Lt. Lawson Reichard’s WWII Diary – April 7, 1943 by Lt.Reichard (04/07/09).
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.
Wednesday, April 7, 1943
April 7, 1943 Diary Page
Home - Maryland
I left this morning for home. Ginnie was supposed to get up and see me off but evidently she couldn’t get an alarm clock and 6 o’clock is pretty early to get up without one. I caught the seven o’clock bus for Annapolis and we got there at 8:30. The ferry ride over sure was familiar. I pulled in Princess Anne about twelve and it looked mighty good. That is one place that doesn’t change much. I walked into Pecks and there was Vaunita. I can’t get used to the fact that Chick is married and has been for over a year. I called home and Chick came in to meet me as Vaunita had to take Betty up to Salisbury. Well the old Ford sure looked good. We drove up to the farm and I sure wish it were for good. When I leave it sure is going to hurt. Mother was a sight for sore eyes. I wish she would please lose some weight. The old place had made some changes for the better. We walked around the place and they showed me the shed they had put up between the barns and it is a honey. It would be a pleasure to work on machinery there. We also looked over the pigs. Ye gods! there was a bunch of them. Chick has a nice set up for them and they are by far the cleanest bunch of pigs I’ve seen. This kid is really doing a swell job under the handicap he has. When “________” came home I couldn’t recognize her she had grown so much.
• The 8th Army joined up with the U.S. 2nd Corps in central Tunisia while the British 1st Army made progress in the North. Allied forces—the Americans from the west, the British from the east—linked up near Gafsa in Libya forming a solid line against the German army. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_World_War_II_(1943))
• Japanese aircraft made a heavy strike against U.S. naval vessels near Tulagi in the Solomons. The destroyer USS Aaron Ward (DD-483) and the oiler Kanawha (AO-1) were sunk, both by horizontal bombers, and the cargo ship USS Adhara (AK71) and the oiler USS Tappahanock was damaged by dive bombers. The submarine USS Trout (SS-202) laid mines near Sarawak, Borneo. (http://www.blountweb.com/blountcountymilitary/wars/ww2/timelines/1943_ww2.htm)td>
The crew of a General Grant tank took time to heat field rations in Tunisia. Allied forces attacked the German 5th Panzerarmee on this day in 1943. Axis forces withdrew under the push.
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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