Army Years (1951 - 1953)
Fort Dix
I was drafted into the U. S. Army in December 1951. After a short stop at Ft. Devens in Massachusetts, I was sent to Ft. Dix in New Jersey for basic training. Basic was a 16 week period of physical fitness, weapons training and a little military theory. After the training, most of the 250 graduates of my company were assigned to FECOM (Far Eastern COMmand) and ended up in Korea where a war was going on.
Fort Dix
I was drafted into the U. S. Army in December 1951. After a short stop at Ft. Devens in Massachusetts, I was sent to Ft. Dix in New Jersey for basic training. Basic was a 16 week period of physical fitness, weapons training and a little military theory. After the training, most of the 250 graduates of my company were assigned to FECOM (Far Eastern COMmand) and ended up in Korea where a war was going on.
Army Chemical Center
After basic training, I was assigned to Detachment 4 at the Army Chemical Center (ACC) in Edgewood, MD. My particular assignment was to provide statistical quality control and experimental design services in a laboratory that tested gas mask cannisters and fabrics to protect against nerve gasses.
On
the left, I am at my desk ready to work on statistical analyses.
Note the Monro-Matic electromechanical calculator on the desk;
this machine was state-of-the-art at the time. I learned
statistical quality control and experimental design by reading and
studying two
books; E. L. Grant's "Statistical Quality Control" and K. A. Brownlee's
"Industrial Experimentation." I devoured both books and worked
through every one of the end-of-the-chapter problem sets in Brownlee.
It was
here that I decided to go
on to graduate school and study mathematical statistics. On the
right is fellow "blue star commando" Ralph Huth. (We jokingly
called ourselves that since our Special Services patch was a blue star
on a white field outlined in red.) Ralph also went on to work for U.
S. Steel.
On
the
right is an outside view of the barracks where I lived for my
first year at ACC. The photo on the right is an inside view of
the second floor where I bunked.
On
the left is a WW II Japanese tank that was near the entrance to the
ACC. The center photo is of me doing chin-ups next to the
barracks. The photo on the right is of me leaning on a street
sign.
I
played basketball and softball for the Detachment 4 teams. Back
row: M. Schwartz, L. Spaulding, W. Frank. and me. Middle row: J.
Oberle, D. Gauthier, and J. Hessburg. Front row: R. Doll, H.
Chambers, and J. Skrbina. John
Skrbina lived near Detroit
and I visited him while at the U. of M. While living in
Monroeville, I
attended his wedding in Detroit. The photo on the right
shows Detachment 4 guys
on the fire escape at the more permanent barracks I lived in for my
last 6
months at ACC. John Skrbina is on the bottom.
Local Trips Around Edgewood
While at ACC, Bruce "Swede" Johnson, John Skrbina, I, and others took many small trips near Edgewood; John had a car. We made a special effort to visit covered bridges in the area. We also took longer trips to Washington, DC; Atlantic City, NJ; and New York City.
Abe at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. In the center
photo, I'm standing under a flowering cherry tree in Washington.
On the right, Swede Johnson and John Skrbina in a cornfield.
Two covered bridges in eastern Maryland. Swede Johnson, John Skrbina, and ??? are in the photo on the right.
Trip to Europe
Between September 3, 1953 through October 8, 1953, Bruce "Swede" Johnson and I took a tour of Europe. As Army personnel, we got a free military plane flight from Washington to Paris, France. To get that fight we had to show that we had reservations for transport back to the states. After Paris, we took the train to Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Holland. We then took a night packet from Holland to England.
I'm
at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris in the photo to the left.
The Arc de Triumph in Paris is in the center photo. The
photo on the right is me looking at the Matterhorn in Zermat,
Switzerland.
The
Colloseum in Rome is in the photo on the left. In the center
photo I am in an open air restaurant in Saltzburg, Austria. Note
the special services patch on my left shoulder. In the
photo on the right I am sitting in a room in the General Walker
Hotel in Bertchesgarten, Germany.
In the photo on the left, I'm
waiting at a train station in Koblenz, Germany. In
the center, Parliament and Big Ben in London, England. On the
right, a member of the Queen's Horse Guards at St. James Place.
In
late September we came back to the States via a nine day voyage on the TSS Neptunia of the Greek Line from
Southampton, England to New York City. The photo on the left
shows me at the stern of the Neptunia in the middle of the
North Atlantic. In the center is a photo of the luggage stickers. On the right is a photo of a group of
Englishmen that Swede and I spent time with on the voyage. Swede is on the far right and I'm not in the photo. The
above photos are only a few of the more than 200 I took on the trip.
Honorable Discharge
I was honorably discharged from the U. S. Army in January 1954. Because of accumulated leave, I was able to leave for home in early December 1953.
I was honorably discharged from the U. S. Army in January 1954. Because of accumulated leave, I was able to leave for home in early December 1953.
PDB
November 2007
November 2007