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SOLDIERS EXPERIENCES
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William Hoy
Source: William Hoy
Written by Art Williams |
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William Hoy was one of the million
men who passed through Camp Reynolds
during it's short but important
existence during World War II.
Although one of many, his story of
his time at the camp and later on in
the service is unusually
interesting. |
William was born and raised in
Columbus, OH and entered the Army in
1943.
After completing his Basic Training
he was sent for training in Chemical
warfare. Upon completion of his
training he was sent to Camp
Reynolds along with thousands of
others to be processed for overseas
assignment in the European Theater
of Operations. |
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He arrived at Camp Reynolds shortly
after the Race Riot in July 1943 and
before the name of the camp was
changed from Camp Shenango to Camp
Reynolds in September 1943. He was
stationed at the Camp for a year. |
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He was only at the camp four days
when he responded to a
Bulletin Board
notice by the
Special Services
who was
looking for someone to help out in the art department.
His dad had worked in the sign
business but he had no experience in
the business himself. As he put it
he bluffed his way through. After
helping for a while he was
transferred to the Special Services
unit and ended up staying at the
camp. |
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One of the main projects he worked
on while at the camp was to help to
create a large banner of the
Constitution with a giant eagle on
it that was hung in Service Club #1s
as part of the Fourth of July
Celebration at the camp in 1944. He
also created a variety of other
signs telling of upcoming events at
the camp. |
During his stay at the camp he lived
with his wife Betty. Their first
residence was in Greenville, PA at
160 West Main Street. The house was
owned by a family named Reigleman
which also housed several other
couples.
Later his wife found a log cabin for
rent at $40 a month, which was owned
by a local Doctor. It had two
stories with a beautiful stone fire
place. The log cabin was located
just outside the camp on the east
side of the Shenango River in view
of the German Prisoner Stockade.
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After leaving Camp Reynolds he was
sent to an Army camp in the state of
Washington. From there he was sent
over seas to Europe in time for V-E
day. He was later sent to the South
Pacific and was part of one of the
first units to enter Nagasaki, Japan
shortly after the dropping of the
second Atomic Bomb on Japan. |
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After the war he and his wife Betty
returned to Columbus OH and he
worked for his father Art Hoy who
had purchased the Columbus Sign
Company in the 1950's. William
eventually took over for his father
and now the company is run by his
sons, William Jr. and Mike. The
company celebrated it's 100 Year
Anniversary in 2012. . |
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Side Note: William's brother Robert
in the Army Air Force gained
notoriety for his cartoon drawings
on the envelopes of the letters he
sent his family and friends while he
was in the service. He is mentioned
in Ripley's Believe It or Not. |
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WESLEY READING
(Source: The Internet) |
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September 25, 1943 was an
unforgettable day. It was the day I
received my notice to appear at the
county court house in Hyattsville,
Maryland for my induction into the
army. And from there the other
inductees and I were taken by bus to
Fort Meade, Maryland where we were
given uniforms and clothing.
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Next we were sent by troop train to Camp Barkley.
Texas for our basic training. We
spent 21 weeks there in training for
overseas service. It was a cold,
bleak camp. The barracks were made
of plywood and the winter wind and
snow penetrated the cracks and
filtered into the barracks. We were
then shipped to Camp Reynolds,
Pennsylvania, just north of
Greensburg, in the western part of
the state. |
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My job at Camp Reynolds was a rough
one. While all the other men were
sleeping, I spent the night keeping
the pot belly stoves going in the
various barracks. It was VERY cold.
I had to go to the coal bins located
outside the barracks, and with a
shove and bucket, would carry in the
coal and keep the fires going all
night. The snow got to be quite
deep. There was no path except the
one I had shoveled out. From there
we were shipped to Camp Shanks, New
York. |
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On December 6, 1943, Sid began
intensive training at Officers Camp
Reynolds in Victory, Pa., and then
went on to Fort Slocum, NY. Next he
crossed the Atlantic to Liverpool,
England, where he was assigned to
supply work in Northern Wales.
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Joseph Albert Samons
- Source: Dolores Samons Harvell (Daughter) |
He was stationed
at Camp Reynolds in early in 1944,
Co A, 4th Regiment, 10th Group. His ASN
was
6798553.
