However, life remained stagnant for us, as so many thousands of men passed on their way to their transportation for their part in the invasion. I suppose it is an axiom of life that when a large group of men are forced to lounge around for long, they become grumpy, sometimes grouchy, and other times, just plain angry. But it was just the manifestation of the 'old Army game,' hurry up and wait. The weather turned bright and sunny after about two weeks, and our stay there brightened along with it. The troops kept streaming on by us; we wondered if and when we would ever get out of this 'mud hole.' But one day, just a month to the day after D-Day, we got orders to pack up and climb on the trucks for our Southampton harbor. There we embarked on a sleek little ship that was about the size of some rich man's 'yacht.' Inside, we found it to be very luxurious, with wood paneling at all bulkheads and staterooms. Our 'voyage' across the channel was very pleasant, the weather sunny and warm. I, for one, did not appreciate how fortunate I was, to be, at least so far, held back from the death-dealing action taking place in Northern FranceNormandy and Cherbourg, and Bretain (Brittany). Wading to the beach, about waist deep, I was amazed, but should not have been, at the huge shell holes in the sand. There, off to the right a short distance stood a German artillery piece. It was remarkable, because a shell from an allied gun had entered the tube, and the explosion had split its tube into pieces, so that it appeared to be some kind of diabolical flower. Coming up to a slight incline, beyond the beach, we got out our fox-hole shovels and dug a foxhole big and deep enough for two men over which we pitched a 'two man pup tent.' There we stayed overnight. The next morning we were able to get a look at the French countryside. I remember looking down a long, straight, and narrow road, lined with trees. There were some Army men there, with their Jeeps, discussing some action or other. But later on that morning, we embarked on our trucks again, and headed inland, into Normandy, France. On our way, where we were going, I didn't know, we passed acres of fields, loaded with U.S. Army Sherman tanks, which had been burnt out from being hit with enemy artillery. I wondered how it must have been, to be in one of those 'rolling ovens,' to be hit by a shell from a German 88 which was the most feared gun in the enemy arsenal. But later on, I was informed that the Sherman had an escape hatch on the bottom, for any of the crew who had survived the blast. Our trucks, winding around, and going down various roads, finally stopped at a wide clearing among some forest growth. There, we disembarked and set about preparing for what became an interminable stay of a 'fortnight,' (two weeks, to you who are not familiar with the 'limey' lingo). There, again, our stay was mostly grumpy boredom. We were in this so-called vacation resort, while all the deadly action was going on. The air was, at times, filled with resentment and associated bad language. However after what seemed forever, we finally mounted our trucks for yet another unknown destination. After a rather short distance, we found ourselves in among stacks of goods, already on hand what was to become the 242nd Quartermaster Depot, Omaha Beach, Normandy, France. Our mission: to support the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe. Besides typing requisitions, a large part of our job included pulling items from the various stacks to fill the requisitions we made out. This included ushering the supply sergeant and his man about the area and see that the items were loaded on his truck (or trucks). Of course, our QM Depot was but one of the various departments of the Quartermaster Corps. Just across from us loomed a high stack of clothing that had been removed from so many bodies of young men, killed in the D-Day assault. The smell of formaldehyde pervaded the hot, July air. On the other side of us, was a fuel supply dump. There were other supply depots close by, also. Although that part of the job was interesting, it was at the same time depressing. For those men had just come back from the front. They, for the most part, were unshaven, their eyes back in their sockets for lack of sleep (and food), and they had not had a bath (or showered) for many days. Our troops, at that time, were held up on the Cherbourg Peninsula at St. Lo and in Normandy; the British at Caen, Carentan, St. Mere Eglise and other small towns, along the small rivers in Northern France. One day, the 25th of July, 1944, that I'll never forget: we were out, fulfilling 'reqs' for supply sergeants, when at about ten in the morning, we began to hear a dull roar in the far distance. The noise gradually grew louder, until suddenly the sky was filled with airplanes from England. There were thousands of them, headed for the St. Lo stalemate. Later that day, we received news that the assault had accomplished the breakthrough. It was now possible for our Armies, among which was 'General George S. Patton's 3rd Army (which we were now assigned to support) to go forward. 130 J. Allen Tanner J. Allen Tanner was in the radiological technology program in cooperation with Dee Hospital. His service in WWII was with the Army, having been inducted in December 1942. He spent time fulfilling his duty in New Guinea, which lasted from July 1943 until December 1944. He participated in the invasion of Luzon in January 1945 and was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions in that operation. Upon separation from the service in October 1945 he had attained the rank of a technical sergeant and was awarded, in addition to the Bronze Star, a Philippines Liberation Medal and an Asiatic Pacific Service Medal. He attended Weber on the GI bill from 1947-1949. Thomas Jeppson Taylor Thomas Jeppson Taylor, a first lieutenant in the Army, participated in the Battle of the Bulge and was hospitalized for one month. He served in Germany, England and France. He received the Ardennes Service Star, the Rhineland Service Star, the Central European Service Star, and Victory and Amphibious Ready Group Theater Ribbons. Getting an education was very important so upon returning to Weber, he mopped floors to pay for his tuition. Russell G. Thorne Russell Thorne was a sergeant in the Army Airborne Division who received a Purple Heart and Combat Badge and Star on Jump Wings. He saw combat in France and Germany. He was wounded in Germany. He had a combat jump in Germany across the Rhine River. Donn C. Thurman Donn C. Thurman was a major in the Army during WWII. He served in the 104th Infantry with the European Theater in France, Holland and Germany and was at the Battle of the Bulge. He joined as a photographer in the Signal Corps but ended up in the infantry. They needed a photographer for Division Headquarters in Intelligence and he stayed there for the rest of the war. His expertise and experiences led him to join the reserves, and he served in an intelligence unit and retired as a major. Leland completed basic training on 1 June 1945. Leland L. Valentine He was assigned to IRTC (Infantry Replacement Training Center) headquarters at Camp Hood, which was home of the Tank Destroyer IRTC since October 1942. Leland was a clerk, maintaining records of transfers and assignments of incoming and outgoing commissioned officers. He was recommended for promotion to technical sergeant on 1 August 1945; but after the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on the 9th of August, with the prospect of the end of the war, all promotions at Camp Hood were frozen. Jack J. Van Erden Jack J. Van Erden was a staff sergeant in the Army. He spent three years mostly in the South Pacific Field, but was also involved in New Guinea, the Philippines and Saipan. Bruce Edward Wallace Bruce Wallace served in the Army and became a sergeant. He served in the Presidio in Monterey, California, Fort Douglas, Utah, Camp Williams, Utah, and Camp Swift, Texas. He was on Louisiana Maneuvers at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. He had three more camps in California and landed in La Havre, France on March 3, 131