On the road

On the road

Monday, February 4, 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.       

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