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| John Edward Binnion, 1940/41 |
John Edward Binnion
Military Enlistment Date:
25 November 1940
Branch:
Quartermaster Corps National Guard
Height: 6'1" Weight:141
Education: 4 yrs college
Occupation: Accountant
U.S. World War II
Army Enlistment Records
"We were called into Federal Service on November 25, 1940.
Our ‘base’
at that time was Camp Mabry in Austin, the Texas National Guard Headquarters.
There
were no barracks at the camp, so we continued to live in town and
reported for
duty at the Camp each morning."
--John Edward, ca 1998
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| 1940 Quartermaster Manual US Military |
During September and October of 1940, John Edward
and other members of the 111th Quartermaster Regiment 36th Division
of the Texas National Guard went to drill two nights a month.
"There were no trucks around
so all our drill consisted of
the reading of Army Manuals
of various sorts,
memorizing volumes of General Orders
(standard for all soldiers),
and the Special Orders
for our Regiment and/or Company."
John Edward, ca 1998
Then, true to the rumors, newspaper stories, radio broadcasts, and other
sources of information, we were called into Federal Service [on the 25th] of November of 1940."
John Edward, ca 1998
With mobilization came a number of examinations for all inductees.
Each were put through a physical examination known as PULHES:
P-general physical stamina and strength; U-upper
extremities;
L-lower extremities; H-hearing; E-eyes; and S-psychiatric
evaluation.
John Edward wrote home "the physical
exam was tough
but I passed it—4 of the Company busted it."
At this time over 40% of draftees were rejected.
Since loss of teeth and poor eyesight were the top reasons for failing the physical exam,
the military soon began to provide dental work and glasses.
Poor diet and malnutrition due to the Depression also contributed to the high number of failures.
This led the government to add vitamins and minerals
to ingredients used in enriched bread and breakfast cereals.
All of the men were also given the Army General Classification Test (AGCT).
It was designed to assess intelligence and to evaluate abilities related to job assignments.
John Edward wrote home about this test in several letters.
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| December 4, 1940 letter home, family scan |
John Edward added:
“The boys
are ribbing me about my high score—I think that I was
high-man in the
Detachment—(66 men—12 Officers.)”
Toward the end of this letter he wrote:
“Oh yes—J.
Erstwhile is a Private 1st Class.”
When the men began training, several parades were held in town
and get people accustomed to seeing military parades.
This was a 'new world' for the soldiers as well as for the
citizens of Austin—so many soldiers everywhere."
John Edward, ca 1998
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| Austin Armistice Parade of WW I Soldiers Texas History, University of Texas |
Many soldiers were issued WW I uniforms such as we see
in this photo
of an earlier Armistice parade in Austin.
This early in the war effort, uniforms were still being
designed and manufactured.
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Close up of WW I leggings |
our military uniforms were concerned. Yes, it is true that we
were issued some WW I type uniforms as well as up-to-date items."
‘wrap-around’ leggings. It must have been quite a humorous site
to see soldiers marching in a parade when many of their
leggings had come loose and were flapping
around their feet as they tried to keep in step."
John Edward, ca 1998
Click here for the next post in which we explore
the Quartermaster Corps.
