14 - Coming Home

Coming back to the good old USA we had all looked forward to the first view of the Golden Gate Bridge as this is where we left from. I left my heart in San Francisco and all that old stuff. Well when we got on the USS General Harry Taylor they told us we would have a fast trip 5 days at the most. Well we hit a typhoon and spent 4 days staying afloat lost two men overboard and spent three looking for them or the life rafts. No such luck. Anyhow we came through the straight of Juan De Fuca and headed for we thought Seattle. No, we arrived at Tacoma. When the first signs (billboards the size of boxcars welcoming us back all the troops had to see it. Everyone got on the starboard side and liked to have rolled the ship over- the guards herded us all below so we never did see anything till we got to Tacoma.

Now in the service everything was done by rank. As I happened to be the ranking NCO from Washington I got to debark first. They had coffee, milk and donuts for the troops. That milk did taste good. After the radio crews interviewed us they debarked all the rest of the troop’s put us on trucks then sent us to Fort Lewis. They had a big steak dinner etceteras for us served by German prisoners of war. No more KP for the visitors. After processing and having our orders cut we got a 30 day delay in route to Camp San Luis Obispo. We were supposed to go to Camp Lee Virginia. I was a little disappointed had wanted to see the East Coast.

I got on a bus and went to Seattle where Aunt Louise (Rader) lived. She had planned a family dinner, as all the boys were back home not that much worse for wear. Howard was the only one who had been wounded. Bob had gone into the Army in 1940 so it had been five years since we had all gathered. I forgot what time we left but we started back had a lot of flat tires. All the tires had been made to last till the war was over and they had not got new ones on the market yet. The last flat we had was a few miles from Skykomish. I got out in my uniform to get the tire fixed. The first car to come by was George Cooper from Ardenvor. He saw me and stopped as he was on his way back to Fort Lewis for discharge. When we got to Skykomish every thing was closed but we rousted the owner of the line shop out to fix the tire. He said it was shot but put a boot in it and it did get us home. I had about three days on the town and was looking forward to New Years Eve. In the afternoon I got malaria went to the hospital and spent New Years Eve flat on my back freezing one minute and burning up the next.

When I got out I made the rounds of the taverns meeting old friends and having a good time. One of the fellows Eddie Logan who was in my outfit latched onto me as he was new in town his dad had just moved here from Yakima. He wanted to send a telegram so I went into Western Union. He had his eye on one of the girls that worked there anyhow. I took one look at the young lady sending messages at the printer and thought now I would like to get to know her. It turned out that the office closed at midnight and so did everything else taverns (no bar in those days) so Eddie and I walked the girl’s home. They lived at 934 Plum Street and its all uphill to get there. The next night I got there early and we went to Duffy’s Tavern for a beer before midnight. I got a few bottles and we had them while getting to know each other. I had made up my mind that she was the one for me and as you know the rest is history.

I got off my 30 day went to California and got another 180 days then went back by New Years ext I was in Ft Lawton Washington and we got married in Lewistown Montana January 15^th 1947. It was a cold day in January. Twenty below zero and the wind was blowing 20 miles per hour. Grandpa LaSalle had a new car but it didn’t have a heater in it. It was cold enough to give a man cold feet but didn’t.

Ken's World War II Experiences 01-Into The Army 02-California Living 03-Food, Drink & Rations 04-On Patrol 05-Never Volunteer! 06-Jungle Patrols 07-Foxhole Lore 08-God In the Foxhole 09-Life As It Was 10-Humor 11-Entertainment 12-The End of the War 13-After The War <Previous 14-Coming Home Next> 15-On Veterans