He was shipped overseas from the area of
Riverside, California, approximately
on July, 24 1944. |
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The Four Basiliere Brothers
(Source: The Internet) |
Sons of Mr. and Mrs. W. Henry Basiliere of 118 Magill Street, are all
in the Army. They hold different grades
and are in different branches. Three of
them are overseas.
Pvt. Irvin F. Basiliere, 19, is
stationed with an engineer combat
battalion in France. A former foundry
worker for the H. & B. American Machine
Company, he was inducted into service in
June 1943. He trained at Fort Belvoir,
Va., Miller Field, Staten Island N. Y.,
and Camp Reynolds, Pa., before leaving
for England in December 1943. |
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HAROLD F. PLANK
(Source: The Internet) |
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Memoirs of World War II: The Story
of a Tioga County Soldier by
Harold F. Plank
CLICK HERE
to purchase Harold's Memoirs of his
World War II experience. |
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Camp
Croft in South Carolina near
Spartanburg...
After completing our training about
the 18th of May, we were put on a
train and sent to a replacement
depot north of Pittsburgh in
Pennsylvania. The rumors were that
we were probably headed overseas,
and we were doubtful if any of us
would get a furlough. So I got hold
of a telephone, called my folks, and
told them where I was and what the
situation was; and they arranged to
come to Camp Shenango to visit me.
So they got in Dad’s ’37 Chevy
sedan—my sisters Margie and Eileen,
my Mom and Dad, and my fiancée—and
they came to Camp Shenango. I was
able to get a pass for the rest of
the afternoon and evening to be with
them. We were able to eat out and do
some visiting, and at about 11:00 I
went back to my barracks. They left
the next morning, and that was the
last time that I saw my folks for
about two-and-a-half years. When we
left Camp Shenango by train, we went
across Pennsylvaniainto New Jersey
and ended up in Camp Kilmer. |
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JAMES T. LING
- WWII - 18 January 1943
(Source: The Internet) |
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I took my Basic Training at Camp
Hood, which was basically learning
how to do "left turn", "right turn",
"left face", "right face" and "about
face". We learned how to salute and
how to climb through barbed wire
strung through muddy fields. More of
an induction of what we were going
to see later in life. And
conditioning, we were constantly
being conditioned. |
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We spent about three months down
there, 13 weeks. I had about eight
weeks Basic Training, nothing but
soldiering, how to handle a rifle,
how to shoot, how to bayonet. From
there I had five weeks of driving a
half-track and truck. I thought,
"Well at least I'm back driving a
truck or half-track". I didn't get
into driving the tank destroyer. |
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After we completed our unit
training, we were all sent in
different directions by train. Most
of us went to Shenango Personnel
Replacement Depot, at Greenville,
Pennsylvania. The name of this Depot
was changed to Camp Reynolds
September 21, 1943 |
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On the trip north to Shenango, every
time we went through a town, the
M.P.s would come in and pull the
shades or blinds so no one could see
in and we would not see out. In
Pittsburgh, PA one of our companions
peeked out through the blind and
yelled "Hey that’s my brother!" The
same soldier had told us he lived
only a few blocks from the station
before we arrived. He went
immediately to the door and told the
M.P.s his brother was out there and
they let him stand on the platform
and talk with his brother until the
train pulled out, which proved M.P.s
can be nice people at times. |
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At Shenango, when we got off the
train, at the first formation, they
lined us up and said, very
carefully, "There are no furloughs
from here, if you want to see your
parents, if you want to see your
lover, or if you want to see anybody
before you go overseas, you better
go over the fence." They pointed out
the area where the guards weren't
too good and that's where we were to
go over then fence if we wanted to
take a furlough, but they said,
"Whatever you do, don't stay over 30
days because after 30 days, you'll
be a deserter". I didn't even think
about going back home, my thoughts
were to go on and get the war over
with. |
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There was a guy taking care of one
of the Officer's Barracks. He got
his overseas orders so had to move
out. When we fell out for formation
one morning, the Sergeant in Charge
wanted to know if anybody wanted to
take care of the Officer's Quarters.
