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FROM TOP:

1~ Maciel family Name History

2~ Costa Sisters: (L->R) Sarah Oliver, Mary Maciel, Anna Matoes, Lena Lopes

3~ Mary (1888-1979) & Anthony Maciel (1888-1958) President, Portuguese Fraternities of the US

4~ Frank Maciel, Their mother Emida(?) de Caldeiro, Anthony Maciel- Faial, Acores, Setembro de 1951

5~ John Maciel, Anthony Maciel Sr., Mary Maciel, Anthony 'Mickey' Maciel Jr.; 229 Mauran Avenue, 1940

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FLORIDA HOUSE

Just prior to this Odie and I sold our interest in the Florida property in Naples. When we purchased the home there in 1986, the owners of the property sold only to a senior citizen over 65 years of age. Sometime later, the Florida legislature passed a law which in effect declared that restriction on age was illegal. But this was several years after we purchased our home and we lived there for several years where all owners were over 65. After being there for about 10 years, we found we were attending more funeral affairs at the clubhouse than parties. When Odie’s best friend died we decided it was time to leave. We later wished we hadn’t called it quits at that time since we had to find a home and it was just as bad up north, we were beginning to lose many of our old friends up [there, too.] As of this writing, August of 2009, Odie and I are the oldest couple of our old gang still alive.

MAURAN AVENUE HOUSE

In 1996 Mickey and Margaret were living in the Mauran Avenue house after my parents died. By my parents will, their properties in East Providence and in Bristol were left to Mickey and Margaret for their lives, then to come to me after their deaths. I received a call from Mickey. He stated that they were having financial difficulties and suggested that we sell the Narrows summer home and split the money. But I and Odie had talked about the place for a summer home, and I suggested that he give up the Bristol property to us, keep the Mauran Avenue home and take out a reverse mortgage on that property, to which he eventually agreed.

JOE AND MARTHA FOREJT

At this point I will make a note of our relationship with the Forejts. When Joe and I left for overseas, Martha had invited Odie to visit her in Harrisburg, which she did, and they became very friendly. Then while we were living in the North Kingston condo after we were all retired, we received a call from them and that they were planning a trip to Nova Scotia and asked us to join them. At the time Odie and I had talked about buying a motor home and I asked if he had any experience with one. He told me that for a few years with some friends, they rented one to go hunting in Montana. He suggested that we rent one and join them on their trip. It was a great trip and the forerunner of other trips to the Grand Canyon and other Western parks, to California and also Hawaii with them, and Canada.

DAVID AND JAY

David, born in 1957, after St. Raphael Academy, started at Providence College, but became ill and dropped out before completing his freshman year. He, too, like Carlos, was very interested in water skiing and went to school in Florida, eventually graduating from Florida State University where he was active on the water ski team.

Jay, after Moses Brown, went on to Boston University and after his graduation worked for a local insurance firm for a while before transferring to State Street Bank in Quincy, MA. At some point [1984] Jay won a trip to California for two and he and David went together. As I understand, Jay took in all the events guaranteed by the trip but David fell in love with California and wanted to stay “on the beach.” He eventually came home but made plans to return to California, which he finally did. Later he married Diana Bell and they had a daughter, Sierra Isabella on December 10, 1990. David and Diana eventually divorced, but Sierra at this writing is living with her father in California.

At this point I feel there is very little that I can add about the four boys. They are all away from “home” and have their own lives to record and I will recount little except some items that relate to us.

CARLOS AND PAUL

Carlos had been named after a son who had been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cardanha, and died in infancy. After graduation from Providence College, Carlos began working at the Furniture Store. As a matter of fact all four sons helped out at the store during the summers when they became old enough to work. Carlos expressed a desire to learn how to install linoleum, tile and carpeting and we had him go to an Armstrong school, and he became a good floor covering mechanic. He had always been active in water skiing and had been a member of the Lincoln Water Ski Club, and eventually became active in the American Water Ski Association, and later became a representative of a water ski boat manufacturer.

In 2009, Carlos was honored [for his lifetime contribution] by the Water Ski Association for his many years as a judge and a boat driver. [Carlos had become the youngest to attain ranks of Senior Judge AND Senior Boat Driver.]

