Lt. Reichard’s WWII Diary – March 24, 1943 by Lt.Reichard (03/24/09).
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.
Wednesday, March 24, 1943
March 24, 1943 Diary Page
Gowen Fieid, Boise, Idaho
This morning Lt. Debora came up to see me from the [ink blotch] th and told me that my men had deliberatly wrecked their washing machine. I don’t believe in that kind of stuff and called the men together and told them that another incident like that would cause the whole outfit to be restricted indefinitely. The damned machine has been a thorn in our side ever since we came over here. It has a gasoline motor that makes enough noise for a battalion of guns and they run it at all hours. In a way I’m glad it was done. The two outfits are about at each other’s throats and I’ll be glad when we separate. Tonight we played them at softball and beat the devil out of them when they thought they had a cinch. They got to arguing about every play and began fighting amongst themselves and of course our gang started _______ them so they got madder every minute. I am expecting any time to hear that one of our boys has been ganged up on downtown. If that happens I really pity that outfit because above all things this outfit has a loyalty that doesn’t ______ trifling with. They stick together right or wrong and I’ve never yet seen them backed down by anyone. I’m damn proud of them and wouldn’t trade them for any outfit I’ve seen yet. This evening I came back up to the office to write some letters. It’s warm as summer out and looks like we might have rain tonight.
USS Salt Lake City, a 9100-ton, Pensacola-class heavy cruiser, was the largest U.S. ship present during the Battle of the Komandorski Islands and was again damaged by Japanese shells. She continued her support of the Aleutian campaign until September when she returned to Hawaii to prepare for central Pacific operations. Photo: U.S. Naval Historical Center
The Day That Was: March 24, 1943
• The U.S. Navy engaged Japanese naval forces off the Komandorski Islands in the western Aleutians, which eventually paved the way for the American recapture of the Aleutians. (http://www.indiana.edu/~league/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; Bryan Smith – voice of Lt. Reichard
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