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.

Wednesday,  April 21, 1943

April 21, 1943 Diary Page

On the train from Ogden to Nevada

Well today was just another day on the train. We pulled out of Ogden at 4:00 AM or I guess we did as we were on schedule when I woke around nine. I got dressed then cleaned up. It certainly is a lot better riding Pullman. At least you feel halfway clean. I went on ahead to the dining car for some breakfast. What a mess. The Southern Pacific usually is messed up but today it was terrible. They had a new cook who couldn’t cook so the waiter took over. I was one hour & 35 minutes getting breakfast. Two eggs and two hot-cakes cost me $1.00. That had to last me until 430 as only two meals a day are served on trains now due to rationing. After breakfast four of us passed the rest of the day playing bridge. The country we went through from Ogden to Reno, Nevada was nothing except sand and sage brush. It is by far the most God-forsaken country I’ve seen for such a long stretch. We arrived at Reno at 7:30 P.M. From there on the ride was really lovely. We started over the Sierra Nevada’s under the spell of a full moon whose radiance was reflected by the deep white snow. The tall pines rose in beautiful sillouettes that truely made a lovely picture. The smell of the pine forests after being in Idaho so long was really a rare and wonderful perfume. I stood out on the back platform until nearly midnight watching this panorama before turning in.

Good Night

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The Day That Was:  April 21, 1943

•    The submarine, USS Stingray (SS-186), laid mines near Wenchow, China. (http://www.blountweb.com/blountcountymilitary/wars/ww2/timelines/1943_ww2.htm)		The USS Stingray (SS-186) at the U.S. Navy shipyard at Mare Island in San Francisco Bay. The Stingray laid antiship mines near Wenchow, China on this day in 1943.

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 21 1943, diary, Reichad, WWII, WWII Diary

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