Family History Writing Challenge Day 23

While Catherine was settling into her life with a two year old and newborn, Roy was adjusting to life in India. Beginning in 1942, India served as the base for all Army Air Forces operations against the enemy in Burma, providing aid to China. Following the ship’s arrival in Bombay on August 7, 1944, Roy was stationed at Camp Worli, a British Royal Air Force transit camp located just north of Bombay, for two to three weeks. The buildings were made of brick with no glass in the windows or doors in the door frames.  After the confines of the ship, the camp seemed like a motel to Roy. He had a whole bed to himself, even though it was made of wood and roping. The soldiers received mosquito nets and sundry clothing.

Indian train 1944

Following his stay at Camp Worli, Roy boarded a train across India to Camshupora, located just outside of Calcutta. This train ride would probably have taken about three days. From there they took another train to the Brahmaputra River. On this leg of the journey, Merrill’s Marauders were on the train with them and Roy was able to meet some of the men.

One of the things that amazed Roy about the trains was that the track was laid by different groups of people, so they weren’t built to the same gauge. Apparently the Army Transport Command had purchased the railroads from several small railroad companies, who had used different track gauges when they originally built the tracks. The track would simply end and they would have to change trains. Because of this, a trip that could have been accomplished in one day ended up taking several. However, Roy said the scenery was beautiful on the trip.

riverboat

Once they arrived at the Brahmaputra River they took a riverboat to Jorhat, India.  The western flank of the Brahmaputra River is big-game country with tigers, wild elephants, and herds of rhinoceros. Jorhat had one of the largest airstrips in northeastern Assam. It was at Jorhat that Roy was trained to become a loading supervisor, and he learned how to convert B-24s to C-109s. Loading operations were under the supervision of qualified enlisted air transportation technicians. Roy’s Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) was Air Transportation Technician.

Following six weeks of training, Roy flew to Chabua, India, which is located in the district of Dibrugarh in the state of Assam. Chabua is in the northeastern part of India. During WWII, the Chabua Airfield was constructed in the Assam Valley outside the small town of Chabua. The Himalayas rise to a height of 10,000 feet around the area. Planes taking off essentially had to fly circles around the immediate area in order to get the height needed to clear the mountains. The flight over and through the Himalayas was known as “flying the Hump.”

Chabua ATC

Roy served in the 1333rd Army Air Forces Base Unit, Army Transport Command. Air Transport Command (ATC) was established in 1942 as a unit of the U.S. Army Air Forces. Previously named the Air Ferrying Command, its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the U.S. military bases worldwide during WWII, using an air supply system to supplement surface transportation. ATC also operated a worldwide transportation system for military personnel.

actresses on base

One of diversions on the Chabua base was the Bamboo Music Hall. Roy had always enjoyed music and entertainment, so he likely passed quite a bit of his free time here. Stars of many USO shows appeared in this hall, such as Joe E. Brown, Noël Coward, and Paulette Goddard. From late October through early December 1944, Pat O’Brien, Jinx Falkenburg, Harry Brown, Betty Yeaton, Jimmie Dodd, and Ruth Carrell Dodd performed more than a hundred shows in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater.  Dixie Walker and his troupe, made up of major league baseball players, also entertained. What a thrill that must have been for the men on the base to be able to have a taste of home in India!

Bernie Downey, Bill Penney, Roy

Family History Writing Challenge Day 22

St. Louis home

Once baby LeRoy gained a sufficient amount of weight, he and Catherine were able to travel by train to St. Louis, where they set up their household on the south side of town. The house was located in Lemay on Perrin Avenue, close to Notre Dame High School and Jefferson Barracks. Once a single-family home, this house had been converted to a rooming house to meet the needs of soldiers and their families. The Kublers made the most of their time in St. Louis, enjoying Forest Park and the zoo, among other attractions.

bear at the St. Louis Zoo

By October of 1943, Catherine was expecting a second child and received medical care at St. Louis University Hospital. Coincidentally her brother-in-law Kevin McGann, who was married to Roy’s sister Jane, was training as a family practice resident at St. Louis University. Catherine always requested not to be seen by Kevin. She thought it was a little too personal to share that kind of exam with Kevin!

In May of 1944, Roy was given his orders to report to Greensboro, North Carolina to prepare for overseas training. At this time the family had a car, so Roy drove Catherine and LeRoy back to Cincinnati. Most of the trip was made during the night. With the rationing of gas and tires, the long road trip found Roy patching and borrowing tires along the way due to frequent blowouts. At one point, the car was making a funny noise. As Catherine drove, Roy stood outside on the running board listening to the engine. Little LeRoy stood on the seat saying, “Bye-bye, Daddy. Bye-bye, Daddy.” Catherine thought he was waving to his daddy out the window. A few miles passed before she realized Roy was no longer on the running board but had fallen off. It probably was a pretty quiet drive back to Cincinnati after that. Catherine and LeRoy moved in with her parents, Michael and Mayme Crusham (who still had five children living at home!), and Roy headed off to Greensboro.

LeRoy and Roy

During his overseas training at the Eastern Overseas Replacement Depot in Greensboro, Roy’s daughter, Kathleen Mary, was born in Cincinnati. He was not given any leave time. Upon completion of his training later in June, he was sent to Norfolk, Virginia to ship out. 

USS Anderson

In late June, Roy boarded the USS General A.E. Anderson (AP-111), captained by William Miller. On 29 June 1944, his twenty-seventh birthday, the ship left port headed for Bombay, India. While on the ship Roy quickly learned that the food available to the troops was not that good. With his experience in cooking at Jefferson Barracks, he arranged to help out in the kitchen on the ship. He received much better food and was able to get to know the officers on the ship. 

