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My Orders Arrived
Aug 5, 2019, 8:55 PM
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I mentioned in another post my daughter and I were sorting through a bunch of boxes and I saw a note that said the contents consisted of photos and "stuff" from WW2 and the Korean War. I have just begun to look at the "stuff" and one of the first things I found was my "Order to Report for Induction", dated Aug. 19, 1942. The order states that I must report to Recorders Court Room, City Hall, Waycross, GA, 8:30 AM, Aug. 29, 1942. And there are a few words about what will happen if I fail to report and none of them sounded appealing.
Well, to make a short story long, about 35 - 40 of Ware County's finest, boarded a bus bound for Fort McPherson in Atlanta. There were no Interstate roads so we passed through about 74 small Georgia towns during our 12 hour ride. Ware County's finest was a motley crew. We had 3 or 4 professed moonshiners from the swamp. We had guys who had served time in jail or prison but not for major offenses. We had several who could neither read or write. We even had a couple who had never been out of Ware County, The education level ranged from no schooling to my having had two years at the Univ. of Florida.
Age wise, we ranged from 20 to about 35. News media kept reporting that pretty soon, fathers would be drafted. That was a big joke because several men in our group were fathers. We were treated to a box lunch on our ride to Atlanta but we did not have our next meal until we arrived at Fort McPherson. I believe the Army was tempting us because for some, the meal was like the last meal before taking a reserved seat in the electric chair.
The next two days were filled with all sorts of physical and mental tests, lots of good food and definitely, an air of excitement. Not one man in our group indicated a desire to be rejected, The next morning, Sept 1, 1942, we fell out to hear the results of our tests before boarding our bus back to Waycross. As our name was called we were asked to step forward. I don't remember the exact number but the names of about five men were not called. The rest of us were administered the oath as we officially became members of the United States Army.
Before boarding our bus, the Captain called me forward, gave me a slew of material to take back to the Ware County Draft Board and announced that I would be in charge of the men on the return trip to Waycross. We were granted two weeks of leave to clear up all matters before reporting back to Atlanta. The Captain announced that I would be in charge of the men on the return trip. He emphasized the fact we would not be returning as civilians but as members of the United States Army.
About three men were rejected because they could neither read or write and a couple were rejected because of some physical problem. All of these men were disappointed at being rejected.
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The next item I picked up was the Souvenier Edition of the Troop Ship Gen. John Pope, dated Sept. 23, 1951, announcing we would be arriving in San Francisco in about 18 hours. I was returning from my tour of duty in Korea. After resting up from that exhaustive trip to and from Atlanta in 1942, I'll post some excerpts from the Gen. John Pope adventure.
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