Paul graduated from East Providence High School in 1969 and went on to Wentworth Institute in Boston. He was very interested in computers (of which I have NO knowledge and why I am not able to put down on paper exactly what he does.) While in Boston he worked part-time at a “computer” company nearby, and quit school before getting a degree after he was offered a job. He changed jobs (for better pay?!) and as of today (2009) he is working in San Jose, CA. His company has had him [go] on trips to Europe and Asia. Why? I don’t know. Apparently he knows why and likes it.

In 1972, Paul married his Bristol sweetheart, Claudia Cameron, and they have two children, Jonathan born November 23, 1972, and Bethany, born May 10, 19??.

Jonathan and Bethany spent their summers in Bristol Narrows in the water. Jonathan eventually attended boat building school in Maine and is presently working in the boat building industry in Salem, MA, and married Amy Brown in November of 2010. Bethany eventually found her way to Boulder, CO led by a college classmate and is now a hairdresser.

9 RICH STREET, RUMFORD -> 16 BLAISDELL AVENUE, PAWTUCKET

Shortly before we moved into the Rumford home David was born on September 10, 1957. Though Carlos had been admitted to St. Margaret’s School, when it came time for Paul to start school, there was no room, so he started school at Bay View, then transferred to St, Margaret’s in his second year. Jay was born on May 29, 1959 and both David and Jay started school at St. Margaret’s.

We stayed in Rumford until 1970, after Odie’s father died. Serafim Cardanha died on July 16, 1969 while Odie and I with Carlos and Paul were in Portugal. While at Lisbon at the home of her cousin Regina Quintanillo, the phone rang and to my surprise, she said the call was for me! It was Mickey with the news of the death of Odie’s father! We immediately made plans to return home. If the call had been a half hour later, we would have been on our way north to visit Coimbra [and] Oporto, but with no definite plans as to where we would stay!

After Odie’s father died her mother decided to give us the house at Blaisdell Avenue in Pawtucket. She decided to move to a first floor apartment in a house on Clyde Street that they owned, but she asked us to take over her family home. None of the boys, nor I, wanted to leave Rumford, but Odie convinced us to do so. David [entered] St. Raphael Academy in Pawtucket, and Jay went to Moses Brown in Providence.

In the meantime Carlos graduated from Providence College in 1970 and married Lynne Freberg, daughter of Carl and Rita of Seekonk [MA] whom he had met at East Providence High School (after his first year at LaSalle Academy.)

Pawtucket to Rumford

While this was occurring, I think her parents were trying to think of some way to get rid of us! Shortly afterwards, they gave us a deed to the property at 683-685 Armistice Boulevard [in Pawtucket.] We made some changes there and stayed until the fall of 1957 when we built the house at 9 Rich Street in Rumford. By this time, Paul had been born on July 28th, 1951, and David on September 10th, 1957. Carlos in the meanwhile after a year at St. Teresa’s in Pawtucket had started at St. Margaret’s and for a while he lunched at the Keough’s on Mayfair Drive. (Joe Keough was a P.C. classmate and Virginia Keough had also graduated from Regis College, and with Odie had been active in the R.I. Regis Club.)

The Keoughs had introduced us to their neighbors, Charles and Phyllis Kelaghan, who had a son Bobby, who was in the class at St. Margaret’s that Carlos entered. While we were still in Pawtucket, Odie, with several other girls who had graduated from Regis, had formed a Rhode Island Regis Club. One girl, Eleanor O’Reilly, was married to John O’Reilly, another P.C. classmate of mine. While in Pawtucket on Blaisdell Avenue, we had been neighbors to Dr. Bill Casey and his wife, Mary, who was an E.P. girl, whose brother had been a classmate of mine at East Providence High School. Mary was also a Regis girl. Virginia Keough, Joe’s wife, had a sister, Helen, who lived in Rumford with her husband, Ray Keough (no relation to Joe.) Eleanor O’Reilly had a brother, Charles Kelley, married to Betty. He was also a P.C. grad and a very good friend of Dr. John Cunningham, and Charlie’s classmate, who later became our family doctor, and also a good friend. These people were all the members of a good gang, along with the Landry’s and the Leddy’s, who also lived on Mayfair Drive. At this writing, March 2006, the O’Reilly’s, the Kelaghans, the Landry’s have passed on, as has Dr. Cunningham, Charlie Kelly and Dav Carroll, another P.C. classmate, whom we introduced to Anne Slattery. Dav and Anne later married. She was also a Regis grad.

