Introduction to Army life WW2

[Franek]

One month after I turned 18, I was drafted into the Army. I was sent to a IRTC ( Infantry replacement training center) .camp in Camp Wheeler Georgia. It was not long before I realized that we were cannon fodder. Our day started by some nut blowing a bugle at 5AM.
We cleaned up,made our beds,and went to chow Regardless of what you may have heard. I thought that the meals were good. At 7AM we assembled in formation and went about our daily routine.
The first week we were giving an apptitude test to see where we were going to be placed. A cop was sent to MP school. A truck driver to transportation. Cook or a Baker, to a cooking school ETC.As for me. Prior to the Army,I worked in an aircraft factory making B26 Marauders My job was to rivet a sheet metal box to a bulkhead to insert a radio. So what did they do? Christ they made me a radio man. Prior to this the only radio that I ever saw was the Zenith in our living room. That was cool though. The time it took to teach me saved me from the invasion.
The rest of the time we did close order drill,A lot of marching, the firing range,bayonet practice,and a lot of other dumb stuff.
We were shown a lot of movies about venereal desease.
The basic training was 6 weeks. I stayed much longer because they taught me communications.
After a couple of monts. I was promoted to a pfc. and went home for a week before I was assigned to the 99th division in texas.
The rest is history.

[Franek]

http://

[Slipdigit]

Is this you, Frank?

[Franek]

No Jeff. But that is about what I would have looked like

[Ron Goldstein]

Hi Franek

It seems as if a rookie's life was just as strange and awkward whatever country he was born in.
If you want to make comparisons with a British "squaddie" use this link:
BBC - WW2 People's War - Early Army Days, October 1942

Cheers

Ron

ps
If you want to see my first army photo click on the "British Army Category" button on the right of the BBC WW2 screen

[marcus69x]

Do you have any photos of you from your army days franek?

[Franek]

Ron for some reason or the other, I cant get that link to open. See if there is another way to get that to me. I would love to see your Basic training pictures.. Just think, we are going back 63 yrs ago. It sure brings back memories. Ron,I am serious( I WANT TO SEE WHAT YOU HAVE AND ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU CAN ADD ABOUT YOUR WAR YEARS)

Marcus.
No what few pictures that I had were confiscated by other family members. Probably gone by now.

[Franek]

LOL!
While we are on nostalgia and most of you are Brits. How many of you old guys remember this song.

I'VE GOT SIXPENCE

I've got sixpence, jolly, jolly sixpence,

I've got sixpence to last me all my life.
I've got twopence to spend and twopence to lend
And twopence to send home to my wife, poor wife.
No cares have I to grieve me, no tall and handsome man
To deceive me, I'm happy as a queen, believe me,
As we go rolling, rolling home.

Rolling home, rolling home, rolling home, rolling home,
By the light of the silvery moon,
Happy is the day when the Air Corps gets its pay,
As we go rolling, rolling home.

I've got fourpence, jolly, jolly fourpence,
I've got fourpence to last me all my life,
I've got twopence to spend and twopence to lend,
And no pence to send home to my wife, poor wife.
I've got twopence, jolly, jolly twopence,
I've got twopence to last me all my life,
I've got twopence to spend and no pence to lend,
And no pence to send home to my wife, poor wife!

[Ron Goldstein]

Franek

Always willing to oblige !

EARLY ARMY DAYS:

The long awaited buff envelope had arrived on our doormat a fortnight before informing me that I had been called up into His Majesty's Army and that I was to report to the Beds and Herts Infantry Training Regiment at Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk.

The Army had thoughtfully provided a railway ticket (ominously a single, one way only) and on arriving at Bury St.Edmunds we were met at the station by a three ton lorry, our first acquaintance with this favoured form of military transport.

