Stories of Service, Volume 2

Valley Veterans Remember World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War

Janice Stevens

• Publisher: Craven Street Books
• Year: 2011
• eBook ISBN: 9781610351263
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military Biographies
• Index: History

Perfectly blending a vast historical scope with intensely individual viewpoints, this stirring collection of stories brings a man-on-the-ground perspective to a huge range of military history, with stories of a quarter-century of war from nearly every corner of the earth, including Europe; the Pacific; mainland Asia; a tense confrontation in Guantanamo Bay during the Cuban Missile Crisis; POW camps in Germany, Japan, and California; and the San Joaquin Valley home front from the 1940s through the 1960s. These 72 highly individualized narratives of combat, military service, and the personal sacrifices of war--penned by ordinary San Joaquin Valley residents and buttressed with more than 100 personal photographs--bring commentaries from soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, nurses, ambulance drivers, and civilians. In simple, direct, and authentic language, with stories both horrific and touching, ""Stories of Service: Volume 2"" perfectly illustrates the personal side of war.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

WORLD WAR II: THE PACIFIC THEATER

Hot Stuff!! Hot Stuff!! By Elisha “Richie” Richardson

A Fighting Chance By Robert L. Knott

My Souvenirs By Louis Munschy

My Survival By Bob McNutt

Invasion By Lee Hull

South Pacific Action By Clint Cole

Memories of Pacific Invasions
By Sgt. Leonard J. Ash, as remembered by his daughter, Annette Ash

A Seabee on Iwo By Lowell Horton

Assignment Pearl Harbor By Richard Johanson

Iwo Jima By Ross Doll

My WWII Experiences on a B-24 Bomber By Vartan Dzerigian

Memories of My Father By Colonel Emil J. Radics, as remembered by his daughter

A Close Call By Fred Von Rueden

In Command By Chandler Washburne

Enjoying Classical Music in China By Robert Soule

It Was Like This By Mary Hayesy Snyder

Just Being A Fighter Pilot By Lee Self

Robert Brown: Commissioned from the Jungle By Scotti Lynn Moore

I Wanted a Clean Place to Sleep
By Everett “Bud” Rank, as told to Charlotte Hutchison

A Brief Detour on Saipan By Eugene Holquinn, as told to his niece, Georgia Vercoe

The Story of “Lucky Six” By Robert Baird

Serving with the 40th Division By Gerald Russell Wells

WORLD WAR II: EUROPEAN THEATER

With the Blue Devils in Italy By Dick Neuman

The Real Hero By Cruz Rios

A Highly Decorated Truck Driver By Phil Carter

My Life in World War II By Wayne E. Houser, Sr.

How I Captured a Box at the Opera By Richard L. Herboldshimer

Daddy’s Second War By Nathan Moore, as told to Naoma Hayes

A Handful of Memories By Loyd Carver, Army Air Corps, WWII

Aboard the Submarine Apogon By M.C. (Mac) McGinty

Recollections from the War By Sally Stallings

1317 Engineers General Service Regiment By Earl Watson

Once an Officer By Richmond Roe Fowler

Memories of a Combat Medic in WW II By Ed Jennrich

D-Day By James E. Davis, as told to his daughter, Jodi Davis, in February 2007

Serving on an LST By Ralph Ritchie

Autobiography By Bud Grace

Co-Pilot, Bomber Crew #319 By Leonard Newton

In for the Duration By Lloyd Renfro

A Story Told by an American Ex-Pow By Darwin Nelson

Once a Marine, Always a Marine! By Francis I. Donohue

A Story of an Ex-POW By Frank Hokr

KIA and Still Bragging About It By Gerry A. Eckenrod

Ex-Prisoner of War By Glenn Schmidt

The Difference Between Life and Death By John Cabrera Padilla

A Left Waist Gunner on a B-17 with the 8th Air Force By Rudy Giannoni

Post War Memories By Ray Springer

Remembering WWII By Eugene Richardson

WORLD WAR II: ON THE HOMEFRONT

One Lucky Life By Arthur Cornwall

In Love with Airplanes By Bob Der Mugrdechian

The Lost SB2C Helldivers By Duane W. Turk

World War II Pack Artillery, 71 Division By Gervice (Gerv) Nash

Always Ready By Jane James

Dottie’s Story As told to Linda Robertson

Gloria Lloyd Radics As remembered by her daughter

Christmas 1941, Two Weeks After Pearl Harbor By Anna McCartney

My Guilty Wish By Francis Hutchison, as told to Charlotte Hutchison

What December 7, 1941, Meant for Me By Kathy Yamada

POW Camps By LeVeta Vincent

A Different Story of Service By Lois Schneider

World War II Home Front Memories By Mabelle Selland

The WAVES in Washington, D.C. By Marjorie Mulkey Nelson

A Kid’s Eye View of WWII By Marylin Pages Zask

April 1944 By Pauline Middleton

A Beautician to the WASPs By Rosalee O. Wheeler

The Smith Brothers From the memoirs of Gaynel (Smith) Taylor, as related to her daughter, Marjorie (Taylor) Allen

Thomas Leslie Taylor, Tec 5 From the memoirs of Gaynel (Smith) Taylor, as related to her daughter, Marjorie (Taylor) Allen

