Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 HFDFW

 

Fred enlisted in the Army Air forces because he was about to be drafted. This, plus the fact that he had taken flying lessons while attending Baylor University. He loved to fly and was licensed to fly single engine Taylorcraft airplanes.

After basic training, Fred was trained as a navigator and was shipped overseas to Norwich, England. He was assigned to fly B-24’s with the 446^th Bomb Group, 2^nd Division of the famous 8^th AAF. He was lead navigator on most of his 35 missions over Europe. As lead navigator, it was his job to initially drop bombs on the specific target of the day. In the other B-24 Liberator’s in his flight, there were sometimes “Bomb Togglers,” who job was to drop their bombers bomb load when the lead navigator dropped his. It was an important assignment in being lead navigator, only the best were considered for this job.

One of his most memorable experiences was when the pilot of Fred’s Liberator decided to land at Norwich even though the field was socked in by fog. The bomber was low on fuel and had to land as quickly as possible; the only other alternative was for the crew to bail out. The bomber began its landing approach through the soup with visibility zero. All of a sudden, the Lib broke out of the low clouds and the pilot saw the ground coming up too fast. He pulled up the heavy bomber at the last minute with heavy G forces being placed on the crew. Thankfully the bomber landed safely after an almost 6 hour mission.

Fred was awarded the AAF Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross with 1 Oak Leaf cluster, and the Eastern Theater of Operations medal with 3 battle stars.

He was discharged from the AAF on November 7, 1945.

Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 HFDFW

 

Lawrence was attending a lecture while in high school one day when a Navy recruiting officer spoke of the variety of training that was available in the Navy. Lawrence thought that this would be a good choice as he was about to graduate high school. The recruiter’s message must have worked because on May 20, 1945 Lawrence enlisted in the U.S.Navy.   

After basic training Lawrence was assigned as an Aviations Machinists Mate.  His job was that of being part of an aircrew. There is a picture of a PBY Catalina flying boat that also shows two pretty girls with the caption “My favorite crew!”

Lawrence says that he saw too much of Kansas during his time in the Navy training for the invasion of Japan. He then saw duty in the Caribbean and South Atlantic, commenting on the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean!

He was awarded the American Theater of Operations medal, the WWII Victory medal and the Good Conduct ribbon.

Lawrence was discharged on July 17, 1946.  

Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 HFDFW

 

Delmar enlisted in the U.S.Army because his brother had recently been drafted. He went in on the buddy system along with his brother. He was inducted on June 6, 1944, the date of the invasion of Normandy by the Allies.

He was assigned to the 7^th Infantry Division after basic training. This division was activated on July 1, 1940. It arrived overseas on April 24, 1943 and saw 208 days of combat. Some of the campaigns the division was involved in were the Aleutian Islands, Leyte, Eastern Mandates and Ryukyus in the Philippines.

As a rifleman, squad leader and platoon sergeant, Delmar served with the 184^th Infantry Regiment in the southern Philippines, and was on occupation duty in Korea after the Japanese surrendered.

Delmar was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf cluster, Good Conduct medal, the Asiatic-Pacific campaign medal with 2 battle stars and 1 spearhead. Along with these he received the Philippine Liberation medal, Army Occupation medal with Japan device, Victory medal, Combat Infantry Badge and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.

Delmar was discharged on January 3, 1946 with the rank of Staff Sergeant.  

  

Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 Honar Flight DFW

 

Richard enlisted in the U.S.Navy at Du Bois Pennsylvania in October of 1942. He was 17 years of age.

After basic training, Richard was assigned to the Fletcher class destroyer U.S.S. Converse. It was a new ship, coming out of the shipyards in August 1942.

His job on the destroyer was that of being a coxswain of the boat. He also had the chance to be a gunner on one of the destroyer’s many on-board cannons or anti-aircraft guns.

The Converse participated in many campaigns in the Pacific. These included the Solomon Island campaign including the island of Guadalcanal from May 1943 to March 1944.

The destroyer was then assigned screening duties in the Central Pacific from March-August 1944. Several months later the ship saw action in the Philippines Islands and the island of Okinawa from November 1944 to August 1945. The Converse receives 11 battle stars total. The ship was later sold to Spain, and was scrapped in 1959.

