Lt. Reichard’s WWII Diary – March 22, 1943 by Lt.Reichard (03/22/09).
Lt. Reichard’s WWII Diary Project and Recap: 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.
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 22, 1943 Diary Page
Monday, March 22, 1943
Gowen Fieid, Boise, Idaho
So help me we are going to get those carbines instead of springfields. That is almost too much to ask for. Never-the-less that is what the teletype we just got in said. Man! but that is a sweet little weapon. Now all we have to do is get some ammunition for them to practice with. None of us have ever fired the gun. Well here’s hoping. The Post Adjutant called me up this morning and called me down for reclassifying my men. He said that that was the job of the Base Classification officer and not my job at all. He really dressed me up and down. I claimed I had done it for nine months and didn’t see why I should stop now. Also I told him that I would like to know a man more qualified than a man’s C.O. as he would certainly know the man’s qualifications better than anyone else. He wouldn’t argue but told me that any further discrepancies of that order would place me in a position to receive disciplinary action. That made me mad. I came back and looked up Army Regulation and it said definitely that the C.O. of a unit could classify his men. I called Cpt L____ and read the regulation but got nowhere. He was hot because I proved him wrong so I guess I’d better keep my eyes open for trouble. He has no jurisdiction over this outfit anyway as we are in A.S.C. and the 2nd A.F. has nothing to do with us. I’ll call Ogden tomorrow and get ____ concrete evidence to protect myself.
Good Night
The submarine USS Amberjack at Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on July 16, 1942. The Amberjack was reported as presumed lost on this day in 1943. Amberjack was last heard from more than a month earlier, and all transmissions to the submarine were unanswered. Photo: U.S. National Archives
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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Thanks so much for the post.Really looking forward to read more. Fantastic.