A Whimsical Tale By Virginia Templeton

THE KOREAN WAR

Korean Occupation, September 7, 1945 By Richard V. Johnson

Korea 1951 By Bill Helton

Experiences in War By Charles Tobias

The Killing Zone By Frank Blake

Korea By Frank Hokr

Remembering Korea By Henry Lemay

A Personal Journey By John M. Chabala

A Struggle Toward Happiness By Kenneth Cowan

Days of Service in the Korean Conflict By Kenneth Huey

From Humble Beginnings By Reginald Thornhill

Service to My Country By Stanford Lee

Scaling the Fence By Wally E. Peterson

Trajectory of an Ex-POW By Joel A. Hinojosa

Capture in Korea By Paul Petredis

Missing Dog Tags By Kenneth Eaton

SERVICE IN BETWEEN THE WARS

Sea Story By Gordon D. Pickett

My Years of Service By John L. Wells

Christmas at 300 Feet By Robert Owens

VIETNAM

In Country By James E. Cornwall

Vietnam War By Chong Erskine

Warrior of the Mountains By Richard Gonzalez

Scared to Life By Cliff Rapp

The Bells By Lee Self

Rose Colored Glasses By Tom Hayward, as told to Linda Hayward

Try Hard and Never Quit
By Sing Houngviengkham, as told to Charlotte Hutchison

Long Binh, Vietnam By Carolyn Hisako Tanaka

Experiencing Saigon An excerpt by Reginald Thornhill

Viet Nam 1966 By Bill Helton

THE COLD WAR

Cold War Service in Germany By David Ellis Allen

GTMO Cuba August 17, 1962 to December 21, 1962 By Bill Helton

Epilogue

Afterword

Contributors’ Service and Rank

Index

About the Author

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to express my deep appreciation to the following people:

Our veterans who fought for our country, and who continue to inspire us with their remembrances of their military experiences. Thanks also to the veterans and their families for kindly providing the photographs used in this book.

Vic Maggi who sought out veterans, interviewed them and created a number of stories included in this volume.

Paul Loeffler for writing the Foreword and for his extraordinary work on Hometown Heroes, interviewing and showcasing our Valley veterans.

Bill Dietzel for writing the Afterword and for his many years of publishing Veterans Magazine, as well as doing a host of other work to support veterans.

The volunteers in the Monday morning class: Alieen Bos, Jodi Davis, and Nancy Huey.

Typist Linda Robertson, and Kevin and Fonda at Shaw Printing.

The team who edited the manuscript, designed the cover, and pulled it all together: Jim Goold, Carla Green, Kent Sorsky, Richard Sorsky and Monica Stevens.

FOREWORD

So much of our understanding of our nation’s military history has been painted in broad strokes. Names like Pershing, Patton, Eisenhower, and Schwarzkopf are as recognizable as Normandy, Nagasaki, Saigon, or Baghdad. But with apologies to our famous generals and the strategic decisions that define their legacies, the true hero of our nation’s undying commitment to freedom is the everyday American who chooses to prioritize duty, honor, and country above personal ambitions. These heroes exist quietly and humbly in each one of our hometowns, content to let their stories of selfless service and sacrifice to remain hidden from view.

So many veterans share similar stories, but no two accounts are exactly the same, and the fleshing out of each unique experience bears great value. Just as adventurers of different eras and ambitions came to California in search of gold, oil, or the famously fertile soil of the San Joaquin Valley, Janice Stevens unearths precious commodities in the weekly meetings that spawned this anthology.

Whether it’s a nurse running on pure adrenaline as she treats mass casualties in the chaos of Vietnam; a soldier enduring more than a thousand days in captivity in the “Forgotten War” of Korea; or an engineer building bridges from Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge, the stories you find in this book will move you.

Ranging from the mundane to the unexplainable, the tales of these veterans represent more than just an entertaining narrative to read. Beyond the obvious purpose of honoring these courageous men and women and preserving their experiences in print for posterity, I believe this book can etch a deeper impact. When the unavoidable sense of admiration the reader encounters is coupled with a sincere spirit of introspection, the most powerful legacy of these heroes is unleashed. In each one of these voices, many now speaking from beyond the grave, you’ll find a patriotism and commitment to the ideals of America that might just make you examine your own priorities.

Some of the stories will cause you to chuckle, some may leave your pages tear-stained, but taken in total, these accounts will call you to a greater awareness and appreciation of the ongoing price of freedom. Whether it comes as a quiet whisper in your ear, or as the kind of bellowing demand that would make a drill sergeant proud, you’ll hear that call and feel that stirring. If they were willing to give all, how can we not find a way to give a little in return?

Sentimentality is natural, and looking back with fondness is fine, but my challenge to you is to allow this compilation to drive you forward. How better to honor the heroes of our past than to forge a future that models those same ideals of service, selflessness, and sacrifice?

—Paul Loeffler, Host of Hometown Heroes on KMJ and author of Underdogs to Wonderdogs: Fresno State’s Road to Omaha and the College World Series Championship

INTRODUCTION

Every Monday morning, I meet with 45 to 50 veterans, a few spouses, and others interested in military remembrances at the Clovis Veterans Memorial Building in Clovis, California, to reminisce, enjoy camaraderie, eat goodies, and bask in an empathetic audience.

These are the war heroes of our past, but none would claim that title. Although I bestow that honor to all who serve to protect our freedoms, the veterans, however, come in with an attitude of “I just did my job” or “The ones who didn’t come back are the heroes.” They are straightforward in sharing their memories, with no embellishments or exaggerations. If anything, their stories presented in this volume are understated, and I have not changed them, have not created drama, but instead have accepted the words from the veterans in their own voices, telling the story as it is remembered.

One of the veterans chided me once on using the word “story.” He made a valid point in that these are not “stories.” These are the chilling, first-hand accounts of those who saw battle, who faced s...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents