much garbage. That sight will always haunt me, I felt so bad for their families and loved ones back home. For the first time I realized that I could have been one of those boys dumped out dead and left like so much garbage -- it made me sick to my stomach. I know that the soldiers that had to do this terrible job of picking up the dead and dealing with this kind of thing had to be hardened to it or else they wouldn’t have be able to stand it. I will never forget that sight.

December 2^nd 1944 --- We were now entering Germany and two of our gun sections were to participate on a assault on Sarrlautern -- our gun was one of them. As we traveled I noticed that we were passing up the infantry this kind of made me feel a little nervous. The infantry was always on the front lines and we usually traveled a little behind them. The reason we were out in front today was that we had to knock out some pillboxes for them so they could move on. I was so close to the Germans that I could see their faces, I knew that they would also be able to see me. I was scared, I didn’t like being so close to the enemy that I could see them face to face.

DECEMBER 5^TH 1944 --- Saarlautern was a border town between France and Germany (it was actually in Germany). We arrived in Saarlautern on December 5^th about noon. We set up our gun in preparation for firing. We then proceeded to go to work knocking out about four pillboxes. A pillbox is a small square building -- several feet thick of reinforced concrete. There were small windows on each side where the Germans could stick their machine guns out of and be able to shoot in all directions without being hit themselves. The Germans named these pillboxes “Dragons Teeth”. It was pretty good protection for them but they sure didn’t count on our gun. Our gun was a self propelled M-12 and was 155 millimeters. That meant that it had a barrel just slightly over six inches in diameter. We could knock out a pillbox in one or two shots --our gun could knock a hole through seven feet of reinforced concrete and if we got a direct hit it could easily knock a pillbox out in one shot. We had just finished firing and I was walking back to a building that we held --- when I heard shots being fired. I took off running (but apparently not as fast as their shells) one exploded over my head sending shrapnel flying in all directions. I felt like I had ran full force into a brick wall --- then I knew that I had been hit. I can remember going to the door of a building where there were two of my buddies in the doorway, I remember saying “I’ve been hit,” then I passed out. Two other boys on our gun were hit the same day and time as I was -- James L.Wolford, and Bonnie R. Boyers..

I was carried back to the first aid station by my two buddies. I was so very thankful for these two friends who they showed such great concern for me. There also were the two other men that had to be taken care of, I am sure they didn’t know just who to grab first, I am darn lucky that it was me. I found out later that I was the one to receive the brunt of the shrapnel. They cut my boot off and wrapped my leg but they didn’t realize that I had also been hit in the arm until they got me to another aid station behind the front lines. The shrapnel hit my right arm --- my arm was bent so it went through my whole arm but missed hitting my elbow, it did a lot of tendon damage to my hand and fingers. The Doctors said that it had come within a hair of taking my arm off. Then a piece of shrapnel hit me in the calf of my left leg from my knee to my foot -- I still carry a piece of shrapnel in my heel. I was then peppered on my face and neck those on my face never left a scar. I still carry scars on my arm and leg that are about two inches wide and several inches long. They say that being hit by shrapnel is worse than being hit by a bullet because it can do much more damage. I don’t have much muscle in the calf of my left leg and my right arm never did have the strength in it that my left one did. Also the thumb and the pointer finger on my right hand were never able to be fixed so that they could be used properly. I still felt lucky as I wouldn’t be dumped on the road side like a bag of garbage as I had seen done to our boys in France.

I was taken by ambulance to a hospital in France I was there a couple of days but they were unable to take care of me. If you weren’t too seriously injured and could be patched up in three months you were sent back to the front lines. Otherwise they had to send you to a hospital in England --- they flew me to England in a twin engine C-47.

I was picked up by an ambulance and was taken to a hospital in England where they were better able to take care of my wounds. They operated on my arm and leg and both were put in casts. I was pretty battle weary and had several nightmares about the war. One night I woke up and was running down the corridor of the hospital. I dreamed that I was being fired on by the Germans and was trying to get away. The nurse took me back to bed and believe it or not I hadn’t done any additional damage to my leg. I spent most of my time in a wheel chair but towards the end of my stay at this particular hospital they let me walk on crutches

I received letters from home all of the time and this really did help me -- getting a letter was just like a shot in the arm. I tried to write to my grandmother and mother but was having a real struggle trying to print with my left hand. I knew that they would be terrible worried about me. I knew that my mother would have received the telegram about me being wounded then she would have to tell grandma. I was worried about my grandmother and I knew she must have been terrified. Grandma had raised me and she had always been there for me -- she was one in a million and I knew hearing the news that I had been seriously wounded would devastate her. One of the boys in the hospital wrote the letters for me as I dictated them to him. This was done as soon as I arrived in England I knew that would do grandma a world of good to get a letter.