Richard was awarded 7campaign stars, the Purple Heart and the Good Conduct medal.

He was discharged from the Navy on January 6, 1946 with the rank of 2^nd Class Boatswain.

 

Jimmy Buffet;s place Cozumel

Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 Honor Flight DFW

 

Herman enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 24, 1941 at the young age of 16. About this time the Air Corps was expanding rapidly with the anticipation of war in Europe and the Pacific. It became a separate entity from the regular Army and its name was changed to Army Air Force (AAF.) Its commander through much of the war was General Hap Arnold.

Herman is unique in that he says that he was assigned to the AAF instead of enlisting in that organization.  This shows that he probably tested well and it was felt he would be a good candidate for a crewman on a bomber.

After basic training Herman was shipped overseas. First stop however was in Newfoundland in 1942. Here he participated in far ranging anti-submarine patrols over the icy Atlantic searching for German U-Boats.

Soon afterwards he was transferred to Spinazzola Italy with the 15^th AAF. He was assigned to the 490^th Bomb Group composed of B-24 Liberator bombers. He spent two years at Spinazzola.

The 490^th BG was somewhat unique in that it’s tail markings on the B-24s was that of a yellow “O.” His last job was that of a Technical Inspector. His last base was in Natal Brazil.

Herman’s awards include the Distinguished Unit Badge GO 3604 15^th AAF. He also received the American Defense and Service medals.  There were also the European-African-Middle Eastern Service medal, and the Good Conduct medal.  

The 460^th BG later served in Vietnam and is now known as the 460^th Space Group.

Herman was discharged on September 27, 1945.

Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 Honor Flight DFW

 

Robert enlisted in the U.S.Navy on March 16, 1946 at the age of 17.

His job was that of a cook on the island of Guam that had been taken back from the Japanese in 1944.

His most memorable experience was serving food to the Japanese prisoners of war that had not been sent back to Japan after the war at this point.

He was discharged from the Navy on December 30, 1947 at the rank of Seaman First Class.

 

Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 HFDFW

 

John enlisted the Army Air Corps in January of 1943 at the age of 18.

Soon after basic training, John was shipped overseas to the Pacific theater of operations. He was assigned to the 3^rd Air Commando unit. His job was supplying the headquarters unit with vital material in which to conduct the war.

His most memorable experience was when he was on a troop train in occupied Japan at the end of the war.

John remembers traveling through the massive devastation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki shortly after the war ended.  He cannot exactly remember which city he was traveling through but the devastation of both cities was horrendous but saved probably a million Americans and Japanese and kept the war from lasting until 1947 or 1948 as some experts had predicted.

He left the AAF in January 1946.      

The Enthusiast 1944

Future bad boys, after the war...

Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 HFDFW

 

Melvin enlisted in the U.S.Army before the war. He joined on December 5, 1940 at the age of 18.

After basic training, Melvin was shipped along with other members of the famous 2^nd Infantry Division to England in preparation for the invasion of France. The 2^nd Infantry Division went overseas on October 10, 1943. It participated in the campaigns in the Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Normandy and the Rhineland in Germany. The division saw a total of 303 days of combat.

His job was that of a mess sergeant and eventually attained the rank of Technical Sergeant. He landed on Normandy beach on June 6, 1944. It has been said that an army travels on its stomach and Melvin’s job as a mess sergeant was very important and many times were subjected to fire from the enemy.

In December 1944 the German army made a last ditch offensive into an area called the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. It was thought at one time that mechanized forces couldn’t penetrate the heavily wooded area. The Panzer’s proved everyone wrong with an offensive that almost succeeded. The American’s fought back with everyone it could get that could hold a rifle. Melvin was one of many so-called support troops that were wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. For this he was awarded the Purple Heart.

He also was awarded two Bronze stars for his service, and was involved in five major campaigns in Europe during the war. He also received the Good Conduct medal.

Melvin was discharged on May 5, 1945.    

Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 HFDFW

 

Paul joined the Marines at the very young age of 17 years old. No doubt the fact that his brother was already a Marine had something to do with his joining! This was on August 9, 1946.

