Oak Valley to Po Valley

47. Mission Accomplished

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Sunday, July 29, 1945
Arrive in St. Paul at 8 a.m., go by bus to Fort Snelling. Right back where I started 42 months ago. Start going through red tape for discharge.

Monday, July 30, 1945
Get physical and go through other processing.

True Story: When I was in Fort Snelling getting processed for discharge, an old man was giving us a lecture on how to adjust to civilian life. He told us about a soldier who was stationed in England. He got acquainted with some Air Force babies who were making regular flights between England and New York. He begged the fly boys for a ride back to New York so he could spend the weekend with his wife. They told him no. They wouldn't dare do that as it was against the rules. He kept begging them until they gave in. They said, 'Don't tell anybody that you got a ride back. Don't say a word.' They also said, 'Tell your wife not to say anything, just keep quiet about it.' So he spent a weekend back in New York with his wife. A month later he got a letter that said, 'I'm pregnant. You explain that to the neighbors.'

Tuesday, July 31, 1945
Meet up with Alfred Oldenburg, have short visit. Get my discharge papers at 11:30 a.m. Get paid off. Go by army bus to Greyhound station.

Leave Minneapolis at 12:00 noon. Get off bus in Hewitt around 5:30 p.m. Jap Carter is in town. He gives me ride home from Hewitt. I am home at 6:30 p.m.

My army career is over.

Howard adjusted to civilian life by returning to farming in Oak Valley, Minnesota. He married Phyllis Walker on November 14, 1946. Together they raised three sons.

Howard eventually retired from farming and went on to work for Mid-America Dairymen.

He was a life long active member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Howard died peacefully with his family by his side on February 28, 1997.

Thank you for following Howard's journey. I hope you enjoyed this blog -- and perhaps you've learned a little something along the way...

46. Homeward Bound

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Wednesday, July 4, 1945
Turn in my equipment and leave my company. Ride German bus to 27th Replacement Depot, near Marina de Pisa. On my way home. I saw Raymond last nite before leaving. I am now at Leg Horn [Livorno]. I get put on a few details. This is something like rest camp.

Friday, July 6, 1945
Get clothing checked and film developed.

Monday, July 9, 1945
Go through processing for going home.

My official "walking papers." My name is #19 on the list.

Friday, July 13, 1945
To sail by boat this p.m. Load on USS Henry Gibbons at 5 p.m.

USS Henry Gibbons; my ride back to the States. [courtesy: www.thunderbolt.ottocarter.com]

Saturday, July 14, 1945
Pull out of Leg Horn at 9:30 a.m.

The harbor at Leg Horn (Livorno). This is my last glimpse of Italy. [courtesy: Romatti at www.pbase.com]

Monday, July 16, 1945
Arrive at Oran at 6:30 a.m. I was last here 32 months ago. Pull out at 10:30 a.m. Pass through Strait of Gibraltar at 12:30 p.m.

Homeward bound.

WAR UPDATE: July 17, 1945. Truman, Churchill and Stalin meet at the Postdam Conference. Here, Truman tells Stalin that the United States has a secret weapon which can end the war. In just 20 days, an atomic bomb will destroy the city of Hiroshima, Japan.

Saturday, July 21, 1945
Run into stormy weather. Have had smooth sailing until now.

Wednesday, July 25, 1945
Arrive at Newport News, Virginia at 11:30 a.m. Go by train to Camp Patrick Henry, only a few miles. Nice feed. Get ice cream and beer, etc., and PX rations. Send telegram home in evening.

Camp Patrick Henry was a sight for sore eyes. [courtesy: public domain]

This is where I sent my telegram at Camp Patrick Henry. [courtesy: public domain]

Thursday, July 26, 1945
Leave Camp Patrick Henry by train at 8:30 in the evening

Friday, July 27, 1945
Go across Virginia, West Virginia, corner of Kentucky, into Ohio. Reach Cincinnati before dark. Then get into Indiana.

Saturday, July 28, 1945
In Chicago at 6 a.m. Train lays over till 6 p.m. We spend day in Chicago. Have good time.

It has been a long journey. On Friday, June 12th, the last entry will be made in "Oak Valley to Po Valley." At this time, I invite you to post any comments or thoughts you may have as this experience comes to an end. Thank you for following along. We'll see you on Friday!

45. "I'm Going Home"

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Monday, June 11, 1945
Not very busy now. Do quite a bit of laying around. Do some work on truck.

Wednesday, June 13, 1945
Not doing much. Get 1,000 mile check on truck.

Thursday, June 14, 1945
A convoy goes to Leg Horn to turn in trailers and bring back water trailers.

Friday, June 15, 1945
I wash truck and trailer. At one o'clock go in convoy to Mantova, haul salvage ordinance equipment to Bologna.

Area of operations during June 1945.

Saturday, June 16, 1945
Back from yesterday's trip at 5 a.m.

Sunday, June 17, 1945
Draw our beer and cigarettes.

Monday, June 18, 1945
Go to haul German hospital. Stay overnite near Milan. Sleep in German hospital.

A mobile field hospital during World War II. [courtesy: National Archives]

Tuesday, June 19, 1945
Haul German hospital to Ghedi and get back to camp around 4:30 in afternoon. See stage show put on by Greeks in evening.

Wednesday, June 20, 1945
Not much to do. Hot weather.

A souvenir booklet I bought, which I dated June 20, 1945. This outlines all of the action seen by the Fifth Army since the beginning of the Italian campaign some two years ago.

Thursday, June 21, 1945
Schuster goes on run to Milan. We get 14 replacements.

WAR UPDATE: June 22, 1945. U.S. forces capture Okinawa.

Friday, June 22, 1945
Change oil and grease truck. I get new assistant driver out of the replacements.

Satruday, June 23, 1945
Not very busy. We get a health lecture in afternoon.

Sunday, June 24, 1945
The following eight men go home: Schuster, Stracener, Wilbourn, McReight, Bowman, Gietzel, Grote and Delerie.

Monday, June 25, 1945
Laying around. Having hot weather.

Thursday, June 28, 1945
Parade at transportation section. 23 men notified to go home.

Friday, June 29, 1945
On pass. Go to Q52, but Raymond has gone to Austria for 4 or 5 day run. Get my notification, I'm going home.

44. Lake Garda and Venice

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Area of operations

Friday, May 25, 1945
Get 6,000 mile check on truck. Radiator is fixed. We now have 8,061 miles on our new truck (tractor and semi).

Saturday, May 26, 1945
I got to Modena and haul rations to Q545, 242 mile trip. Takes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. to make run.

Sunday, May 27, 1945
Get shots (vaccines). Schuster gets prisoner haul, but turns out to be dry run.

Monday, May 28, 1945
Henshaw, LeCander, Stabenio, and Wicktrom get shipping orders for discharge. Schuster gets prisoner haul.

Tuesday, May 29, 1945
Change oil, grease truck in afternoon. Put repaired tire back on. At 11:15 p.m. I start in convoy to haul prisoners.

German prisoners await repatriation back to their homeland which has been utterly destroyed by Allied forces. [courtesy: U.S. National Archives]

Wednesday, May 30, 1945
Trip is finished at 12:30 p.m. Raymond is over in afternoon and evening.

Thursday, May 31, 1945
I go on pass with Nuss. Eleven more men are notified to go home. That takes nearly all the 111 pointers.

My copy of the May 31, 1945 edition of The Stars and Stripes.

Friday, June 1, 1945
Go in convoy to Modena for rations. Start at 4 a.m. Haul to Q546. I'm tail truck of convoy and get ticket for speeding. My first one!

Saturday, June 2, 1945
Spent last night on road. Stayed 4 hours at convoy mess. Haul empty gas cans to bivouac area. Arrive at 10 a.m.

Sunday, June 3, 1945
Send $50 PTA home.

Monday, June 4, 1945 Go on pass to Venice.

Me (far right) with buddies near Venice. We are eating C-rations.

A gondola ride through the famous canals of Venice, Italy. [photo by Martha Bakerjian]

Tuesday, June 5, 1945
Go to Lake Garda and spend day boating and swimming.

Beautiful Lake Garda is the largest fresh water lake in Italy. We enjoyed a little rest and recreation here on June 5, 1945. [courtesy: www.phombo.com]

Wednesday, June 6, 1945
Gas haul. Take empty cans to Q532, then get loaded at Q520 and haul to Q542 at Bassane. Back in camp at 10:00 next morning. Traveled 286 miles on trip.

Friday, June 8, 1945
In evening Schuster goes to Q532 for load of gas and returns to area. Movie in battalion C.P. "Between Two Women."

Saturday, June 9, 1945
Schuster takes load to Fifth Army rest camp north of Milan.

Sunday, June 10, 1945
Schuster gets back, he and 7 others turn in equipment. That will clean out everyone with 110 points and over when they go.

43. War Is Over, But Work Continues

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WAR UPDATE: May 8, 1945. V-E Day declared (Victory in Europe).

Tuesday, May 8, 1945
Very hot weather the last few days. Hear Churchill on radio. He announces V Day starting at midnite tonite. My truck is on run.

Wednesday, May 9, 1945
I get trip in convoy from company area. I pull PBS trailer to Q532. Back at 6 p.m.

Thursday, May 10, 1945
We get the dope on the point system for discharging. I have at least 92, possibly more. Our letters are no longer censored.

Friday, May 11, 1945
I find out I have 102 points for discharge.

Saturday, May 12, 1945
I go Q520 to Q540.

Sunday, May 13, 1945
We move to Verona.

We move from our soccer stadium camp in Modena north to the city of Verona.

Monday, May 14, 1945
I haul prisoners to Modena. Go to PBS 110 to get our trailers, then to Q52. Finally haul rations Q531 to Q533.

A snapshot I took of the thousands and thousands of German prisoners we are now transporting. Most of these fellows were not fanatical Nazis; they were farmers and tradesmen conscripted into the German army and forced to fight. They were looking forward to returning home to their families just as much as we were.

Wednesday, May 16, 1945
See movie, "Two Down and One to Go." My truck is out on prisoner haul. Schuster is laid up.

Two Down and One to Go was a war documentary directed by Frank Capra, pictured here editing a film as a major in the Signal Corps Reserve during World War II. [public domain]

Thursday, May 17, 1945
My truck gets back shortly after noon. I go swimming in Lake Garda. My truck has load of gasoline on it.

Friday, May 18, 1945
At 1:00 a.m. I get trip to Q546, a D company (3639) truck load of gas burns up. We get back in evening, a 283 mile trip.

Saturday, May 19, 1945
My truck was out and back in this morning at 10:30 a.m. I go to pick up prisoners on Route 47, haul to Modena and bring back hay to Q5-101. A 330 mile trip. Back in camp on May 20th in p.m.

Monday, May 21, 1945
Schuster starts driving again. Goes to Modena Q531 to haul rations to Q57. We have company formation in evening and find out our outfit will be broke up.

Tuesday, May 22, 1945
I get trip to Modena in evening. Haul gas to Q542. Get prisoners and bring to company. Back at 7 p.m. on May 23rd. Schuster takes load to Modena and comes back empty early next morning (May 24th).

Another letter home postmarked May 23, 1945.

Thursday, May 24, 1945
My truck is deadlined to get radiator fixed. We have a new colonel. I spend most of day tinkering on truck.

This is me refueling my truck in Verona, shortly after the armistice. Even though the war is over, we are very busy as a transportation unit.

42. Germany Surrenders!

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Friday, April 27, 1945
Rain up here (Bologna). Had to drive in rain yesterday. Our bivouac area here is muddy. We are in a wheat field. We are tramping down a farmer's wheat. Get truck fixed, then lay around rest of day. We are back in tents now.

WAR UPDATE: April 28, 1945. Mussolini captured by partisans and executed.

Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini met an unceremonious end. After being shot, he was strung upside down with piano wire alongside his mistress and spat upon by the people he once ruled. This is a snapshot from my personal collection.

Saturday, April 28, 1945
Schuster goes out last nite at 6 p.m., gets stuck in mud at Q 544 in Florence and don't get back. It is awful rainy and muddy. We are to move again in morning to a better area in Modena. Fifth Army is now at the foot of the Alps. A German plane was over today.

Sunday, April 29, 1945
Company moves out of muddy filed to new area in stadium at Modena. At 2:45 I get dispatched to haul rations from Q531 (Modena) to Q537 on Route 11, 30 miles east of Verona.

Alberto Braglia Stadium in Modena, Italy. Originally built in 1936, this is where we set up camp on April 29, 1945. [courtesy: www.panoramio.com]

WAR UPDATE: April 30, 1945. Adolf Hitler commits suicide.

Two words which the world has waited to hear: "Hitler Dead". This was announced to American forces via The Stars and Stripes.

Wednesday, April 30, 1945
I return to camp at 7:15 a.m. from last nite's run, Schuster leaves at 2 p.m. to haul prisoners to Florence and bring back rations.

WAR UPDATE: May 2, 1945. German forces in Italy surrender.

Wednesday, May 2, 1945
I go in convoy at 10 p.m. from Q 520 to Q 532, a gas run. Haul empty cans back to Q 520. Germans surrender in Italy.

An announcement circulated from our Supreme Allied Commander of the Mediterranean Theatre.

Thursday, May 3, 1945
Trip over at 10:00 a.m. Fighting in Italy was officially over yesterday. Get radiator fixed today.

Friday, May 4, 1945
Schuster is out on gas haul Q520 to Q532.

WAR UPDATE: May 5, 1945. Cease-fire on Western front.

Saturday, May 5, 1945
I leave at 9:15 a.m. in convoy, go to Florence to E237. Haul bridge girders to E 243 at Modena. Arrive in Modena at 3 a.m. (May 6), takes 4 hours to get unloaded. Get to camp at 7:30 a.m. Schuster gets same run at 10 a.m.

WAR UPDATE: May 7, 1945. German unconditional surrender is declared!

Monday, May 7, 1945
I haul gasoline from Q520 to Q540 (convoy) start at 1 p.m., back next 5 a.m. War in Europe is over. Italians having fireworks along road celebrating end of war. [Editor's note: Howard often told the harrowing story of the night of the German unconditional surrender. As word spread that the war was over, overjoyed Italians poured into the streets of villages, shooting off fireworks, several of which nearly landed in Howard's truck which was loaded with thousands of gallons of gasoline. He said on many occasions that he thought he was going to die that night, after having survived nearly three years overseas in combat conditions.]

