Lt. Lawson Reichard’s WWII Diary – April 19, 1943 by Lt.Reichard (04/19/09).
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.
Monday, April 19, 1943
April 19, 1943 Diary Page
Boise, Idaho
It’s so hot out here it’s uncomfortable. That’s stranger when I look back and remember seeing it snowing a blizzard when I went through Pittsburgh, Penn. Here we are way up near the Canadian Border and 2000 ft. above sea level and it’s up to at least eighty. We are about to have a flood and the whole Boise River Valley is scared stiff. The river was up to within four inches of its bank this morning and clouds look like rain any minute. This whole town can be messed up pretty bad if it overflows. I went out to the field this morning. Well I’m still in the dark. It seems the only trouble is that I have to get my orders. I still can’t see why they couldn’t have been mailed. I’m beginning to think I came about five hundred miles out of my way for nothing and I’m sore. I can’t get a train out of here until eleven tomorrow so all I can do is sizzle. There was no letter from Ray. Tonight I had a date with Jenny and we had a lot of fun. She’s a crazy kid. We went to a show then up to the Boise Club and danced for the rest of the evening. It was a lovely night with a full moon and a clear sky so we took our time walking home.
I still can’t figure out why I had to come back.
• The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began after German troops attempted to deport the ghetto’s last surviving Jews. Mordechai Anielewicz, at the age of 24, became the leader of the Jewish Fighting Organization (ZOB) in January 1943, recruiting more than 750 fighters, but amassed only 9 rifles, 59 pistols and a couple of grenades. The ZOB developed network of bunkers, and fortifications were formed. The Jewish fighters also received support from the Polish Underground. The uprising began when German troops penetrated the ghetto to begin a third round of mass deportations. The ZOB faced a formidable force of 2,000 armed German soldiers, yet the Germans were unable to defeat the Jews in open-street combat. After several days, the Germans switched tactics and began burning down houses. (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Warsaw.html)
A Jewish Fighting Organization sniper took aim at a German target during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising that began on this day in 1943.
• The Bermuda Conference began and would run through April 30 as representatives from the U.S. and Britain discussed the problem of refugees from Nazi-occupied countries. The conference resulted in inaction concerning the plight of the Jews. (http://team8-3.pbwiki.com/1943-timeline)
• The submarine, USS Scorpion (SS-278), laid mines off Kashima Nada, Japan. (http://www.blountweb.com/blountcountymilitary/wars/ww2/timelines/1943_ww2.htm)
• Willy Graf, Kurt Huber and Alexander Schmorell, German resistance fighters, were beheaded. (http://timelines.ws/20thcent/1943.HTML)
• Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman, following up on an experiment on April 16, deliberately ingested .25 milligrams of LSD and soon began to feel its effects. Hallucinations continued on his bicycle ride home and lasted for some six hours. (http://timelines.ws/20thcent/1943.HTML)
• Lance Sgt. Haane Manahi of New Zealand performed gallant actions against overwhelming odds in the bloody battle for Takrouna, a fortified citadel in Tunisia, North Africa. In 2007, the Maori trooper was posthumously honored 64 years after he was denied a top gallantry award despite a commendation signed by four commanding generals.
(www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/name-004807.html)
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
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