According to the Veterans administration, WWII was not over until the last day of December 1946. One of the reasons was that many servicemen and women, who had been overseas for years, were now coming home. However there was still work to do, one of which was that the United States had obligations among countries that had been at war with the Allies, now needed occupation forces to help those countries once at war, to rebuild in the postwar era.

Paul was assigned to the 1^st Battalion, 11^th Artillery of the famous 1^st Marine Division. His job was of being a spotter for a 105 mm howitzer.

He participated in the occupation of an area once taken over by the Japanese during the war, and was still reeling from the effects of the brutal actions of the Imperial Japanese Army. His destination included the Tientsin-Peiping (later Peking.) Paul also was stationed on the island of Guam.

Paul writes that he entered the Marines as a kid, survived Paris Island boot camp, and matured into a proud Marine to serve his country. The Marines he served with taught him to be “the best I could be,” and that he will always be grateful for his Marine experience.

His awards included the WWII Victory medal, Presidential Testimonial 1947, Good Conduct and the China Service medal.

Possibly with a heavy heart, Paul left the Marines on April 8, 1948.  

 

Harley-Davidson WLA in France 1944

Harley-Davidson WLA in Aachen France in 1944. American halftrack following. Notice the muddy street.

Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 HFDFW

 

Douglas was drafted into the U.S.Army and reported for duty on June 18, 1943. He was 18 years old.

Douglas was trained as a communications/radio repairman while serving with the 66^th Signal Battalion of the U.S.Army Signal Corps.

While in the Signal Corps, Douglas served in Central Europe, as well as the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of operations.

Douglas was awarded the American Campaign medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon with 1 Bronze Star, the WWII Victory Medal, Army Occupation ribbon with Germany-Japan clasp as well as the Philippine Liberation ribbon and the Honorable Service Lapel Button WWII and the Good Conduct medal.

He was discharged on February 24, 1946 with the rank of Technician 4^th Grade.

Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 HFDFW

 

Perry served with the United States Marine Corps from June 16, 1941 until November 24, 1945. During this time Perry had the prestigious duty of being the Marine orderly for Admiral R.C.Griffin on the USS Wichita and the USS Minneapolis.

The USS Wichita which was a heavy cruiser built in the 1930’s. She conducted operations out of Norfolk Virginia in the Atlantic Ocean.  The USS Minneapolis was also a heavy cruiser that was built in 1934. This ship participated in many campaigns in the Pacific including taking part in the battle of the Coral Sea in 1942. She was present protecting American aircraft carriers in the Battle of Midway where the Japanese advance into the Pacific was halted.

By 1943 the Minneapolis had fought in the Guadalcanal campaign and at the end of the war had participated in every major Pacific battle except Iwo Jima.   

His service in the Navy took him all over the world in several theaters of operations.  In particular, Perry participated on board ship in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.

Perry was awarded the American Area Campaign medal, the Asiatic-Pacific and the European Campaign medals.  The WWII Victory medal as well as the Good Conduct ribbon was issued to Perry.

 

Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 HFDFW

 

Robert enlisted in the Marines on August 25, 1942 at the age of 17.

He served with the 3^rd Marine Division 3^rd Service Battalion, Motor Transport. His job was to supply ammunition, food, water and other implements of war to the Marines on the front line.

Robert saw action at locations such as Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam and Iwo Jima. While on Guadalcanal, he was tasked and proud to be transporting pilots to Henderson Field for their missions. While on Bougainville, his job was to protect squadrons such as Pappy Boyington and the famous “Baa Baa Black Sheep from Japanese snipers as they took off and landed at an airstrip that the Seabees had built for them.

Robert’s 3^rd Marines were rushed to Iwo Jima as the situation there had become desperate. They were to support the 4^th and 5^th Marine divisions that were fighting on the island. Robert landed on the 23^rd of February 1945 at the foot of Mt. Suribachi as the famous American flag on top was in full bloom. It was a great site to see.

At this point and after delivering ammunition to the 28^th Marine Regiment on the island, Robert and the other Marines that landed with him volunteered to do whatever was needed.  They were told that the most important job at the moment was that there was need for additional stretcher bearers to pick up the dead, wounded and body parts on the Iwo air strip and take to the burial details set up on the beach. With a heavy heart but wanting to do what was needed, Robert assisted with the grim task ahead of him.