In the meantime, we had some good friends in Fall River. Alice Carvalho had been Odie’s classmate at Regis. She had an older brother, John, three months older than I, who had served as a dentist in the Army. After the war, the Navy opened up their officer’s club in Newport to Army officers. John got the information and we joined, and it was the locale if a lot of Saturday nites. Alice married Walter Neves, whose family had moved from East Providence to Fall River, and along with Neeb (Anibel) and Doris Almeida, Joe and Dot Moniz, Al and Lee Zervis, man a nite was enjoyed in Newport. At this writing, Joe and Dot Moniz, John Carvalho’s wife Irene, and Neeb Almeida [and his wife] are also dead. But the memories remain.

Living with the in-laws, but not for long

We were living with Odie’s parents on Blaisdell Avenue when Carlos was born (February 12, 1948), and he became a problem. We found it difficult for him to get to sleep, so we began taking turns walking him at night until he would finally fall asleep. After several weeks Odie and I decided to let him cry until he did fall asleep. We were on the second floor and I remember that he cried for quite some time and Odie’s mother started to come upstairs to see what she could do. I was at the top of the stairs and ordered her to go back to bed, and that he would have to cry until he slept. This continued for a second (and maybe third) night, but it worked. We would put him to bed and he would go to sleep without crying.

Portuguese organizations

Odie’s father [Mr. Cardanha] had been a founding member of the Blackstone Valley Unit of the Portuguese-American Civic League to which I became a member. I had been a member of the East Providence unit earlier, and subsequently was elected president of the Blackstone Valley unit for a couple of terms. I also feel I had something to do with the formation of the Seven Castles Club of the Blackstone Valley, but I never received any credit for it. I mentioned one day at lunch with Peter Pimental that the area should have an organization of professional and business men of Portuguese extraction. A few weeks later Peter called a meeting of some men, but I was not invited. Peter was prominent in Democratic circles. My family had been considered Republicans, mainly because of my Uncle Frank Maciel who had served as a town councilman and state representative from East Providence, a die-hard Republican. I had never participated in party politics and frankly I have never voted a straight ticket in my lifetime. I was eventually asked to join, and even later was elected secretary and then president of the organization for one term.

Later I joined the Portuguese-American Federation, eventually serving several presidents as secretary, and later became a member of the Board of Directors until my retirement when I gave up all such organizational duties.

One incident before I started in the furniture business

The Holy Ghost Beneficial Brotherhood, the organization in which my father had always been active, “honored” me at a dinner, the first Portuguese resident of East Providence to become a lawyer. The president at that time was an active Democrat. I had clerked in the law office of John Murphy, the Republican candidate for governor, who was invited as guest speaker. The club president, Julio Rocha, insisted on having John Pastore, the Democratic candidate for Governor also at the head table. Despite their political “differences”, they were good friends having been classmates at law school. (Their campaign was the “cleanest” to have been experienced.) I was seated at the head table between the two who carried on a pleasant conversation. This was in January, 1948, and Odie was pregnant with Carlos, born in February. Pastore was eventually elected and from that time until we started going to Naples in the winter (1986), I believe I got to meet every RI Governor. I mention this now because I remember that after a golf date in Florida, the four of us stopped for lunch, and somehow the subject came up and I mentioned that I personally knew a string of governors, the other three from other states were quite surprised-neither had ever met a governor!

Laplante’s Furniture Company

In the meantime, Odie’s father had been looking around for something to do and finally purchased Laplante’s Furniture Company. Arthur Laplante had been in business for many years but his doctors had told him to stop, and he died a few years later. He had started as a floor covering store in a small shop and later branched into furniture. But the business was still great in floor covering and our ads always carried the logo “The Largest Floor Covering Store in the Blackstone Valley.” At this point I must admit that after being in the Army during WWII, I didn’t have the desire about a law career. Four years without reading law books had stunted my love for a legal career. So I started in the furniture business with her father.

