For the past several articles, we have been discussing worldly events that must have seemed far-removed to the average American during the 1930s and 1940s. Russia's holocausts, the German depression, and Japan's Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere were all incredibly significant, but to my friends who lived during that time, these events all seemed "very far away." It was not until the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor that these faraway affairs were brought violently to America's doorstep. And then, the most amazing thing happened: Americans responded.
Last week we talked about the Doolittle Raid on Japan - America's first response to the Pearl Harbor attack. In this case, a group of men volunteered for a "dangerous mission", and later were told that none of them should expect to return home alive. Despite the dangers, not one crewman backed down. To the average person like me, these stories evoke strong emotions of heroism, gallantry and valor. To the people who stepped up and contributed to the war effort, they were simply doing what was right. Most astonishingly, these men and women were average, typical Americans. They had grown up during the Great Depression, and learned how to live without. They had been raised on family farms with a strong work ethic, and learned at an early age the value of family. These men and women grew up in communities like Monroe, Winslow, Madison and Green Bay. I have had the pleasure of speaking with some of these individuals, and the rest of this series of articles will be about them.
Ken was born in 1924 on a dairy farm just outside Green Bay. He recalls hearing little about conflict in Europe and Asia, but it was Pearl Harbor that finally "jerked us all alive." He was only 17 at the time, and thus too young to enlist. Rather, Ken enrolled in the National Youth Association (NYA) School and was sent to a small airbase in Antigo, where pilots were being trained. It was at this small airbase in Antigo that Ken first learned acetylene welding, how to work with sheet metal, and basic aircraft engine mechanics. As he remembers, "They had one radial aircraft engine that we could all work on."
As soon as Ken graduated from NYA, he set out to enlist in the Air Force. But, there was a problem - as Ken recalls, he went to enlist on a Saturday. At that time you couldn't enlist on a Saturday, so Ken waited. On Monday morning, first thing, Ken's draft notice came in the mail; he was to be drafted into the Army and missed out going into the Air Force by one day! Today he smiles at the memory, "They had no regard for your own desires. ... They told you where to go and what they were going to do to you."
Once someone was drafted, the Army wasted no time in gathering its inductees. Ken's journey went something like this: "I took the physical, got home, and a week or two later I was told that the bus would pick me up at the little local town filling station, and I'd be on my way."
A train took Ken and fellow recruits to Milwaukee for further physicals, and then to Chicago. The inductees went to a Naval Base in Chicago and were issued their supplies and clothing. From Chicago it was another train ride to North Carolina. Ken remembers, "The train took two days and two nights, and it was a new experience for me. After all I was just a farm kid, a know-nothing; but we were all in the same boat."
The train delivered Ken to Camp Butner, N.C., where he was joined with the 602nd Camouflage Battalion. He noted that most of the people in the 602nd were from up north - Ken himself from Green Bay. The Army rationalized that these Northerners had to be deer hunters, and thus able to camouflage themselves. Once put together into a Camouflage Battalion, these soldiers would be used to help conceal guns, troop placements and military depots once in the field.
I asked Ken if he was sent to North Carolina with any of his friends, or if soldiers were drafted and assigned to units randomly. He replied that the County Board picked the draftees, and that he was sent with a friend and classmate named Keith Elders. Unfortunately they were split up almost immediately, and Ken never saw him again. His parents never saw him either - Keith was killed overseas. Decades later Ken remembers, "[Keith] was the nicest guy - he was a dentist's son, and I liked him. He was a town kid who liked the country kids. He was one of us." At that time, there was quite a difference between the country and city children.
When Ken was shipped to England, there were 500 soldiers in the 602nd Camouflage Battalion. Once in England, the unit taught demonstrations on how to camouflage guns, planes, etc. - "We taught how to camouflage everything." Ken remembers the days leading up to D-Day, the anticipated Allied invasion of Europe:
"Of course, with so many GIs in one place, rumors were flying around. I remember talking to a bunch of schoolgirls, and they actually told me when the invasion was set to take place - that's how I found out; from a group of schoolgirls."
