Lt. Lawson Reichard’s WWII Diary – May 12, 1943 by Lt.Reichard (05/12/09).
Wednesday, May 12, 1943
Staten Island, New York
May 12, 1943 Diary Page
(Handwritten text written in pencil above the date at the top of the page] The band met us on Staten Island and played for half hour while we had to stand with heavy packs on listening. I’m afraid we did not quite appreciate the effort the civilians put into our send off.
Today is the day and the boys are all looking forward to this. Today it poured and water was ankle deep everywhere. I haven’t seen it rain like this in a long time as steady. There were a thousand last minute things that had to be cleared up so most of the morning was spent doing those. I went over to the hospital and got our clearances and a ________ ________, turned the truck in and had my luggage taken over to the barracks with the men’s. At five thirty we put on our packs and fell out. A truck picked up our “A” bags and took them to the train. We had on our packs, gas mask and rifle and carried our over coats. It was a two mile hike to the train and our packs must have weighed at thirty five pounds. The trains pulled out about seven and it was a half hour run into the city. We had to carry our “A” bag as well as the rest of the stuff to the ferry and it was about two blocks so we nearly died en-route. I sweated clear through my field-jacket and it was cool out. The ferry ride to Staten Island was about 30 minutes. The boat we were taking across is the “West Point” and is the fastest thing we have afloat in the troop carrier line. Well Lt. Cohan went to the hospital with a nervous breakdown so that yellow streak of his came out and I’m glad as he certainly would not last long in this outfit as the men hate him and I can’t say I like him. Well we loaded on and everything went smooth. The Red Cross had coffee and doughnuts which were more than welcome. I went to sleep about midnight. I needed it.
• All German and Italian forces in Tunisia (130,000 German and 120,000 Italian prisoners) surrendered. Gen. Hans von Arnim and 25 other Axis generals were claimed captured, so ending the life of the once mighty “Afrika Korps” and marking the end of the three-year North African campaign. During the entire North African campaign, the Germans and Italians suffered 620,000 casualties, while the British Commonwealth lost 220,000 men. American casualties in Tunisia alone totaled more than 18,500. The Allied victory in North Africa destroyed or neutralized nearly 900,000 German and Italian troops, opened a second front against the Axis, permitted the invasion of Sicily and the Italian mainland in the summer of 1943, and removed the Axis threat to the oilfields of the Middle East and to British supply lines to Asia and Africa. It was critically important to the course of World War II. (http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/war-in-the-desert/war-in-the-desert-index-1943.htm) (http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10007301)
A British soldier inspecting a German SdKfz 223 “Leichter Panzerspähwagen (Fu)” armored car captured during the German surrender in Tunisia on this day in 1943.
• The Third Washington Conference (codenamed “Trident”) opened on this day 1943 in and would run through May 27. The delegations were headed by Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and was to plan the Italian campaign, air attacks on Nazi Germany and general strategy for the Pacific War. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Conference_(1943))
• The submarine, USS Pickerel (SS-177), was reported as presumed lost in the Pacific Ocean. (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.
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.
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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