41. Pounding the Enemy into Submission

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Saturday, April 14, 1945
I haul from rail head to Q 57 only 6 1/2 hours work and drove 13 miles. Visit Raymond in evening.

Sunday, April 15, 1945
On guard. Schuster hauls ammo to 0427. Very good weather. Expecting push to start on Italian front at any time.

Monday, April 16, 1945
Haul to Q 543. Push starts on 5th Army front.

Allied forces attack the Nazis once again, forcing their backs to the Po River (highlighted in yellow). By now, the Germans have just about lost their will to fight.

Tuesday, April 17, 1945
Haul from 0433 to 0431, 88 mile trip, start 3:30 a.m., back in camp at 2:30 p.m. and Schuster goes out at 7 p.m. on another ammo run.

Wednesday, April 18, 1945
Haul 0433 to 0427. When I get in, truck goes back out.

Thursday, April 19, 1945
Truck gets in at 4 p.m. I go out at 5:10 p.m. and get back next 5 a.m. Hauled from rail head to 0430.

This is me with my truck somewhere in north-central Italy taking a quick break during a convoy haul. We are putting in long hours transporting ammunition to the front in a final effort to pound the enemy into submission. Note other trucks in the convoy behind me, as well as the shelled out building, evidence of the fierce fighting just hours before.

Friday, April 20, 1945
Sleep till 3 p.m.

WAR UPDATE: April 21, 1945. Soviet forces enter Berlin.

Saturday, April 21, 1945
Bologna falls into Allied hands today. I got out in convoy at 3 p.m. and haul to 0431. Back at 3 a.m.

Sunday, April 22, 1945
Sleep until 10 a.m. Turn in wool underwear. Trucks start going to Bologna.

Monday, April 23, 1945
My truck is parked in company area. Most trucks are out. Get 1,000 mile check, then I go on pass and Schuster gets trip hauling bridge equipment to Po River.

Scenic Po River in the spring as it appears today. This picture was taken near the city of Turin, in northwestern Italy. [photo by Miguel Trimblay]

Tuesday, April 24, 1945
I'm taking it easy while Schuster is still out.

Wednesday, April 25, 1945
Company prepares to move. My truck gets in at 11 p.m.

Thursday, April 26, 1945
Company moves out at 4 a.m. I get trip hauling for 15th Army group for English Engineers. Haul from Florence to Bologna. Get into new bivouac area 9 miles N.W. of Bologna about 11 p.m. Have a little trouble in English Engineer dump. Break a brake hose.

Our company once again moves northward, nine miles northwest of Bologna.

40. We Lose Our Leader

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WAR UPDATE: April 1, 1945. U.S. invades Okinawa.

Monday, April 2, 1945
Work on truck half day (1,000 mile check). T-5 rating today (promoted from corporal to Technician, 5th Grade).

A promotion from corporal (left) to T-5 (right) meant a slight increase in responsibility and a slight increase in pay. [courtesy: public domain]

Tuesday, April 3, 1945
Work on truck. Nice weather. Go to 3638 at 8:30 p.m. to see compulsory movie, but projector don't work and movie is called off. Send pictures to Lois.

Wednesday, April 4, 1945
Platoon has been in uproar for two days since Sgt. Schwartsfigare asked for bust. Work on trucks in forenoon. At 1:00 p.m. company plays softball against 3639 (D Co.) and we win 2 to 0. [Editor's note: unfortunately no details exist on the meaning of the "uproar" in the platoon].

Thursday, April 5, 1945
Not very busy, work on truck. Platoon has meeting in afternoon. In evening Raymond comes over and we see movie in our company area.

Friday, April 6, 1945
Work on truck in a.m. Take shower at rest camp in afternoon and write letters. Send pictures to Doris B. and Ruth B.

Saturday, April 7, 1945
Get trip in convoy, from Florence rail head to 0427. Start 3:00 p.m., get back next 3:30 a.m.

Sunday, April 8, 1945
Get up at noon. Get letters from home and Naomi. Sent pictures to August.

Monday, April 9, 1945
Assistant driver gets ammo run to 0431 from Florence rail head.

A massive ammo dump -- much of our work now involves transporting ammunition throughout north-central Italy, preparing for a massive assault on the German front in northern Italy. (courtesy: Bob Fagelson]

Tuesday, April 10, 1945
At 7:30 a.m. I go in convoy from Florence rail head to Q53 and bring salvage to Q545 in Florence. Finished at 9:30 p.m. and at 11:30 p.m. partner goes on ammo run to 0427.

Wednesday, April 11, 1945
Schuster hauls to 0427 and brings back salvage ammo to rail head. Fan belt pulley is broken and truck is deadlined.

WAR UPDATE: April 12, 1945. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies. Harry S Truman sworn in as 33rd President of the United States.

Harry Truman takes the Oath of Office on April 12, 1945. [courtesy: public domain]

Thursday, April 12, 1945
Get truck fixed

Friday, April 13, 1945
I go out at 1:30 a.m. to 0431, back at 12 noon. President Roosevelt died yesterday. Schuster goes out at 5 p.m. to 0427.

39. Buying Souviners

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Friday, March 16, 1945
Get back to camp 7 p.m.

Saturday, March 17, 1945
Saturday, usual inspection. Tinker on truck, put weapons carrier seat in our truck.

Sunday, March 18, 1945
1,000 mile check on truck. On pass in afternoon. Visit Raymond in afternoon.

Monday, March 19, 1945
PX day. I buy cigarette lighter, shampoo and other items. First chance to stockpile these articles. In evening take semi to ordinance salvage yards and load up.

Tuesday, March 20, 1945
In convoy to Leg Horn, bring beer back to Florence. 127 mile trip.

Wednesday, March 21, 1945
Take shower at rest camp. See Laurel and Hardy and girl band at Apollo in evening.

Comedy legends Laurel and Hardy. [courtesy www.bbc.co.uk]

Thursday, March 22, 1945
Go to rest camp for rest period.

WAR UPDATE: March 22, 1945. Allied forces cross Rhine River into Germany.

Monday, March 26, 1945
Back in camp at 11 a.m. after 5 day rest period in Florence. Fifth Army rest camp. Write letters and send pictures which I had taken in rest camp to folks and Edna.

A souvenir book published by the Fifth Army which I bought while at rest camp in Florence.

Tuesday, March 27, 1945
Do a little work on truck in morning, send pictures to Richard Marsh. Rainy day. Last night I saw basketball game. Mitchell Bombers beat Oran Port Pirates 65 to 58 and Bull Dozers beat Buffalo Big A's 58 to 43.

A pick-up basketball game during World War II. [courtesy public domain]

Friday, March 30, 1945
Trip to Montecini, haul to E 237. Send picture to Lois.

True Story: I was sitting in my tent writing a letter one day. A German prisoner stuck his head in my tent and said, "Goodbye!" He had gotten mixed up in his English. He was selling souvenirs that he had made. I think that's where I got that German Iron Cross that I brought home.

The actual German Iron Cross that I bought from a German prisoner of war. So much for the Thousand Year Reich.

Saturday, March 31, 1945
Pay day. Play ball in forenoon on diamond we cleared off on March 29th. Take shower in afternoon at rest camp. Send another picture home.

38. A Brush with Greatness

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Thursday, February 22, 1945
Stay in camp. Get my carbine back from ordinance. Sand it down and varnish stock.

Friday, February 23, 1945
Schuster is out with truck

Saturday, February 24, 1945
I haul old paintings from south of river. They were hid in caves in the mountains. Haul them back to a church in Florence.

[Editor's note: Howard mentioned many times that it was believed these paintings were classics by the masters, including those by Leonardo Da Vinci, Rapheal, Botticelli and Michelangelo. They were each wrapped in a protective covering, so none of the soldiers actually saw what they were hauling. Italian partisans smuggled these priceless works of art out of galleries and into mountain caves to both protect them from falling bombs and to keep them out of Nazi hands; interestingly, a documentary covering this intriguing story was featured on the History Channel a few years ago.]

It is known that Botticelli's The Birth of Venus was hidden in a mountain cave near Florence during World War II. Could this have been one of the paintings I transported? The masterpiece currently resides in Florence. [public domain]

Monday, February 26, 1945
I have a cold and don't work for couple days.

Wednesday, February 28, 1945
Pay day. Quenton Goyne gets back from hospital. We start driving semi's.

Thursday, March 1, 1945
I get trip Montecini to Coca-Cola plant in Florence.

Friday, March 2, 1945
I go in convoy to Leg Horn, turn in old truck and drive semi's back. I sign up for rotation. Raymond is over in evening.

Me with the new semi tractor-trailers were are now driving.

Tuesday, March 6, 1945
Drive in convoy. Go to Q 58, get coal and take to ARC rest home in Florence.

Wednesday, March 7, 1945
Get semi-auto car cab over engine.

Thursday, March 8, 1945
Work on tractor in morning, in afternoon go on limbering up drive to Siena.

The public plaza in Siena, Italy. [courtesy www.instructional1.calstatela.edu]

Friday, March 9, 1945
Continue to work on semi and tractor.

Sunday, March 11, 1945
In evening I take semi and get load of salvaged jeep motors at 5 A ordinance salvage depot.

Monday, March 12, 1945
Go in convoy to Leg Horn, get rid of salvage and get load of beer (650 cases) at 5L52 near Leg Horn and bring it to Florence at 10F52.

Thursday, March 15, 1945
I and Willis Ropp go to Pistoia to 70th Ordinance. Stay all nite and truck's rear end [trailer] is inspected by ordinance the next day.

BACK IN THE WORLD: March 15, 1945. Academy Award Winners: Best Picture, Going My Way; Best Actor, Bing Crosby (Going My Way); Best Actress, Ingrid Bergman (Gaslight); Song of the Year, "Swinging on a Star," by Bing Crosby (Going My Way).

The city of Firenze is also known as "Florence." Some of the cities I've recently made hauls to are circled in red.

37. The Same Old Routine

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Friday, February 9, 1945
Training continues. Some trucks go out occasionally.

Another local boy sees action. From the Fergus Falls Daily Journal.

Saturday, February 10, 1945
P.B.S. semi job comes here for a few days to let us practice driving it.

Sunday, February 11, 1945
I go in convoy, starting at 9 p.m. to Montencini 0428 (ammo) get back next 6:30 a.m.

Monday, February 12, 1945
I sleep most of the day after last nite's trip. Taining period ends today. Today is my third anniversary in the army. I get good conduct medal and driver's medal today. Training film shown at battalion headquarters while I sleep. I'm on guard tonite. Rainy nasty weather. Raymond is over tonite.

Tuesday, February 13, 1945
Not much going on. Go to rest camp for shower.

Wednesday, February 14, 1945
Go to show in evening at rest camp. Stage show, "Blue Busters" and movie, "The Slim Man Goes Home," with Myrna Loy and William Powell

The name of the movie was actually The THIN Man Goes Home. [courtesy www.impawards.com]

Thursday, February 15, 1945
Turn in our Diamond T's to 56 Q Co. 3376 and get their old beat up GMC's. Spend rest of day working on and washing truck.

A GMC "Duece-and-a-half," which we reluctantly drew in place of our Diamond T's. [courtesy www.therangerstation.com]

The Diamond T logo meant reliability. [courtesy www.cartype.com]

Friday, February 16, 1945
Work all day on old truck. Put in new bearing in pillar block and take radiator off and have it fixed. Get letter from Naomi and Bertha Herald today.

Sunday, February 18, 1945
I drive for Italian co. at transportation. Drive 129 miles.

Monday February 19, 1945
Go on pass. See Wallace Beery in "The Barbious Gent." Also USO stage show "Pardon Me." Visit Raymond in evening.

Wallace Beery [courtesy www.silentladies.com]

WAR UPDATE: February 19, 1945. U.S. invades Iwo Jima.

Tuesday, February 20, 1945
1,000 mile check on truck.

Wednesday, February 21, 1945
Convoy, Leg Horn signal dump to signal dump in Florence. In evening movie, "Arsenic and Old Lace" at Apollo, also "Meet Me in St. Louis" at rest camp.

The city of Livorno was also known as "Leg Horn."

36. Another Run to the Front

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Saturday, January 27, 1945
See movie at Apollo, "When Ladies Meet," Robert Taylor, Joan Crawford, Herbert Marshall. Russians 95 miles from Berlin.

[courtesy: www.imdb.com]

Sunday, January 28, 1945
On guard. Get 4 letters from Betty, Jean, LaVerne and Mother. Allies are making gains on Western front. Have gained back more than was lost in big German counter-attack.

Tuesday, January 30, 1945
See very good movie, "Since You Went Away."

[courtesy: www.dvdbeaver.com]

Wednesday, January 31, 1945
Pay day. Pull our small trailers to PBS (Peninsular Based Section) ordinance, turn them in.

Thursday, February 1, 1945
Go to hospital to visit Quinton Goynes in forenoon. Russell gets out of hospital. Write letter to Rene. Radio report Russians 45 miles from Berlin. Rumor that we will get semi's soon and haul for 8th Army and move to Rome.

Friday, February 2, 1945
Haul trailers for 3638 and 3605, turn them in to ordinance.

Saturday, February 3, 1945
Go in convoy haul diesel oil from Montecini rail head to Q544. Leave at 12:30, get back at 8 p.m.

Another convoy heads out on another assignment. [courtesy: pro.corbis.com]

WAR UPDATE: February 4, 1945. Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin meet at the Yalta Conference.

Sunday, February 4, 1945
Schuster leaves at 1 a.m. hauls ammo, Montecini rail head to 0428, gets back at 9:30 a.m. Lovely day. Raymond is over in forenoon. Take pictures.

Raymond Stokes (left) and me outside my quarters in Florence, Italy. Sunday morning, February 4, 1945.

Tuesday, February 6, 1945
A seven day training period has started. All trucks in battalion are deadlined. But a convoy of 4 ton'ers go out in evening. Manila is liberated.

Wednesday, February 7, 1945
In spite of training period, Schuster and I get a trip with Diamond T and trailer. Go to 1108 Engineers north of Lucca. Stay overnight then to 23 miles north of Lucca to Fornair, which is 4 or 5 kilometers from front. We could machine gun and other small arms fire. This area was shelled quite frequently. We get load of sheet aluminum at plant there. Get back to camp at 6 p.m. on Feb. 8th. Trip started 2 p.m. on Feb. 7th.