I received some very bad news not long after I arrived in England. A fellow from our battery that had been wounded came in to my hospital ward one day. I was so glad to see him and wanted to know all the news about the fellows. We all got to be just like brothers and there was nothing that we wouldn’t do for each other, we were very close. I ask him how everyone on my gun was doing --- he told me that Robert F. Crockett had been killed the 6^th of December the day after I had been wounded. I felt terrible - loosing one of these guys was like loosing a brother. I then ask him how Blaine Heglund was --- he told me he also had been killed in action on Dec.6^th 1944 the same day as Robert. I felt like someone had hit me as hard as they could in the stomach --- I couldn’t help it, I put my head in my arms and cried. It was so hard to believe --- how could this happen. We were the three musketeers Richard Root, Blaine Heglund and myself. Blaine was from South Dakota and they made motorcycles where he lived. We were the three that were going to tour the country on our new bikes after the war was over. The war was sure over for Blaine. I prayed that he wouldn’t be dumped on the side of the road like so much garbage as I had seen done to those soldiers as we traveled through France.

Richard Root had been wounded October 8^th 1944, I was wounded December 5^th 1944 and Blaine Heglund had been killed December 6^th 1944. We were the three young men that thought we were indestructible. It was such terrible news that I will never forget it as long as I live.

I thought about his parents and family receiving the news and how devastated they must have been, I know just how devastated I was. We were just 18 and 19 year old kids -- we should have been home working going to school and dating girls. Not out fighting a war just because some mad men like Hitler and the Japanese wanted to rule the world. Of course there was nothing that any one of us wouldn’t do for our country and to protect our freedoms --- even if it meant giving our life if necessary -- just like Blaine did.

We also heard from one of the nurses in the hospital that on December 15^th 1944 Glen Miller had boarded a C-64 to fly over the English Channel to Paris France for a Christmas broadcast. Tragically the plane never reached Paris, it was believed to have gone down in the English Channel. The band went on playing without Glen Miller, they played the Christmas broadcast. They also continued to play without Miller until November 13^th 1945. Glen Miller did so much for the morale of the men in WWII. I believe Glen Millers music will live forever.

While Glen Miller was in the Army Air Force he played seventy concerts for over two hundred and fifty thousand allies.

One day in the spring of 1945 a Col. came into my room to talk to me and award me the Purple Heart (this is the military’s oldest metal). He congratulated me and we had a long talk. He said what a great generation we young men were -- he also said that our families and our country were so proud of us and the sacrifices we had made. This gave me a good feeling as I thought about what he had said.

My leg wasn’t healing properly and the doctors said I needed a skin graft on my leg to help it heal. My hand also needed to be operated on, my tendons that worked my thumb and pointer finger had been so badly damaged by the shrapnel they weren’t working at all --- so--- they were going to send me home. I can’t describe how happy that made me feel. I had been so homesick, this was like giving me the keys to Fort Knox (only better ).

When they talked to me about going home, I was told that they would but me in a hospital as close to home as possible. It was done this way so the soldiers families would be able to see them more often. The first thing I could think of was Bushnell hospital in Brigham City Utah. This would have been just great for me because it was only about 25 miles north of Kaysville Utah my home town. I was told that it would be impossible as Bushnell was a hospital that only took care of amputees. Thank goodness I wasn’t one of those boys.

March 1945 I was flown to New York on a C-54 --- I was on my way home. The C-54 was the largest aircraft that we had at the time -- other than the bombers. Besides the crew and medics the plane was full of wounded, I was the only one that was able to set up and walk the rest of the boys were on stretchers.

