Lt. Lawson Reichard’s WWII Diary – April 26, 1943 by Lt.Reichard (04/26/09).
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 26, 1943
April 26, 1943 Diary Page
Stockton, California
Ginnies Birthday
Ginnie’s birthday and me three thousand miles away. Well I got to see her for a while so I guess I can’t complain. Some day when this is all over I can go back and maybe we will get it all straight. Lord, I miss her.
Everything happens to me. Capt. Johnson came down from Sacramento to look over the two outfits and he sure wasn’t pleased with the other. He had us set up field shops for them and then put them through the ropes. When it all ended up he relieved me of Ray and put him over there as C.O. Ray wasn’t here to defend himself but he sure was hopping mad when he came in. He had taken some boys up to Sacramento to fire for qualifications. He has a mess on his hands but we will help him all we can and I’m sure he can straighten it out. I’m sort of glad it happened because now we can work together instead of the two companies cutting each others throats. He doesn’t have much time to get acquainted which will be a handicap but he has the old maintenance officers of the outfit still with him so it ought to work out pretty good. Sgt. Enright had to get to Frisco to the machine records unit to get our cards. He didn’t get back until eight. He also got a lot of information on dehydrated foods. It’s the first time we have been able to find out anything about them.
• The British finally took Longstop Hill in Tunisia, a key position on the breakout road to Tunis. Axis losses in Africa for first three-and-a-half months of 1943 were 66,000 killed, wounded and captured. (http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/war-in-the-desert/war-in-the-desert-index-1943.htm)
• Indian nationalist leaders Subhas Chandra Bose and Abid Hasan transferred from German submarine U-180 to Japanese submarine I-29 off the coast of Madagascar. (http://www.dkosopedia.com/wiki/1943)
A pair of Churchill tanks with the German stronghold at Longstop Hill in Tunisia. The British finally took Longstop Hill on this day in 1943.
• A task group of three cruisers and six destroyers under Rear Adm. C. H. McMorris bombarded Japanese installations on Attu in the Aleutians. (http://www.blountweb.com/blountcountymilitary/wars/ww2/timelines/1943_ww2.htm)
• A U.S. naval station was established at Mers el Kebir, Morocco. (http://www.blountweb.com/blountcountymilitary/wars/ww2/timelines/1943_ww2.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