While working at the law office, quitting time was 5 pm. The furniture store, less than three blocks away closed at 6 pm, (Thursdays 9 pm and a few years later, 9 pm also on Tuesdays.) I started going to the furniture store, began cashing up every day and when my father-in-law became ill, I stayed on the nights the store was open. Eventually I left the Halpert’s office and worked full time at the furniture store as Odie’s father appeared to be weakening.

I didn’t give up on the law. I had a few cases but I decided to quit when a good customer asked me to evict a tenant who owed her about 4 or 5 month’s rent. We went to court, the judge told the tenant to pay her one week’s rent or he’d be evicted, and to pay back rent. The tenant moved out a couple of days later without paying anything. She didn’t know where he went, blamed me, never paid me, and never came back as a customer! After that all I did besides work at the store was income tax work, as many of our customers were Portuguese or Cape Verdean immigrants. I made many friends by working at a reasonable price, and in the process I learned to speak more Portuguese. I had studied Spanish in high school and at Providence College which helped me, and both languages helped me in the furniture business.

Lawyered up

I started working with a Pawtucket lawyer and had an evening office in the Maciel Building in East Providence. The office was on the second floor of the building that used to house the Maciel Brothers Market. The Pawtucket lawyer, Edwin Halpert, was well known in the collection business and before long I had made an appearance in most of the district courts trying collection cases. Within three months I “won” a case involving $36,000 in Kent County. Some of the lawyers who knew I had just started practicing congratulated me. The only problem was that the defendant was broke and could never pay and we were merely looking for a decision in court for the plaintiff.

While I was taking the bar review course, the two lawyers who gave the course used to check our notes on a regular basis, and both of them had congratulated me on my notes. (I’m not sure if I mentioned it earlier, but my college professor at Providence College had said the same.) But my only claim to fame as an attorney was that the two lawyers-to-be who used my bar review notes became judges, (one the chief justice), and later both resigned because of misconduct in office!

Cardanha & Pires

Some background on the Cardanha-Pires relationship- The men met in New Bedford and sometime later Pires’ sister Zulmira, Odie’s mother, came to the U.S. in New Bedford and after the two men decided to move to Valley Falls and open a grocery store in a neighborhood with factories and Portuguese immigrant families. The business prospered. Because of his fluency in English, Mr. Cardanha was often called to a factory as an interpreter, especially when someone was hurt. This is when he became friendly with Dr. Harry Triedman, and later the doctor’s brother George, who was a prominent lawyer.

Mr. Cardanha started a small loan agency in the store along with a travel agency. After WWI a period of prosperity led to the Portuguese visiting their families in Portugal. Later, during the Depression, Cardanha and Pires were able to acquire properties whose owners had defaulted on mortgages. When they split, Mr. Cardanha made two lists [of the properties they owned], which were about even in value, and offered the first choice to Pires. Pires refused but changed the list so as to have the better properties. I used to collect rents for Mr. Cardanha so I got to know his properties. Later Eddie showed me some of the properties his father had, and I realized that that Mr. Cardanha had let Pires get away with the better pieces rather than to have a family quarrel.

It was Mr. Cardanha who decided to go into the beer business distributing Narragansett Beer in the Blackstone Valley area. It was the bank with whom Mr. Cardanha saved and negotiated who recommended him to run the business. He did all the ground work while Pires ran the grocery business; he contacted and ran the beer business alone for a while until Pires joined him. Mr. Cardanha was the general manager; Pires was in charge of the loading and shipping of trucks. He was also the assistant treasurer so he could sign checks in the absence of Mr. Cardanha. As such he knew that Mr. Cardanha was getting a larger salary, but he was happy with what he earned and never complained.

Narragansett Beer at the same time was losing its popularity and its sales had been falling. When Odie’s parents returned, it was only a matter of time before the operation of the business, and their relationship fell apart.

