Introduction by Will Seippel, CEO – WorthPoint.com Lt. Reichard began writing a diary on January 1, 1943. In February, he bought a camera and began taking some photos. For the next three years, he wrote almost every day. When I started reading his diary, I thought it should be shared and that perhaps WorthPoint’s community of collectors, people like me who are intrigued by the past, might find the diary as fascinating as I did. (To read Will Seippel’s entire introduction,  click here)

January 11, 1943 Diary Page (click to enlarge)

Transcript of diary entry January 11, 1943

Monday, January 11, 1943        Gowen Fieid, Boise, Idaho

This morning I slept until nine. The girls were already up so I got dressed and cleaned up then we went to breakfast. One nice thing about a diner is that it has such large windows. We took our time at breakfast watching the country pass by. This country is so like Wyoming that I almost feel like I’m back in O.C.S. The hills are peculiar in that they look like some Paul Bunyan cut their tops off with a huge knife leaving a flat plateau on top. There are no trees except in the towns and along a few creek bottoms. It is a dead looking country to say the least. It’s cold and a little bit of snow covers the ground in some places. The mountains are covered by a blanket of snow.

We pulled into Boise about noon and Sgt. Enright was waiting for me with the officers I’m relieving. We came out to the Field which is quite small and very new. I checked in then started looking over the set up. It’s swell where enlisted men are concerned but a little rough on the officers. I can wear a Sam Browne, a leather jacket, or any of my G.I. clothes. That is bad. I can’t drive any Govt. vehicle either so I might as well be lost because I love to drive. They take all my rental allowance and shove me in the barracks. They charge me $1.25 a day for meals whether I eat or not yet only pay me $23 once a month for rations. We have some old Colonel that can’t see beyond an army regulation so it looks like I’m obviously not going to like this post. I wrote Ginnie & mother tonight.

“Good Night”

To view previous diary entries, click here.

The Day That Was: January 11, 1943

• Motor torpedo boats attacked Japanese destroyers off Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal, damaging two of the destroyers. U.S. losses were PT-112 (sunk) and PT-43 (damaged, beached and abandoned). (http://www.blountweb.com/blountcountymilitary/wars/ww2/timelines/1943_ww2.htm)

• President Roosevelt submitted his budget to the U.S. Congress. Of the $109 billion budget, $100 billion was identified with the war effort. (http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/the-americas/the-americas-index-1943.htm)

• The Chinese Nationalists formed an official alliance with the United States and Britain. This came two days after their Japanese-puppet counterparts in Nanking declared war on the Allies. (http://history.howstuffworks.com/world-war-ii/russian-army-repels-hitlers-forces12.htm)

• Antifascist and socialist Italian journalist Carlo Tresca, editor of Il Martelo, was shot to death in broad daylight on Fifth Avenue in New York City. His death was mysterious at the time, but it now appears clear he was murdered by organized-crime elements seeking to curry favor with the Mussolini regime. (http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/the-americas/the-americas-index-1943.htm)

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;  Sean McGill – voice of Lt. Reichard