Another run to the front.

35. Fire Damages Our Quarters

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Monday, January 1, 1945
See football game, "Spaghetti Bowl." 5th Army beats 12th Air Force 20-0. I get 4 Bertha Heralds.

My copy of the "Spaghetti Bowl" game program.

Clipping from The Stars and Stripes.

Thursday, January 4, 1945
Company formation and parade. We get War Dept. citation. In evening Raymond comes over for visit.

Saturday, January 5, 1945
Three men go home. Sosa and Musil on rotation. Rickstein on furlough.

Monday, January 8, 1945
Articles of War. I go on pass, visit 52nd Q.M. in forenoon. See Raymond. In afternoon I go downtown see movie. Walk home with Varinoskus. Snow today. Get 4 letters from LaVerne, Mother, Dolores, Vera. Lately, the rumor is everyone goes home after 30 months overseas. We have one month left according to that.

One of my buddies, Vincent Varinoskus.

Sunday, January 14, 1945
Go to church at Apollo Theater in forenoon. Fire caused by oil burner in our quarters burns some of our equipment. Mashburn, Malley, Jergensen and myself lose equipment. Quinton Goynes gets burns on hands and face, is hospitalized.

Monday, January 15, 1945
Work all day cleaning and painting our quarters. Job pretty well done. Will move back soon. Get new style blouse issued to us today.

Tuesday, January 16, 1945
Seven of us move into different building. Company sends truck load to shows in evening now.

Wednesday, January 17, 1945
Putting new living quarters in shape. Install another oil burner. Get two letters from Doris and Opal and Jean.

Thursday, January 18, 1945
Our battalion starts a training schedule. 1,000 mile check on truck. Our company has dance.

Friday, January 19, 1945
Exchange windshield and top with Jergensen's truck.

Saturday, January 20, 1945
Install de-froster on our truck.

Sunday, January 21, 1945
My 30th birthday, a quiet Sunday morning. Got letter from Rene.

Wednesday, January 24, 1945
Drive GMC no. D to Q 53 get trash detail there, then haul load of matress covers to 102 bakery in Florence. A 66 mile run. In evening see "Buffalo Round Up," a 92nd Div. orchestra. Am seeing quite a lot of shows. Russians have been on big push for week and a half. Are around 140 miles from Berlin.

A GMC "deuce-and-a-half." [courtesy: www.roadandtransport.com]

WAR UPDATE: January 26, 1945. Auschwitz concentration camp liberated.

Prisoners escorted by Russian soldiers after liberating Auschwitz. The world is shocked over the brutality discovered there. [public domain]

34. "A cold, uncomfortable Christmas."

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Friday, November, 24, 1944
1 a.m. start out on 175 mile run (convoy). Leg Horn [Livorno] to 0427. Get back at 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, November 28, 1944
Another ammo run to 0430, 18 hours.

Wednesday, November 29, 1944
On pass, visit 52nd Q Battalion. Draw sleeping bags.

Monday, December 4, 1944
Raymond is on 5 day rest. Visits me.

Tuesday, December 5, 1944
I get trip to Leg Horn to 0427, a 175 mile trip. Doing this type of hauling most of the time.

An ancient fort in modern-day Livorno (Leg Horn), Italy. [public domain]

Wednesday, December 6, 1944
Raymond is over again.

Thursday, December 7, 1944
I have 4 tires to change after Schuster run. In afternoon go over to 3638 Q.M. to get practice driving semi-trailer jobs.

Tuesday, December 12, 1944
Company dance downtown Florence. Good time. Weather very bad.

Beautiful Florence, Italy, as it appears today. [photo by Olga Shelego]

Wednesday, December 13, 1944
Futa Pass is closed to all unnecessary traffic on account of snow. One way traffic through the pass.

Futa Pass (above) as it appeared during World War Two. It was of strategic importance, connecting Florence to Bologna. It also demarcated the Gothic Line, the last major line of defense for retreating German forces in Italy. [courtesy: www.mtmestas.com]

I am in the II Corps (circled in red). This map outlines our advance from June - December 1944. The cities of Florence and Leg Horn are underlined in red. This is our main area of operation right now. The current position of the II Corps is indicated by the red "X". [public domain]

Futa Pass today. [photo by Stenebaum]

WAR UPDATE: December 16, 1944. Germans attack through Ardennes -- Battle of the Bulge begins.

BACK IN THE WORLD: December 17, 1944. The Green Bay Packers defeat the New York Giants 14-7 to win the NFL Championship.

Monday, December 18, 1944
Germans counter-attack on 1st Army front. I'm on pass, visit 52nd Q.M., see Raymond.

Tuesday, December 19, 1944
We are having break, not much work for past days. Bad weather.

Sunday, December 24, 1944
Get back from 21 hour trip to Leg Horn to 0430. Back at 12 p.m. Company moves to new area in Florence [Firenze] near marshalling yards. Today I get 5 packages from ma, Rene, Edna and Herald, Dolores, and Lois. Have previously got packages from Rene, Jean, Lois, Doris S. and Bernice.

Monday, December 25, 1944
Two more packages from Sarah and Myrtle K. A cold, uncomfortable Christmas.

Saturday, December 30, 1944
Not very busy just now. I have pretty bad cold for the last few days. Only 10 minute walk from here to Raymond's company.

Another neighbor wounded overseas, from the Fergus Falls Daily Journal.

33. On Pass

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Saturday, October 14, 1944
See Katherine Cornell in stage show at Florence.

Tony-Award winning actress, Katherine Cornell. [courtesy: www.bellisland.net]

Monday, October 16, 1944
Move to new area in Florence.

On the move again, this time to the home of Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Galileo and many others: historic Florence (Firenze), Italy.

Thursday, October 19, 1944
Get pass and spend afternoon downtown in Florence with Rich Wellman.

Me on pass in Florence, Italy, October 19, 1944.

BACK IN THE WORLD: November 7, 1944. Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected to an unprecedented fourth presidential term, defeating Thomas E. Dewey.

Friday, November 10, 1944
Find Raymond Stokes. He is in Florence too. He is just back from southern France. We get to see Billy Conn and several other boxing matches.

Light-heavyweight champion, Billy "The Pittsburgh Kid" Conn. [courtesy: www.billyconn.net]

Sunday, November 12, 1944
Get package from Rene, first Xmas package. Raymond comes over and we see show in evening, "She's a Soldier Too."

[courtesy: www.imdb.com]

Tuesday, November 14, 1944
Go on pass. Visit Raymond at 52nd Duck Battalion.

Wednesday, November 15, 1944
On guard duty.

Friday, November 17, 1944
On pass, see movie "Random Harvest" in afternoon. In evening see stage show, "George and Margaret."

[courtesy: www.soundtrackcollector.com]

Sunday, November 19, 1944
On pass. In afternoon see Italian stage show. In evening see Spencer Tracy in "The Seventh Cross," at Apollo.

[courtesy: www:imdb.com]

Monday, November 20, 1944
Go with Jergensen, haul trailer to Leg Horn 2L77 and 76. [ed. note: "Leg Horn" was the common Americanism for the coastal city of Livorno].

Tuesday, November 21, 1944
Get another D.T. (Diamond T) 4 ton truck. Other one has been salvaged (junked).

Thursday, November 24, 1944
Thanksgiving Day. All get passes. Turkey supper at 5 p.m.

32. Fifth Army Plaque and Citations

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WAR UPDATE: August 25, 1944. Allies liberate Paris, France.

Saturday, August 26, 1944
Work has been continuing about the same. Get back to camp after 4 or 5 days work moving ammo, dump 0444 to 0420. Turn in 4 ton truck around Sept 1st and drive no. 15 for few days, then draw new 2 1/2 ton no. 6.

For a brief time we drive what is commonly called the "deuce and a half." [courtesy: daveswebshop.com]

Monday, September 4, 1944
Joe Louis visits our camp and eats with us (one meal). Schuster gets trip to Rome. From now on we are busy hauling to Florence.

Heavyweight boxing champion, Joe "The Brown Bomber" Louis, signs autographs for troops while joining them for a meal during World War Two. [courtesy: www.hlswilliwaw.com]

Sunday, September 17, 1944
Move 30 miles up [north] on route 67 near Pisa, 40 miles north of Florence.

Monday, September 25, 1944
Our company wins 5th Army plaque today. Parade and get citation for work done last February [Battle of Monte Cassino].

Officers issuing our company citation during a field ceremony, September 25, 1944.

Rich Wellman and me (right) holding the 5th Army plaque awarded to our company during the citation ceremony, September 25, 1944.

Wednesday, September 27, 1944
Turn in our 2 1/2 ton trucks to 3605 Q.M. and draw their 4 ton'ers. I go with group to Pisa. See the famous leaning tower. Fall rains are setting in. Have had several wet days during last couple weeks.

A snapshot I took of the Leaning Tower (to the right).

BACK IN THE WORLD: October 9, 1944. The St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series, defeating the St. Louis Browns, four games to two.

Article about me from the Fergus Falls Daily Journal.

Another neighbor from my home town of Hewitt, Minnesota, who saw action in Italy, taken from the Fergus Falls Daily Journal.

31. Pushing Forward

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Wednesday, July 5, 1944
Haul ammo with 4 ton 0447 to 0440.

Thursday, July 6, 1944
Schuster in Rome on pass.

Friday, July 7, 1944
Company moves to Piombino, another 100 miles or so up the coast. I make a nite trip to 0403 to 0411 ammo.

Civitavecchia to Piombino, pushing forward.

The peaceful fishing village of Piombino as it appears today. [public domain]

Saturday, July 8, 1944
I make trip, a nite haul to same place, air raid at 1 a.m., bombs drop nearby.

Sunday, July 9, 1944
Sleeping today, good run in afternoon. Continue to haul ammo for next few days.

Saturday, July 15, 1944
We make some runs. Have been swimming twice and saw one GI stage show lately.

"The Fifth Army's Where My Heart Is," written by Irving Berlin and dedicated to the Fifth Army in July 1944. This is a program from a stage show I saw in July.

Sunday, July 16, 1944
Drivers move to ammo dump 0409 and move dump to 0413.

Wednesday, July 19, 1944
Job is completed and we move back to our company.

WAR UPDATE: July 20, 1944. German assassination attempt on Hitler fails (also known as Operation Valkyrie).

The remnants of the conference room soon after a detonated bomb failed to assassinate Adolph Hitler. [courtesy: German Federal Archive]

Wednesday, August 2, 1944
Have been doing same kind of work. Return on August 1st from 7 day trip, Siena to Naples. Haul French. Pull bulldozer on trailer. Had pass in Naples. Send $25 PTA home today.

Richard Wellman posing with a flat bed. We used these to haul bulldozers from Siena to Naples.

The long journey from Siena to Naples.

WAR UPDATE: August 4, 1944. Allies liberate Florence, Italy.

Friday, August 4, 1944
Five day rest in Rome rest camp. See about everything. Buy pictures and souvenirs. Work continues about the same. Saw Pope Pius XII and St. Peter's Cathedral on this trip.

Road to Rome, published by the Fifth Army, a souvenir I picked up in Rome.

This is me on pass in Rome, August 1944.

30. Continuing North Up The Peninsula

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Wednesday, June 14, 1944
Trip with engineer equipment. Anzio to E 222, Civitavecchia.

Ancient ruins in the village of Civitavecchia, Italy. [photo by Vincenzo Surace]

Thursday, June 15, 1944
Get back to camp.

Friday June 16, 1944
Ammo haul Anzio to Q 438, 70 miles north of Rome on highway 2. Back in camp at 2 p.m. on June 17th. 270 mile trip.

Sunday, June 18, 1944
Company moves north to Civitavecchia. I get catch in my back I have lame back, am on sick book.

Continuing north up the peninsula.

Saturday, June 24, 1944
Have been laid up for last few days with lame back. We now have several 4 ton trucks in company.

Sunday, June 25, 1944
I start to work after a week lay off on account of a lame back. Haul ammo 0447 to 0440, 160 mile trip. See Raymond Stokes at 0447.

Monday, June 26 1944
Schuster goes to Rome on pass. I stay in camp. Raymond Stokes visits me all afternoon.

My old friend Raymond Stokes in on right. We hail from the same small town of Hewitt, Minnesota.

Italy
June 26, 1944
Dear Folkes,

Well, I finally got to see Raymond. I saw him yesterday in a supply dump. He was taking a truck load to the dump, and I was getting a load to take to another place. We talked for about an hour and today he didn't have to work so he came over to see me and stayed all afternoon, as I didn't work today either. We had a good visit, really talked over old times. Our camps are about eight miles apart.
I started to work yesterday after a weeks lay off on account of a lame back. I hurt my back by stooping over and raising up. Just a catch in the back you know. It's alright now. I don't suppose Ray and I will be this close together very long. This is the first time we have been so close together. I don't know where Chester Tonnar is now.
Love, Howard.

Wednesday, June 28, 1944
I haul Italion rations Q 545 to Lake Bracciano, then go to Tuscicania. A 160 mile trip.

Scenic Lake Bracciano, the remnants of an extinct volcano, is located just 18 miles northwest of downtown Rome. [public domain]

Thursday, June 29, 1944
I don't work, so in afternoon I go and visit Raymond.

Friday, June 30, 1944
I go on pass to Rome. See Coliseum and St. Peter's Cathedral. See stage show (GI) and move, "Sweet Rosie O'Grady," with Betty Grable.

Snapshots I took of St. Peter's Cathedral and Castle St. Angelo while on my first pass to Rome.

[courtesy: www.moviegoods.com]

Saturday, July 1, 1944
I haul in convoy 5th Army C.P. to 15 miles above Grasita. A 183 mile trip.

Sunday, July 2, 1944
I make short trip. Gas for trans-motor pool.

Monday, July 3, 1944
Schuster is driving 4 ton'er. I still have no. 6, but water boy is using it.

Tuesday, July 4, 1944
I spend day working on 4 ton truck.

29. Rome Is Liberated

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General area of operations.

WAR UPDATE: May 25, 1944. Allies break through Anzio beach head.