The USS Anderson passed through the Panama Canal on the 4th of July, and crossed the Equator on July 8th and the International Date Line on the 18th. It made a brief two day stop in Melbourne, Australia before arriving in Bombay on 7 August 1944.

Family History Writing Challenge Day 21

1007 Regina Avenue

Roy and Catherine tried to settle into their new lives living with Roy's parents, Joseph and Lillian (Hungler) Kubler following their 17 January 1942 wedding. While Roy's older sister Ethel was married and living elsewhere at the time, his younger sisters Jane and Gloria were still living at home. But a new reality came crashing in on 30 January when Roy received his Notice of Classification from the government. Listed as a Class I-A, he was certified as available and fit for general military service. Things moved quickly after that.

Roy was ordered to report for his physical at 7:00 a.m. on 6 February 1942 at Carson School on Glenway Avenue. Upon passing the test and the physical, he knew it was now only a question of time before he would be ordered to report for duty. He was willing to serve his country, and he elected to go into the U.S. Army Air Forces, the predecessor of the U.S. Air Force. He then awaited orders to proceed to a Reception Center, where he would complete records, be issued individual equipment, be given immunizations for smallpox and typhoid, and then be forwarded to a tactical unit or other installation. In the meantime, he received a Notice of Continuation of Classification.

Fort Thomas

Two months into their marriage, Roy received orders to report to nearby Fort Thomas, Kentucky, leaving his new bride behind in the household of her in-laws at 1007 Regina Avenue. Located about 6 miles south of Cincinnati, Fort Thomas was established as a military base in 1890, and was reactivated in 1941 as an Army reception and induction center for WWII. Following a short stay at Fort Thomas, Roy was sent by train to Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis to begin his military training. It was here that he learned how to march, shoot, pitch a tent, make a bed (military-style), offer basic first aid, read a map, and defend himself against chemical attacks. He also learned that he was to become a father!

the cook

Beginning as a private with an occupation of Basic Infantry, Roy was promoted after two months to private first class. On September 19, 1942 Captain George Weber, the commanding officer, promoted Roy to corporal. During this time period Roy was a cook at Jefferson Barracks. His mother's cooking instructions paid off for him. With a baby on the way, for extra money he would operate the movie projector at the base on the weekends.

In late September, Roy received a Western Union telegram from his mother notifying him of the birth of his son. LeRoy Charles Kubler was born prematurely on 29 September, weighing just 4 pounds, 4 ounces.

Western Union telegram

Family History Writing Challenge Day 20

Roy 1925

As previously mentioned, my father LeRoy was the second child and only son of Joseph and Lillian (Hungler) Kubler. He was born 29 June 1917. His older sister Ethel was 4 at the time. His mother treated him no differently than his older sister, so by the time the other two girls came along Roy, as he was called by his family, could cook and clean as well as the women in his house. He attended whatever Catholic elementary school happened to be closest to the family home at the time, and he very much enjoyed music. He could be found playing a musical instrument and singing with the band whenever his father's current job offered the opportunity to do so. His love of music stayed with him his entire life.

Railway Express Agency

As a teenager, Roy worked many different jobs including employment with the Cincinnati Reds and as a pin setter at a bowling alley. Following graduation from Elder High School, Roy went to work for the Railway Express Agency, a company established by the U.S. government in 1917 to provide small package and parcel transportation using existing railways. Roy's position as an assorter entailed routing packages through the express terminal. This position would launch his career in the freight industry, which he worked in for the next several decades.

The 1940 federal census indicates that Roy was living at home with his parents and two younger sisters. His older sister, Ethel, had gotten married the previous year.

Roy and Catherine

He met his future wife when he was out driving with a friend one pretty spring afternoon in 1941. Catherine Crusham, age 20, was standing on a street corner with her cousin Joan when the two young men happened to pass by. As Roy's friend was acquainted with Joan, they stopped the car to chat. The rest, as they say, is history. Roy was immediately attracted to Catherine's red hair and sparkling green eyes, and she to his tall stature and quick wit. The two began dating, and Roy was quickly swept up in the boisterous Crusham clan. Catherine was the third oldest of 8 children. She had dropped out of high school after completing her junior year in order to help support the family. She worked at a sporting goods manufacturing factory sewing basketballs.

But 1941 was not all fun and happy times. World War II was ever-present on the minds of Americans, and Roy registered for the draft that year. His draft card was #317. The Selective Service Training and Service Act of 1940 created the country's first peacetime draft. All males ages 21-36 were required to register for service, complete a physical, and take a written exam to determine who was qualified for military duty. After the testing was complete, the men were placed into categories, or classes, with Class I being the best qualified.

wedding day

With the bombing of Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 it became abundantly clear to everyone that the United States was going to enter the war. Roy proposed to Catherine, and on 10 January 1942 the couple applied for a marriage license. Roy and Catherine were married quietly, or so they thought, on 17 January 1942 at Resurrection Church in Cincinnati, with only Catherine’s sister Margaret Crusham and their brother-in-law Lawrence Wambaugh in attendance. They soon found that there are no secrets in the Crusham household. One of the siblings had seen the required announcement in the newspaper and alerted the rest of the family. A wedding reception was quickly put together by the family, lasting into the wee hours of the morning.

The bride and groom retired to the home of Joseph and Lillian (Hungler) Kubler. But they did not get to stay together for too long.