We got to the barrack gates, dismounted and formed up into ragged ranks for identification against a master roll on a clipboard held by a very important looking sergeant.
Allocated to various platoon numbers we then marched through the barracks to a series of catcalls coming from young men in denim uniform lining our route.
"Go home while you can you stupid b******s!" was but a mild example of what we were subjected to and it was only weeks later that we realised the troops who 'gave us the bird' on our entry into camp had only themselves been in the army for two weeks and that this was a favourite pastime every Thursday lunch time when the new intake arrived at the Depot.

On this Thursday however I was not to know about such things and found myself looking around me and absorbing like a piece of blotting paper all the atmosphere of an army camp in wartime.

We were marched around the perimeter of a large parade ground getting various items of kit on the way and were eventually broken into squads of about twenty strong and allocated to squad leaders. My particular squad leader was a sergeant, looking as tough as old nails. He marched us to our barrack hut and then gave us a short lecture based roughly on the "You play ball with me and I'll play ball with you" syndrome. He then told us to fall out and get our gear into the hut.

As luck would have it, I was the last person to file into the hut, and found my way impeded by what looked like a pair of size ten army boots worn by this imposing sergeant. "Your name's Goldstein, isn't it?" he demanded. "Jewish, aren't you?" he continued. Everything I had ever imagined concerning anti-Semitism immediately came to mind and with much misgivings I promptly replied "So what!"
"Don't be a bloody idiot," he replied, "My name's Kusevitsky!" (or some such equally Jewish sounding name).

Within seconds he had established the fact that my new comrades would soon find out that their Platoon Commander was Jewish, and therefore in order to avoid complaints of favoritism he would have to be extra tough with me during training, but that I should understand the motives behind it and ignore the harassing. When the course eventually finished we had a drink together and had some fun out of the situation.

The six weeks primary training passed in a flash, my main memories of this period being those of inoculations, usually performed three at a time and the strange diet.My new found friends soon discovered that I couldn't eat bacon and used to arrange to sit next to me in the dining hall.
Once we'd had our jabs and had learnt how to look reasonably presentable in uniform we were allowed to go into town in the evening and we used to swagger there in groups of about six strong.

We learnt very quickly that the cheapest place to get a meal off duty was at the Y.M.C.A or the Salvation Army, affectionately known as the Sally Ann and we all became heavy smokers, lung cancer not having even been heard of in those heady days.

Whilst at Bury St. Edmunds we were given various psychological tests and apparently it was discovered that I had an aptitude for reading Morse code for when the course finished and the 'postings' were put up on the camp notice board I found that I had been transferred to a Royal Artillery Driver/Wireless Operator training unit in Whitby, in Yorkshire.

Cheers

Ron

ps

Try some of these links ?

Stories contributed by Ron Goldstein
Day Leave in Rome
No Subject
Not My Worst Night, By Any Means: A Young Soldier in North Africa
Diary Entries 11th April 1945
One family, Five Sons, All Serving in H.M.Forces
The War Ends in Italy, 2nd May 1945
Running a Staging Camp in Germany, August 1945
Training To Be A Driver/Wireless Operator
Danke Herr Mix!
My Welcome Home
A Driver/Op in Light Ack Ack
Getting your Army Records
Ron's Grand Tour

[Franek]

Ron;
I laughed so much at your reply that I had to walk away from the PC. You told it much better than I did. We could for a long time and not tell it all.
Here is a good one. I was in the Army but a few hours,when we were issued uniforms.We walked in line and a guy asked what size are you? Thats the size that we got.Next came the shoes. I told them that I wore a size10 1/2. He gave me an 11. He said that my feet will grow into them..
I dressed and looked like a sad sack. It felt like I had snow shoes on. I never wore boots in my life. As I marched down the street. I passed another soldier coming my way. I heard a voice call out.(HEY SOLDIER)
I turned around and he asked if I knew what he was? I said no. He told me that he was a lieutenant. I thought well HOOPIDITY POO, Thats nice.
He told me that I had to salute. He then asked me how long I was in the Army. I told him two hours. OH well that was my first taste of KP. But I got the last laugh. The baker baked made a delicious cake.. LOL. I ate half of it.
Ron, for the sake of me I never remember any conflict with Jewish guys. We were all abused the same.