- Dan Wegmueller of Monroe writes a weekly column for Friday editions of the Times. He can be reached at dwegs@tds.net.
Last week we talked about the Doolittle Raid on Japan - America's first response to the Pearl Harbor attack. In this case, a group of men volunteered for a "dangerous mission", and later were told that none of them should expect to return home alive. Despite the dangers, not one crewman backed down. To the average person like me, these stories evoke strong emotions of heroism, gallantry and valor. To the people who stepped up and contributed to the war effort, they were simply doing what was right. Most astonishingly, these men and women were average, typical Americans. They had grown up during the Great Depression, and learned how to live without. They had been raised on family farms with a strong work ethic, and learned at an early age the value of family. These men and women grew up in communities like Monroe, Winslow, Madison and Green Bay. I have had the pleasure of speaking with some of these individuals, and the rest of this series of articles will be about them.
Ken was born in 1924 on a dairy farm just outside Green Bay. He recalls hearing little about conflict in Europe and Asia, but it was Pearl Harbor that finally "jerked us all alive." He was only 17 at the time, and thus too young to enlist. Rather, Ken enrolled in the National Youth Association (NYA) School and was sent to a small airbase in Antigo, where pilots were being trained. It was at this small airbase in Antigo that Ken first learned acetylene welding, how to work with sheet metal, and basic aircraft engine mechanics. As he remembers, "They had one radial aircraft engine that we could all work on."
As soon as Ken graduated from NYA, he set out to enlist in the Air Force. But, there was a problem - as Ken recalls, he went to enlist on a Saturday. At that time you couldn't enlist on a Saturday, so Ken waited. On Monday morning, first thing, Ken's draft notice came in the mail; he was to be drafted into the Army and missed out going into the Air Force by one day! Today he smiles at the memory, "They had no regard for your own desires. ... They told you where to go and what they were going to do to you."
Once someone was drafted, the Army wasted no time in gathering its inductees. Ken's journey went something like this: "I took the physical, got home, and a week or two later I was told that the bus would pick me up at the little local town filling station, and I'd be on my way."
A train took Ken and fellow recruits to Milwaukee for further physicals, and then to Chicago. The inductees went to a Naval Base in Chicago and were issued their supplies and clothing. From Chicago it was another train ride to North Carolina. Ken remembers, "The train took two days and two nights, and it was a new experience for me. After all I was just a farm kid, a know-nothing; but we were all in the same boat."
The train delivered Ken to Camp Butner, N.C., where he was joined with the 602nd Camouflage Battalion. He noted that most of the people in the 602nd were from up north - Ken himself from Green Bay. The Army rationalized that these Northerners had to be deer hunters, and thus able to camouflage themselves. Once put together into a Camouflage Battalion, these soldiers would be used to help conceal guns, troop placements and military depots once in the field.
I asked Ken if he was sent to North Carolina with any of his friends, or if soldiers were drafted and assigned to units randomly. He replied that the County Board picked the draftees, and that he was sent with a friend and classmate named Keith Elders. Unfortunately they were split up almost immediately, and Ken never saw him again. His parents never saw him either - Keith was killed overseas. Decades later Ken remembers, "[Keith] was the nicest guy - he was a dentist's son, and I liked him. He was a town kid who liked the country kids. He was one of us." At that time, there was quite a difference between the country and city children.
When Ken was shipped to England, there were 500 soldiers in the 602nd Camouflage Battalion. Once in England, the unit taught demonstrations on how to camouflage guns, planes, etc. - "We taught how to camouflage everything." Ken remembers the days leading up to D-Day, the anticipated Allied invasion of Europe:
"Of course, with so many GIs in one place, rumors were flying around. I remember talking to a bunch of schoolgirls, and they actually told me when the invasion was set to take place - that's how I found out; from a group of schoolgirls."
- Dan Wegmueller of Monroe writes a weekly column for Friday editions of the Times. He can be reached at dwegs@tds.net.
