Lt. Lawson Reichard’s WWII Diary – April 18, 1943 by Lt.Reichard (04/18/09).
Lt. Reichard’s WWII Diary Project : On January 1, 2009, WorthPoint began a three year project following the life of a WWII soldier through the daily pages of his diary.To read about the inception of this project, or to add your own comments, click here.
Sunday, April 18, 1943
April 18, 1943 Diary Page
Boise, Idaho
Right now I am in room 321 at the Owyhee Hotel in Boise. It sure is good to be off a train and feel clean again. I just took a hot bath in a big tub of hot water and it felt like a little bit of heaven. We pulled into Boise at 4:30 and called Mary Ellen. She said she had received the wire I sent last night and had made reservations here. It’s a good thing I thought of that last night because rooms are scarcer then hen’s teeth in this town especially over the weekend. The girls at the house sure seemed glad to see me. It isn’t often a man can kiss five lovely girls at one time. Whew! Mary Ellen and I went out to dinner and I had the most delicious steak in a long time. It was positively huge and done just right. After dinner we went to a show then up to the Boise Club. Now you have to buy your own bottle. No mixed drinks over the bar. That’s the first bottle I’ve bought in a long time. We went home around eleven thirty because she has to work tomorrow and I’m dead on my feet. I’m going to miss that crowd quite a bit. I sure wonder what’s in store for me tomorrow. I’ve thought about this business of coming back to Gowen all the way out and still can’t figure it out. I hope they sent the letter giving me the details. Whew I’m tired.
• In a planned raid, U.S. P-38 Lightnings of the 339th Fighter Squadron, intercepted Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto’s Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” over Bougainville and shot it down, killing the chief architect of Japanese naval strategy. (http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/asia-and-the-pacific/pacific-islands/pacific-islands-index-1943.htm)
Isoroku Yamamoto, who was shot down by P-38 Lightnings on this day in 1943. His body was later recovered and cremated, and the ashes were returned to Tokyo aboard the battleship, Musashi, Yamamoto’s last flagship. Yamamoto was given a full state funeral on June 3, 1943, where he received, posthumously, the title of fleet admiral and awarded the Order of the Chrysanthemum, (1st Class).
• The German 17th Army began its attacks to eliminate the Russian beachhead at Novorossiysk, but failed and gave up on April 23. (http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/war-in-europe/eastern-europe/eastern-europe-index-1943.htm)
• The Allies’ Operation Flax, designed to cut the air supply lines between Italy and the Axis troops in Tunis that was put into action in April, led to the “Palm Sunday Massacre” on this day in 1943. Fighters from the U.S. 9th Air Force destroyed hundreds of Ju-52, tri-motored transports over Cape Bon in Northeast Tunisia, loaded with soldiers escaping the Allied ground offensive. More than half the transports were destroyed. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Flax)
1943 Diary Recaps
January 1943 Recap: We first met Lt. Reichard in January, stationed at McClellan Air Base in Sacramento, where he was in charge of a motor pool unit. Expecting to be sent overseas, their orders were changed and they became restless to see action. Lt. Reichard’s sweetheart, Ginnie, would write frequently, and he would go to dinner and movies with local girls – Dorothy, in Sacramento, and Marie, when the unit moved to Gowen Field in Boise, Idaho. The men have spent their days in lectures, and physical demonstrations to try to keep sharp mentally and physically. But they are getting increasingly restless.
February 1943 Recap: The unit continues to be restless as they still haven’t any orders for overseas. The days are kept busy with lectures, physical demonstrations, and frequent hikes in the mountains above Boise. Lt. Reichard receives a promotion to Lieutenant First Class and continues to write to Ginnie back home, though her letters are becoming more infrequent. February 1943 comes to an end with the unit still feeling bored and discouraged.
March 1943 Recap: March brings uncertainties in weather and daily life to Gowen Field. Still no word about overseas orders, the outfit must now share quarters with another unit. There is now time to begin a photo album, collecting pictures from times with the outfit. Letters from Ginnie are becoming more infrequent but there is no shortage of dates with the local girls in Boise. March comes to an end with everyone in the outfit anxiously awaiting word of upcoming furloughs.
Production Credits:
Diary transcription: Kathleen Long
Diary photos: Claudia Forbes
Video production: Alison Harder
Narration: Mountain Vista H.S. Theater Department
Jeremy Goldson, Department Chair; Bryan Smith – voice of Lt. Reichard