Being a stretcher barrier was a particularly hazardous job. While transporting the wounded as quickly and gently as possible while stumbling from the weight of the Marine and the uneven ground, Japanese snipers loved to pick off the men who had picked up the wounded Marines.

Robert saw himself and his unit awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for the assault troops, United States Fleet Marine Force-Iwo Jima. There were also his 3 Navy Unit commendations for the Marines service on Guam, Guadalcanal, and Iwo Jima.    

He was discharged from the Marines on September 17, 1945.

Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 HFDFW

 

Charles enlisted into the U.S.Army Air Corps in January of 1942. This was partly because Sheppard Air Base was in Wichita Falls, Texas, and it was close to home. He was 22 years old.

His first stop after training was England. Later he participated in Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa. He was part of the 12^th AAF, 49^th Fighter Squadron. Charles was in tech supply, his job was to order parts for airplanes including the P-38 Lightning, known to the Germans as the “Forked Tail Devil,” since it was a twin engine, and twin boomed aircraft.

Charles reports that as he was a musician, sometimes he and other talented airman would play in the evening as part of recreation for the others on base. Once after taking the airfield from the Luftwaffe at Oran Algeria, the base was bombed by German bombers. He was sleeping on the concrete floor of a hanger. He was told later of the bombing, apparently Charles slept right through the bombs dropping! Lucky for him, the hanger was spared getting hit that night.

Charles participated in the invasion of Sicily and later Italy. While in Italy, Charles was assigned to the air base at Triolo Italy. This is where he remained until the end of the war with Germany.

He was discharged in July, 1945.

 

   

HFDFW profiles, Spring-Summer 2013

 

Jake enlisted in the U.S.Navy on December 17, 1941, ten days after Pearl Harbor. He enlisted in the Navy because he thought that it was the best branch to belong to. He goes on to say “I was correct!”

He was trained as a sonar man but also describes himself as a swab jockey and a paint chipper!

Jake also had the job of being the helmsman while on battle stations on the U.S.S. Hubbard, DE-211 while on anti-submarine patrol in the North Atlantic. The Hubbard sunk at least two U-boats in the Atlantic, including the U-248 and the U-546, which was brought back to the Boston navy yard.

Jake was also assigned to the U.S.S.Honolulu which was awarded four battle stars while serving in the Pacific. The Honolulu was a light cruiser that survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the war, Jake served aboard the patrol craft U.S.S. PC-1232.

While awaiting discharge, Jake worked in the “Chiefs Club,” which he describes as the best duty ever!

Jake was awarded the American Theater medal, as well as the Asiatic-Pacific and European-African theater medals. He also received the WWII Victory medal and the Good Conduct medal.

He was discharged as a Seaman Third Class in March 1947.

D-Day then and now

Approaching Omaha Beach ,amazing!

March 2013 Dallas Police Shield

 

I usually try and stay focused on one year while writing this column over the years. I happen to have a few articles from several different years that I’ve found that didn’t make the Shield. So here goes.

In November 1971 a Dallas Police officer was indicted by the Dallas County grand jury for altering a public record, or ticket fixing as is more commonly known. The officer had been assigned as a bailiff in the Municipal Court after he was injured in an on-duty motorcycle crash.

This action was a result of a police department investigation where it was discovered a ticket fixing scheme that was allegedly masterminded by the 51 year old officer. The tickets he was accused of doctoring were picked up from several businesses in The Grove. Then these businesses would share in the fees required to get the tickets fixed. Or something like that.

 Chief Frank Dyson then suspended the policy of assigning officers to bailiff duty in the wake of the investigation. City and court officials apparently met soon after the discovery to install tighter safeguards in processing tickets.

Also in 1969 the DPD Tactical unit traveled to Ft.Hood to receive training in riot control. Due to the urban unrest at the time it was thought that this was needed. As we’ve discussed before, Dallas was spared most of the riots that happened on college campuses about the war in Vietnam and other social issues of the time.

