The Final Story

He lived a great life.  We have lost a great friend.

Remembrances

I've written a short book that I would like to share with you.  The first four pages are introduction; the rest is personal at varying levels.  I hope you enjoy "Remembrances" and would appreciate your comments. Enjoy!

My Battlefield Promotion

A very short time after arriving in North Africa in 1943, I was a private working security patrols around our division encampment.  I was trying to do a good job at whatever I was told to do.
One morning ...

Burn out the Latrine

Enjoy the humor of this story; I know it  happened.
It was in North Africa, 1943 -
Most of the men were young, seventeen to twenty-five years.  Most had no history which, required them to ask questions, when ordered to do jobs which they didn't understand.  ...

(Photo is for effect, 

not from North Africa)

The Big Hook

General George Patton ordered all units to pack up, get ready to invade Sicily.  My Division, 704th Engineering Railway Grand Division was one of them.  We were ready to go when we received a message from Command.  It said for the 704th to proceed to Italy instead.  Proceed, with all possible haste.   

Read this exciting story: 

 

The Red Ball Express

This is a true reporting of mostly unknown combat action in World War II, about the Red Ball Express.  View it as I wrote it:

 

An Incident in North Africa with General George Patton

General George had arrived only a few days before German planes started strafing where he was staying in Algiers.  He was so mad and told them about it, grabbed these pearl handle pistols, went outside and fired at the planes coming in for the second pass.

He said, “You Krauts are dead but you just don’t know it.”

End of the War

“Now.” General Patton was put in command of US 3^rd Army advancing toward Belgium where, 101^st Airborne troops were surrounded by Germans. On January 1944 had snow and ice (coldest in 100 years).
April 1, 1945 the 7^th Army moved most of our troops out of France except Nancy, France and Toul Terminal - needed all personnel in Germany.
Hostilities ended May 8, 1945 and on May 19^th the first freight train crossed the Neckar River near Stuttgart and Danube.

War over! We moved from Nancy, France to Esslingen, Germany and stayed on as the army of occupation for several months.

Preparing for the Invasion of Sicily

At this time General Patton immediately started getting all troops ready to go invade Sicily.
... (read the story as I wrote it)

Beginning our World War II Experience

In February 1943 I was sent to Camp Shanks, NY, a giant training camp for all troops going oversees.

USS Monticello (AP-61) (also SS Conte Grande)

Left Camp Shanks, March 1943, on a big ship, the Monticello, along with 9,000 soldiers on way to North Africa.  Convoy had about 70 ships, battleship Texas, a cruiser, and other ships of all kinds.
On the 9th day of the voyage, I was on deck and heard planes and looked toward the Straits of Gibraltar and saw a flight of British Spitfire planes coming out to welcome us to North Africa.  2 days later landed in Algiers, Algeria.  Other ships went to Tunisia and Morocco.

We started our job running railroads.  Now in French Territory had to be a little diplomatic with French Railroad employees.

July 4, 1943 we had three troop trains in a small town of Maison Carree, Algeria, one filled with German prisoners, another one with Italian prisoners.  The center train was full off ammunition aircraft bombs ut to 1000 pounds each, and all kinds of other ammo.  in the night, "late" an explosion occurred sending parts of everything as far as our camp 3 miles away.  German and Italians disliked each other so much they would not ride the same train.

The Drum and Bugle Corps

About 1932 the V.F.W. and Boy Scouts issued a call to all boys in the Menard and Bolton bands to join a drum and bugle corps.

An old soldier from World War "one" was put in charge.  There were about 75 volunteers making a good siz organization.  At this time money was short from the recession.  Our families had no way to purchase uniforms and drums and bugles.  The V.F.W. through a gift of a well to do person donated the drums and bugles, mostly equipment used before and donated, however very good quality and appearance.  Most of the boys were Boy Scouts and had uniforms, so Boy Scout uniforms became our uniforms.  Each scout troop had different colored neckerchief, so this made a very colorful corps of Boy Scouts.