NARRAGANSETT BEVERAGE CORPORATION

In the meantime things at Narragansett Beverage Corporation came to a head. While Odie’s parents were on a trip to Portugal, Pires made an attempt to take over the business, but when he went to the brewery he was turned down. As far as the brewery was concerned Pires was a “nobody” that had never been heard from before. (This I learned from a man who had been my father’s salesman for years who later became an officer of the Brewery Corporation.) Lawyer George Triedman, a friend of Serafim Cardanha, showed me a letter he had prepared while Cardanha was in Portugal appointing me as manager with instructions to fire Pires, Sam and Pat, but Cardanha didn’t want to start a big family fight. After is return from Portugal the brewery took over the business and the two never spoke to each other again. Only after Serafim Cardanha did Zulmira Cardanha visit her brother who was very sick and later died.

By Pires’ will Sam got a life estate in the [Bristol] Narrows property, then to Eddie [Pires’] children [Marsha and Eddie], to keep the property from going to Pat’s family. (Pat’s father had borrowed money from Pires, who had a tough time collecting. Sam rented the property but never paid the real estate taxes. The town [of Bristol] was going to sell the property, Mickey saw the ad in the Bristol Phoenix. He called me and I called Eddie, he paid the taxes, and bought out Sam’s life estate. Eddie later told me that he suspected that Anthony Nunes was part of a plot to buy the property at the tax sale to get it away from Eddie’s children! They might have gotten away with it, except that Mickey saw the ad, which only appeared in the Bristol paper and called me!

Back in the Real World

We must have arrived in Pawtucket in early April because I was finally drummed out of the Army on April 10, 1946. I spent the summer working at the Narragansett Beverage Corporation as the bookkeeper. The girl who had the job had planned her wedding for June and wanted to leave the job. Sam Pires in the meantime, was to marry Pat Nunes of Bristol on Labor Day. I intended to return to Boston College Law for my last year and Pat was to become the bookkeeper on their return from their honeymoon.

I can only assume that after Pat started to work on the books that she noted that Odie’s father was being paid more than [Eziquiel] Pires and that information reached Mrs. Pires, who was quite disturbed by the fact. In any event the families were at odds with each other with little contact until after Mr. & Mrs. Pires and Odie’s parents were dead. We used to see the Pires boys occasionally at some affair, but not until the parents passed on that we became friendly.

For my last year at Boston College, Odie and I lived in an apartment on Mount Vernon Street near Joy Street and only a short distance from the Boston Common. The Law School was only a short distance away, an easy 10-15 minute walk. Odie spent a great part of the time window shopping, walking through the Common and eating hot fudge sundaes. Mrs. Pires became very ill with cancer and Serafim Cardanha told his wife to go see her which she did until Mrs. Pires died. Odie often sat with her aunt and said the rosary which seemed to comfort her aunt.

I finished school in late May of 1947 and Carlos was born in February of 1948. I spent the summer taking a bar review course in Providence in preparation for the bar exam which took place in the fall. I passed the bar exam and was sworn in as a member of the Bar in December.

Miami, Naples, New Orleans, and Back North Again

Odie and I had contacted the LaNasas of our trip to Florida and we planned to leave Florida and go to New Orleans for the 1946 Mardi Gras.

On our way from Miami we went through Naples never expecting that at some later date we would own a home there. And even more coincidentally we had an accident in the northern part of Naples that had to be close to where we later lived. Leaving Naples in a rainstorm at a curve on old Route 41 we slid off the road into a ditch. We were able to get out of the car, and fortunately within a few minutes a car came by and they took Odie to a garage in Bonita Springs. There they had a vehicle to pull our car out of the ditch and towed it to the garage. This all occurred on a Friday. A part that was needed would not be available before Monday, so we were taken to a hotel in Fort Meyers where we stayed until the car was fixed on Monday. We never made it to New Orleans for Mardi Gras on Tuesday. And even several years after we had the home in Naples at Landmark did I realize that the accident had taken place practically where the main entrance was located! Incidentally, the hotel where we stayed is fondly remembered by Odie. On Saturday night we were the only ones in the dining room, and there was a small band playing for our entertainment!