Yes, lucky for us, the nearby university of choice, SMU was not then or now a hotbed of radicalism. BMW’s yes. 1960’s radical movements like the SDS, SNCC or Weather Underground no.

Dallas did have their share of problems however in the hot summer of 1969. On June 25th of that year firefighters were called to a fire at 1900 block of Record Crossing. This was the second night of trouble in the area, where bogus calls for the fire department would be called in, at which time citizens would throw rocks and chunks of concrete at the firefighters and police. This night there was a massive fire in a building, plus two cars and also a grass fire was blazing. As the fireman battled the inferno, at least one shot was fired at a fire chief’s car. Rocks were thrown by nearby citizens at several fire trucks.

 On this second night of chaos, Deputy Fire Chief D.C. Lester ordered all fire equipment pulled back to the departments training tower at 1500 Record Crossing. He stated that he would not order fire personnel back into the area unless escorted by police.

 October 19, 1969 found a burglary suspect who lived on Fourth Avenue near Fair Park in Parkland hospital in critical condition. He had been shot in the head by Dallas Police after police received a call about a pre-dawn burglary in progress at the Safeway store at 2919 Cedar Crest.

Two other suspects who were with the shot burglar, remained at large. Police surprised the three men who were in the act of removing cigarette cartons from the store through a hole knocked in a plate glass window.

Officers chased after two of the bad guys who ran into a field west of the store. They outran the officers and escaped. Officer R.K. Abshire then said he saw an up to that time unknown third suspect suddenly jump up from a hiding place near the suspect’s still running vehicle.

Officer Abshire shouted several warnings before opening fire, hitting the third suspect.  Officers determined that the suspect vehicle was also used in an earlier burglary of a lumber company at 3025 Grand Avenue. In this incident the intruders made a run for it on foot with a security guard in hot pursuit.  As fate would have it, Officer Abshire was one of the responding officers at this late night burglary as well. He along with Officer Brashear opened up with a pistol and shotgun as the suspects ran at the officers after being discovered. One burglary suspect was nicked in the head by a shotgun pellet, and later was jailed with his burglary buddies at 106 S.Harwood.  

Police said that the suspects had moved a safe to the front door and apparently were about to load it into a car when officers arrived. A fourth man, driving the same car used in the Cedar Crest burglary, got away.

Asylum Mobilitarium February-March 2013

 

Recently I found myself hanging out at Strokers on a nice Saturday afternoon. This afforded me the opportunity to introduce a friend of mine to the culture of the local motorcycling community. This friend is somewhat new to the lifestyle of Harley-Davidson in particular and motorcycling in general. Saturday’s being somewhat slower and only slightly less crowded than most Sunday’s at the legendary bike destination, the people watching was better and sight lines were ah…better.

My friend was amazed at the seemingly different types of people present. Lawyers, doctors, plumbers, car salesman, felons and the latest in biker chic was apparently of great interest. I related that this venue probably gave a greater cross section of riders than almost any other biker-friendly hangout in Dallas.

 Just take a bench and take in all that is glorious in the local biker world. Stroker’s clientele is 90% Harley-Davidson people. But you will see the rare sport bike rider, a Victory rider looking for respect and his place among the other big bikes and yes, the occasional weirdly silent Gold Wing. Teutonic BMW riders in their high tech gear and extra gas tanks, Triumph guys that can’t help but look cool. Then there are the Moto-Guzzi riders who are as passionate as Harley folk. But mostly it’s the Orange and Black that is represented.

Since the motorcycling and especially the Harley lifestyle is a social thing, slightly more of those throttle-twisters will be riding two up today than riding solo. There are many happy couples hanging out enjoying each other and the lifestyle they’ve chosen to share. It’s always been that way. The Founder’s promoted that from the beginning.

 Of course on the other hand there is always the interesting drama of an ex wife, husband, girlfriend or boyfriend showing up on another bike with the new soon to be next ex. It can be a touchy situation. This writer has seen tears shed as the old ex walks by with the new, hopefully improved version. I’ve also seen slaps on the back and howling laughter as the poor, unsuspecting new flavor of the month looks over and wonders “why are those people laughing and pointing at me?”       

