Wally Nadel
World War II in the Aleutians - Shemya (APO 729) January 26, 1943 to January 27, 1946 |
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1. Recap of Army Facilities Ft. Benjamine Harrison, Indiana Ft. McClellan - Anniston, Alabama Ft. Lawton - Seattle, Washington 4. Shemya 7. My Outfit 8. My Buddies 12. Potpourri 14. Coincidences |
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PROCESS/ASSIGNMENTS Whenever an entire group, battalion, company, or platoon was ordered outside with both your "A" bag (currently used items and clothes) and your "B" bag, (infrequently used items), you know that you're going somewhere. This event usually occured around Rumors were flying, sometimes right, frequently wrong. Names were called out and those men were marched away. This broke up many friendships. Not good for the men but necessary for the war effort. Another group of names were called out, and those men were marched off in a different direction. These groups could be 4 th grade educationally challenged men who were sent somewhere for intensive A. B. C. indoctrination OR to waiting trains which carried them to ports of embarkation OR left behind in the same camp to assist the permanent cadre train new inductees OR on rare occasions, some whose I.Q. scores exceeded 110, but without college indicated on their records. This group was usually selected for specialized training. This was the case of the 24 men I was
with who ended up in a 2-month course in harbor maintenance, ie., the use of cranes, securing vessels, boy-scout type knot tying, life-saving equipment & techniques, etc. In late afternoon, trucks came to pick us up and return us to our quarters in and the while attending a wedding on the West
coast, I purposefully visited the area and found out that the campsite was turned into a large park. I just wanted to relive a bit of my past! These same 24 men were subsequently shipped out together, and stayed together for over two years, after a request was
sent for their services for a remote in the
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© Wally Nadel 2007
Dr. Will R. Eubank - Adak 1943 Map of Alaska