With the 41st Division in the Southwest Pacific: A Foot Soldier's Story

1 Basic Training: Camp Roberts

1 Basic Training Camp Roberts The streets were deserted. It was 5:45 on the morning of July 5, 1943. I was about to begin my ¤rst day of active service in the U.S. Army. I had been instructed by the Selective Service Board to report to the acting corporal at the Broadway entrance of Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, at 6:45 A.M. Because it was the Monday following the 4th of July, most people were celebrating the last day of the three-day weekend by sleeping late. I felt that I was already making a sacri¤ce for my country as I walked to the bus stop. Using a token that had been sent to me by the draft board, I boarded the Chippewa bus and transferred to the Broadway streetcar and the Barracks bus. The acting corporal was waiting, troop roster in hand, at the barracks gate. Following an orientation talk and a personal interview with a placement of¤cer, the ¤rst order of business was a visit to the camp barber shop. After my fellow inductees and I had been properly shorn, which took no more than three minutes per man, we were sent to the supply sergeant to be out¤tted. We received fatigue uniforms , underwear, socks, and shoes. Although I wore a size 10AA shoe as a civilian, a GI, after measuring my feet, handed me a pair of size 9B boots. I wisely said nothing and in fact wore the boots for more than a year with no problems whatsoever. 2 With the 41st Division in the Southwest Pacific I was a teenager, and as I prepared to spend my ¤rst night in an army barracks, I looked forward with excitement and anticipation to the days ahead. During my interview with the placement of¤cer, he informed me that my score on the AGCT (Army General Classi¤cation Test) I had taken on the day of my induction was very high. He assuredmethatagoodspotwouldbefoundformeintheU.S.Army. I had not long to wait to ¤nd out what that “good spot” would be. I found my name on a list of those scheduled to ship out on July 8th. On the afternoon of the designated day, about ¤fty fellow soldiers and I boarded two old Pullman cars sitting on a siding at the Barracks. Shortly afterward, the cars were coupled to other cars and the train pulled out of the station. It was the beginning of the¤rst of many “all expense paid trips” I would take during my two and a half years of army service. At that time, troop movements were carried out in great secrecy , but rumors about our destination abounded. The journey started in a southerly direction; it was “obvious” that we were headed for a camp in Arkansas. However, by the next morning we had crossed Arkansas and were stopped at the station in Texarkana, Texas. Now everyone was certain that a training camp in Texas would be our destination. While the train was stopped at the station, we were allowed to get off to stretch our legs. At that time we learned that we were not the only military personnel aboard the train. Three Pullman cars occupied by WACs (Women’s Army Corps) were a part of the train. This discovery held promise to change a rather dull journey into one much more interesting. However, shortly after we got back aboard the train, our hopes were quickly dashed. The lieutenant in charge of our group ¤rmly informed us that the cars occupied by the WACs were off limits to us, as were our cars to them. We never saw any of those WACs again. After three days and two nights crossing the Lone Star State, much of the time with the train sitting on sidings, we reached the New Mexico border. It seemed certain that our destination was either New Mexico or Arizona. When we reached Yuma, Arizona, at the end of the fourth day, it was apparent that we were California bound. As we pulled out of the Yuma station in late afternoon, I noticed an Indian sitting on a blanket on the platform. A large ther- 3 Basic Training mometer hanging on a post nearby indicated a temperature of 114°F. On the morning of the ¤fth day of the journey, the train pulled into Union Station in Los Angeles, where we transferred to...