9. Off to War...

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

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

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

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

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

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.