John Edward Binnion: 5: His First Promotion, Arrival at Camp Bowie

 

  

 

John Edward's sleeve insignia
Private First Class: One Chevron

"Oh yes -- J. Erstwhile is a Private 1st Class,"

John Edward wrote home in early December of 1940.
Signifying this rank, one stripe was sewn onto each upper sleeve.

His first promotion.

The journey toward
each successive promotion would be long and arduous. 

"Moving from private was the first hurdle.
Because dad stuttered.
Really stuttered.
So much so that people assumed he had all sorts of mental conditions
and would not even consider promoting him. 

 

But dad was dad.
He had tried every kind of therapy his parents had searched for and provided.
Eventually he went to the beach and put pebbles in his mouth
like he had read the ancient Greek orator Demosthenes had done.
Ginny Binnion Bettendorf, 2023

 

The stigma of stuttering presented constant threats to John Edward's ambitions.
We will read more about this in future posts and how it brought him to one of his lowest periods.
We will also read how he used creative tactics and humor
to disarm prejudice and diffuse the effect his stuttering had on others.

 

 

However, at this time, soon after his promotion to Private First Class,
John Edward and the Regiment received orders to
ready its equipment and personnel for a move from Camp Mabry to Camp Bowie. 

 

It was at Camp Bowie that the 111th Quartermaster Regiment
would begin their year-long training for the
wide range of military operations they supported.
In addition to munitions, personal equipment and clothing, food and special services,
the Quartermaster Corps was in charge of transportation
including petroleum, maintenance, and repair.
This was crucial, for the Army was now being mechanized and
motorized in ever expanding ways.

But first, John Edward and fifteen other men were sent to Dodd Field at Fort Sam Houston.
They would be trained to interview, test, and classify draftees, and they would then be appointed to a
temporary special detachment post at Camp Bowie.

John Edward letter home, Dec 10, 1940, pages 1-2, family scan

 

There is a great deal to learn from the first two pages of this letter. 
We first learn how John Edward felt about his own Company
in comparison with the special detachment.

 
We then hear more about the test on which he had an exceptionally high score.
Notice how John Edward wrote about and then returned to
the incident with this "Louie" (nickname for a Lieutenant)
after an entertaining description of his least favorite meal. 

  

John Edward wrote again about the "Louie" with his one-sentence-comment.
We then read about Ruth, "a new girl friend" in Austin who he "was falling for" (5 Dec).  From
comments in her later letters, we will garner valuable insights about John Edward.

 

 

 

John Edward letter home, page 1, family scan

 

On the 26th of December
the troops arrived at Camp Bowie. 
Within days he, and all the company,
were on k.p. (kitchen patrol) duty.
They scoured greasy pots and pans,
swabbed floors, took care of garbage,
and peeled endless piles
of onions and potatoes.

Infinitely more pleasurable
was listening to the radio
John Edward's parents had just sent. 

President Roosevelt
periodically broadcast informal
conversational talks
on topics related to
the depression and the war.
Virtually the entire country listened
to these Fireside Chats -- by 1940
over 90% of households owned
a radio -- and many found
hope and strength from them. 

 

Glimpses of Camp Life: Letters from home
must have included many questions about life in camp, for John Edward often
included in his letters a list "for the question-and-answer department."

 
“The only thing that happens here is the barking
of the Top Sgt. – and the barking is not pleasant.” (3 Jan 41)  

"We get up at 6:00, dress & eat at 6:45, fix up our tent and get to work at 7:30.
We have an hour off for lunch, work 'til 5:30, and are off. Those who go
into town must be back by 10:30 unless they have an overnight pass."  (28 Jan)

 
 "Camp life is very dull, nothing to do but go into town, and there is nothing in town." (28 Jan)

 

"We have a lot of Military courtesy and discipline
which we learn and do -- after awhile it is automatic." (28 Jan)

"My job right now is in the Classification Section of the Recruit Reception Center.
Every Selectee [one selected by draft] is interviewed by
one of the 20 interviewers who selects an Army occupation (there are 272 of them)
that fits the individual according to his past job or jobs." (28 Jan)

 

 

"The Lt. that is second in command of this section
told the Tech Sgt. in charge that J. Erstwhile was the number 1 interviewer in the center.
That didn't mean quantity, (although I am about 2nd or 3rd in total interviews), but in quality.
In other words, I am fast, accurate -- well, just plain good.

But the right people don't know about it ....

Lord knows, I'm not going anywhere now."
--John Edward letter home, February 12, 1941

 

While stuttering was not specifically named in this letter,
it is already clear to John Edward that it was seen as an obstacle to any promotion,
regardless of his outstanding abilities and first-rate performance.

