While Dad enlisted on July 5, 1943 he didn’t begin his
active duty until July 26, 1943. His Discharge papers indicate “Inactive
Service” between July 5 and July 25, 1943 and his training began on July 26,
1943. So, he had about 3 weeks to get ready to leave Washington to become an
official United States G.I. From what I have read, it appears that several of
his buddies enlisted around the same time as Dad, and apparently, a couple of them were sent to the same locations for their initial training.
With his training, he starts writing letters to his sister
Geraldine. I wish I had copies of the letters that she sent to him, but I
don’t.
The first “letter” that I have is actually a post card that
indicates Dad arrived at Camp Howze, Texas at 2am and the picture on the card
seems to indicate his first G.I. haircut.
What I have discovered about Camp Howze is that the Camp was
located northwest of Gainesville, Texas, being established by the United States
War Department in 1942 as a United States Army infantry-training camp. It was
located on a 59,000-acre tract purchased from local landowners beginning in
December 1941 and named for Maj. Robert E. Lee Howze. With a troop capacity of
39,963 men, the camp served as the training ground for several hundred thousand
men between 1942 and 1946. In 1946 the camp was declared surplus, disbanded,
and leveled.
However, according to the second letter sent by Dad, which
was postmarked August 5, 1943, he had spent 4 days and nights on a train and
was now located at Camp Haan, Riverside, California. So, he must have not
stayed at Camp Howze very long.
Why is the postcard signed "Bert"... or at least that's how it looks to me.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I never knew it, Dad must have gone by the nickname Bert when he was a young man because he signed many of his letters as Bert. Just another one of those things we didn't know about your Grandpa.
ReplyDelete