Thursday, May 25, 1944
Rail head haul to 0428. Air raid at 10:30 p.m. in vicinity of dump. About 400 trucks in the dump at the time.

Friday, May 26, 1944
Truck releases from rail head job.

Saturday, May 27, 1944
At 1 p.m. I start on trip Aversa to Anzio. Haul assault boats to engineer dump on beach head. Get back at 1:30 a.m. 258 miles trip, 97 from Anzio to our camp. I saw Ray Stokes and Alvin Wright's outfits, but I couldn't stop to see them.

The beach at Anzio is much more peaceful today. [courtesy: www.stoa.com]

Sunday, May 28, 1944
I rest all day. Pop Stabino drives my truck on two day trip. Schuster has sore foot.

Monday, May 29, 1944
Truck gets in in the evening. I service truck.

Tuesday, May 30, 1944
I haul bread from French bakery at Q 52 Teano to Q 524 Pico. I found Chester Tonnar. Had visit.

Wednesday, May 31, 1944
1,000 mile check on truck and wash truck. Pay day.

Thursday, June 1, 1944
I get trip in evening Q 55 Sparanise to Q 525 Tarecino [Terracina]. 112 mile trip. Start 5 p.m., get back 1:30 a.m.

The view of the bay at Terracina, Italy, a quiet village on the coast, about 65 miles northwest of Naples. Looking at this tranquil picture, it is hard to believe this place was ravaged by war just 65 years ago. [photo by Tittimi]

Friday, June 2, 1944
My truck goes out.

Saturday, June 3, 1944
I get long trip, starting at 5 a.m. Sparanise to Q 521 to 0430. Get back 7:30 p.m. Schuster services truck and it catches fire.

WAR UPDATE: June 4, 1944. Allies liberate Rome, Italy.

Sunday, June 4, 1944
Schuster is on first trip since his lay off. Goes Aversa to Littoria. Has trouble with truck, is hour behind convoy on way up. Sent $50 home.

Monday, June 5, 1944
Rome is in our hands.

WAR UPDATE: June 6, 1944. Operation Overlord begins: Allied invasion of northwest Europe, landing at Normandy, France.

Tuesday, June 6, 1944
Move to Littoria about 80 miles up the Italian peninsula. I haul 12th Med. on way up. Invasion of France today.

Moving up the peninsula and pushing the Third Reich out of Italy.

Wednesday, June 7, 1944
Haul colored GI's from Fondi to north of Rome, 200 mile trip. Get first look at Rome.

Friday, June 9, 1944
I get trip Anzio to Q 541 north of Rome. All day run, air raid over beach head area at midnite. Schuster goes out with truck and trailer to haul gas above [north of] Rome.

Saturday, June 10, 1944
At 7 p.m. I get trip in convoy. Engineer dump at Anzio to E 217 near Rome. 127 mile trip. Back next 7:30 a.m.

I frequently went in convoy with Richard Wellman (pictured). This is him in Italy with his truck.

Sunday, June 11, 1944
Schuster out all day while I sleep.

Monday, June 12, 1944
1st echolon check on truck. Take machine gun mount off. At 4 p.m. I start convoy, Fondi to 40 miles north of Rome. 300 mile trip takes 21 hours. Back next 1 p.m. on June 13th.

28. Allies Attack Gustav Line

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Thursday, May 11, 1944
I go in convoy, haul ammo from 0471 to 0424. Ball team loses to Medics 4 to 3.

WAR UPDATE: May 11, 1944. Allies attack the Gustav Line. The push to Rome begins.

Friday, May 12, 1944
Truck is out on long trip to Salerno. Big drive starts on front last nite.

Red line represents the "Gustav Line," which was anchored by Monte Cassino, on the outskirts of the village of Cassino. My position is circled in black. On the night of May 11, 1944, the Allies launched a final, devastating blow to the German stronghold in an attempt to push the enemy to the sea. [map courtesy of Stephen Kirrage]

Saturday, May 13, 1944
I start 4:30 a.m. haul ammo Aversa to 0426, back at noon and truck goes out immediately. Air raid at Naples and near here at 3 a.m. next morning.

Sunday, May 14, 1944
Lots of air activity last few days. I haul ammo Aversa to 0424 6 a.m. until 1 p.m.

The Napoli Arch in Aversa, Italy. [courtesy: www.comuni-italiani.it]

Monday, May 15, 1944
I haul asphalt from Naples to Madragone. In evening I see Marlene Dietrich in person. At 10:00 p.m. a big air raid up toward front. Reported that we have gained 25 miles since drive began and are now only 15 miles from beach head.

Marlene Dietrich on USO tour, 1944. [courtesy: www.prato.linux.it]

Wednesday, May 17, 1944
I go to haul gravel near Madragone and spend afternoon trying to find Italian engineers. See movie, "Standing Room Only."

Standing Room Only [courtesy: www.photobucket.com]

WAR UPDATE: May 18, 1944. German troops retreat from Monte Cassino, leading to the fall of Rome.

Thursday, May 18, 1944
1,000 mile check on truck. Other driver goes out in evening and hauls refugees from Pigno. Back at 6 a.m. next day.

Friday, May 19, 1944
Nearly 400 Liberators fly over this morning, heading northwest.

A vintage Liberator. [courtesy: www.richard-seaman.com]

Saturday, May 20, 1944
I go in convoy to Q 548, French ration dump near front. See movie in evening with Brooklyn Dodgers.

Sunday, May 21, 1944
I haul from E 211 to French truck head at Ausonia.

The beautiful village of Ausonia, Italy. [courtesy: www.turislazio.it]

Monday, May 22, 1944
At 9:00 p.m. I make haul to 0420 to 0428, back at 6 a.m. Air raid on front at 4:00 a.m.

Tuesday, May 23, 1944
Haul from rail head at nite to 0429.

Wednesday, May 24, 1944
Work at nite. Rail head to 0429.

27. Routine Work, Softball and Irving Berlin

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Tuesday, April 25, 1944
I haul from 487 Laundry, go to Sparinese and Caserta. Start at 7:30 a.m., lasts till 4:45 p.m. Fair weather.

The village of Sparanise, Italy, as it appears today. [courtesy: www.sparaniselibera.it]

A narrow street in Caserta, Italy. [courtesy: www.italianvisits.com]

Wednesday, April 26, 1944
Truck is on haul. Rain last nite and today.

Thursday, April 27, 1944
I go on trip Aversa to 0425, start 4:30 a.m., return 1:20 p.m. 94 mile trip. Radio broadcast from our battalion theater in evening and stage show.

Friday, April 28, 1944
Truck is on haul. I see "This is the Army" in Santa Maria, with Irving Berlin in person. Our company wins ball game 1 to 0 from 105 AAA in our second league game.

[courtesy: www.schubertiademusic.com]

Irving Berlin on stage at the San Carlo Opera House, Naples, Italy, April 1944. [courtesy: National Archives]

Saturday, April 29, 1944
I make trip Q 55 to Q 53, 9:30 a.m. to 4:50 a.m. Our ball team wins from 425 Laundry 6 to 1. Our third league game. Three wins, no defeats. Air raid over Naples at 10 p.m.

Sunday, April 30, 1944
Truck on haul. Pay day. Our company beats CWS 6 to 3 in softball.

Monday, May 1, 1944
I go on haul from E 211 to French truck head from 8:45 a.m. till 3:30 p.m. Our ball team beats PUR, 24 to 0 in fourth league game.

Tuesday, May 2, 1944
1,000 mile check on truck.

Wednesday, May 3, 1944
Truck on trip. Our company beats Batt C, 405 AAA , 3 to 0 in league game.

Thursday, May 4, 1944
I haul 817 Q.M. shower unit to Teano, make two trips, 7:45 a.m. till 2:30 p.m.

Ancient Roman amphitheater ruins in Teano, Italy. [Photo by Franco Moccia]

Friday, May 5, 1944
Truck goes on trip. Our team beats 56th Med. 7 to 2.

Saturday, May 6, 1944
Quiet day. See movie, "The Phantom Lady."

The Phantom Lady [courtesy: www.noiroftheweek.com]

Sunday, May 7, 1944
I work with truck in Q 53. Homblad there too. Six months ago today, we same two get shelled and had air raid while doing same type of work.

Monday, May 8, 1944
Truck is out, not much doing around camp.

Tuesday, May 9, 1944
I haul mail APO 541 to APO 88.

Wednesday, May 10, 1944
Truck goes on haul. I see move "The Uninvited."

The Uninvited [courtesy: www.allposters.com]

26. A Pass to Naples and Softball Games

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Sunday, April 9, 1944
Schuster hauls French troops. I have day of rest. Sunrise Easter church service, but I don't get up in time. Six men transferred, Ambrosh, Milroy, Paghsite, Pytel, McClarrity and Malody. Radio reports Russians in Czechoslovakia. Starts raining in afternoon and is still raining now 9:30 p.m.

Monday, April 10, 1944
Work on truck in forenoon. Cloudy weather.

Tuesday, April 11, 1944
Rain last nite. I go on ammo run 0410 to 0424. Leave 3 a.m., get back at noon.

Wednesday, April 12, 1944
Truck is out. Warm weather. See movie (Frank Sinatra). Our company wins softball 9 to 8 over 55th Q.M.

Thursday, April 13, 1944
1,000 mile check on truck. Wash truck. Weather same.

Friday, April 14, 1944
Rain last nite. I got on trip at 7:15 a.m. Aversa to Q 422. Back in camp at 3 p.m. Blanton backs into my truck and bends grill. Our company defeats 55th Q.M. in softball 3 to 0, then our second team loses 5 to 1. After game, I go to 175th Engineers and see movie, Eddie Cantor in "Thank Your Lucky Stars."

A driver's accident report had to be filled out and submitted with any type of damage to our vehicles.

Thank Your Lucky Stars, starring Humphrey Bogart, Eddie Cantor and Bette Davis. [courtesy: www.45thdivision.com]

Saturday, April 15, 1944
Weather the same. Idle today. Play ball. See good newsreel in evening, but don't stay for main feature.

Sunday, April 16, 1944
I make haul, Aversa to 0422. Start at 12 noon, get back after 8 p.m.

Monday, April 17, 1944
Rigsby goes home. We see Pat Lane in person.

Tuesday, April 18, 1944
I go to Naples on pass, my first pass since I have been in Italy. Buy souvenirs, our company loses in softball to 55th Q.M., score 10 to 4.

Photos taken while on pass in Naples, April 18, 1944.

Wednesday, April 19, 1944
Clean machine gun, see show. Our company beats 56th Evac 11 to 3. Send package home.

Thursday, April 20, 1944
Truck goes out. I received two packages from home. I get my head shaved (for fun). Company loses ball game 9 to 1 to shower units. Radio broadcast from our battalion theater (5th Army Expenditionary Station).

Friday, April 21, 1944
Our company wins 9 to 6 in softball over 95th Evac. Lose volleyball game to 56th Med.

Satuday, April 22, 1944
I make trip Q55 Sparinese to Q 525. All done at 1 p.m. Softball team loses to 56th Med., score 4 to 1. See movie "Submarine Base."

Submarine Base, starring John Litel and Alan Baxter. [courtesy: www.cduniverse.com]

Sunday, April 23, 1944
Truck is out. Our company wins ball game from 3330 Q.M. company (colored), score 1 to 0 (8 innings). First league game.

Monday, April 24, 1944
Idle day. Windy weather. Ball team wins from shower unit 1 to 0. Air raid over Naples 9:20 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Plenty fireworks.

True Story: I knew a soldier who was very fond of eggs. He found a native who had some chickens and he could buy some eggs. He always kept them in his helmet so they wouldn't break. One day we suddenly had an air raid. He made a mad dash for his tent, grabbed his rifle and slammed the helmet full of eggs on his head. After that he kept his eggs in a different place.

25. Springtime Comes to Italy

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Area of operations.

Tuesday, February 29, 1944
We are supposed to start sending men to rest camp at Caserta. We draw three stars for our campaign ribbons.

BACK IN THE WORLD: March 2, 1944. Academy Award Winners: Best Picture, Casablanca; Best Actor: Paul Lukas (Watch on the Rhine); Best Actress: Jennifer Jones (The Song of Bernadette); Song of the Year: "You'll Never Know," by Dick Haymes and the Song Spinners (Hello, Frisco, Hello).

Thursday, March 2, 1944
Air raid over Naples. We draw three Cokes, our first in 18 months.

Friday, March 3, 1944
Trucks haul vino (wine) from Aversa to Venafro for French. Big drunk in camp.

Saturday, March 4, 1944
Paint our barracks bags and only one bag now. Get new truck, old truck had 31,000 miles on it. See John Garfield in person.

John Garfield starred in films such as The Postman Always Rings Twice, Gentleman's Agreement and Four Daughters. [courtesy: www.listverse.com]

Wednesday, March 15, 1944
Air raid over Naples, Aversa, Caserta and Capera. Planes fly so low they nearly tear top of our tents off. Wave after wave of our planes bomb Cassino.

If you look closely at the modern satellite image of Monte Cassino (click to enlarge), scars from bomb craters have become a permanent part of the landscape after the intense bombing campaign over 60 years ago.

Friday, March 17, 1944
Turn in our M1's and draw carbines.

A vintage WW II carbine. [courtesy: www.bigredone.pl]

Sunday, March 19, 1944
Move to new area near Sparinese. Mount Vesuvius erupts.

I took this photo of Mount Vesuvius, located just six miles east of Naples, as it came to life in March 1944. This was the same volcano responsible for the destruction of Pompeii 1,865 years earlier.

Wednesday, March 22, 1944
Crow and Kuda come back from their detached service at Naples.

Thursday, March 30, 1944
14 more good conduct ribbons given out. Not working very hard. Have nice camp in grain field. Nice spring weather, occasional rain.

Thursday, April 6, 1944
Louie Quast goes back to the "States." He's the 4th man we have sent. Durban, English and Lt. Johnson are ahead of him. Schuster is out on 36 hour pass. I haul 3 loads of bread from the 110 QM bakery to dump Q 53.

Friday, April 7, 1944
Beautiful day. Truck goes on haul, Aversa to 0423, comes in at noon. In afternoon goes on run to Sparinese. I loaf all day.

Saturday, April 8, 1944
I go on haul. Leave 7 a.m., make two trips from Q 536 Venafro to Q 52 Tiano. Haul wine barrels and wine. Get back 3 p.m. Change oil and grease truck. In evening see Joe E. Brown movie.

24. Monte Cassino Is Attacked

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Area of operations.

Saturday, January 1, 1944
Put anti-freeze in trucks.

Tuesday-Wednesday, January 4-5, 1944
Russians cross Polish border. Still hauling gravel for company area when we have no other work.

Thursday January 13, 1944
We are supposed to be about to take Cassino. Rumor that all men overseas for 18 months get to go home.

WAR UPDATE: January 17, 1944. Allied forces launch attack on Cassino, Italy. The Battle of Monte Cassino begins, one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.

The Battle of Monte Cassino was one of the pivotal battles of the Italian Campaign. The Germans held the high ground and the battle to drive them out was long and bloody. This was the enemy's last line of defense before Rome and the fight was fierce. [courtesy: www.lonesentry.com]

Friday, January 21, 1944
I turn 29 today.

Saturday, January 22, 1944
Hauling ammo to dump 0420. Germans shell the dump for several hours. I unload my own truck under shell fire.

Tuesday, February 1, 1944
Haul Italians from 0414 to staging area near Naples.

Saturday, February 5, 1944
Send $50 home.

Tuesday, February 8, 1944
Move out of the woods into a field. More gravel hauling and ditch digging. Still plenty of rain but not so bad.

Sunday, February 13, 1944
Haul British ammo to Caira, go within 2,000 yards of Germans.

The route (in red) we took to get to the northern front during the Battle of Monte Cassino.

Tuesday, February 15, 1944
Monastery is bombed [the abbey atop Monte Cassino]. We are making trips up there every day.

The abbey atop Monte Cassino as it appears today. [courtesy: www.italianvisits.com]

Wednesday, February 16, 1944
Haul British Indians to near Caira.

"British Indians," also known as Sikhs, at Monte Cassino, 1944. [courtesy: Discovery Channel]

Friday, February 18, 1944
We hear a troop ship is sunk. 10,000 men lost.

Sunday, February 20, 1944
Our 1st Sgt. is transferred.

Monday, February 21, 1944
Sgt. Gietzel is our official acting 1st Sgt.

Tuesday, February 22, 1944
Start turning in our folding cots.

Friday, February 25, 1944
Haul Italian pack mules from Maddeloni to above Venafro. I lose mule out back of truck. Mikeski runs into ditch and gets hurt.

The pack mule was often the only means of transporting supplies in the rugged countryside of south-central Italy. This photo was taken near Venafro, 1944. [courtesy: www.45thdivision.com]

23. Rain! Rain! Rain!

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Area outlined in red is the general area of operations.

Sunday, November 7, 1943
I work for ration dump [supply depot]. Air raid at 9 p.m. (strafing and bombing). In afternoon enemy shells hit around dump. Homblad and I got back to camp. Having lots of rain and cold, bad weather.

Tuesday, November 9, 1943
I get bad case of tonsilitis and go to hospital (36th Division Clearing Co. near Capua, Italy).

Friday, November 12, 1943
I get back to camp in afternoon.

Sunday, November 14, 1943
Enemy shells falling all around our bivouac area. Rain! Rain! Rain! Mud and slippery.

I snapped this picture of friends Raymond Snyder and Lee Payne. I stayed in contact with both of them after the war. We were truly a band of brothers. (Notice the boots, mud and more mud... and my shadow in the foreground.)

Sunday, November 21, 1943
I start to work again [after tonsilitis] and we move to new area over by Varaina.

Friday, November 26, 1943
Air raid at Naples and ack-ack [anti-aircraft] barrage over our bivouac area. We are hauling from Pignato rail head. Very busy. Rain! Rain! Flat tires all the time. Mud knee deep.

Rain! Rain! Mud! Mud! The weather was horrible in November and December, but it was nothing compared to the constant air raids. [courtesy: top - www.nzetc.com; middle - National Archives; bottom - www.history.army.mil]

WAR UPDATE: November 28, 1943. Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin meet at the Tehran Conference.

Monday, December 6, 1943

Postcard home. This marks my second Christmas overseas.

Wednesday, December 8, 1943
I sent $80 home.

Saturday, December 18, 1943
Our outfit is changed to 235 Quartermaster Battalion, Company 3640.

This is me with friend John Dockum in Italy, 1943.

Tuesday, December 21, 1943 Several men transferred to new company which is being formed out of our battalion. Our area is very muddy. We are doing lots of gravel hauling to fill in mud holes.

BACK IN THE WORLD: December 26, 1943. The Chicago Bears defeat the Washington Redskins 41-21 to the NFL Championship game.

Tuesday, December 28, 1943
Articles of war are read to us again.

Friday, December 31, 1943
On New Years Eve I go to pick up 3rd Infantry Division. Stay in truck all nite in snow storm. Next morning take them to staging area near Naples.

22. Across The Water To Italy

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Saturday, October 2, 1943
Get back from hospital today [a total of 16 days spent in hospital with yellow jaundice]. We have received orders to deploy to Italy in one week.

Tuesday, October 5, 1943
We move staging area at 3 p.m.

Friday, October 8, 1943
Load on boat (LST).

A very rare color photograph of a LST being loaded for the journey from Tunisia across the Tyrrhenian Sea to Italy. [public domain]

Saturday, October 9, 1943
Start for Italy.

BACK IN THE WORLD: New York Yankees win the World Series, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals four games to one.

Editor's note: despite earlier rumors that Howard's company would lose their trucks, they remained a transport outfit and retained their vehicles as they transferred to Italy.

This is what it looked like from a landing craft loaded with trucks, supplies and men as we crossed the Tyrrhenian Sea, heading northeast to Italy and into a new theatre of operations. The voyage was approximately 340 miles and took 48 hours to travel. [(c) Time, Inc]

Monday, October 11, 1943
Land at Salerno, Italy, and go to bivouac area.

We streamed into Salerno, Italy, on October 11, 1943. [(c) Time, Inc.]

WAR UPDATE: October 13, 1943. Official Italian government declares war on Germany.

Thursday, October 14, 1943
Our troops are suppose to be crossing Valturno River. I start working again about this time. It took me a month to recover from yellow jaundice.

Friday, October 15, 1943
We move to Maddeloni.

The yellow dots indicate our transit to Salerno. From there we moved to Maddeloni, northeast of Naples.

Saturday, October 16, 1943
I get trip to Naples.

Thursday, October 21, 1943
Air raid Naples (30 min.)

Saturday, October 23, 1943
Air raid at Naples 7 p.m.

Monday, November 1, 1943
40 min. air raid over Naples. Plenty of fireworks.

The remnants of a rail head in Naples, Italy, after a Luftwaffe air raid in 1943. [public domain]

Friday, November 5, 1943
Pull out at 3 a.m., move to new area near 0414 ammo dump, across Volturno River.

21. Operation Avalanche and Air Raids

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Saturday, July 24, 1943
See rodeo put on by 175th Engineers.

WAR UPDATE: July 25, 1943. Mussolini's Fascist government overthrown.

Monday, July 26, 1943
We hear that Mussolini has quit his job.

True Story: A GI was asleep in a foxhole in Italy when someone nudged him and woke him up. It was an Italian soldier. The Italian said, "Please capture me!" He was tired of fighting and wanted to be taken prisoner.

Saturday, July 31, 1943
Some of our boys get drunk and raise cane all night in our day room.

Friday, August 6, 1943
Battalion puts on a party to celebrate our first year overseas.

Saturday, August 7, 1943
Terrific air raid at 3:30 to 5 a.m. We get our campaign ribbons. Sent $40 home.

Thursday, August 12, 1943
We move into big tents.

Monday, August 16, 1943
See Bob Hope in person. Air raid 9 p.m.

The legendary Bob Hope during a USO performance in 1943. [photo by David E. Scherman]

Tuesday, August 17, 1943
Rumor that Sicily has fell. Air raid at 9 p.m. Four of our boys slightly injured.

Wednesday, August 18, 1943
Air raid alerts at 4 and 5 a.m.

Sunday, August 22, 1943
Three alerts (air raid).

Thursday, August 26, 1943
Another alert.

Friday, August 27, 1943
Start drawing machine gun mounts for trucks.

A 50-caliber machine gun similar to the type we are now mounting to our trucks. [courtesy: www.imfdb.com]

Saturday, August 28, 1943

A letter home written on a Saturday. Raymond Stokes is an old friend from my home town of Hewitt, Minnesota.

Dear Folkes,

I got the package today. The glasses and combs came through in good shape altho it took two months for it to get here. I hope you have the package I sent by now. I heard from Raymond Stokes a few days ago. He is in Sicily now and is in a different outfit than he was.

About those bonds. The ones which haven't been sent home are the ones I got when they were taking out a little from my pay each month for bonds. I probably won't get them for some time, maybe after the war. I also had my insurance raised to ten thousand dollars on account of you could only get a few dollars per month with five thousand but with ten thousand you could get fifty per month until you had drew ten thousand.

I got to see Bob Hope and Frances Langford. They put on a show here. This will be all for now. Thanks for the package.

Love, Howard

WAR UPDATE: September 3, 1943. Italy surrenders to Allied forces, signs armistice.

Tuesday, September 7, 1943
Air raid. Seven planes shot down. On alert for paratroopers.

Hitler's Luftwaffe was a constant danger at night and
we all learned to function on little sleep. [(c) HowStuffWorks, Inc.]

Wednesday, September 8, 1943
Italy unconditionally surrenders. Our boys coming down with jaundice. I'm working hard, feeling poorly.

WAR UPDATE: September 9, 1943. Operation Avalanche begins: the Allied invasion of the Italian mainland, which is still defended by German forces.

One of the spearheads into Italy originated from Bizerte, Tunisia (highlighted in red). Taking Italy would prove to be a hard, bloody fight as the Third Reich was slowly destroyed, piece by piece.

Thursday, September 16, 1943
About this time I come down with jaundice. I go to hospital [Bizerte, Tunisia].

20. Operation Husky Begins

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Wednesday, May 26, 1943
We have to buy our PX rations again.

Thursday, May 27, 1943
Air raid at Bizerte.

Friday, May 28, 1943
We have orders to dig foxholes.

Sunday, May 30, 1943
Some of our boys go to Bone [also known as Annaba] and draw new trucks.

Tuesday, June 1, 1943

A letter home.

Dear Folkes,
Just a few lines this morning to let you know I am alright. I got some mail yesterday, three letters from you and they were all V letters. The latest one was dated May 11th. By the way your letters read, you must have written some letters that I haven't gotten yet. How much defense bonds have you bought for me now? And how much in the bank? I can buy defense bonds over here now and I have already bought an eighteen dollar one. You should get it pretty soon. From now on I would like to have you put all my money in the bank and I will buy the bonds over here.
Who did you get the horses from? And what do they look like? And say, did Bert get alright or how is he?
Guess I will close for now. I am fine.
Love, Howard

Wednesday, June 2, 1943
We move to Ferryville [also known as Menzel-Bourguiba]. Rumored that we will lose our trucks and become dock workers.

Friday, June 4, 1943
I go to Bizerte to learn how to operate winch on ship. Company moves to Bizerte. Sent $50 home about this time.

We are poised at the very northern tip of Tunisia. Just 1o0 miles to the northeast, across the Mediterranean, is Sicily which is still very much in enemy hands.

Editor's note: During the summer of 1943, the port of Bizerte, Tunisia, was a vitally important staging area for the preparation of the Allied invasion of Sicily, the heavily fortified outpost of Hitler's "Fortress Europe." As a result, Bizerte was subject to air raids almost nightly by the German Luftwaffe in an attempt to destroy these Allied efforts.

Tuesday, June 8, 1943
Start hauling from Bizerte docks

Saturday, June 12, 1943
Turn in our wool clothing. Air raid at 8:15 p.m. No damage.

Monday, June 14, 1943
Go through gas chamber. Working all summer hauling from docks. Trucks run 24 hours per day. Very tiresome work. Weather is awfully hot and dry.

Work on the docks at Bizerte was a backbreaking, twenty-four hour a day job subject to nightly air raids. We were preparing for another invasion. [Allen, 77]

Tuesday, July 6, 1943
Air raid at 4 a.m. Send $50 home.

True Story: During the summer of 1943 we were hauling to and from the docks of Bizerte. One nite there was a bad air raid. An American was guarding a bunch of German prisoners who were on a work detail on the docks. The guard went nuts and was running around like he was crazy. The guard had been in combat and he had a case of war nerves, or whatever they call it when your nerves are shot. He dropped his rifle and the prisoners went chasing after the guard. They didn't want to be separated from their guard. They had no desire to escape.

WAR UPDATE: July 10, 1943. Operation Husky begins: the Allied invasion of Sicily.

Tuesday, July 13, 1943
See prisoners brought in from Sicily.

Wednesday, July 14, 1943

As you can tell by this letter, money was a constant concern.

July 14, 1943
Dear Folkes,
I rec'd the V letter tonite, which you wrote on June 23. I was glad to get it as I haven't gotten many letters from you lately. That was the first one for quite a while. I have been getting more letters from Lois than from you for quite a while. I think it's because she sends me more V letters than anything else. I think the V letters are coming through lots faster and safer now. I haven't been sending harldy any V letters either so perhaps you aren't getting mine. I have been writing quite often. I sent you a picture of me a few weeks ago. I also sent you a package. I also sent you a fifty dollar money order not long ago. Now speaking of money, your letter puzzled me a little. You say I have $357 worth of bonds and certificates and ninety in the bank. On second thought tho, that may compare with my figures because you haven't gotten the last money order I sent and the July allotment hadn't got there yet when you wrote, and besides I have bought three eighteeen dollar bonds through the army. Since last August I have sent you one twenty-five dollar order, three fortys and three fiftys. That makes $295. Then by now you should have gotten ten 30 dollar allotments. That makes another three hundred and then my three eighteen dollar bonds from the army. That makes nearly 650 dollars according to my figures. Maybe your figures compare with mine by now. Howard

19. A Long Letter Home

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Friday, May 21, 1943

When the North African campaign ended, I took the time to write long letters home. We had not been able to tell our families much at all over the last six months, but now we were given the okay to describe some of the places we'd seen and things we'd done. The following was published in the Fergus Falls Daily Journal. It was sent to my sister, Lois. If you've been following this blog, this is just a recap of the last 15 months of chaos.