You’ll also notice on any Saturday or Sunday that there are women sitting around looking for backseats and guys frantically hoping not to be riding solo for very long. For women it’s that ageless 80’s club thing. Turn, flip the hair, glance around to see who staring, turn and talk to your friend, then repeat. For guys it’s taking that long look behind dark shades that will keep the dude from being caught doing that staring thing for too long.

Looking around, you might see the newly divorced rider who has a shiny new vest and a deer in the headlights look at all the strange goings on. He may elect to submit to the extreme peer pressure in his newly divorced guys bike club and go helmet-less. But he has the Sons of Anarchy doo rag expertly tied to cover a receding hairline and that will do nicely this day.

 There are the veterans standing around who have no more room for any additional patches on their leather or denim vests and have that bored been there done that look. They’ve “Seen the Elephant” more times than they would like to remember. Motorcycle crashes are hard to forget. Friends are too. They don’t ride without a helmet but respect the right for the other guy to do so if he wishes’.

There are the two really sunburned gal’s dancing by themselves in front of the Bad Company cover band on stage. SMU students in bikini’s (well that’s their story) selling beer and of course working their way through school. Their soon to be ex boyfriends standing close, but not too close, giving the evil eye to any and all possible new friend boys or boyfriends. Then there are other girls in bikinis attempting to wash bikes still too hot to touch, the steaming pipes resulting in a bad hair day.

At opposite ends of the covered patio you will sometimes see the bike-riders from the different outlaw bike clubs eyeing each other suspiciously but keeping in mind this is somewhat neutral territory. But today it seems to be different. There is an obvious tension in the air. This day there are the Outlaws MC from Oklahoma that have made a loud presence as they earlier rode in as a large group. There are no local Outlaw’s chapters in Texas. Maybe it was just a reconnaissance in force, to show the flag so to speak. Funny, there are no Bandido’s or Scorpions present for some reason this afternoon. Maybe there was an agreement among the 1%’ers that this would be the Outlaw’s day at Strokers. Or maybe it’s just blind luck that they are the only MC here. Who knows? But I’m sure many feel like I do… relieved that they are the only ones here. It’s always interesting to observe an outlaw club. The social interaction among other bikers is a study in this close community of bikers that may have different goals in the two wheeled world. Quick glances are shared, but don’t get caught looking for too long.

Mixing with most other riders are the ever present Booze-Fighters from Ft. Worth. They are a social riding group, starting in California with Wino-Willy Thornton in 1947. They always seem to be in a party mood and this day is no exception.

 Of course there are always HOG members just being social and also having a good time. Then there are the posers desperately trying to look cool, see and be seen is their mantra. Rolex riders, weekend warriors, they are all there. It’s all okay, that’s what makes up the interesting tapestry of motorcycling.

Well, the suns going down and as a leg is thrown over the iron horse and waits for the friend to saddle up behind him, the pilot glances over the crowd one more time. The big bike roars to life, and it’s northbound on Harry Hines. Just another Saturday and another slice of motorcycle mayhem!

 

   

January 2013

Profiles trip #10 Honor Flight DFW

 

Raymond had the distinction on flight #10 of being the oldest, although he looks very young for 99!

He enlisted at the Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis Missouri on January 9, 1943. From the dates listed, it looks like Raymond entered the service around the age of 30. In World War II, the average age of a service man was somewhat older than say, the Vietnam War. But going in at the age of 30 in early 1943 was unusual but admirable. It shows that almost everyone wanted to do their part, no matter what age.

Raymond served in the U.S.Army in France during the war. It is known that he strung communications and telephone wire in areas that the Allies had liberated in their march towards Berlin.

As with thousands of other WWII veterans, almost two-thirds of their wartime records, going back before the Civil War, and including veterans of the Vietnam War, were destroyed in a massive fire in St. Louis in 1973. This fire happened at a time when military records were kept in their original paper form in this vast government warehouse. No computer disks existed at this time of course.

Sadly, many families have no idea, or little knowledge of what their family members did during the war, and no copies of the records that were destroyed exist today.

Raymond was discharged from the Army in 1946 with the rank of Staff Sergeant.