"The meals here at the Center aren't all they
are supposed to be -- in fact, I have lost weight rather than gained it."  (28 Jan) 

 

During the Depression a great many people lost inordinate amounts of weight.
In the first months of the draft, one-third of the men called up for service failed their physical
due to malnourishment. Soon the Army determined
to serve draftees highly nutritious and more palatable meals. In some camps,
part of k.p. duty in the Reception Center was to stand by those mess hall trash cans
to ensure the draftees ate all they had been served.

 

 

Friend of John Edward in front of Barracks
at Camp Bowie, 1941, family scan

 

"The wind
blows and blows
and blows here.
More sand,
grit, everything,
in the food,
bedding, clothing.
Ach!
It's a mess."
(12 Feb)

 

 

Cracks in the barrack walls are clearly seen in photographs
that John Edward took at Camp Bowie.

The wind "makes a fellow wish for a warm room that doesn't leak air on every side, a fireplace, etc." (26 Feb)

 

 

Sometimes John Edward was philosophical, as when he
wrote home about a verse from one of his lifelong favorite poets:

 

January 21, 1941 letter home, family scan

 After the interviews John Edward concluded his letter with the verse from the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, quatrain 51, translated by Edward Fitzgerald:

“’The Moving Finger writes, and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all your piety nor wit
    Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
        Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.’

                                 With that, we close

                                        Love

                                                          John Edward”

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading.
Click here for the next post where we explore
more about John Edward at Camp Bowie.

John Edward Binnion: 23: Assignments in North Africa

 

Operation Torch had been successfully launched.

Nine designated beachheads were secured in the initial assault. 
A few days later the Vichy French surrendered and joined the Allies -- who were 
now in control of transport and trade on the Mediterranean Sea. 

 
To mark the day, John Edward and Friends gathered on the evening of 
November 11. He took a dollar bill 
out of his wallet, wrote the date on it, and passed it around. 
One by one, 

John Edward's "African Short Snorter," signed November 11, 1942, family photos

 

eleven men signed John Edward's dollar bill, passed it on, signed the 
next friend's bill, and passed that on, until each had their 
list of signatures.

Close-up of first signatures on John Edward's dollar bill,
November 11 1942, family photos.

 

The men would then keep their Short Snorter with them; 
any might challenge another to produce his signed bill. 
Failure to do so resulted in a short -- smaller than average -- shot. 
This Short Snorter American tradition soon spread amongst 
the Allied troops with signed currency from around the world. 

 

The next morning, John Edward and his troops were back at work unloading supplies. 
From "combat loaded" vessels, the Quartermaster Corps and Transport Troops unloaded 
vehicles, artillery, and munitions to be used in the initial assault.

 Next there were tons of troop personal gear to offload, as well as
 support vehicles, equipment, and provisions for field kitchens, laundry services, 
and other daily necessities. 

Field mess served during training at Camp Cooke, CA, 1942, Army photo

 

Meanwhile, top Commanders addressed logistical challenges for the 
next phase of Operation Torch:
they would face the German Army -- not in Europe, but in Tunisia,
on the eastern end of North Africa.
 

The Allies would travel east on the two roads from Morocco and Algeria into Tunisia. 

North African topographical map with one of the East - West roads, 1942, Army sketch

A rapid advance would be required for success, and so hazards 
along the North African roads were studied.

Troop convoys along coastal areas and desert plains would face visual distortion 
from intense heat haze, recurring abrasion from sand storming around 
the vehicles, and bombardments from Axis air patrols.
 

North African convoy of 2 1/2 ton GMC Cargo Trucks, 1942-43, Army photo

 
Further east, on valley roads winding through mountainous areas, 
heavy rains would create thick sticky mud that would bog down supply lines. 
 While still under enemy air attack at any moment. 

With such challenges, it was clear that there would be a
constant need for repair of vehicles along the way. 

These were all things John Edward would address 
in his role as vehicle training commander
 and then as truck and light tank convoy commander. 

 As planning proceeded, it became clear that the newly allied French Forces 
could be an asset to American and British Forces, but their vehicles and 
equipment were far outdated -- some still horse-drawn. 
  

This French Foreign Legioneer, with his distinctive white hat, quenches 
his thirst in the North African arid climate, 1942, Library of Congress.

 
American and British Commanders therefore determined that the 
French Forces would be supplied with and trained on the use, upkeep, and repair of 
American vehicles (now far superior to those of the British).

2nd Lt. John Edward Binnion was one of the officers 
assigned to oversee this training.

John Edward was responsible for vehicles such as the first three in this WW II Museum Diagram.
We will soon hear stories about his work with the Amphibious DUKW after they went into production.

