Issue 16.12
As World War II was ending and about fifteen million people were awaiting their turn to get out of uniform and into civilian clothes again, there was a certain amount of marking time.
Separation from the service was awarded on a point system with the highest number of points getting out first. Points were awarded with one point for each month on active duty service, plus one point for overseas deployment, five points if married, five points for each additional dependent, five points for each awarded medal and five points for each designated battle participated in. I was not one of the first ones to be discharged and a group of other battle veterans and I was put in a battalion of forest fire fighters. This was August of 1945 as the war for Japan had just ended and my turn for discharge would not be until October of that year.
After fire training we were sent to put out forest fires first in Idaho and then in southern
California. One of the places I was thus stationed was at Boise, Idaho.
While between fires there, I developed a friendship with a discharged infantry squad leader. We told each other of our combat experiences. I was enough impressed with his narrative that I remember some of it to this day in the year 2012. While his unit was fighting its way through Germany he had many close experiences. When they advanced to a place where there were snipers in a building, they didn’t expose themselves in a one on one skirmish, they called on the artillery or their own mortars to level the building along with any occupants. This is far different from orders in Iraq or Afghanistan in how to solve the problem.
Once his unit was going through a deserted German town and came upon a blasted bank. The guys poked around and found one foot diameter rolls of uncut German currency. Of course the money of the defeated nation was worthless so the guys took the rolls of money and rolled them down the inclined street. After Germany was conquered and occupied was that money declared legal tender by the allies.
Another time his unit came upon a bombed jewelry store with its valuable contents scattered about. My friend gathered up a sizable amount of gold and diamond rings and other things and stuffed them into his shoulder held canvas musket bag. Sometime later he came under heavy enemy fire and the only thing that saved him was to jump into a river where he lost the entire valuable contents of that bag. He did save the most valuable thing he owned which was his life.
There was never a dull moment in the life of a battle engaged infantry man during World War II.
Sam Wyrouck can be contacted at 801-707-2666.