Aaron Elson went to a reunion of the 712th Tank Battalion, with which his father served, in 1987. Two years later, he went to another reunion with a tape recorder. He's been preserving veterans' stories ever since.
Showing posts with label 7121th Tank Battalion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 7121th Tank Battalion. Show all posts
If I were to post a week's worth of entries each week from the 1941-45 diary of the Rev. Edmund Randolph Laine, that would take the better part of the next four years, so I'm going to space the entries out and probably take the better part of the next ten years, but I don't want to crowd out my other World War II stories.
These transcriptions are daunting, so I hope you'll pardon the question marks where I was unable to make out Laine's handwriting. But they are also fun, considering the references and links available on the Internet. It's as if there were a history lesson on every page. Perhaps not, but in this post you'll find a link to a 2012 New York Magazine article quoting a 1941 book Laine was reading, and a link to the 2011 funeral of a prominent citizen.
December 15, 1941
Dec. 15: (Monday)
Cold, snowing. Up 10:50, shower bath. Mrs. Kimberly phoned 10:40. Church
Year Book in morning mail. Looked over it. 1 - to Pittsfield with C.M. [Carlyn Markham?] -
haircut - back 3. Read "Times" & "Eagle." H(?) French in.
5 - special Trustees meeting at library - over 5:25. Saw D. Braman & E. on
street - E. [Ed Forrest] bot [bought] a Christmas present in Braman's. Phoned Mrs. Davidson. 6 -
News. Eve - wrote 7 letters & 1 acknowledgment. Mrs. Nettleton phoned. Mr.
Stevens of Gr. Barr. phoned asking me to speak at Gr. Barr. Rotary (but I
declined). Phoned Fr. Jones. 9 - Quincy Howe. To Post Office. Read in Hayes'
"Generation of Materialism" 9:45 - Raymond Gram Swing. Had apple,
junket & tangerine. 11 - News. Read in Hayes' book.
Reverend Laine and Ed Forrest
December 16, 1941
Dec. 16: (Tuesday)
Cold, sunny. Up 11:20, shaved. Radio News - noon - Letter from Peter Frelinghuysen about baptism of Peter III. Jack Swann(?) in to get character
letter. Made it out in duplicate - E. [Ed Forrest] and Miss F. [Jessica "Aunt Jess" French] typed it. Ans. some
responses. Wrote P. Frelinghuysen. Read "Times." Changed clothes. To
Library and to call on Mrs. Hiss at Tracy (?) 4 - back 5:05. Read
"Eagle." Ans. Mrs. Griswold's letter. 6 - News. Eve - made out cheque
and date for E. to order Sun. School candy and ice cream at (?). Wrote book
review. Wrote letter to Mrs. A.G. Andrews(?) 9 - Quincy Howe. Wrote ans. to Mr.
Hofmayer. 9:20 - to P.O. Read in "The Germans." E. found book for me
to send Bp. Soc.(?) 10 - R.G. Swing. (?) 11 - News.
December 17, 1941
Dec. 17: (Wednesday)
Fairly cold, sunny. Up 11, shaved (Radio - noon - News). 2:15 - Mrs. Peter
Frelinghuysen phoned from N.Y. asking me to come down & baptize Peter III
to-morrow. Ans. some appeal responses. Read "Times." To Library -
walked to Golf Grounds and back. E. got me timetable at Station. 5:35 -
phoned Fr. Jones at St. Edmund's School. 6 - News. Eve - men began to trim
church for Christmas. Wrote letter (Mrs. Rockwood) and made out baptismal
certificate and wrote up press notices. 8:20 - to Post Office and in to
church. Read in Muhlbach's "Goethe and Schiller." 9:35 - packed
bag. 10 - Raymond Gram Swing. 10:35 - shower bath and to bed.
December 18, 1941
Dec. 18: (Thursday)
Stockbridge and New York City. Fairly cold, sunny. Up 6:20, shaved. 7:20 -
breakfast. Read "Times." 8:20 - left in car with C.M. for Hillsdale -
arr. 9:15 train 1/2 hr. late. Reached N.Y. - 12:30 - taxi to Mrs.
