Because it really is personal…

Dear Y’all:
Yes it is time to write again, even though I have got little to write about today. So to start with I’ll answer your question as to my name rank, etc. S/sgt Walter Thomas marshall, seriel number (123456 789), should not have spaced the numbers, but I did so to complete the information, 21st photo. Squadron U.S.A.F. The rank shoulder patch is three chevrons up and one rocker down. Maybe that is what you wanted to know. However after we got to China we in the mess section were split up and were just more or less just monitors over the Chinese that were doing the cooking and we never cooked again, just supervised the Chinese. I later was transfered to the 1712th Signal Service Battalion, which was a radar outfit. I stayed in my original mess hall, just drew my pay through the 1712th orderly room. Later on after the atom bomb ended the war I had onough points to come home but the 1712th outfit as a unit weren’t elegible yet to come home so they transferred me to a night fighter squadron, so I could go home as a member of them. I never really knew much about them, because they were based where I had never been, however I only saw one night fighter in action on one occasion, and the plane was in the air, so I was never able to see one on the ground. They flew fighters designated as the P61. Back to my original outfit our outfit flew P38 Lightenings, which were unarmed. The only gun the pilot had was the 45 he carried in a shoulder holster. The P38 was fast enough to normally outrun or out manouver (sp) most of the Zeros that they might encounter. The P38 only carried cameras.

Yes, I knew Charle’s wife was named Dortha, because I found out very quickly when I worked for old Butch. Mrs. Stallings was a good woman to put up with Butch. While I was working for him she was up at four o’clock cooking steak and eggs for us before we went to the feild. That really did hit the spot. However lunch was just a sandwich of cold cuts and luke warm coffee. I’ve never liked even cooled off coffee ever since. I want it just short of boiling. Charles and Dortha came to Denver when the Egypt display was on several years ago. I think it was 1987 the year Bobby died, because he called me and asked if I would meet them in Denver and I told him I would not drive in Denver to see the pope, but I’d meet them in Boulder which I did. We went to a cafe and had a meal together, and a funny thing was the waiters and waitresses were scooting all over the place on roller skates. in the cafe. I haven’t seen or heard from him since, which doesn’t bother me in the least.

You commented about my spelling or the possible use of a dictionary, well I don’t even have a dictionary, so I just try to use my memory as to how to spell.

Well I will close this letter and hope it gets into todays mail. Write when the spirit moves you.

Love,
Walter

Dear Y’all,
Well here I go again and I’ll try to answer your questions as best I can. You asked where I saw the pyramids well that is easy, I saw them in the distance while we were going through the Suez canal on shipboard. They were very indistinct but visible. I saw the statue of Christ when we pulled into thedock in Rio de Janerio. I’m not at all sure about the purpose of stopping in Rio, but I assume it was to take on supplies like we did in Trinidad Port of Spain and againn shen we pulled into Cape town South Africa, as well as when we pulled into Diego Suarez Madagascar. The Ship Captian never explained why to us as to why the stops were made. We were on a troop train when we went up into Canada and back down into the states, and we were on a rail line that passed below the Niagra falls. We left the states by way of the New York harbor, and we passes the statue of liberty on our way overseas, plus I got to see it again on our return to the states. As far as that fitting into our duties or objectives, I can see no connection other than getting from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’. That just happened the way it did was merely the route taken. I’m in the processof making a tape that I am giving some coverage to India. Really there is much to tell about India yet little at the same time. I’ll leave that part to what I’ve described in the tape, which I’ll send to you in a few days, I hope. {note…the tapes haven’t been found, but we are looking}

You asked how men were able to carry enough ammunition to be able to supply the many rapid fire weapons well having not been in the infantry I cannot tell youfor certain, but I assume they carried most of their ammo in clips on their belt as well as the bandoliers slung across their shoulders. I know that when I left my base and went on the various trips I always carried a .45 in my shoulder holster as well as a Thompson sub machine gun which I always had loaded with a 50 round drum of .45 shell, out I also carried at least five more 25 round clips on my belt, alond with my canteen and my knife. Now for the infantry men there were details that would bring ammo to the men along the line as often as was needed and was practical to do so. As for my own supply I was assured all I would need, because I was house in either a barracks or in some type of building. The only time I’d be in a trench was during an air raid, which came quite often, day or night. The combat soldiers did not get to stop the war just because it was night. If there was a lull in the fighting they caught as much nap timeas they possibly could any way they could either in a trench or a foxhole or anything they could get reasonably comfortable in. No the war never stopped just because it was night. Usually night action was very scary and intense for everyone concerned, either foe or ally. You just did what you had done the best way you could.

I want to give you one tidbit of information that we were told in boot-camp, was for when you knew or even suspected you were going to be in an upcoming raid was to empty your bladder as quickly as possible because if you were unlucky enough to be close to where the bombs or artillery shell will be falling you could easily be ruptured if you were close enough to the concussion. I am always grateful that I heeded one piece of advice, because when I was blown out of my gun pit I was relatively empty, but I hurt anyway. Well so much for all that.

It has been cloudy off and on all week, with the 2-1/2 inch sleet storm we got, we are getting a little moisture, but it is coming so slow it’s soaking in even before it makes mud. I guess you can see I’ve not mastered this typewriter. I just can’t seem to ever get it to acept the paper straight, but I don’t guess it makes any difference. It all gets on the page.

Walter.

My recently deceased grandfather had a brother named Walter, who died last October of bladder cancer. Upon going through Grandad’s effects a couple of weeks ago I came across a big envelope labeled “Walter’s War Stories”. Intrigued, I opened it to find photographs and first-hand accounts of Walter’s years in the military during WW2. I don’t have the photographs, only scans of scans of them, too poor to scan again and post, but wow.

The first page read as follows:
PERSONAL AND WAR MEMOIRS OF
WALTER THOMAS MARSHALL
S/SGT 12-345-678 (obviously, I’m not going to put is real numbers in)

21st Photo Recon. Squadron
14th Air Force
United States Air Force
Commanding Officer
Col. John Foster

Served detatched to 1712th Signal Service Squd
a Radar outfit
18th PID which was a photo intelligence dept

Transferred to a Night Fighter Sqdr
for convenience of the government.
Accumulated points to come home in
a unit that was assigned the next
transport to the States.
This squadron flew P61s

******************************

Uncle Walter was a waist gunner on a B-24 before transferring to the 21st. He was in India, Burma and China during the war, and there is a photograph of him recieving his pilot’s wings from Madame Chaing Kai Shek. From time to time, I am going to post excerpts from his letters to Grandad, where he recounts specific events during the war.