 
    

John Edward wrote: 
"After the landings in North Africa I was assigned to the French Army in North Africa 
where I was in charge of a Group of men whose job it was to teach men of 
the French Army Group and a French Foreign Legion group how to use 
our 2 1/2 ton trucks, 3/4 ton weapons carriers, 1/4 ton trucks (Jeeps), 
and other general purpose vehicles.

 

 

Training was frequently held on American equipment, such as this 1941 Stuart Tank training in Egypt, Army photo 

"This assignment lasted for about 5 or 6 weeks. 
Then, on the last day of the duty, members of the French Foreign Legion unit 
held a little ceremony to bid our group "Goodbye" and at the "ceremony" 
presented me with their French Foreign Legion Badge and made me 
an "honorary member of that part of the French Foreign Legion."

   

Correspondence began with some of those new friends, including this letter from Lt. Thebault.
 

Letter a few months later from French Foreign Legion friend Lt. Thebault, February 25, 1943, family scan

For the next few weeks “I was attached, with troops and trucks, to the French Army. 
Service was in the Atlas Mountains.

After this additional duty with the French troops, John Edward wrote,

 

Tank convoy, North Africa, 1942-43, Army photo

 

"I was assigned to the task of transporting 
two Battalions of Light Tanks, 
with the accompanying personnel,
 

M3 Medium Tank Crew, 1st Armored Division, 1942-43, Army photo

"from the area around Casablanca to the areas in Tunisia
where the American Army was fighting the Germans."
--John Edward Binnion, ca 1998

Army map, Allied Invasion of North Africa, November 8, 1942 

Convoys used both of the available routes from Casablanca, Morocco on the
 northwestern coast to Tunis, Tunisia on the northeastern tip of the continent.
(The main route on today's highways 
is just over 1300 miles, a 28 hour drive.)

Often under threat of enemy fire, the convoys first traveled over
the flat terrain and desert areas in Allied territory,
and then through the winding hills of the Atlas Mountains
where both Axis and Allied planes patrolled. 

 

Gaining control of their destination in Tunisia would serve as a springboard 
to enter the European Campaign:
The Allies would be in position to invade Sicily, and then 
the "the soft underbelly of Europe," Italy.

Armed with a 50 caliber machine gun, these trucks had an open passenger roof to mount the ring, National WWII Museum, Army Training photographs

John Edward wrote: 
"My dislike for riding in jeeps has always caused me to 
ride in the lead 2 1/2 Ton Truck and I also saw to it that the lead truck
had a 50-caliber machine gun mounted on the cab. 

Still from WWII film, US Military

At some time
during that second convoy
I saw that
a flight of planes
was coming directly at us
so I knocked the cover
off the machine gun mount,
stood up and made the
machine gun ready to fire
if the approaching planes
were the enemy.

 

 
At this same time we were driving the winding roads
in the Atlas Mountains and

 

Truck Convoy in Atlas Mountains, North Africa, 1942-43, National WWII Museum

 
somewhere up ahead I could see 
(in between glances at the approaching aircraft -- I still did not know
if they were Allied or enemy planes) a command car sitting at the
side of the road and it had a red license plate. 

(The red license plate indicated that the car
was assigned to a General, and in all probability a General was aboard.)

 

 

So, as we neared the parked command car I (still standing with my left hand 
on the machine gun) saluted. 

 

Gen. Patton often observed his men while standing roadside, 1942-43, North Africa, Army photo

 

Almost immediately too, we saw that the planes 
coming toward us were American. They veered off, I locked the 
machine gun in place, and sat down in my place
in the cab of the truck.

Nothing important happened for the rest of the trip 
to Tunis, or on the return to Casablanca. 

Then, some days later a letter of commendation 
came down from Headquarters saying how pleased General Patton was
with the troops involved in the convoying of the two tank battalions to Tunis.

Replica of Gen. Patton's jeep, Lone Star Flight Museum, Galveston, Texas

(Our Captain took full credit for the convoys and as such 
was presented with an Army Commendation Medal.)

However, not all was lost. 
 When General Patton was forming his staff for the Seventh Army and the 
invasion of Sicily, he specifically asked for 'That Young Lieutenant'
who was in charge of the two convoys which took his two 
Tank Battalions to Tunisia and to their combat there. 
No name--just that 'young Lieutenant who ...'

"So, by luck of seeing that flight of planes and standing
at the machine gun mount, 'ready to fire' and
at the same time saluting,
I became a member of the Seventh Army Staff,
G-4 Section, for the Sicilian Campaign."

 

Thanks for reading.
Look for the next post where John Edward serves
on General Patton's staff during Operation Husky,
the invasion of Sicily.

