● I graduated from high school in June 1942. |
● Attended one semester at The Cooper Union Art School |
● Got Draft Notice in December and physical on January 1, 1943 |
● Inducted January 8 at Fort Dix, New Jersey |
● Army Air Force Basic Training at Miami Beach, Florida |
● Radio Operators School, Scott Field, Illinois - washed out |
● Radio Maintenance School, Truax Field, Madison, Wisconsin |
● Back to Scott Field for Army Airways Communication School |
● Thanksgiving furlough – Returned to Smyrna, Tennessee. |
● By train to McClellan Air Base, California, (Christmas Eve in L.A.) |
● Then Camp Anza to await my cruise to… who knew where? |
Frank Vierling at work, tuning the 10 Channel Control Tower Transmitter. |
At play, rickshaw ride to Kunming. Maybe a two mile run for the boy. |
The famous Flying Tiger trademark. |
A little fun down at the “bone yard.” |
Workers traveled the Marco Polo Road which ran between our transmitter and power generator buildings. The tent on the right was for our Chinese guards. |
Even the poorest villages had an entrance gate. This one was for a village just down our road. |
Village scene, note the village gate, upper right. |
I don’t know what this woman is doing - weaving, I suppose. There are lines between this tripod and another down the lane which you can’t make out. |
A symbolic group of POLLYWOGS (those who had not crossed the Equator before), representing all the troops on board, became SHELLBACKS by their ceremonious induction into the "Ancient Order of the Deep." |
The job of Butter Cutter was a cushy one - two 5-man shifts worked alternate days cutting tub butter into patties. This gave us access to extra "goodies" from the galley and entry to the sailors version of an Army Post Exchange. |
The temple of a thousand Gods. Note the one with the long arm. |
And one with long eyebrows. |
“Dragon Gate” clings to the face of mountain and is the highest temple on West Hill. Note the trail tunneling along the face of the cliff. High above this last shrine, a God is sculpted into solid rock. I marveled at the engineering skill and craftsmanship required for such a feat. Internet photo above. 1944 photo at right. |
“Dragon Gate” (Internet photos) |
Nearing the top (above) The last shrine clings to the face of the mountain. Note the trail tunneling along the face of the cliff. High above the last shrine, a God is sculpted into solid rock. |
Another Pagoda |
"Ding Hao" |
Paths along a rice field and irrigation canal. |
Garden Gate |
|
Dinner at Billie’s Cafe. I think the steak was horse meat. |
“2 soups and 3 stack.” Dinner for three $11.90 Chinese – about $1.20 U.S. I didn’t have soup. |
Village basket maker |
I have no memory of renting a bicycle, but here’s the proof. |
Busy canal boats |
Happy street musician |
Lots of manpower - pile driving in preparation for a new barracks. |
His brother’s keeper – you often saw children caring for their younger siblings. |
In Kunming City Park on the way back to camp from an orphanage visit. We took candy to the children. The package is a gift I purchased at the Nun’s gift shop. |
In a village doorway |
Dayton Johnson, with the children. They were always fun to be with. |
We were on a busy road with all kinds of “commercial” traffic |
What an engineering feat! |
The first convoy enters Kunming |
● September 2, 1945 – VJ Day |
● By October I had enough points to return state-side. |
● I flew to Calcutta, then Karachi and had Thanksgiving dinner there. |
● We sweated out getting a ship to take us home by Christmas? |
● We sailed on Liberty Ship, General J. H. McRae, November 23rd. |
● Through the Red Sea, Suez Canal into a very stormy Mediterranean. |
● Gibraltar was calm, but a storm of the century awaited in the Atlantic. |
● At the storm’s peak, at full steam, we only made 67 miles in 24 hrs! |
● Any less headway and we would have gone down. |
● After 32 days at sea we docked on Christmas Eve in New York City. |
● We were taken to Camp Kilmer to be mustered out. |
● Anyone who could get home and back in 24 hours got a pass. |
● I was home for Christmas and discharged on December 28, 1945. |
Typical Chinese split pants - how convenient, and no diapers needed! |