18. North Africa Is Liberated

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Area of operations.

Thursday, April 8, 1943
Do some firing, rifles, machine guns, for practice.

Saturday, April 10, 1943
Send $50 home.

Saturday, April 17, 1943
Pick up 18th Inf. and stay all nite with them.

Sunday, April 18, 1943
Camp with Inf. in LaCalle vicinity.

Monday, April 19, 1943
Take 18th Inf. beyond Beja.

Tuesday, April 20, 1943
Pull into new bivouac area near Tabarka. Haul around here from LaCalle to Beja, etc. Play ball, go swimming, don't work so terrible hard.

Modern day Tabarka, Tunisia [courtesy: www.lexicorient.com]

Friday, April 30, 1943
Turn in our bayonets.

Saturday, May 1, 1943
Some boys have their barracks bags stolen. We have close order drill.

Sunday, May 2, 1943
We start wearing leggings again. [Editor's note: The canvas leggings were not popular among soldiers, but was ordered by Lt. General George S. Patton, who took command of the II Corps, of which Howard was a part, in the spring of 1943.]

Monday, May 3, 1943
American forces take Mateur.

U.S. forces marching on Mateur, Tunisia. [courtesy: www.history.army.mil]

Friday, May 7, 1943
American forces on outskirts of Bizerte.

Saturday, May 8, 1943
Tunis and Bizerte fall.

Monday, May 10, 1943
We move to Mateur and start hauling from German ration dump.

WAR UPDATE: May 12, 1943. Surrender of Axis forces in North Africa.

Wednesday, May 12, 1943
We have to stand reveille the first time in a long while. War in Africa officially ends at 8:10 a.m. May 12, 1943.

I wrote this letter home on the day the war in North Africa ended. I still couldn't say much, as you can tell by the censored letter. I was correct in thinking the censor wouldn't like it. (click to enlarge)

True Story: An American had been captured by the Germans. He was in a prison camp in Tunis and was released when the Germans surrendered. This American said one day, when he was prisoner, a German officer was marching a bunch of them down the street. An Arab was standing there watching the prisoners go by and he spit on the American. The American socked the Arab a good one and knocked him flat. The officer in charge halted the detail right there and walked up to the American and shook his hand.

Another letter home. This time the censor allowed me to say I've seen lots of prisoners. (click to enlarge)

Sunday May 16, 1943
Haul 39th Inf. to near Constantine.

Tuesday, May 18, 1943
Truck rolls over (not my truck) and kills half a dozen infantry boys.

Thursday, May 20, 1943
Just got back from last trip.

A souvenir from a German prisoner, a Zwei Reichsmarck, exchanged for a cigarette.

17. Making A Final Drive Against The Enemy

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Area of operations.

Saturday, March 6, 1943
Go on another 15 miles to get troops. Part of us get lost.

Sunday, March 7, 1943
Start out early in a.m. Drive 292 miles on trip. I had bad belly ache when I get back in afternoon. Company moves to Tebessa.

Monday, March 8, 1943
Move back to Morsot this a.m. We go to front, pick up French colored troops.

I scribbled a quick French lesson in my diary prior to hauling the French-speaking Senegalese troops.

Tuesday, March 9, 1943
Colored troops relieve 26th Inf. We bring 26th to Tebessa. Four of our trucks tip over last night (dark, rain, slippery). The French colored troops (Singlese) [Senegalese] lost more men in these accidents then they ever did in combat.

Wednesday, March 10, 1943
Back in camp, other driver takes truck out.

Thursday, March 11, 1943
We move camp to other side of Tebessa.

Friday, March 12, 1943
Other driver takes truck. I sent $150 home today.

Saturday, March 13, 1943
47 trucks go out. Haul 16th Inf. to make final drive against enemy. Two drivers in each truck.

U.S. infantry navigates the rough terrain in Tunisia. This region presented challenging and treacherous driving conditions, especially in the rain. [courtesy: U.S. Army Signal Corps]

Sunday, March 14, 1943
Stop at 2 a.m. Camp all day.

Monday, March 15, 1943
I go in convoy with truck. Leave 16th Inf. and pick up 26th Inf. Take them to Fairyanna. Arrive back with 16th Inf. at 1:30 a.m.

Tuesday, March 16, 1943
Take 16th to Gafsa. Get back to our company at 3 a.m.

True Story: Near the front lines some American GI's were buying eggs from an Arab farmer. They wanted something else to eat besides the same old stuff everyday. One day as they were going to buy some eggs, as they neared the place they saw a group of Germans approaching from the opposite direction. The Germans went to the house and bought some eggs. After the Germans left, the Americans went down and bought some eggs.

Wednesday, March 17, 1943
Rest in camp all day.

Motor Vehicle Operator's Permit, dated March 17, 1943, is finally issued to me. Certification reads: "I certify that Howard W. Branstner has demonstrated proficiency in driving the types of vehicles listed below as per signed authentication: Trucks, cargo 1/4 to 1 1/2 ton; Trucks, cargo, 2 ton & larger. Signed, John A. Thomas, 1st Lieutenant."

Thursday, March 18, 1943
I leave in afternoon. Take load of ammo close to front. Get back at 10 p.m. Get bent fender.

Saturday, March 20, 1943
Truck goes out. Gets back next morning.

Sunday, March 21, 1943
Stay in camp and rest.

Monday, March 22, 1943
I get load of gasoline on truck and come back to company at nite.

Tuesday, March 23, 1943
Other driver unloads truck at rail head. I leave at 9 p.m., take ammo to front (Gafsa).

Wednesday, March 24, 1943
Get back at 9 a.m. Drive 190 miles on the trip.

Thursday, March 25, 1943
Partner comes in from trip last nite. I get up at 10 p.m. and get load of rations, bring back to company. Arrive at 11:30 p.m.

Friday, March 26, 1943
Partner takes rations to Gafsa. I meet him at Boshepka and I get ammo. Take to Gafsa, arrive home at 11 p.m.

The outskirts of Gafsa, Tunisia, as it appears today. [photo by Jaume Olle]

Saturday, March 27, 1943
Other driver goes out. Gets back at 7 p.m. I get shot [vaccine] in arm, same last Saturday.

Sunday, March 28, 1943
Other driver is out again today. He gets back and I start out at 9 p.m.

Monday, March 29, 1943
I get back at 10 a.m. Hauled ammo to Gafsa.

Tuesday, March 30, 1943
Truck out.

Wednesday, March 31, 1943
I'm out on haul. This work continues.

16. Two Baths In One Week!

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Wednesday, February 24, 1943
Resting today. Schuster goes out on run last nite and hasn't returned.

Thursday, February 25, 1943
Still resting. Truck gets back. I service truck. Our APO number has changed to 302 again.

This is a restored Diamond T 4 ton truck, exactly like the one I drove. [courtesy: www.ww2vehicles-and-meeting.be]

Friday, February 26, 1943
I go in convoy. Haul African colored troops (Singlese) [ed. note: Senegalese] away from front, 80 mile trip. Roads are very muddy. Get back at 6 p.m.

Saturday, February 27, 1943
Company moves and we haul medics again.

Sunday, February 28, 1943
Trucks park in new bivouac area out in open field near Morsot. I get first bath in months.

Monday, March 1, 1943
Schuster takes truck on trip. I get some mail, a bible from Wrightstown church.

Tuesday, March 2, 1943
Still resting. Truck is out yet.

A postcard I wrote to my friend, Bill Irons (click to enlarge).

Wednesday, March 3, 1943
Truck gets back at supper time.

Thursday, March 4, 1943
Work on truck, grease wheels.

BACK IN THE WORLD: March 4, 1943. Academy Award Winners: Best Picture, Mrs. Miniver; Best Actor, James Cagney (Yankee Doodle Dandy); Best Actress, Greer Garson (Mrs. Miniver); Song of the Year, "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby (Holiday Inn)

Friday, March 5, 1943
I take truck on trip. Drive 114 miles. Get bath in hot springs near Guelma.

The 114 mile trip from our camp in Morsott to Guelma, Algeria.

The hot springs near Guelma, Algeria, as they appear today. This is where I enjoyed my second bath in a week's time! [photo by Meddour Lakhdar]

15. No Time For Sleep

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Wednesday, February 3, 1943
Grease and service truck, good weather.

Thursday, February 4, 1943
Continue work on trucks. Start camouflage net for truck. Drive truck in practice convoy. Many of our men are transferred to different outfits.

Letter written home on Thursday, February 4, 1943 (click to enlarge).

French North Africa

Feb. 4, 1943

Dear Folkes,

Will write you a few lines this evening to let you know I am alright and getting along quite well.

As I told you before, in other letters, I would like to have you buy defense bonds with some of the money I send home and put the rest of it in the bank. I have sent a hundred and forty five ($145) home now and besides that there is the thirty dollar allotment which you are suppose to get every month. Have you been getting it? You should have gotten four $30 checks from the government by now. I have another fifty or sixty dollars to send home the first chance I get. You said you have been writing me about eight letters per month. I have been writing about the same number to you. Altogether last month, I wrote twenty-five letters and received twelve.

Well, guess I may as well close for this time, as there isn't a thing to write about. It may be a few days before I get around to write again.

Love, Howard

Friday, February 5, 1943
We go to pick up troops, fifty mile drive. Leave Oran as a truck driver.

Saturday, February 5, 1943
Load up headquarters company of 34th Division. Start 8 day trip to Tunisia. Start from Telemson.

My first assignment (or "run") as a truck driver: delivering the 34th Division from Telemson, Algeria (also called Tlemcen) to Le Kef, Tunisia. We made stops in cities circled in yellow: Bellabas (Sidi-Bel-Abbes), Orleansville (Ech-Cheliff) and Constantine.

Sunday, February 7, 1943
Start trip, get as far as Bellabas where we spend nite.

Monday, February 8, 1943
Spend nite at Orleansville.

The Algerian city of Orleansville (now known as Ech-Cheliff) as it appears today [courtesy: www.i-cias.com]

Tuesday, February 9, 1943
Bivouac between Rovico and L'araba-Rivet

Thursday, February 11, 1943
Camp at nite on mountain in snow storm near Constantine.

Friday, February 12, 1943
Pulled into pine woods. Inducted in the army one year ago today.

Saturday, February 13, 1943
Pulled out at 3 p.m. Arrive at Le Kef at 5 p.m. 34th Division unloads here.

Modern Le Kef, Tunisia. [photo by Aloui Ammar]

Our present location is western Tunisia/northeastern Algeria. Here are some of the cities which I will get to know well over the next few weeks.

Sunday, February 14, 1943
Pulled into olive grove near Le Kef and camp with English tanks.

Monday, February 15, 1943
Leave late in afternoon and join company near Maktar late in evening.

Tuesday, February 16, 1943
Leave late in afternoon. Haul supplies to Ebbaksour, Tebessa. Get load of ammo. Bring it to company area. Arrive at 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, February 17, 1943
Unload truck in company area. Prepare to go to front and bring back troops at nite. We break a brake line when we try to move truck. We are in small pine trees. We can't go on this run. We see several enemy planes.

A broken brake line is bad enough. Throw in a couple of Messerschmitt fighters and things go to hell in a handbasket real quick. [(c) HowStuffWorks, Inc.]

Thursday, February 18, 1943
Get truck fixed. Load ammo on and take to nearby dump. Enemy only eight miles away. Schuster takes truck on nite run.

Friday, February 19, 1943
Take retreating troops (16th Infantry) to near Tebessa. My first real trip. I do nearly all the driving. Up all nite.

Saturday, February 20, 1943
Arrive back in camp at 1 p.m. Leave shortly, enemy has our bivouac area surrounded, are within 3 miles of us. Haul medics to place near Tebessa. Arrive there next 7 a.m.

The ancient city of Tebessa, Algeria. [courtesy: www.aeria.phil.uni-erlangen.de]

Sunday, February 21, 1943
No sleep. Meet our company near there [Tebessa] and start out at 10:30 p.m. Haul French troops.

Monday, February 22, 1943
No sleep. Take troops to the front.

Tuesday, February 23, 1943
Arrive back in camp this p.m. Have terrible trip. Road was bombed. I get 30 letters today. First time our mail caught up with us since we started driving trucks. Go to bed, first time in four days.

I wrote home before going to bed for the first time in 96 hours. Notice I was so tired that I dated the postcard 1942 rather than 1943! "Dear Folkes, Haven't written to you for over three weeks. Have been very buisy and couldn't write. I am well. I got 30 letters today. That's the first mail I have had for a month. Love, Howard."

14. Truck Drivers Wanted

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Thursday, January 14, 1943
APO [postal] detail in evening.

Friday, January 15, 1943
Go on all day pass. Restricted to company area for one week because tent fails to pass inspection.

Saturday, January 16, 1943
Work, nice day.

Our "homemade" battalion newsletter called the "Bars and Gripes" kept us updated on the news in and around the Second Battalion. This is my one and only surviving copy.

Sunday, January 17, 1943
Work, nice day.

Monday, January 18, 1943
On K.P. [mess hall detail]. Nice warm day.

Tuesday, January 19, 1943
Warm, work.

Wednesday January 20, 1943
Nice day, usual work. Get 3 shots [vaccines] in arm.

Thursday, January 21, 1943
Air raid last nite. Nice day, work. My 28th birthday.

A German Stuka dive bomber -- a familiar and dangerous part of life in Oran. [courtesy: www.rafbombercommand.com]

Friday, January 22, 1943
Nothing unusual, regular work in dump.

Saturday, January 23, 1943
Rain, work.

WAR UPDATE: January 23, 1943. General Montgomery's Eighth Army takes city of Tripoli, North Africa.

Sunday, January 24, 1943
Work, load freight cars at railroad. Rain. Go to church in evening.

Monday, January 25, 1943
Rain, work in warehouse.

Tuesday, January 26, 1943
Work in warehouse. Get letter from Mom. This is answer to first letter I wrote from Africa.

Wednesday, January 27, 1943
Nice day, start work as checker in dump. Get package from Sarah.

Thursday, January 28, 1943
Working as checker in "C" dump, nice day. Cold nites and forenoons, warm afternoons. See show, "Million Dollar Baby."