Our stay in New Orleans was short. We had a couple of days to share with the LaNasas, and then received a phone call from my parents that Odie’s mother was very ill, so we left immediately and started driving north. I have no recollection of what happened on the way home, except for one incident. Somewhere in Tennessee we had to climb a high mountain. Before we reached the top the car’s motor stopped! A farmer who came up behind us stopped to ask about our problem. He said something about the air being so thin at that altitude that it caused the motor to stop. He pushed our car with his truck to the top of the hill- we were only about 100 yards or so from the top- and as soon as we started rolling down the other side the motor started and we kept on going. The roads we travelled over were only two lanes, but I believe that the hill is the one we travel to get to Knoxville on I-81- now four lanes! I have no recollection of where we stayed; we couldn’t have made it in one day. By the time we got to Pawtucket, Odie’s mom was feeling better.

Click map to make larger.

Not Quite Home, Yet, Then Yes, and on to Florida

Actually my Army service did not end on that day. I did not arrive at Devens until mid-afternoon and a non-com began to process me but was unable to find any officer who could sign my discharge. We finally agreed that I would return to Devens the next day and get my discharge. We drove to Valley Falls, dropped Sam off at his home, and Odie and I went on to Blaisdell Avenue, Pawtucket. We had a meal and eventually went to bed. When we awoke the next day we found the ground covered with about 18” of snow! We turned on the radio, (this was before television), but all we got were notices of schools and business closings and requests to stay off the roads until they were plowed.

It so happened that both of our parents were in Florida and they had rented a room for us and were expecting us to go directly to Florida and at the request of Odie’s parents we were to bring Sam Pires with us. Sam had enlisted in the English Royal Air Force in Canada, eventually shot down in the Mediterranean, and then been a P.O.W. in Italy, to eventually escape when the Italians were overwhelmed. Odie’s parents were Sam’s godparents and wanted to have him spend some time in Florida, and they were already paying a hotel for reserving rooms for us.

I called Devens and spoke to someone who finally told me to come back to Devens on our return. In the meantime we had spoken to the Forejts and they had agreed to meet us in Philadelphia. The snow storm and the promise to spend a few hours with the Forejts shortened our stay in Florida, but for me it was a great pleasure to see our parents and enjoy the Florida weather. It was a joyous reunion for all of us.

HEADING SOUTH, HEADING HOME

Shortly afterwards the division started to move south towards the Danube River where we were to perform occupation duties until we started for home. The division had already lost some men who for various reasons had earned enough points to go home. The first officer to go was Major James LaNasa. He had joined the Army before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, at a time when medical men (doctors) were asked to serve one year and then be released. Jim finished medical school and joined and hoped to complete his year of service before the U.S. got involved in the war. He wasn’t that lucky, and had to stay in until the war ended, but he built up enough points for all his service to be able to be the first of our officers to leave for home.

Before we left for the south of Germany I managed to get a leave to visit the French Riviera. Joe Forejt and I had hoped to go together, but the only time I could get to go, Joe was away at an x-ray school that I had heard about and managed to arrange for him before any of the other officers heard about it. So I went alone and all I can say is that it was good to be away from the “Army” for a week. I flew from Munich over the Alps, saw Mt. Blanc, spent a week taking a few tours that were available, mostly up into wine country, and got to see Monaco from a distance, as it was off limits to the soldiers. Odie has remarked about women, there may have been a couple of hundred, but there were thousands of G.I.’s! But I did get a glimpse of some gals changing into a bathing suit- skimpy, too- beneath a towel, from a distance of more than 50 yards!

Shortly after the war ended, the medical battalion set up a “camp” in a wooded area near the town we were in (can’t remember the name) for GI’s who were “suffering” from syphilis and/or gonorrhea. We only did this for a few weeks until we moved again. One incident stands out in my memory- one of our patients went “AWOL” but was back again in a week or so with a more severe case, admittedly from a relationship with the same gal!

I also recall while in the town of Arnstadt, our headquarters was in the large home of a German doctor. Some of my clerks went rummaging through the house and returned with a gift for me- a full carton of Portuguese sardines! They were more than happy when I returned it- I didn’t like sardines!