John Edward Binnion: 4: The Quartermaster Corps

Quartermaster friends of John Edward
1941, family scan

What is the Quartermaster Corps and what did they do?

 

During World War II the Quartermaster Corps was in charge of munitions, personal equipment,
transportation, petroleum, repair and maintenance, general service,
food, clothing, and special services. 

  

 At the height of the war, the Quartermaster Corps provided over 70,000 different supply items and
more than 24 million meals each day. On Anzio Beach (where John Edward later served and which we
shall read about in another post) the bakery produced fourteen tons of bread every day.
 

Sicily Operations Map, 18 July 1943
Report of Operations,* family scan

 

"The operations in Sicily
were classic Quartermaster stuff.
Dad was really impressed with the operations
in Sicily [where he later served
at the request of General Patton,
which we shall read about in another post],
because they were so well organized and perfected.

1st Lt. John E. Binnion listed under
Transportation Section, Base Area
Report of Operations,* family scan

 

They calculate everything.
This number of people who are going to do the invasion.
Based upon experience, this number are going to be hospitalized,
be wounded and killed, and this is the kind of hospital support we need
and how much medication we’re going to need, how much food we’re
going to need, how many gallons of gasoline we’re going to need.
Everything was calculated to the nth degree.
A company like Price Waterhouse, a big accounting firm, did all this work. The army would bring them in on contract to do all the logistics, calculations. It surprised me that they were involved in the actual invasion planning to that degree. But you need to have people who are super number-crunchers to do all that analysis.
Dad never said this, but after reading this book* I think this is why he really liked working in Sicily.  Everything was planned.

"That was the job of the Quartermaster of course,
to do all that planning, to make sure that everything was in place
and everything that was needed would have been thought of."
--John Edward Binnion II, 7-21-16

 

Report of Operations* mailing page, family scan

 

*The Report of Operations
of The United States
Seventh Army
in the Sicilian Campaign,
10 July - 17 August 1943
was mailed to John Edward
upon his request.

But it is not yet 1943.
And in 1940, as we read in our last post, virtually all available weapons,
clothing, supplies, and vehicles were obsolete or non-existent. This was because little had yet been
done to improve and upgrade equipment from World War I: the bayonet and .30 caliber Springfield rifle
were accompanied by the doughboy hat and wrap-around leggings. With
vehicles in even shorter supply, training was conducted by reading vehicle manuals. Perhaps
most importantly, officers were sharply divided on the need for mechanized vehicles and equipment.

But all that changed when France fell to the superior mechanized German forces in only ten days.
It was now clear to all the world that we were in a new era of warfare. And so new research began, deficiencies were addressed, and development stepped up. With this war, tanks, submarines, and airplanes all became standard. Improvements were made to weapons, ammunition, supplies, food dispersal, and uniforms. The government was now in a race to develop and produce weapons and supplies that could be used to train these soldiers and support them in the field.

 

Friend of John Edward, 1941-1942
training camp family scan

  

When John Edward and
his Company began training,
the flat tin doughboy helmet
from World War I was still issued.
We see one in this photograph
that he took of a friend at one of
the training camps they attended.

 
Replacement of the tin helmet
was a priority, and in 1941
the metal M1 helmet went into
production. The outer shell was
composed of steel-carbon-manganese, and the
inner liner of a strong light fiber
with adjustable straps.

 

John Edward would later be sent to "draw supplies, clothing,
and equipment for the company . . . . By the way, can't tell you where because Uncle Sam
doesn't want people to know where the supply bases are."
(October 19, 1942 letter home)

2 1/2 ton US Army cargo truck
Wikipedia, Public Domain

 

We learned in the last post that, due to
the scarce availability of vehicles,
John Edward and men in his Company
were trained for transportation, repair,
and maintenance by manuals.

 
He and others were nevertheless
soon classified as truck drivers
for 2 1/2 ton army trucks. And they
would eventually be further trained. 

 

Later, stationed in North Africa, during a potentially perilous situation
as he led two Light Tank Battalion convoys from Casablanca, Morocco
to Tunis, Tunisia, John Edward's leadership in a potentially perilous situation
will be noticed by and commended by Gen. Patton.

  

In mid-December of 1940 the Quartermaster Regiment would be sent
from Camp Mabry to Camp Bowie. It was there that the men
would begin their year-long training to serve in the war -- which the United States
had not yet entered, but were preparing for what many saw as inevitable.
And with recent Congressional appropriations Camp Bowie had just been
refitted; it would soon provide all-encompassing training and
become one of the largest training camps for World War II.

 

 

 

Thanks for reading.
Click here for the next post, in which John Edward
receives his first promotion and arrives at Camp Bowie.