Profiles Spring-Summer 2014 HFDFW

 

On Sunday, December 7, 1941 Bobby was a sophomore in high school in Hughes Spring, Texas.

Bobby enlisted into the U.S. Army on July 10, 1944. While at the recruiting office, Bobby saw a poster showing a paratrooper and he decided this was what he wanted to do!

After basic training, Bobby was sent to Ft. Benning, Georgia for parachute training. Soon he was assigned to the U.S. Army’s 11^th Airborne Division, 2^nd Battalion, Company E. A few weeks after graduation, Bobby was on a troop ship sailing from San Francisco to Manila, Philippines, then sailed to Okinawa.

Bobby was a member of a mortar squad and landed on the island of Okinawa on the day of the Japanese surrender in August, 1945. After being on the island for a few days, Bobby and others were assigned the duty of going into previously taken positions because there were Japanese soldiers still held up in caves.

The caves were concrete for the most part and were reinforced. Since it was so dangerous to enter the caves with fanatical, half-starved Japanese soldiers, the soldiers found the best way to flush out the enemy was to throw hand grenades in first. Bobby threw one in at the first cave that they encountered. The grenade was thrown too high, hit the concrete roof, and bounced back. The grenade rolled to about three feet in front of Bobby and he threw himself to the ground and froze. Luckily, the grenade was of poor quality or the blast went high but Bobby and his buddy were not even scratched!

Within a few days of that incident Bobby landed at Atsugi Airport in Japan. There Bobby and his troop were to act as honor guards on the dock when general MacArthur and the Peace Treaty party passed through to board ship for the trip to the battleship Missouri for the signing of the documents that officially ended WWII in September, 1945.

Later Bobby was sent to Moriokas, Camp Haugen to begin occupation duty. He served as a sergeant of the downtown Morioka C.P. Patrol until discharged from the military in August, 1946.

Bobby received the American Theater and Asiatic-Pacific Medals. He also received the Philippine Liberation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachute and Glider Badges and the WWII Victory Ribbon.