I was taken to the airstrip by ambulance, we were a little early and I had some time to waste. There were some soldiers waiting for a flight and they ask me if I would like to play craps with them. I thought that sounded like fun --- would you believe that I almost missed my flight. Lucky for me some one ask me if I wasn’t the wounded soldier that they were waiting for as the flight was about ready to leave. I believe I would have had a nervous break down if I had missed that flight.

The first stop was in Newfoundland I can remember looking out the window as we were flying and seeing the icebergs floating in the water. We stopped here over night and we were taken to the hospital by ambulance. They dressed our wounds put us all to bed for the night. The next morning they got us up took care of our needs (baths, breakfast and so forth) we were then loaded into the plane and off we flew to New York.

When we arrived in New York -- I could have kissed the ground --- I was so happy to be home. I had enough of Europe and didn’t care if I ever seen that part of the world again. We once again were met at the airbase by ambulance and taken to the hospital -- the same procedure was followed at every stop. The next morning we flew to Arkansas, we dropped off a couple of the boys and away they went to the hospital. We didn’t spend the night here but flew to Oklahoma City where some injured were left. The next day we flew into Palm Springs California. By this time I was the only wounded soldier left on the plane. They took me to a very fancy hotel and put me up for the night. I thought that was pretty nice I couldn’t do anything but have dinner brought up to me and go to bed. The next morning I had breakfast and then I was picked up by the crew and we flew into San Francisco California where we landed and had lunch. We then flew into McClellan Air Force Base. I was again picked up by ambulance and taken to DeWitt General hospital where they got me settled in. This Hospital was close to Auburn California, I figured it was around 600 miles or so from home. I was pretty sure that My grandmother and mother would be able to come here for a visit -- I was here for the next eight months.

My first operation was to be on my leg, it had to have a skin graft because it wouldn’t heal. Within the next couple of days they had me in the operating room, I had been given a spinal-- then the doctor proceeded to peel some skin off of my upper leg for the skin graft -- WOW -- I felt like I was being skinned alive --- for some reason the spinal hadn’t worked. I was given a fast shot that knocked me out and when I finally woke up it was all over. I had to lay flat on my back in bed for a few weeks with a cast on my leg. When I was able to get out of bed I spent the next few months in a wheelchair -- I was not allowed to put any weight on my leg.

While I was still in bed my mother and grandmother came to see me. There were rooms at the hospital where family members could stay if they had to travel any distance to visit. When they walked into the room I was so happy to see them it was all I could do to stay in bed --- I wanted to jump out of bed and run over and hug them. Their visit sure lifted my sprits about one thousand percent. I was soon caught up on all of the news from home, it was so good to hear about family and friends and what had been going on in my hometown of Kaysville. Grandma told me all about my friends that were in the service. I was the only one of the guys that I hung out with in high school that had been wounded.

I sure hated to see them go home as they were the best medicine that I could have had, they stayed for three days and then had to leave. After they left one of my friends said that I must have been thrilled to see my sister and my mother. I told him that the young one was my mother and the other was my grandmother. He was so surprised that he could hardly believe me My mother had me when she was seventeen so she was quite young. That gave me quite a good laugh and my mother also when I told her how young the boys thought she was.

Another day in the hospital I happened to see an old friend from home. He was a few years older than I was and his name was George Heywood. It was nice to see someone I knew. He had fallen and hurt his back and was on the mend so he wasn’t there for very long.

DeWitt hospital had about every thing that you could want right in the hospital. There was a show house, the Red Cross --- out side was a large swimming pool. There was also a lot of cute nurses. It would get pretty boring but we found things to do like play cards, swimming when I was able to -- also listen to the radio. There was always someone willing to wheel me down to the show in the evening When I ran out of things to do we could always have races down the hospital corridors in our wheelchairs This drove the nurses crazy, as they were trying hard to keep us in one piece. The better I felt the more bored I became. Of Course there was always those cute nurses to flirt with - I know we probable drove them crazy. We got together and talked about home and what we were going to do after we were finally released from the hospital. We all seemed to have about the same ideas ( at least the single ones). We wanted to go home, get a job, buy a car, find a girlfriend, get married, settle down and raise a family. We were all so anxious to get on with our lives.

I finally graduated from wheelchair to crutches at least now I could go swimming, which I did quite often. I was able to go into the town of Auburn and fool around a bit. I felt like I had been in the hospital forever and I was beginning to hate it.