Mr. Arthur Murphy, our leader, started our training immediately.  As most of the boys played in a band already knew how to march and obey commands.  It wasn't long before we surprised people of Alexandria Pineville marching in parades and other functions.  We continued operation about three years.  The last year we won the State Championship all around.  it was an organization enjoyed by all of us.  Our leader was a wonderful man and taught us a lot.

It was not too long before World War II started and most of us joined the Army or Navy.

The Band at Menard Memorial High School

In about 1932 Menard organized a band to be used in parades, football games, and other things.  After a short while they had a full band.  Instruments were donated to the school with no cost to students participating.  My brother, Bill, played trumpet, and I, trombone.

Soon the Band Director organized a band of forty or fifty students.  There was no time to teach music to players so Mr. Floyd Kirk, the Director, said he could teach us by number, which hed did; and we got a band together quickly, as it was football season and we played at games.  Our uniforms were donated to the school.

a bit of humor :-)

The band played on for two or three years.  The Band Director also directed the Sodality of Blessed Virgin, The Glee Club.  When the time came for him to leave, he took all of the instruments and uniforms with him.  About that time money was scarce.

Why I went to Menard Memorial High School?

The great depression was in the beginning stages.  My brother, William Crumplar, and I, Milford Crumplar, were attending public school "West End Grammar" located a few blocks from my house.

West End Grammar School, Alexandria, LA

Alexandria Daily Town Talk came out about 1925 and said that it appears this school would have to close account of no money.  My mother saw this and, I remember her saying "I don't want my boys on the street, getting into trouble", so she went to Menard Memorial School, a few blocks away on Elliott Street.  It was a Roman Catholic school, staffed by The Brothers of the Sacred Heart.  Mother went to see the princibal, Bro Ceral, and inquired as to the amount of money it would take to send her two sons there, even though they were Methodist, not Catholic.  He agreed to take the boys as students and she would pay, I believe, the figure of $5.00 weekly each.  We started immediately and stayed from that time in 1926 until we graduated from high school in 1940.

Why I didn't go to LSU

While my brother and I were waiting to go in the service, our mother called us in and told us she was having trouble making ends meet.  She could send one of us to LSU, but not both.  My brother spoke up and said "Mother, neither one of us will go to LSU because we are going to go in the US Army."  She was very proud of us for that.



General Patton

 My brother and I ended up in two different units, but we did get to see each other once in awhile during the war.  Our general was General George Patton.

Our mother was even more proud (and relieved) after the war when we both came back safely.

Joining the Army - June 1940

I had recently turned 18, and my brother and I heard of a new reserve unit, an engineer railway division; it sounded interestin,g so we both went to the Army recruiting station and informed them we were already part of that reserve unit.  In about a month, my brother received a notice to report to Camp Beauregard for indoctrination at Van Buren, AK, in the 759th Railway Battalion.

Barracks at Fort Snelling, MN

I kept waiting for a call, and it never came.  In the meantime, I worked at Camp Claiborne near Forest Hill, and in a job for the railroad supervising the unloading of freight cars. After a couple of years, I had to wire the 8th Service Command in Dallas to ask them when I would receive a call.  The reason there was a delay is that my paperwork had fallen behind their filing cabinet.  It's a good thing I called them; otherwise, I would have never gotten my orders.  Shortly, I received a call back and was told to report to Camp Beauregard in a week.  Now this messed me up, because I needed my basic training.  I asked them why they waited so long to call me.  Well, there was a good reason.  They told me my records had fallen behind the filing cabinet, so I was forgotten. 

So I reported to Camp Beauregard, got my uniform and shots, and they put me on the Missouri-Pacific passenger train with papers for the 704th Railway Grand Division in Fort Snelling, Minnesota. 

(It's important to note that this was the first Railway Division.  The Army doesn't have them anymore.  It evolved into the Transportation Corps.)  Here are some photos of my history book from the 704th.

(select a photo to enlarge)





my orders

Graduated from High School - May 1940

My story begins in May  of 1940 with my graduation from Menard High School in Alexandria, LA.

The Alexandria area was still suffering as a result of the 1929 Great Depression.  There were very few jobs to be had and a lot of local stores were closed and boarded up.

In about 1936, the government realized war was iminent.  Adolph Hitler had German people as well as most of Europe in a state of fear.