Lt. Lawson Reichard’s WWII Diary – June 3, 1943 by Lt.Reichard (06/03/09).
Thursday, June 3, 1943 Casablanca, North Africa
June 3, 1943 Diary Page
This is one day I can truthfully say I have been busy. I rolled out of bed at 7:30, got dressed and went over to the office. I never eat breakfast anymore so that was just one more thing I didn’t have to do. I explained last nights situation to Enright then picked last nights drivers and we took off for town. I left them just on the outskirts and went into headquarters to see just what they wanted done with them. Lt. Shaffer came along and showed us where they were loading so that set off the days work. I told him about the fact that those trailers were set up with electric brakes and I didn’t think the big Autocar tractor had the right connections but he was sure they did so we went on loading. I took the Jeep and went out to Fedala to see Ray about checking over the trucks after they were loaded and he said it would be done. We were planning on pulling out about eight tomorrow. I spent most of the day just running around and tonight I’m totally exhausted. At four thirty I went back to get my final instructions as I had been ordered to, and mentioned the brakes again. We called up the motor pool and got a definite answer to the effect they wouldn’t work. That began the frantic efforts to get some new trailers. All that of course after we had spent the entire day loading the others. Well that’s the Army. There is a chance we might get some from the Air Corps. Who knows.
• Four days after a group of sailors and soldiers clashed with Mexican-American youths near downtown Los Angeles and one sailor—Seaman Second Class Joe Dacy Coleman—was badly wounded, a group of sailors from the Naval Reserve Armory, intent on avenging the attack on Coleman, took weapons into the nearby neighborhoods and attacked anyone they could find wearing zoot suits—giving birth to the name “Zoot Suit Riots.” (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/zoot/eng_timeline/timeline2.html)
• The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration was formed. (http://timelines.ws/20thcent/1943.HTML)
• One of the last bunkers in the Warsaw Ghetto was destroyed. It contained 150 resistance fighters. By September, all that were remaining would be flushed out and killed. (http://www.neveragain.org/1943A.htm)
• The first fruits of victory reached the British Isle: Algerian wine, which sold for 8/- (40p) a bottle (http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/meltingpot/oxford/330/time.html#1943)
Photo from the “Zoot Suit” riots in Los Angeles 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.
April 1943 Recap: Last minute furloughs come through, and Lt. Reichard returns home to Maryland for some time with his family on the farm. He and Ginnie have a chance to talk things over and hopefully save the relationship. Just before leaving Boise, the unit gets orders that a move will come at the end of April. April comes to an end with the men spending a week in Stockton, California getting ready to ship out. But where they are going remains a mystery.
May 1943 Recap: The long journey begins by train as the outfit travels cross country to Camp Shanks, New York, where they will prepare to head overseas. Lt. Reichard now knows the destination: Casablanca, Morocco in North Africa. After ensuring that all the supplies are in order, the outfit boards the “West Point”, the newest in troop carriers and heads to sea. Lt. Reichard spends many peaceful evenings enjoying the time at sea before landing in Morocco. May ends with the outfit setting up camp and adjusting to the customs of Morocco.
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.
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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