I met a lot of fellows there --- Joe Benstog, was one I remember quite well.. He ended up marring one of the nurses. The nurses weren’t allowed to date the enlisted men but that didn’t stop them from doing it.

I finally got to go home on furlough --- It was April 12^th 1945 while I was home on leave that I heard over the radio that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had died, this really shocked the nation. I don’t think any one expected a thing like this to happen, I don’t believe the public was kept informed about his health. It was so terrible to be going through a war and also loosing our President. I felt like we really needed him and I know every one had a very lost. and hopeless feeling ( Democrats and Republicans). When there is a war on, the nation really pulls itself together and it doesn’t matter what your political views are --- we all stick together. This is when we realize just how lucky we are to be Americans and we can never allow another nation to take away our freedoms. In war you sure find out that “freedom isn’t free“. There have been thousands upon thousands of men killed to keep our nation free. I personally love this country and would gladly give my life any time to keep it free.

Harry Truman was sworn in immediately as our next President. When he made the decision to drop the Atomic bomb--- this must have weighed heavily on his mind as this was a very hard decision to make. The Atomic bomb saved thousands of American and Japanese lives. The Japanese NEVER would have given up -- they would have fought the war until the last man, women and child were dead. The Japanese would rather die than surrender. Leaflets were also dropped on the city telling the people what would happen if they didn’t surrender. It was terrible and tragic that so many people lost their lives. If only they had believed us we all could have been spared.

This was one furlough that I would never forget, I didn’t know it at the time but the war would be over very soon.

While at DeWitt General Hospital I met a girl by the name of Cookie (at least that is what we called her) she was a Wac also a nurses aid. We dated for awhile - she was nice and it was fun having a girl to run around with. We went to the shows in town, went swimming, just fooled around and had a good time. We couldn’t go dancing because of my leg, that was too bad because I always loved to dance.

The war finally ended in Europe May 8^th 1945, I was elated and all I could think of was how happy my buddies must be that were still in Germany. I was starting to believe that I just might make it home after all. I missed them and I sure would like to see Richard Root, I never knew for sure just what happened to him after he was wounded, I didn’t know if he was dead or alive. A few years later I found out that he had been wounded in Metz France, the first man that was wounded in our Battalion.

August 15^th 1945 --- Was V- J --This was a happiest time for every one. I heard there was dancing and carrying on in down town Auburn, this was close to DeWitt general hospital.

My future wife LaRue Mary Thomson (she was only15 at the time) was in Ogden Utah when the war ended. She said that the people were out in the streets hugging, kissing, dancing just having a ball. There were some of the soldiers from Bushnell Hospital (this was the hospital for the amputees). She said some were in wheelchairs with no legs, some with one leg, some with no arms. She said that it was heartbreaking to see these boys that had given so much for the freedoms that we all take for granted. They had to fight in this terrible war and come home all broken up because of the Hitler’s in this world that would like to take away our freedoms. These men are our true heroes, they had given so much and life for them would never be the same. These men should never be forgotten There were many heroes in WWII--- those who gave their lives, the wounded, the men and women that worked in defense plants. The parents, wives, children, sweethearts --- many had to go without a father, husband and son. All the people had to sacrifices but not like our men and women in the armed services

Every one seemed to have someone that was fighting in the war or was in the war effort some way. My future wife had a brother Joseph Don Thomson that was in the navy in the Pacific, landing troops on the islands. Another brother Kenneth Brown Thomson was fighting in Okinawa. Another brother James Albert Thomson was in Oakridge Tenn. working on the “Manhatten Project” the atomic bomb that eventually stopped the war and brought the Japanese to their knees. A brother in-law Edmund Wendell Carbine ( he was married to LaRues older sister Marjorie) was also fighting in Okinawa. Her father James Kenneth Thomson worked at Hill Air Force Base. My future wife and her parents moved to Verdeland Park (housing that was built in Layton Utah for government employees), so that her father could be closer to his work.

My friend Cookie was transferred about a month before I received orders that I would be going to Letterman General hospital in San Francisco. She had been a lot of fun but now she probably on her way home.

DeWitt hospital was closing and the doctors decided that they still needed to fix my hand because the tendons on my two fingers still weren’t working, So it was “good-by” DeWitt and hello “Letterman” --- I was sure getting tired of this.

