Stories of Service, Volume 2

Janice Stevens

Description

Perfectly blending a vast historical scope with intensely individual viewpoints, this stirring collection of stories brings a man-on-the-ground perspective to a huge range of military history, with stories of a quarter-century of war from nearly every corner of the earth, including Europe; the Pacific; mainland Asia; a tense confrontation in Guantanamo Bay during the Cuban Missile Crisis; POW camps in Germany, Japan, and California; and the San Joaquin Valley home front from the 1940s through the 1960s. These 72 highly individualized narratives of combat, military service, and the personal sacrifices of war--penned by ordinary San Joaquin Valley residents and buttressed with more than 100 personal photographs--bring commentaries from soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, nurses, ambulance drivers, and civilians. In simple, direct, and authentic language, with stories both horrific and touching, ""Stories of Service: Volume 2"" perfectly illustrates the personal side of war.

Informations

• Publié par: Linden Publishing
• Date de parution: 01 décembre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 4
• EAN13: 9781610351263
• Langue: English

Extrait

STORIES OF SERVICE
Volume II

Valley Veterans Remember World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War
compiled by
Janice Stevens

Fresno, CA
STORIES OF SERVICE, VOLUME II
Valley Veterans Remember
World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War
© 2011 Janice Stevens. All rights reserved.
Published by Craven Street Books,
an imprint of Linden Publishing.
2006 S. Mary, Fresno, California, 93721
559-233-6633 / 800-345-4447
CravenStreetBooks.com
Craven Street Books is a trademark of Linden Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 978-1-610351-26-3
135798642
Printed in the USA on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stories of service. Volume 2 : Valley veterans remember World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War / compiled by Janice Stevens.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-61035-005-1 (hbk. : alk. paper)
1. United States--History, Military--20th century. 2. Veterans--California--San Joaquin Valley--Biography. 3. United States--Armed Forces--Military life--Anecdotes. 4. San Joaquin Valley (Calif.)--Biography. I. Stevens, Janice. II. Title: Valley veterans remember World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War.

U52.S85 2011
355.0092’27948--dc23
2011032711
CONTENTS

Acknowledgments
Foreword
Introduction

WORLD WAR II: THE PACIFIC THEATER
Hot Stuff!! Hot Stuff!! By Elisha "Richie" Richardson
A Fighting Chance By Robert L. Knott
My Souvenirs By Louis Munschy
My Survival By Bob McNutt
Invasion By Lee Hull
South Pacific Action By Clint Cole
Memories of Pacific Invasions By Sgt. Leonard J. Ash, as remembered by his daughter, Annette Ash
A Seabee on Iwo By Lowell Horton
Assignment Pearl Harbor By Richard Johanson
Iwo Jima By Ross Doll
My WWII Experiences on a B-24 Bomber By Vartan Dzerigian
Memories of My Father By Colonel Emil J. Radics, as remembered by his daughter
A Close Call By Fred Von Rueden
In Command By Chandler Washburne
Enjoying Classical Music in China By Robert Soule
It Was Like This By Mary Hayesy Snyder
Just Being A Fighter Pilot By Lee Self
Robert Brown: Commissioned from the Jungle By Scotti Lynn Moore
I Wanted a Clean Place to Sleep By Everett "Bud" Rank, as told to Charlotte Hutchison
A Brief Detour on Saipan By Eugene Holquinn, as told to his niece, Georgia Vercoe
The Story of "Lucky Six" By Robert Baird
Serving with the 40th Division By Gerald Russell Wells

WORLD WAR II: EUROPEAN THEATER
With the Blue Devils in Italy By Dick Neuman
The Real Hero By Cruz Rios
A Highly Decorated Truck Driver By Phil Carter
My Life in World War II By Wayne E. Houser, Sr.
How I Captured a Box at the Opera By Richard L. Herboldshimer
Daddy’s Second War By Nathan Moore, as told to Naoma Hayes
A Handful of Memories By Loyd Carver, Army Air Corps, WWII
Aboard the Submarine Apogon By M.C. (Mac) McGinty
Recollections from the War By Sally Stallings
1317 Engineers General Service Regiment By Earl Watson
Once an Officer By Richmond Roe Fowler
Memories of a Combat Medic in WW II By Ed Jennrich
D-Day By James E. Davis, as told to his daughter, Jodi Davis, in February 2007
Serving on an LST By Ralph Ritchie
Autobiography By Bud Grace
Co-Pilot, Bomber Crew #319 By Leonard Newton
In for the Duration By Lloyd Renfro
A Story Told by an American Ex-Pow By Darwin Nelson
Once a Marine, Always a Marine! By Francis I. Donohue
A Story of an Ex-POW By Frank Hokr
KIA and Still Bragging About It By Gerry A. Eckenrod
Ex-Prisoner of War By Glenn Schmidt
The Difference Between Life and Death By John Cabrera Padilla
A Left Waist Gunner on a B-17 with the 8th Air Force By Rudy Giannoni
Post War Memories By Ray Springer
Remembering WWII By Eugene Richardson

