Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 HFDFW

 

Earl enlisted in the U.S. Army on December 31, 1941 in Dallas Texas at the age of 19.

Upon completion of basic training Earl was shipped overseas to the European theater. He was assigned to the famous 29^th Infantry Division. This division was activated on February 3, 1941 and arrived in England on October 5, 1942. The division saw 242 days of combat. The division saw action on D-Day at Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland and Central Europe. The famed “Bedford Boys” from Bedford Virginia, who lost so many men on D-Day from that small town, were members of the 29^th.

Earl served with the 115^th Infantry, 3^rd Battalion as a platoon leader and later company commander. He participated in battles in and around St. Lo, Percy, Vire and Brest in France after D-Day. It was at Brest in September 1944 that Earl received his Bronze Star. He also saw action at Stahe, Kreuzrath, and Birgden in Germany. He was present for the crossings of the strategically important Rhine and Elbe rivers. In November 1944 Earl was wounded in the hand and was sent back to England to recuperate.  

Earl stayed in the military after the war and was at one point stationed at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. He was assigned to escort war dead from Ft. Worth, Texas during the month of January, 1949.

When Earl left the service in January 1953 it was with the rank of Major. He had received the Bronze Star, Combat Infantryman’s badge with Oak Leaf cluster, Expert Infantry badge, Purple Heart, WWII Victory medal, German occupation and the American Theater ribbon.  

 

Steve McQueen

Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 HFDFW

 

Michael enlisted into the U.S. Navy on May 12, 1943 at the age of 20. Like many men of his age, he enlisted instead of waiting to be drafted because he didn’t want to go into the Army, and he wanted to work around “lots of electronics.”

After basic training Michael reported for duty on the U.S.S. McCord, DD-534. The ship was new, having only recently been launched on January 10, 1943 and commissioned on August 19, 1943. Michael’s job on board the McCord was that of an ETM-2C. He installed and maintained the extensive array of radios, radar and all the other electronic equipment that made the destroyer a lethal weapon of war.

The McCord was involved in many battles in the Pacific theater. These include but aren’t limited to the campaigns in the Marshall and Marianas island chain. She participated in the Palau island battle as well as the Battle of Samar off the coast of the Philippines. In 1945 the ship was involved in the landings on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Decommissioned in 1947 the McCord was brought back into service in 1953 during the Korean conflict.

Michael was discharged on April 9, 1946.

 

 

 

 

New Rockers

Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 HFDFW

 

Marvin joined the U.S.Navy and was inducted on March 25, 1944. He was trained as a radioman after basic training.

Marvin was shipped to the Southwest Pacific and was assigned to LST (landing ship tank) 718. LST’s were the workhorses for both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters during WWII. With massive clamshell doors located on the bow of the ship, they could transport large amounts of war material (including tanks) and troops and bring them right up to the beach if needed.

LST-718 was heavily involved in the liberation of the Philippines in late 1944. Marvin remembers sailing from New Guinea to Leyte in the Philippines Islands when the convoy came under attack from a Japanese submarine. LST-577 was sailing to the port side of Marvin’s ship and was hit by a torpedo and was subsequently sunk.

Later in the war, LST-718 arrived at Yokohama Japan one day before the official surrender ceremony that was to take place on the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay. On board Marvin’s ship was the personal equipment of General Douglas MacArthur who was tapped to be the military governor of Japan for several years after the war ended in September 1945.

Marvin left the Navy on January 24, 1946 with the rank of Radioman Second Class. He received the Asiatic Pacific Campaign medal, Philippine Liberation medal, WWII Victory medal, and the American Defense and Good Conduct medal. He also received the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation badge with 1 battle star.

The Mighty 8th Air Force in England WWII

Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 HFDFW

 

William enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces on December 8, 1942. He had been in the reserves while in college.

After training as a gunner on B-17 Flying Fortresses, William was shipped overseas to England to join the famous 8^th Air Force also known as “The Mighty Eighth.”

William served in the air war over Europe from June 28, 1944 to May 5, 1945. He was assigned to the 457^th Bomb Group, 748^th Bomber Squadron at Glatton England.

During his time with the 748^th, that squadron flew many missions over occupied Europe including France and Germany.  The Luftwaffe was not entirely beaten the summer of 1944, and the squadron faced heavy opposition from planes as well as deadly 88mm anti-aircraft fire. The desperate Luftwaffe even took a page from the Japanese training manuals and began ramming B-17’s and B-24’s over Germany. The only difference was that, theoretically, the German pilot was supposed to bail out of his aircraft just before the ramming. Sometimes it worked, most of the time the pilot was killed.

The 748^th flew a total of 236 missions before the war’s end.

William was discharged on July 6, 1945 with the rank of Staff Sergeant. He was awarded the EAME Campaign medal with 4 Bronze Stars as well as the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf clusters.