The doctors at Letterman wanted to operate on my hand and try to fix the tendons ( I said sure--after all that’s all I could say). I told them I wanted to go home on furlough for Christmas --- I was told that it could probable be arranged. So here I was on the operating table again going under the knife, I was getting a little tired of this. By this time I have had seven operations and one skin graft. After the operation a cast was put on my hand and lower arm and I was ready to go home in a few days.

I was given a two week furlough and I got to go home for Christmas. It felt good to be home and have the war over, I also knew that it wouldn’t be long until I was home for good. My family and friends had parties for me, I was having such fun that when it came time for me to go back to the hospital I sure hated to go.

When it was time to leave my friend Dee Rentmeister had a car and was also heading back to California after a furlough so we left together. Dee was my old trumpet buddy, it was his father that gave both of us our trumpet lessons when we were kids and played in the band. I though Dees father was a very special guy.. We had a good time together ridding back to Calif. We did a lot of talking and catching up. I had a Aunt ( Iris Morrison) that lived in Needles Calif. We stopped there and spent the night, she was thrilled to see us.

What I remember most about being in Letterman General hospital was that they played music all day until 9:00 p.m. The last song they played every night just before the lights were turned out was “Dreams”. I can remember listening to the fog horn and hearing that song. It gave me such a good feeling, I loved the words.

Dream, when your feeling blue,

Dream, that’s the thing to do,

Just watch the smoke rings, rise in the air,

You’ll find your share, of memories there -so-

Dream, when the day is through,

Dream, and they might come,

Things never are as bad as they seem -so-

Dream, dream, dream.

That song described exactly how I felt.

One weekend a friend and I went up to Lake Tahoe ( I can’t even remember his name). It was winter and the weather was fine going up, we had a lot of fun just fooling around -but- on the way home we got into a blizzard. The windshield wipers fell off and we couldn’t see a thing. We stopped and I finally found them and put them back on. It was some ride back to the hospital that night one I will never forget. I remember the fellow I was with was one of “Marials Marauders” he fought in Burma and had a bad case of malaria.

One day I was laying in bed being board to tears --- I looked up as four of my best friends from home walked into the room, Dee Rentmeister (Air Force),Joe Winters (submarine service), Alan Scoffield (Navy), and Dick Phillips (Navy). What a surprise that was I could hardly believe my eyes. The only one that I had seen since entering the service was Dee Rentmaster. I was overwhelmed I couldn’t have been happier if I had won the lottery. We got to talking and Alan had to tell the story about the time when we were in his bedroom and he had his dads gun ( he of course knew it wasn’t loaded). He said “ Dick put your finger over the barrel’-- so I did -( believe or not). He pulled the trigger --- I moved my hand and he blew a hole through the ceiling of his room. He sure got into trouble for that one. His dads name was “Chick” and he was the local barber in Kaysville. After Alan got out of the service he worked with his dad for many years and every time I got a hair cut I was forced to hear the story again from Chick. Having my hand blown off would sure have kept me out of the service but I’m glad that didn’t happen. We had a lot of fun that day reliving stories and catching up om things that had happened to us since we had last seen each other. These four were stationed around San Francisco and when they found out I was at Letterman General hospital they got together and found me. What a morale buster that was being with my old friends again.

While I was in Letterman I seen my first U.S.O. show. One day there was three of us walking down the sidewalk, a man passed us and said “Hello boys how are you doing?”. We just about fainted - it was Bob Hope. I believe he was a great man, he put on shows all over the world for the service men. Many times he was on the front lines in the center of the fighting with shells exploding all around him, putting on shows for the mulitery services. There was always many stars with him, including Les Brown and his band. I don’t think any one will ever know just what Bob Hope did for the morale of our service men, there was no place he wouldn’t go. Bob Hope and the srars that traveled with him put their lives on the line many times to entertain our troops. He never spent a Christmas at home because he felt like it was more important for the boys to know that they were more important to him, than it was for him to be home for Christmas. I know that he is gone now but I just want to say - Bob Hope “Thanks for the memories”. The show he put on at the hospital was the best thing that could happen to us. He loved his nation like no other..