WORLD WAR II: ON THE HOMEFRONT
One Lucky Life By Arthur Cornwall
In Love with Airplanes By Bob Der Mugrdechian
The Lost SB2C Helldivers By Duane W. Turk
World War II Pack Artillery, 71 Division By Gervice (Gerv) Nash
Always Ready By Jane James
Dottie’s Story As told to Linda Robertson
Gloria Lloyd Radics As remembered by her daughter
Christmas 1941, Two Weeks After Pearl Harbor By Anna McCartney
My Guilty Wish By Francis Hutchison, as told to Charlotte Hutchison
What December 7, 1941, Meant for Me By Kathy Yamada
POW Camps By LeVeta Vincent
A Different Story of Service By Lois Schneider
World War II Home Front Memories By Mabelle Selland
The WAVES in Washington, D.C. By Marjorie Mulkey Nelson
A Kid’s Eye View of WWII By Marylin Pages Zask
April 1944 By Pauline Middleton
A Beautician to the WASPs By Rosalee O. Wheeler
The Smith Brothers From the memoirs of Gaynel (Smith) Taylor, as related to her daughter, Marjorie (Taylor) Allen
Thomas Leslie Taylor, Tec 5 From the memoirs of Gaynel (Smith) Taylor, as related to her daughter, Marjorie (Taylor) Allen
A Whimsical Tale By Virginia Templeton

THE KOREAN WAR
Korean Occupation, September 7, 1945 By Richard V. Johnson
Korea 1951 By Bill Helton
Experiences in War By Charles Tobias
The Killing Zone By Frank Blake
Korea By Frank Hokr
Remembering Korea By Henry Lemay
A Personal Journey By John M. Chabala
A Struggle Toward Happiness By Kenneth Cowan
Days of Service in the Korean Conflict By Kenneth Huey
From Humble Beginnings By Reginald Thornhill
Service to My Country By Stanford Lee
Scaling the Fence By Wally E. Peterson
Trajectory of an Ex-POW By Joel A. Hinojosa
Capture in Korea By Paul Petredis
Missing Dog Tags By Kenneth Eaton

SERVICE IN BETWEEN THE WARS
Sea Story By Gordon D. Pickett
My Years of Service By John L. Wells
Christmas at 300 Feet By Robert Owens

VIETNAM
In Country By James E. Cornwall
Vietnam War By Chong Erskine
Warrior of the Mountains By Richard Gonzalez
Scared to Life By Cliff Rapp
The Bells By Lee Self
Rose Colored Glasses By Tom Hayward, as told to Linda Hayward
Try Hard and Never Quit By Sing Houngviengkham, as told to Charlotte Hutchison
Long Binh, Vietnam By Carolyn Hisako Tanaka
Experiencing Saigon An excerpt by Reginald Thornhill
Viet Nam 1966 By Bill Helton

THE COLD WAR
Cold War Service in Germany By David Ellis Allen
GTMO Cuba August 17, 1962 to December 21, 1962 By Bill Helton

Epilogue
Afterword
Contributors’ Service and Rank
Index
About the Author
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to express my deep appreciation to the following people:

Our veterans who fought for our country, and who continue to inspire us with their remembrances of their military experiences. Thanks also to the veterans and their families for kindly providing the photographs used in this book.

Vic Maggi who sought out veterans, interviewed them and created a number of stories included in this volume.

Paul Loeffler for writing the Foreword and for his extraordinary work on Hometown Heroes, interviewing and showcasing our Valley veterans.

Bill Dietzel for writing the Afterword and for his many years of publishing Veterans Magazine , as well as doing a host of other work to support veterans.

The volunteers in the Monday morning class: Alieen Bos, Jodi Davis, and Nancy Huey.

Typist Linda Robertson, and Kevin and Fonda at Shaw Printing.

The team who edited the manuscript, designed the cover, and pulled it all together: Jim Goold, Carla Green, Kent Sorsky, Richard Sorsky and Monica Stevens.
FOREWORD

So much of our understanding of our nation’s military history has been painted in broad strokes. Names like Pershing, Patton, Eisenhower, and Schwarzkopf are as recognizable as Normandy, Nagasaki, Saigon, or Baghdad. But with apologies to our famous generals and the strategic decisions that define their legacies, the true hero of our nation’s undying commitment to freedom is the everyday American who chooses to prioritize duty, honor, and country above personal ambitions. These heroes exist quietly and humbly in each one of our hometowns, content to let their stories of selfless service and sacrifice to remain hidden from view.
So many veterans share similar stories, but no two accounts are exactly the same, and the fleshing out of each unique experience bears great value. Just as adventurers of different eras and ambitions came to California in search of gold, oil, or the famously fertile soil of the San Joaquin Valley, Janice Stevens unearths precious commodities in the weekly meetings that spawned this anthology.
Whether it’s a nurse running on pure adrenaline as she treats mass casualties in the chaos of Vietnam; a soldier enduring more than a thousand days in captivity in the "Forgotten War" of Korea; or an engineer building bridges from Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge, the stories you find in this book will move you.
Ranging from the mundane to the unexplainable, the tales of these veterans represent more than just an entertaining narrative to read. Beyond the obvious purpose of honoring these courageous men and women and preserving their experiences in print for posterity, I believe this book can etch a deeper impact. When the unavoidable sense of admiration the reader encounters is coupled with a sincere spirit of introspection, the most powerful legacy of thes