Frelinghuysen's ap't. 4 - 714 Park Ave. - Baptism of Peter Frelinghuysen III -
then to lunch at the Rodney Procter's. Visit with the Procters. Left 4:07 from
Grand Central - arr. Hillsdale 7:07. Had to wait till 7:30 for E. My own
mistake - home 8:10. Had duck for dinner. (C.M. took Miss F. and sister to
Pittsfield this a.m.) Went over mail. 10 - R.G. Swing. Wrote 5 letters. Tired.
December 19, 1941
Dec. 19: (Friday)
Fairly cold, sunny. Miss F. woke me at 9:40. Shaved and dressed quickly.
Breakfast 10:20. 11 - Meeting of Laurel Hill [Association] in Library (Jack White, Chief Air
Warden, spoke) - home 12:15. Read "Times." 1:30 - to Lenox (Bank) -
back 2. Had sandwiches. Mrs. Hiss phoned. 3:35 - "Guiding Light."
3:45 - "Vic and Sade." Wound clocks. Read "Eagle." Read
of Germany retreat in Russia in "Times." 6 - News. Eve - to Parish
House to get Sun. Sch. Record Book. 7:15 - News from Ankara, Turkey, Manila,
Honolulu, London, Washington. Made up money for Sunday School, etc. Christmas
presents. 9 - Quincy Howe. Read in "The Hero in America."
December 20, 1941
Dec. 20:
(Saturday) Cold, sunny. Up 10:35. Ans. some appeal responses. Worked preparing
Christmas cards to for mail. 2 - "Marriage of Figaro" from Met.
Opera. E. to Pittsfield. Read "Eagle" and "? Church". Mrs.
Geo. Fellows called. Read "Times." 6 - News. 6:15 - Eleanor Dusenbury
in - gave her Christmas money for choir. 7:30 - Arthur Hale. E. to Air Raid
duty at Am. Legion. (?)( 7:45 - H.V. Kaltenborn. Read in Wecter's "The
Hero in America." Worked on sermon. Grown very cold. Shower bath. 11 -
News.
December 21, 1941
Dec. 21:(Advent 4) Very cold (zero), sunny. Up 7,
shaved. 8 - Holy Com. (8) 9:15 - South Lee - choir again for 1st time - read
Bp. Lawrence's Pastoral Letter - back 10:05. Into Sunday School - gave teachers
money for Christmas presents. 11 - Stockbridge - "Haggai and the UnbuiltTemple" (20 min.). Had talk with Carlyn Markham - he gave up care of
clock. Read in "Times." 2:30 - rode with E. to Monterey - home 3:35.
Bitterly cold. Read in Korn's (?) "History" on Austrian Seven Weeks
War (1866). Letter from C. de Gersdorff. 5 - Met. Opera Auditions. Read in
"Times." 5:45 - Wm. L. Shirer. 6 - News (Hitler takes command of
German armies). 7(?) - News. Eve - E. to lecture in Pittsfield. Miss F. home.
Wrote 3 letters & some cards. 8:40 - to P.O. 9 - Ford Hour (Christmas
music). 11 - News.
The inscription on the back of the photo, which Art sent to his girlfriend
In 1941, some 500 recruits from the Chicago area were sent to Camp Seeley, California, to fill out the ranks of the 11th Cavalry. Two of those recruits were Art Horn and Ed "Smoky" Stuever.
For some odd reason, Stuever in recent years came to dislike his nickname. Nevertheless, he always loved to tell how he got it. When he was working in the veterinary detachment, a horse was brought in with a thorn in its foot. Stuever's lieutenant had just become a father and passed out cigars, and Stuever went to remove the thorn from the horse's foot while the cigar, lit, was in his mouth. The horse shifted and its thigh came in contact with the business end of the cigar, and the next thing Stuever knew he was flying through the air. "There goes Smoky!" one of his colleagues shouted.
Interestingly, there was a popular comic strip at the time called "Smoky Stover," and I've often wondered if that didn't have something to do with his being given that nickname as well.
At one reunion, Stuever and Art Horn were reminiscing, Stuever about his days in the Civilian Conservation Corps and Horn about his time in the cavalry, when the subject of tonsils came up. Which leads me to today's "Clip of the Day." Be forewarned, however, this story is not for the faint of heart.