I finally got the word that I was to be discharged --- WOW --- I wondered if this day would ever come. March 1^st 1945, I was given $300 dollars and an additional $46.60 for travel pay. An honorable service lapel pin to wear ( I was also told not to wear it going home because I might be mugged for my $300 dollars). It was well known that if you were wearing this lapel pin some thief, knew you might have money on you. So I was on my own to get home the best way that I could. I had a money order made and sent it home to my grandmother --- took my travel pay, caught the bus to Ogden Utah --- and I was on my way home. When I arrived in Ogden I called grandma and she had some one pick me up.

When I got home there was no fan fare (didn’t expect one) nothing especially was done. I had heard that some of the states gave their veterans a bonus --- but --- Utah wasn’t one of them.

I spent 2 years 9 months and 1 day in the service. There was 452 days of this time spent in hospitals. I was in four different hospitals. One in France, one in England, two in California, DeWitt General near Auburn and Letterman General in San Francisco. During this time I had seven surgeries and one skin graft. BOY, was I ever ready to go home. The metals I was awarded were -- The Purple Heart, good conduct metal, American campaign metal, European, African, Middle Eastern campaign metals with one bronze star, honorable service lapel button with WW11, sharp shooter W/carbine bar. I also made the rank of T-5 while I was fighting in France.

Every one was glad to see me but I was expected to get over it and get on with my life. I don’t think anyone could know just how hard this was going to be. I had nightmares and was nervous and unsettled for a long time.

As soon as I got home I got a job at the Navel Supply Depot --- bought myself a 1940 Mercury convertible (red), I started running around with the fellows --- especially the girls, we had a lot of fun it was just great being home--- we had a lot of parties and I dated several different girls, I wasn’t serious about any of them. Then one night I went with a couple of friends to a café in Layton Utah ( just next to my little town of Kaysville). There was a girl working there that I had never seen before, she waited on us and later that evening I told my friends that she was the girl that I was going to marry. Her name was LaRue Mary Thomson, she was five years younger than I was -but- the minute I seen her I knew I wanted her for my wife. I heard of this happening before but it was hard to believe that it was happening to me --love at first sight. Now I am sorry that this didn’t happen to LaRue the same way that it happened to me (it would have saved a lot of time). If I thought the war was tough it wasn’t half the battle it was to finally get her to say “YES” that she would marry me. This was a very special time for me, I was in love and ready to settle down.

We got engaged and I gave her a diamond engagement ring for Christmas1947. We were married March, 26^th 1948 in the Salt Lake City Utah, Temple. This is a very special place for the “Latter Day Saints” to be married. We believe that we will be married for time and eternity. LaRue was 18 and I was 23 at the time. We settled down and built our home in Kaysville Utah. We eventually had five children, two boys, and three girls. There names are In order of birth --- Diane, Darlene, Stephen, Gail and Russell. I feel very lucky to have such a wonderful family. Three of our Children live in Kaysville, with their families, now I ask you how lucky can I get?

I live in the greatest country in the world, I even had the privilege to fight to help keep her free. I also have five great kids and a wonderful wife. Who could ask for anything more --- I could write about my wonderful grandchildren but that’s another story.

About 20 or so years after the war I received a news letter from our old battalion,

It gave the names and address of all of the survivors. I finally found out that my old friend Richard Root had survived the war and was living in Turlock California. This was such great news --- we had been through a lot together and he seemed like the long lost brother that I never had. We now call each other several times a year. Talking to him on the phone is such fun and brings back a lot of memories.

From the December 1944 Vol. 34 of the Field Artillery Journal, General Wick of the Germany Army called the M-12 “ barbarous” claiming that it should have been outlawed. See page 150. (These were our guns.) Now isn’t this ironic that this German General could call our gun the M-12 barbaric. When they were slaughtering millions of people --- Jews the handicapped the elderly and any one else that got in their way. I am proud of the M-12, the gun that helped to save Europe and the world, I am proud to have been part of it. It Has Always Been the Soldier

It is the soldier, not the reporter

Who gives freedom of the press.

 

It is the soldier, not the poet

Who gives us freedom of speech.

 

It is the soldier, not the campus orator

Who gives us freedom to demonstrate.

 

It is the soldier, who salutes the flag,

Who serves under the flag,

Whose coffin is draped with the flag,

Who allows protestors to burn the flag.

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