


          * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
          *                                                         *
          *           THE 4TH DIVISION RETURNS TO THE US            *
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          As earlier letters indicate, we had speculated on whether we
          would be sent to the Pacific once the war in Europe was
          over. Nevertheless, news that this was going to happen came
          as a rude shock. With nearly a year of combat behind many
          of us, we felt we had done our share. Washington, however,
          had other thoughts. Invasion of Japan would take a great
          many divisions, and the 4th was to be one of them. After
          returning home, we would have thirty days leave, followed
          by intensive training. We would then move on to the Pacific
          for the invasion of Japan.
          
          Since beginning work on this book, I have obtained a copy
          of the plan for the Japanese invasion, DOWNFALL. The first
          phase called for an invasion of Kyushu, the southernmost
          island, and the buildup of a logistic base there. The 4th
          would take part in the second phase, a landing on Honshu,
          near Tokyo. Particularly after the fighting on Okinawa, heavy
          casualties were expected. We approached this task with no
          enthusiasm but surprisingly little protest. I did not mention
          that we were headed for the Pacific in my letters home. With
          my brother already there, I thought it best to postpone
          breaking this unwelcome news to my parents.
          
          Dear Dad, June 11, 1945, Bamberg, Germany
          
          I have hesitated for some time now to write this news to
          you, since there is always the real possibility that something
          will intervene to make it impossible. It can be expected that
          I shall reach the United States sometime between July 1
          and 15. When I reach the States, they'll send me and others
          from the division living near there to a post in the vicinity
          of Aurora. From there we shall be released for a leave,
          probably thirty days.
          
          I do not know where we shall be stationed in the States at
          the end of the leave or how long we'll remain there. Your
          guess is as good as mine. My leave I plan to spend in this
          manner. Several weeks with you in Aurora, a week in New
          York, and a week in Florida.
          
          Love, John
          
          Dear Folks, June 15, 1945, Bamberg, Germany
          
          Staff Sergeant Dunbar, who was chief in our fire direction,
          is leaving tomorrow on advance detail. He will go to Erie,
          Pennsylvania, for his furlough. I gave him your phone
          number and asked him to call, so don't be surprised if you
          hear from him.
          
          My love, John
          
          As these letters indicated, the 29th moved from
          Gunzenhausen to a bivouac area near Bamberg, which is
          northwest of Nuernberg . There I again found myself dealing
          with an unpleasant task. A group of enlisted men were
          playing with a small gun, passing it from hand to hand.
          Suddenly the gun went off, and one of the men fell over
          dead. Tommy asked me to investigate the incident and make
          an official report. It was, however, pointed out to me that,
          if I recommended a court martial, it would mean that some
          of our senior noncommissioned officers would have to
          remain behind in Germany. We were already losing a
          number of them under the point system, which permitted
          enlisted men with the most service to get out of the army.
          Fortunately, given the circumstances of the shooting, it was
          not difficult for me to rule the death an accident.
          
          From the bivouac area, we moved to a tent city near Le
          Havre. Tommy sent me ahead with the advance party. The
          trip across Germany was depressing, since we drove through
          one ruined city after another. It was only when we reached
          France that we left war's devastation behind. My final letter
          from Europe was written from Le Havre.
          
          Dear Folks, June 27, 1945, Le Havre, France
          
          Well, France again. Eleven months from Normandy to the
          heart of Germany, four months to get back here. We came
          here with night stopovers at Kaiserslautern, Metz, and
          Soisson.
          
          Must cut down my number of correspondents now that I'm
          coming back to the States. It has to be done sooner or later,
          doesn't it? But they really are all wonderful persons who are
          really very worthwhile friends.
          
          Well, I still expect to be home in the middle of July,
          discounting any serious difficulties in the interim. See you
          then.
          
          My love, John
          
          PS I now have 90 points, which means that it will not be
          impossible to become a civilian again. But I wouldn't be at
          all surprised to see myself in the army for some time to
          come.
          
