Saturday, May 29, 1943
Casablanca, North Africa

May 29, 1943 Diary Page

Well today was pretty busy as far as I’m concerned. This morning I took the boys for a hike and we covered eight miles in two hours plus having a fifteen minute break. That’s not bad walking. We went toward the sea taking cross country roads so we saw a little of the countryside. One thing I certainly can’t understand is why these arabs (sic) have their manure piles just outside of their homes. Each home has its big pile and some have a pile on either side so when you go by it smells to high heaven. The filth these people live in amazes me more every day. I don’t see how they can live at all with no sanitary precautions whatsoever. They eat meat that has laid out in the sun all day with the flies on it as thick as locusts in a blight and outside of the fact that dyreah (sic) is as previlant (sic) here as colds are in the states they have no ill effects. It’s beyond me. This afternoon I got dressed and took Frazier in town with me to see about when our equipment would come in. We checked the manifests of the convoy that is in now and the one that and the one that is out in the harbor awaiting unloading. We found one Chev. 1-1/2 truck which was one not even authorized. Not very encouraging to say in the least. We also did a lot of running around in general. We got in about eleven. I got a letter from Ginnie. Lord, I miss her.

To view previous diary entries, click here.

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The Day That Was: May 29, 1943

•    Norman Rockwell’s painting entitled “Rosie the Riveter” is featured on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, a magazine that encouraged women to join the wartime work force. Rockwell’s model was Mary Keefe (19) of Arlington, Vt. In 2002 the painting sold at auction for $4,959,500. (http://timelines.ws/20thcent/1943.HTML) •    British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Gens. George Marshall and Dwight D. Eisenhower meet in Algiers. (http://www.dkosopedia.com/wiki/1943) •    The Japanese submarine RO-107 is sunk by the submarine chaser PC-669 in the New Hebrides. (http://www.blountweb.com/blountcountymilitary/wars/ww2/timelines/1943_ww2.htm) •    The RAF launches a major raid (719 bombers) against Wuppertal, dropping 1,900 tons of bombs and killing 2,450 civilians. (http://www.feldgrau.com/may.html)		Norman Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post cover featuring Rosie the Riveter

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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