Army Base Closings, now to 2020

[Whiterabbit]

True true.
I guess I feel sad for the history that gets dozed under, the old buildings and such. I've been on those streets on Ft. Benning where the "We were Soldiers" condolence letters scenes were filmed. Beautiful old homes.
Spent many a night on duty at the big Ordnance HQ bld. on APG, hate to see that torn down too.
I'm currently pestering the **** outt'a MWR and a few folks on Ft. Stewart to preserve Corkan gym and it's wooden floor.

 

[saddamsnightmare]

March 11th, 2015.

Stonewall Jackson probably could have benefited by reading Sun Tzu, Patton probably did, we, alas, have not of late applied the Master's Theories aright. Wonder what we could do to ISIS with that program? Machiavelli was good, Sun Tzu was better and more realistic, combine the two and you probably have an unbeatable grasp of reality......

 

[Another Ahab]

There is a good documentary on the Fort Ritchie post in WWII called: "The Ritchie Boys", I wish I had known about it before my mother passed on, as she was a WWII US Army WAAC Quartermaster Captain there in charge of interrogating the German Army Officer POW's from the Afrika Corps.... Often we do miss the questions because we learn to late of the subject in question.

I am sorry about the death of your Mother, saddamsnightmare. What an amazing role she served.

And drifting, but must be de-Classifed by now (you would think). Got to be interesting to hear about serving under Rommel. Did she ever share any of the story?

 

[saddamsnightmare]

June 4th, 2015.

Another Ahab:


I have some small part of her stories and, of course, her 201 (orders) file, but that generation was not overly wordy about their experiences, be they in combat or not. One of her Quartermaster soldiers later became quite famous when he sang "Old Man River" in the Jerome Kern film "Showboat", his name was"William Warfield". Camp Ritchie provided the troops to guard "Camp Shangri-La", later Camp David, and whenever President Roosevelt came up on the train from DC, Camp Ritchie would provide the guards for the switches, bridges and road crossings on the old Western Marylind line from Hagerstown to Thurmont.
She also had two footlockers full of Afrika Corps officers uniforms and such, but some low life in my family got to them first when they were stored in the barn....... Her brother who passed recently (last two years) was in the Coast Guard in the Atlantic and Pacific in WWII, one of her other sisters served in the WAAC's as a Lieutenant (mom made Captain and was the younger of the two- that did not sit well).

I also worked with railroaders who served in the 8th Air Force as gunners on B-17's, and knew a grocer who ended up in both Alaska and Iran on the Military Railways.... Other folks were in the Bataan Death march, or on Guadalcanal or Iwo Jima.... Other folks served in the Cavalry and the Military Railroads in France and liberated Europe, some served in the Navy, Air Corps, Marines and Coast Guard. Their stories were multitudinous, but generally the ones who would tell you the stories without prompting usually had very little of importance to say, whereas those deep in the pain and suffering really didn't want to talk about it, even to their own family members. So, I image by now that with the destruction of the St. Louis Records Center back in the 1970's by fire, there are stories long lost and likely never to be heard of....


The time is passing for the Veterans from WWII, Korea and Vietnam, now is the time to record the stories one can, as time will erase the memories otherwise.....


Have a Great Morning!

 

[Another Ahab]

June 4th, 2015.
I have some small part of her stories and, of course, her 201 (orders) file, but that generation was not overly wordy about their experiences, be they in combat or not.!

I love to hear every story I can get.

My mother was a French war bride (my father met her on his way into Germany, while on liberty in Paris).

She had a story about a friend who worked on the French railroads during the war. She said nobody knew here (in the U.S.) how dangerous those jobs were for the French: the allies bombed near every train they ran across in France during the war, but if that was the only job you had what were you supposed to do. People need jobs in wartime just like they need them in peacetime.

They guy spoke fluent German, but he never let on about it. It was a risky position to be in, German High Command would ride the trains and he'd listen in discreetly to the conversations to try and pick up useful intelligence to pass on. But the smallest indication that he understood what he heard could have been his life. It was dangerous times.

Thanks for sharing your Mom's stories. They are priceless, and God Bless her memory. Amen.