|
Sunday, June 6, 1943
Casablanca, North Africa
 June 6, 1943 Diary Page
This has been a funny day. It started out peaceful and pleasant and ended up in a furor of activity. We slept a little late as it was Sunday and we had nothing in particular to do. The men ate breakfast then we checked over our new trucks. The men enjoyed it as it was the first chance they had had to get a wrench in their hands for a long time. We spent most of our time however just getting settled in these new quarters and making ourselves comfortable. Cpl. O__________ spent most of his time doing about three weeks washing. He was still scrubbing away when we left this afternoon for the beach. We left at one thirty and took a round about way up the coastline to Fedala. We got up there about two thirty and the ocean sure looked good. It wasn’t many minutes before we were all in and found it was cold. As soon as you got used to it it felt good though. There were some breakers but not very big. We left about four thirty and came back. Sgt. Pine met us at the door with the news that we were leaving tomorrow morning with our equipment plus all of our shortage that Lt. Singleton from another outfit could supply us. We worked until eleven tonight transferring equipment and storing it. We also set up our 2-1/2 ton wrecker. It’s a good deal for us but pretty raw for Singleton.
Good night.
To view previous diary entries, click here.
Join WorthPoint on Twitter and Facebook.
The Day That Was: June 6, 1943
| • The rioting between servicemen and Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles escalated and spread into East Los Angeles. Six cars with sailors drove down Brooklyn Avenue. At Ramona Boulevard, they stopped and beat up eight teenage Mexicans. They severely damaged a bar on Indiana Street when they failed to find zoot-suiters in the establishment. The police arrested 11 boys who were beaten on Carmelita Avenue. Six more were arrested one block down the road, seven at Ford Boulevard, six at Gifford Street and through the Mexican eastside housing. By morning, 44 Mexican boys were arrested. Civilians also took part in the riots. California Attorney General Robert Kenny met with journalist Carey McWilliams regarding the investigation and created the McGucken Committee. Chaired by the auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles, Joseph T. McGucken, the committee blamed the press for its irresponsible tone and the police for overreacting to the riot. (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/zoot/eng_timeline/timeline2.html) (http://members.tripod.com/~noemigarcia/lapaint/zootline.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.
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
This entry was posted
on Saturday, June 6th, 2009 at 1:00 am and is filed under WWII Diary.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
View all articles by Lt.Reichard.
Want a picture icon with your comment? Sign up with Gravatar to get one, or connect with your Facebook or Twitter account.
Looking for even more discussion? Check out the WorthPoint Forums.
Leave a Reply
|