          The 29th returned to the US on the SS Hermitage. My task
          on board was to arrange entertainment. With the help of the
          ship's orchestra, I managed to scrape together a pretty good
          variety show. The high point was a young soldier who was
          a woman impersonator. He always carried girl's clothes with
          him and created a sensation when he (she) suddenly
          appeared on stage.
          
          After a brief period in a camp near New York city, we
          traveled by train to an army camp just west of Aurora,
          Illinois, where my parents were living. As the train went
          through it, there was a brief pause in the station. I was
          tempted to jump off but was too disciplined to do this. I
          wished later I had.                                     


          A TERRIBLE SHOCK

          The next day, shortly before I was to travel to Aurora, I
          received word that my mother had died the night before.
          Although I had been aware that she was ill, I had no idea
          that it was so serious.
          
          Thus, my homecoming was a sad one. My father, my sister
          Margaret, and I traveled east by train to Philadelphia, my
          mother's hometown, for her funeral. After that, I gave up
          any idea of visiting girl friends in New York or Florida. I felt
          it my duty to remain with my father, whose health was still
          precarious. After traveling to Minneapolis to visit my father's
          brothers, we returned to Aurora.
          
          We were in Aurora when atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima
          and Nagasaki and the war ended. (It should be a sobering
          thought for Europeans that, had von Rundstedt's offensive
          succeeded in delaying Allied operations, a German city could
          have been the first victim of the atomic bomb. Europeans
          should also reflect on the consequences of a protracted war
          in the Pacific. The US would have neglected Europe and
          concentrated on the defeat of Japan.)
          
          Truman's decision to use the bomb was certainly not
          unpopular among those of us scheduled for the invasion of
          Japan. Now that I am better informed on our invasion plans
          and the Japanese plans to defend their islands, I am
          convinced that many more would have been killed than were
          killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There are those who claim
          the Japanese would have surrendered anyway, but there is
          no way of proving this one way or another. All I know is
          that, having survived the war in Europe, I considered my
          chances of surviving the invasion of Japan very small.
          
          At the end of my leave, I traveled to Camp Butner, near
          Durham, North Carolina. Shortly after arriving there, we
          received word that the division would be broken up. My final
          letter was to my father.
          
          Dear Dad, August 28, 1945
          
          The army has not announced its new policy on officers yet,
          but this should come before the weekend. The rumors do
          not seem unfavorable.
          
          Princeton starts November 1 with its fall semester. Columbia
          begins September 24. From information gathered thus far
          Princeton seems to have by far the better foreign service
          school.
          
          My work has changed. I'm now a battery commander. The
          work should have become fairly familiar by the time the
          army releases me, but it serves to keep me out of mischief.
          Besides after two and a half years of staff work, having a
          command is a welcome change.
          
          John
          
          One day, Tommy called me into his office. He said, "John,
          you have been telling me for years how the battery
          commanders should run their batteries. I am going to give
          you B Battery." While I would have welcomed this earlier,
          this was not an easy time to get such an honor. With the
          division breaking up, conditions were chaotic, and it was
          difficult to maintain discipline. Had it not been for Enon H.
          Edenfield, the First Sergeant, I wonder whether I would have
          managed it.
          
          About that time, Ed Cissel and Lorton Livingston came to
          visit their friends in the battalion. Ed had become ill in the
          Siegfried line in the fall of 1944 and had been leading a
          team of veterans whose job it was to buck up morale in
          factories. Lorton was wounded when his jeep hit a mine in
          the snow on a bridge when we were pushing back the
          Bulge, and he was returned to the US.
          
          At that time, I was uncertain what to do with my life. I
          wanted to return to college but was not sure where. Both
          Lorton and Ed urged me to go to Princeton. Lorton had
          graduated from there before the war, and Ed was returning
          to complete his education. This turned out to be a fateful
          encounter, since I not only finished my bachelor work at
          Princeton but also attended graduate school there.
          
          Another event also had an important influence on my future.
          On my way to Princeton, I stopped in Washington, DC and
          visited the State Department. This led to my taking the
          Foreign Service officer examination several years later and
          ultimately spending twenty-five rewarding years in the
          Foreign Service.                                     