Million Dollar Baby, starring Priscilla Lane, Jeffery Lynn and Ronald Reagan [courtesy: www.whosdatedwho.com]

Friday, January 29, 1943
Air raid last nite, work as usual.

WAR UPDATE: January 31, 1943. Germans surrender at Stalingrad.

Sunday, January 31, 1943
Good weather, regular work. See show "Ride 'em Cowboy."

Ride 'em Cowboy, starring Abbott and Costello [courtesy: www.imdb.com]

Monday, February 1, 1943
Same routine

True Story:
We had a kid overseas that was kind of a dummy. He couldn't do anything right. You couldn't trust him with anything. They didn't know what to do with him. They got the idea of sending him to battalion headquarters to be the colonel's orderly. One of his jobs was to keep the latrine clean. They had just make-shift outdoor toilets. Someone told him if he would pour gasoline in the latrine, it would keep it sanitary. It was a two holer. The colonel went in there one morning and sat down. He was a cigar smoker and he dropped a cigar butt down the other hole and 'BOOM!' The colonel had his bottom singed. He wasn't badly burned, but had to go to the hospital a few days. The other officer said that did more good to boost the morale of the battalion than anything else that had happened during the war!

Tuesday, February 2, 1943
Company is taken off job at "C" dump. Company is split up. We get trucks and will now be a transport outfit. I will be assistant driver for Clarence Schuster.

We are suddenly a transport unit. Above is the Diamond T four-ton truck, which I am now very quickly learning to drive. [photo (left) courtesy: www.autogallery.org.ru; photo (right): public domain]

13. Routine Work in Oran

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Editors note: the following two postcards were written by Howard to his parents; unfortunately, I am unable to reproduce their images here as they are unavailable to me.

POSTCARD:
Dec. 22, 1942 North Africa

Dear Folks, Just a line or two, to let you know I am alright. I am well and feeling fine. Hope every one back there is the same. This is about all I have room for so will close.

Love, Howard

POSTCARD:
Dec. 25, 1942 French North Africa

Dear Folks, Just a few lines to let you know I am alright. We had a nice sun-shiney Xmas here. Will write a letter soon.

As Ever, Howard

From The Stars and Stripes (9 Dec 1942), an article reminding us of strict censorship and what may be said in our correspondence. (Note that the above postcards I wrote comply with this).

From The Stars and Stripes (9 Dec 1942). A little military humor, although strict censorship was vital to our safety and the success of the invasion.

Friday, January 1, 1943
Worked all day. Weather is clear and cool. Has rained for several days. Saw Tarzan movie. Chicken for supper. Wrote letters to Lois and Ma.

Saturday, January 2, 1943
Nice day, worked. Wrote letters.

Sunday, January 3, 1943
I am on guard duty at "A" dump. Very muddy. We are on alert.

A large supply dump similar to the one in which I worked. [(c) Time, Inc.]

Monday, January 4, 1943

Nice day, work, send $40 home.

Tuesday, January 5, 1943
Work, rain in evening

Wednesday, January 6, 1943
Nice day, machine gun class, built new tent frame.

Thursday, January 7, 1943
Rain, built machine gun nest, get Christmas package from Jean and Rene

Friday, January 8, 1943
Nice day, work in dump, get job as warehouse man.

Portable warehouses were quickly erected with tarpaulins and poles, which helped protect vital supplies from the elements. [courtesy: www.diggerhistory.com]

Saturday, January 9, 1943
Good weather, work. Get package of candybars from Ardyce. See show "Star Spangled Rhythm."

Star Spangled Rhythm: starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Fred MacMurray and Dorothy Lamour [courtesy: www.imdb.com]

Sunday, January 10, 1943
Good day -- worked.

Monday, January 11, 1943
Work, very windy.

Tuesday, January 12, 1943
Work. Get package from Edna, also Krantz's.

Wednesday, January 13, 1943
Work in dump as usual.

Another large American supply dump. [courtesy: www.diggerhistory.com]

WAR UPDATE: JANUARY 14, 1943. Casablanca Conference begins between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill. President Roosevelt announces that the war in the European Theatre can only end with the "unconditional surrender" of all German forces.

12. Forward To Oran

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Tuesday, November 10, 1942
Enemy has surrendered and immediately become our allies. We don't trust them much for a while. We move to town of Arzew and set up camp. Go to bank in this town and exchange our American Gold Seal money for French money.

While here I do just about everything. One day I direct traffic at the docks. I am sort of an M.P. Then one day I operated telephone switchboard. On a different day I have a walkie-talkie radio and spot trucks coming and going from docks. I report which way they are going and whether they are empty or loaded. Finally I get a regular job. I am a checker at a dump [supply depot]. All I have to do is see that ammunition is piled in the right place.

American Gold Seal notes were made in denominations of $1, $5 and $10 for use by U.S. troops serving in North Africa. The purpose of the gold seal note was to prevent the enemy from using them as demands on the U.S. silver stockpile, since they are actually silver (demand) certificates. Today they are very uncommon. [courtesy: www.hermes-one.com]

Thursday, November 19, 1942
Move to city of Oran. Set up camp in foundry or steel mill. Now we handle engineer equipment. We are running an Engineer Supply Depot.
Oran, Algeria, as it looks today [courtesy: sauvonslacasbahalger.viabloga.com]

Monday, November 23, 1942
Our work is routine. Receiving equipment, putting it in correct place and issuing it out to outfits which have requisitions to fill.

Had our first nite raid on this day.

Tuesday, November 24, 1942
Our first mail call since we have been in Africa.

Sunday, November 29, 1942
Move to ballpark in city of Oran. We start working in different engineer dump other side of town. We go to work by truck. My work is same, I check equipment coming in and fill orders going out. I do the pencil work. Arabs do the manual work.

My battalion camp site in Oran [Allen, 101]

My copy of volume one, first edition of The Stars and Stripes in North Africa, published on Wednesday, December 9, 1942. It includes a welcome message from General Eisenhower, Allied Commander-in-Chief, North Africa.

BACK IN THE WORLD: December 13, 1942. The Washington Redskins defeate the Chicago Bears 14-6 to win the NFL Championship.

11. Operation Torch Begins

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Monday, October 26, 1942
10 p.m. we sail from Glasgow. For several days we are making a big circle in the Atlantic Ocean. We are joining up with other ships from the U.S. and British Isles. At one time we are within 500 miles from the coast of Virginia and the Carolinas.

The account of the voyage from Scotland to North Africa . . . is a remarkable story. In late October, 1942 ships left the British Isles heading west into the Atlantic to escape enemy air observation and then rendezvoused near Iceland and headed southward toward the Azores. When approximately due west from the Strait of Gibraltar the convoy turned and made a dash eastward and into the Mediterranean. It is still difficult to believe that the large scale preparations required to mount such an operation could have been unobserved. Tension was high and submarine attack awaited momentarily but all remained quiet. On D-Day minus-2 the convoy slipped into the Mediterranean through the Strait and only then did realization dawn that complete surprise might indeed be achieved. [Allen, 41]

Saturday, November 7, 1942

The night before the invasion, Lieutenant Commander E.J. Tamlyn extended an "Invitation to a Beach Party" to all officers involved in the Operation Torch "Landing Party," which my outfit is a part of. The following invitation was sent to Lieutenant Max Cherney, one of the officers in my company.

[Allen, 43]

Sunday, November 8, 1942
Land in North Africa. We land on H HOUR D DAY, which is at midnite. Our outfit is first. We have help. We have a spy on the beach with a flash lite to steer the first bunch in. My platoon isn't first. We don't land until about day break. Now we find out that a unit of U.S. Rangers have landed just ahead of our first wave, they are destroying enemy machine gun nests and coast guard artillery battalion. Some paratroopers have also landed a few miles inland and captured airport.

A map of Operation Torch. I am with the Central Task Force, landing at Red Beach (circled). We land just south of the town of Arzew, Algeria, east of the large port city of Oran, Algeria. [courtesy: www.dean.usma.edu]

Above are American troops of the Central Task Force landing on Red Beach, south of Arzew, Algeria, on November 8, 1942. These pictures were taken after daybreak, shortly after my platoon landed. [top photo courtesy: www.ibiblio.com; bottom photo: public domain]

Sunday, November 8 - Monday, November 9, 1942
Next two days is full of confusion. My company captures village of St. Lew. Also capture freight train, which is loaded mostly with barrels of wine. The enemy is mostly troops of the French Foreign Legion, with a few Germans. They recapture airport from our paratroops. They take our airplanes and strafe us on the beach. My outfit is now unloading ships and stocking supply and equipment on the beach. Our tanks and infantry recapture airport. It changed hands three times in a few hours.

My company captures the town of St. Lew (also known as Bettioua). The town of St. Cloud (also known as Gdyel) was an important stronghold during the invasion's first 24 hours.

Our infantry has captured town of St. Cloud [Gdyel]. Now the enemy has them surrounded and pinned down. They are helpless. We fear the enemy will now try to capture the beach head, which is my outfit and all the supplies we have there. Things look pretty bad.

Now we have to dig in to form a second line of defense. We have orders not to surrender, but fight to the last man.

After several hours, it was in middle of nite, good news. Tanks from 1st Amored Division had reached St. Cloud. They completely wiped out the enemy troops which had the infantry pinned down. The enemy was only an infantry outfit and had no defense against tanks.

10. "We are getting ready for an invasion."

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Area of operations.

WAR UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 2, 1942. Rommel driven back in Battle of Alam Halfa, North Africa.

Thursday, September 17, 1942

My pay record for overseas hazardous duty pay was opened on September 17, 1942.

Thursday, September 24, 1942
Train at Beach Hill Camp near Londonderry for about five weeks. We now move, go by truck to New Castle, [Northern] Ireland. Here we set up camp and continue our training.

Newcastle, Northern Ireland, as it appears today. [photo by Astrid Lied]

Saturday, September 26, 1942
Fire rifles on range.

Saturday, October 3, 1942
Leave at 3 a.m., go by truck to Belfast. Load on USS Brazil.

The route from Belfast, Northern Ireland, to Liverpool, England, and on to Crewe.

Sunday, October 4, 1942
Arrive at Liverpool, England. Go by train to city of Crewe, about 30 miles from Liverpool. Here, our camp is at Crewe Hall, an old castle 2 or 3 miles from Crewe.

Crewe Hall as it appears today; Crewe, Cheshire, England. We used this castle as camp for 10 days. [courtesy: www.cheshire.gov.uk]

BACK IN THE WORLD: October 5, 1942. St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series, defeating the New York Yankees four games to one.

Thursday, October 8, 1942
Our outfit is reorganized. We are getting ready for an invasion. I am to be a bridge carpenter, altho I have hardly ever seen a bridge. I had been a radio operator, but didn't have a radio to operate.

We are now plain old combat engineers. Our company will be the "beach party." We will land ahead of everything and prepare the beach for other units to follow, including infantry, tanks, etc.

Friday, October 9, 1942
Go on nite problem [training]. We train part of the nite. I help lay summervelt matting which will keep tanks and trucks from getting stuck in the soft sand on beach. I also have walkie-talkie radio so our unit can keep in contact with other units in the operation.

Wednesday, October 14, 1942
Load everything we have on train and go to Liverpool.

Friday, October 16, 1942
Load on HMS Durban Castle. This ship is from the South African ship lines.

A postcard of HMS Durban Castle. [courtesy: www.simplonpc.co.uk]

Monday, October 19, 1942
Anchored off Glasgow, Scotland. Here we continue our training on the ship.

Wednesday, October 21, 1942
We climb down side of ship on rope netting with full field pack. It is foggy, netting is slippery. We go from top of ship down to the water and back up again. Several of our men fall and get hurt.

Soldiers climbing rope netting with full field pack in a training maneuver during World War Two [courtesy: www.45thdivision.org]

Saturday, October 24, 1942
Training on ship while anchored at Glasgow. Have nite problem [training].

WAR UPDATE: November 1, 1942. Operation Supercharge begins; Allies break Axis lines at the Battle of El Alamein, North Africa.

9. Off to War...

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Early August 1942
We are told deployment overseas is imminent. We still do not know where we are going for sure, but we believe it will be the United Kingdom.

Sunday, August 2, 1942

A post card of the camp headquarters at Camp Edwards, sent to my mother: "Well this is a quiet Sunday. I have been washing some clothes. The sun was shining and it was nice and warm but now it has clouded up and is chilly. I had a $40 money order sent to you yesterday. Hope you got it. As Ever, Howard"

Monday, August 3, 1942

We are issued identification cards on August 3, 1942, as we prepare to deploy.

We all double check our address books before we deploy overseas. This is a page from my address book:

Tuesday, August 4, 1942

Movement to the New York Port of Embarkation began on August 4th with one train-load of troops following at about one-hour intervals from Camp Edwards to Pier 13 on Staten Island, where movement was completed on August 5th, and the Brigade was embarked on the S.S.'s Wakefield and Batory [Allen, 28].

Thursday, August 6, 1942
Leave Brooklyn, N.Y. at 5 a.m. on USS Wakefield. We join a convoy of ships and sail in a northeasterly direction toward Nova Scotia.

USS Wakefield [courtesy: www.far-eastern-heroes.org.uk]

The USS Wakefield was formerly known as the SS Manhattan, a luxurious passenger liner that had been launched December 6, 1931. The ship was chartered by the U.S. Government on July 6, 1942 for a period of six years and the name changed to Wakefield, named after an American shrine, the birthplace of George Washington. She safely delivered the 1st Engineer Amphibian Brigade to Glasgow, Scotland in August 1942. On the return trip, a fire of unknown origin broke out on September 3, 1942, which could not be controlled. Special fire-fighting equipment was flown in and the fire was finally extinguished on September 12th. [Allen, pages 31-32].

WAR UPDATE: AUGUST 7, 1942. British General Bernard Montgomery takes command of the Eighth Army in North Africa.

Saturday, August 8, 1942
Anchored in harbor at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Sunday, August 9, 1942
We are joined by several other ships in Halifax and our group moves out today, following a northern route past the shores of Newfoundland and into the dangerous North Atlantic. We sail just south of Iceland and around the northern tip of Ireland to drop anchor at the Firth of Clyde, near Glasgow, Scotland.

Monday, August 17, 1942
Arrive at Glasgow, Scotland.

