|
Carl Hughes' Recollection of the 581st Signal Radio Relay Company - Page 2
Assigned to Teams
I remember being near the tennis
courts to the rear of the post chapel and a large Quonset hut like building
which was the post gymnasium when they announced over the public address system
that all men of the 24th should return to their barracks immediately. Things
happened swiftly. We were told to lay out all of our personal equipment and we
were given new clothing for anything that was missing or worn out. We were also
given two wool mountain sleeping bags and sent across the quadrangle to our new
barracks and the newly formed 581st.
We were then assigned to teams. My team was a terminal team headed by Tech Sgt. Marvin A. Bowes from St. Mary or St. Clair, Pa. The other members were Staff Sgt. Fox, home location unknown; Andreas Meisels, a displaced person from Europe;, Charles Nails from Mobile, Alabama and Jack Harris from Missouri. They were all radio men. Tyree Emery from North Carolina; T.J .Mann from Engelhard, North Carolina; Walter Malloy from Braddock, PA. and myself, Carl Hughes from Philadelphia, Pa. We were Carrier and Repeater men. The final members of our team were power men: John Adkins from High Point, North Carolina and Robert Nord from Rochester, Minnesota Korea War Begins Once the teams were formed, we unpacked all of the equipment, tested it, and then repacked it for shipment over seas. It took two weeks of long hours to accomplish this task. We were then given two days off to do anything we wanted. Apparently, a deal had been made by our officers and the military police to forgive almost anything short of going AWOL. They had trucks that would take you into town or return you to the barracks after you were wasted and couldn't navigate on your own. No questions were asked! I remember passing out on a street corner waiting for I don't know what and waking up on a two and half ton truck on my way back to Camp Gordon. |