Of course, nobody wanted to do that,
so since I was one of the smallest
guys in the outfit, he pointed to me
and said, "come over here". I went
and he said, "As of now, you are the
'Dog Robber', you are to take care
of the Officer's Quarters, you clean
the quarters and when they put their
shoes down, you get them shined and
fix them up. Other than that, your
day is your own. You can do anything
you want to and they pay you for it.
If you don't like it you can
probably get off of it by
complaining, but I'll make your life
so miserable you'll wish you
hadn't." So I became the "Dog
Robber" for a short period. |
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Then we received the orders to load
up again. We went to the dentist, we
sat there until 3:00 or 4:00 in the
afternoon before they got to us to
clean our teeth and fix what
cavities we had. I had 5 cavities
and I had an awfully sore mouth
before I got on the train. |
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We went to Camp Patrick Henry near
Newport News, Virginia. |
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Staff Sergeant ALBERT R. PANEBIANCO
(Source: The Internet) |
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I was an infantryman with Company
"K" , 157th Regiment, 45th Infantry
Division. Uncle Sam sent greetings
to me, March 1943. After completing
13 weeks of basic training at Camp
Wheeler, Georgia, I was sent to Camp
Kilmer, NJ, a port of embarkation.
My basic training consisted of 4
weeks of close order drill, learning
weapons, etc. While most trainees
went through an infiltration course,
for some reason or other, I did not.
In fact, my first experience with an
infiltration course was after the
war. Nine weeks of basic training
was spent in Clerk's and
Stenographers school at Camp
Wheeler. I was trained for duties as
a company clerk, or any other field
clerical position. After spending
three months at Camp Kilmer, port of
embarkation headquarters, typing and
performing clerical duties, I was
transferred to another port of
embarkation at Camp Shenango,
Sharon, Pennsylvania. Once again
after three months of clerical
duties, orders came down to ship
out. One could not remain at a port
of embarkation longer then three
months unless you were permanent
cadre. The next move was to Newport
News, Virginia, where I boarded USS
General Horace A. Mann on 1/31/44
headed for Casablanca. |
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ROBERT E. SCHMAL
(1910-1999)
(Source: The Internet) |
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February 18, 1943, Lowell Tribune
First Lieut. Robert E. Schmal has
just been transferred from Camp
Robinson, at Little Rock, Ark., to
the Shenango replacement depot at
Greenville, Pa., where, he says, he
has been placed in command of a
company which is stationed there to
"get men ready to go sailing". This
place is new and a long way from
being finished and there's mud
everywhere, but I suppose in time
things will get straightened out." |
April 15, 1943, Lowell Tribune
Fred Schmal spent last week in
Greenville, Pa., visiting his son,
Lieut. Robert Schmal, stationed at
the Shenango Replacement Center. |
April 29, 1943, Lowell Tribune
Lt. Robert Schmal, who arrived home
Tuesday morning on an expected
10-day leave, was suddenly recalled
this morning to report back at
Shenango Replacement Center in
Pennsylvania, where he has been
stationed for some time. Lt. Schmal
was supposed to have been
transferred to a camp in Georgia,
but this order was cancelled by
telegram from his commanding officer
last night in addition to cutting
his visit home to two days. |
June 29, 1944, Lowell Tribune
Promoted to
Captain
Robert Schmal, son of Fred Schmal,
writes his father that he has been
promoted from the rank of Lieutenant
to that of Captain, which, says Bob,
gives him a different slant on life
from an army viewpoint. Capt. Schmal,
who enlisted in the army two years
ago last February, is the third
Lowell boy attaining that rank. The
first was Capt. LaVerne McNay,
formerly of Lowell and the other
Capt. Abbott Dinwiddie. |
October 19, 1944, Lowell Tribune
Mr. and Mrs. Fred W. Schmal have
returned from a visit with their
son, Capt. Robert Schmal and family
at Greenville, Pa.
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April 19, 1945, Lowell Tribune
Captain Robert Schmal and family
arrived here from Shenango, Pa.
where he is stationed, last
Wednesday night for a visit with his
parents, sisters and brother. |
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