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.

Tuesday,  April 20, 1943

April 20, 1943 Diary Page

On the Train from Boise to Ogden

This morning I climbed out of bed about eight. A good hot tub bath made me feel pretty good. I got dressed and packed then went over to the ticket agency to see what kind of berth they had reserved for me. It was an upper but I guess I shouldn’t complain. Pullman reservations are damn hard to get now days. I got some breakfast then went back to the hotel and picked up my luggage and went up to the station. The train pulled out in a few minutes so I had no time to spare.

It was a long trip to Ogden as it seems all trips on a train are to me. I’ve gotten so I can hardly look one in the face. I was pretty thankful there was a club car on this train as I spent all but the last two hours of the trip there. There was no drinks as the army says a soldier can’t have a drink in this area except between the hours of 6 & 12. We pulled into Ogden about ten and my sleeper would not be in from Salt Lake City until 12:30 so I had to kill some time. This sure is a wild town. It’s full of girls between 16 – 25 that have left home and came here to work over at the Depot and they are as loose as the brains in a morons head. Most of them look like they come from pretty decent families but it’s a cinch they forgot their upbringing. I was more than glad when my pullman came in. I’m tired.

Good Night

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The Day That Was:  April 20, 1943

•    The Jewish uprising in Warsaw triggered a massive German response and initiated a month-long massacre of the 60,000 Jews in the ghetto. (http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/the-holocaust/the-holocaust-index-1943.htm)		Polish Jews captured during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The Germans could not put down the month-long revolt in bitter street fighting and would later resort to burning down houses to force the Jewish fighters out of their bunkers.
•    The Americans announced that their airmen captured in the “Doolittle Raid” on Tokyo were beheaded by the Japanese. (http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/asia-and-the-pacific/pacific-islands/pacific-islands-index-1943.htm) •    The limited recruitment of women into the Home Guard was announced in Britain. (http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/war-in-europe/war-in-britain/war-in-britain-index-1943.htm

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

Tags: April 20 1943, diary, Reichard, WWII, WWII Diary

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