Firth of Clyde, Scotland. [photo by Dave Souza]

Wednesday, August 19,1942

Arrive at Belfast, Northern Ireland. Unload from ship USS Wakefield and load on smaller ship, sort of a ferry boat and go to Londonderry. Go by truck to Beach Hill Camp, which is about 3 miles from Londonderry and very close to border of Irish Free State. Here we train very hard for several weeks. We really are getting fed very good. Every one is very husky and in best physical condition of our lives.

Guild Hall in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, dominates the landscape. [courtesy: www.planetware.com

8. Training at Camp Edwards

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Saturday, June 13, 1942
We are processed and loaded on a train this hot Texas summer morning. We are eastward-bound to Camp Edwards, Massachusetts, located about 65 miles south of Boston. The trip is a long one; over 1,600 miles. Our basic training is completed,we are soldiers now. [courtesy: www.maps.com]

Post card of the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas, "Where American Drinks Its Way To Health," sent to my mother: "Dear Folkes, We are eateing dinner now in the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells. Hope every thing is ok at home. Howard"

Friday, June 14, 1942

Post card from the Southern Hotel in El Reno, Oklahoma, sent to my mother: "Dear Folkes, We just had breakfast here in this town at this hotel. Your Son, Howard"

Wednesday, June 17, 1942

After four days by train, we arrive at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts. We are processed and I am assigned to 1st Engineer Amphibian Brigade, 591st Engineer Boat Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Company E.

A post card of the division headquarters at Camp Edwards as it looked while I was stationed there.

WAR UPDATE: June 21, 1942. German General Rommel's troops capture city of Tobruk, located in North Africa.

July 1942

WAR UPDATE: JULY 1, 1942. First battle of El Alamein begins in North Africa.

We have learned we will become amphibious troops. We will undergo intense training for the next six weeks before deploying overseas. We do not know our destination.

Training on Washburn Island, Massachusetts, a division of Camp Edwards. We are training for an amphibious assault, learning how to quickly and effectively establish a beach head. The training is intense and difficult during the hot summer months (courtesy: www.mass.gov).

The beaches of Washburn Island as they appear today. The landing craft have been replaced by fishing boats. (courtesy: www.boston.com)

True Story: We had a very shy man with a quiet voice in our company. One day we were told to police the company area. We would line up abreast and pick up cigarette butts, match stems, etc. In that soft, whiney voice he said, 'I've picked up four thousand of these damned things and I don't even smoke.'

True Story: This same guy one day in the chow line, walked up to the mess tent, looked in the kettle and said, 'What have you got?' The cook answered, 'Same shit.' The guy replied, 'Well... give me some.'

I hand-copied this poem, "Life of a Soldier," written by a fellow soldier going through training at Camp Edwards at the same time I was there (click on letter to read - letter is in two parts. WARNING: May contain language offensive to some).

This photo was taken while still in the States in 1942. My buddy Walen is on the right. He never came home.

7. Goodbye Camp Wolters

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May through June 1942

WAR UPDATE: MAY 6, 1942. Surrender of all U.S. Forces in the Philippines. General MacArthur vows, "I shall return."

More pictures sent home from Camp Wolters. This is me (left) posing next to a tree. The caption on the picture to the right says: "I still had on the wool uniform in this picture."

Our last few days at basic training. Caption on the picture to the right: "Reuben Johnson with me here."

Postcard from Camp Wolters.

Monday, May 25, 1942
I come down with scarlet fever, in hospital at Camp Wolters.

I bought a postcard of the hospital division at Camp Wolters, since I spent a week there with measles in March and over three weeks with scarlet fever in late May-early June. The satellite image (bottom) shows what the same area looks like today. A landmark feature is the horseshoe-shaped roundabout which is present in both images (circled). Note none of the original buildings are there any longer.

WAR UPDATE: JUNE 4, 1942. Battle of Midway. Four Japanese aircraft carriers sunk.

Second week of June 1942
I have recovered from scarlet fever. We have now received our orders to report to Camp Edwards, Massachusetts, for further training and subsequent deployment overseas. We will most likely deploy to the European Theatre of Operations, but we can't really be sure.

Like a ghost of the past rising from the undergrowth, an abandoned building still stands from the original Camp Wolters. The men who trained here are gone, but they will never be forgotten. This photograph was taken in 2003. [photo by Sgt. Jason Watts]

6. Basic Training Continues

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April 1942

A typical day at Camp Wolters:

6:00 AM: Reveille

6:45 AM: Breakfast
7:00 AM: Clean up
7:30 AM - 12 NOON: Drill and Instruction
1:00 PM - 4:30 PM: Instruction (radio school)
5:15 PM: Retreat
5:30 PM: Dinner
5:30 PM - 11:00 PM: Free time
11:00 PM: Taps

True Story: I was getting basic training in Camp Wolters, Texas, one of the guys was on guard duty. They sent him to the hospital to guard a prisoner. A kid who was serving time in the guard house became very sick and was in the hospital. The army rules are that a prisoner must be guarded at all times. This kid was very sick, in fact, on his death bed. They had called his family in. He was dying with pneumonia. The guard said, 'There I sat with my rifle in my hands. The kid died. The mother and sister were crying. Did I ever feel out of place.'

The Camp Wolters Longhorn was the camp newspaper "Published for soldiers by soldiers." We could send these home so our family and friends could keep updated on what we were doing.

This is from a copy of The Longhorn that I sent home. I wrote at the top of the page "The man at the top is one of my instructors" for radio school, which I am currently attending.

My handwritten notes from radio school classes. This was a crash course and a lot of information had to be digested quickly. Luckily, I had a pretty good radio background already.

Not all of our time was spent in drill and instruction. I snapped this picture (left) of a bunch of soldiers lining up to get into the camp movie theater. The photo to the right is of the very same building in the early 1970s, taken from almost the exact same position [courtesy: www.fwcvhpa.com].

Caption on back of picture: "Me, Clarence Hazleton of Mpls is in center, Reuben Johnson from Henning is on the right. We were eating ice cream." Camp Wolters, Texas.

5. Basic Training Begins

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February and March 1942

From the Fergus Falls Daily Journal (right): "Private Howard W. Branstner, son of Mr. and Mrs. Chris Branstner of Oak Valley, has been in the service of his country since February 12. He is taking up radio work at Camp Wolters, Texas."

We now begin 13 weeks of basic training, preparing us for whatever enemy we may face. Some of us will deploy to the South Pacific, others will be ordered to the European Theatre. Still others will go to places we don't even know about.

Many of us will come home, but some of us won't. The only thing we know for sure is we know nothing for sure.

A snapshot I took of Area 6, which is where my barracks are located.

This is me at Camp Wolters (left) standing in from of my barracks. To the right, caption on the back of the picture: "Walter Irish is on the left. I am in center and Fritz on the right. It was hot the day this picture was taken on Sunday, March 15, 1942."

Written on the back of the picture to the left: "Surprise, I wasn't sucking my finger. I was trying to smoke my pipe. You can see the cactus." On the photo to the right is written "Howard and Brown, Camp Wolters, Tex." On the back of this picture is written, "The guy on this picture with me is the one I boxed with."

Target practice was a required drill during basic training. An "Individual Score Book" was assigned to each of us. Notice my name is spelled wrong on the cover of the book (top). Inside (bottom) is from target practice on Wednesday, March 25, 1942.

Last week of March 1942
In hospital with measles at station hospital, Camp Wolters, Texas.

4. Arrival at Camp Wolters, Texas

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Saturday, February 21, 1942

We arrive at Camp Wolters this morning. After processing, I am assigned to the 61st Battalion, Company D, 3rd Platoon. We are part of the Fifth Army.

Given my radio experience, I am ordered to go to radio school while going through basic training. I will become a radio operator.

Trainees arriving at Camp Wolters. [courtesy: www.fortwolters.com]

The entrance to Wolters Industrial Park as it appears today. This would have been the main gate to Camp Wolters in 1942. At its peak during World War II, Camp Wolters became the largest infantry replacement center in the United States. The camp was redesignated as Wolters Air Force Base in 1951, then Fort Wolters in 1963 before being deactivated in 1973. Today it is an industrial park, serves as a training center for the Texas National Guard, and hosts a branch of Weatherford College [photo: public domain].

Issued to each trainee upon arrival. [courtesy: www.fortwolters.com]

A map (left) of Camp Wolters from the Infantry Replacement Training Center booklet [courtesy www.fortwolters.com]. I am assigned to Area 6 . A satellite image of the remnants of Camp Wolters (right) as it appears today. Areas 1-6 and Washington Triangle are marked for reference.

An aerial image of Area 6, looking east, taken from a post card I purchased at Camp Wolters. This is where my barracks were located.

A modern satellite image of Area 6, looking east, as it appears today. The original buildings were torn down long ago, our time spent here a distant memory. Today these are private businesses.

3. Southward to Texas

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Thursday, February 19, 1942

I have received my orders and I am to report for basic training at Camp Wolters, located four miles east of Mineral Wells, Texas, located just west of the Dallas-Forth Worth area. I will travel there by train with thousands of other inductees.

We depart from Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on this cold winter afternoon at 4:30 p.m.

Inductees boarding a military train at Fort Snelling (left) during the winter of 1942 [courtesy www.mnhs.org]. A military train loaded with inductees bound for basic training during the winter of 1942 (right) [public domain].

Post card of the Minneapolis American Legion Club sent to my mother: "On train. Thur. February 19th. Time: 5:20 P.M. 50 minutes out of Ft. Snelling. Headed for Texas, Inf. Replacement Center, Camp Wolters. Howard"

Friday, February 20, 1942

Post card of the Washington Monument at Union Station Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri, sent to my mother: "At eleven in forenoon. We are in rail road yards at Kan. City, Missouri. We will pick up 6 more cars of soldiers here. Jim Larson and Herb Oldenburg are on this train but they are going to Camp Barkley [Texas] to be in medical corps. The rest of us are going to Camp WOLTERS near Mineral Wells and Ft. Worth. You might as well keep my National Ben. Society insurance paid up. Saw Ray Corbett in Ft. Snelling. Howard"

Post card of the terminal building at the Kansas City airport sent to my mother: "Feb. 20th. Time: 3:45 P.M. Somewhere in Oklahoma. We have just crossed the line from Kan. into Oklahoma. There is still little spots of snow here and there and little patches of ice in shady places. Remember I am Prvt. Howard W. Branstner when you write. I will give you my correct address later. I hope you got my letter with the insurance papers in. I wish I had a map so I could see where I am at. This makes 4 cards I have sent today. Howard. Later -- I'll mail this in Tulsa."

Fort Snelling to Camp Wolters is 1,016 miles by train. The trip took approximately 38 hours, including stops at Kansas City and Tulsa [courtesy: www.maps.com].

2. A Trip to Fort Snelling

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Thursday, January 29, 1942
Just 53 days after the bombs fell on Pearl Harbor, I received a letter in the mail. Inside the envelope was an ordinary piece of blue paper measuring 8 inches wide, 10.5 inches long. It was dated January 26, 1942 (a Monday) and the "Stamp of the Local Board," located in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, was dated January 29, 1942. The letter was quick and to the point. It read as follows:

NOTICE OF SELECTION
To Howard Wesley Branstner. Order No. 2016
Having been found physically qualified for general military service by Army authorities, you have been selected for training and service under the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940.
You will receive an Order to Report for Induction -- such induction to take place on or about February 1942.
This notice is given you in advance for your convenience, and is not an order to report. If you are employed, you should advise your employer of this notice. The Order to Report for Induction will specify a definite time and place for you to report.
{signed} V.C. Jensen, Member of Local Board

The original copy of the letter that changed my life.

Thursday, February 12, 1942
I am inducted into the Army at Fort Snelling, St. Paul, Minnesota.

A post card I sent to my parents. I ate here at The Covered Wagon, "Home of Properly Aged Sizzling Steaks," located at 114 South 4th Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota, before reporting to Fort Snelling.

Draft inductees going through their physical screening at Fort Snelling. I went through this exact same process, perhaps by these same fellows. [Image courtesy of www.mnhs.org]

Private Howard W. Branstner, pictures taken at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, February 1942. You can see the snow on my shoulder in the picture to the left. The fellow with me in the lower right is Jim Larson.

Fort Snelling as it appears today.

1. "I Knew It Was Bad"

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Hewitt, Minnesota was a bustling small town in 1941. The people here had survived the Great Depression, and businesses were thriving once again. Even though there was a war ravaging Europe, things didn’t seem so bad in this modest farming community in west-central Minnesota.

Oak Valley Township is a rural agricultural area, found four miles west of Hewitt. The people here are honest and hardworking, and in 1941, almost all were family farmers.

Courtesy: Geology.com

On Saturdays, these farming families would travel to Hewitt to replenish supplies, catch up on the latest news over a cold beer, and maybe even kick up their heels at a local barn dance. On the Sabbath, and it was customary to have a large Sunday dinner with family, friends and neighbors; but come Monday, the hard work started once again.

In 1941, Howard Branstner was a strapping 26 year-old bachelor, living on his family farm in Oak Valley Township. He had piercing blue eyes, stood six feet tall, and weighed a solid 167 pounds. Having completed the tenth grade, he was considered well-educated for a farmer.

Howard Branstner before the war.

It is evident, however, that Howard was not content to be a farmer his entire life.

Four years earlier, on February 6, 1937, a 22 year-old Howard paid for a correspondence course from the National Radio Institute, based in Washington, D.C.

Howard's receipt for his correspondence course from the National Radio Institute.

It took him three years, but on April 9, 1940, Howard graduated from the National Radio Institute as an authorized “Radiotrician and Teletrician, Specializing in Advanced Radio Servicing and Merchandising.”

Howard's diploma from the National Radio Institute.

Clearly, Howard was making plans for the future. But one day in early December 1941, all of those plans changed. News of a Japanese surprise attack on a little-known naval base crackled and hissed over the radio airwaves some time in the afternoon, perhaps just as the Branstner family finished their Sunday dinner.

Years later, when asked of his thoughts after learning that Pearl Harbor had been attacked, Howard simply said, “I thought, ‘Boy, here we go.’ I knew it was bad.”

The next day, December 8, 1941, a shocked and angry nation listened to President Roosevelt's radio address:

Like so many other young men of his generation, Howard knew his life would never be the same.