On September 3rd I replaced Capt. Gil Christopher as the Supply Officer. He had enough points to go home and had been in the Army for a long time before the war. I was replaced by Lt. Lee McCrocklin from New Orleans. He had been drafted while in college.

Shortly thereafter with a small group I visited Hitler’s refuge at Berchtesgarten in the Alps not far from Salzburg, Austria. This was one of Hitler’s vacation spots, high in the Alps, with a spectacular view. I have a picture taken at that window.

Within a couple of weeks I was transferred to the 304th Station Hospital from when we were near Bayreuth, a small city on the Danube not far from Passau. Before I moved I crossed the river and took a picture of the town. Many years later, Paul in his travels met up with a friend [of his] from the area who took him to area from where I had taken the picture!

The 304th Station Hospital was located in Deggendorf just north of the Austrian border in the shadow of the Alps. I was assigned the duties of assistant adjutant, replacing an officer who had gone home. The hospital had been a winter training camp for skiers. I had heard of such troops but had never seen any during the winter we were in Germany.

But it was here that I was involved in another incident. Besides the hospital there was a U.S. regiment of colored soldiers used as an engineer unit, or in other words, workmen! I had been appointed Officer of the Day on a Friday. Every Friday night there was a movie shown at a small theatre at a short distance away in town. I received orders from the Commanding Officer (whose name I don’t recall), to check every soldier returning from the movie for appearance, especially telling me that to be sure that all neckties were properly worn. I spoke to another officer [who] told me that the theatre was a “hot house” and most of the soldiers either loosened or removed their ties before the movie ended. Since the movie ended after 10 PM many never bothered to tie them properly on the way back to camp.

I was at the gate early as many of them were on their way to the theatre. I stopped a sergeant and told him about my orders and suggested that at the theatre he pass the word along that I would be at the gate checking on them and would report all who were not properly dressed. When the movie ended, everyone coming through the gate was properly “neck tied.” They all saluted me and a few thanked me! The C.O.’s office was in the corner of a building near the gate. The next day another officer told me that the C.O. was in the dark watching the incident. He never spoke to me, and within a short period of time I was on my way to my next stop- the 250th Station Hospital in Regensburg, Germany, on the Danube.

I assumed the duties of registrar, and as an additional duty I supervised a German cleanup crew. I had a young German girl who spoke fairly good English and all my orders were actually carried out by her. Within a few days after I arrived I met her in a hallway talking to a colored soldier. She later asked me about American Indians and admitted that she liked the guy. I checked his records- he was no Indian!

I was at the 250th for a little over two months when I was transferred to the 30th Field Hospital, a “paper” unit used for officers returning to the U.S. On January 29th, 1946, I arrived at Camp Phillip Morris at Le Havre France. One of the first persons I met was Bernie Margolis, who I had first met at Camp Barkley in Texas at OCS. He was from Providence and went with me to the 102nd Division, and he spent his time in Co. D throughout the war. On February 3rd, we set sail on a Liberty ship, arriving at Camp Kilmer, NJ on February 16th, going through a hurricane, taking 13 days to do a trip that should not have lasted a week! Sick as a dog!

Two days later I arrived at Fort Devens. Odie and Sam Pires were there to drive me HOME- February 19th, 1946.

COLONEL EATON OUT, COLONEL FRAMSTER IN

I recall that sometime before Col. Eaton left, he had told me to write up requests for Bronze Stars for the officers in our headquarters. I did so and the next day I completed them and put them on the Colonel’s desk, as he was out. Later he returned and after starting to look them over he called me into his office and asked me for the one that was missing- mine. I told him that I had written his, and that if he felt I deserved one then to write it [himself.] He started to curse me then ordered me to return to my desk. Eventually I also received a Bronze Star, which he wrote!

It was a few weeks later when a Lt. Colonel Felix Framster came into our headquarters and I asked him if there was anything I could do for him. He said, “Don’t you know who I am?” Then he showed me a copy of an order that appointed him Commanding Officer of our Battalion. The same order had a second line- Lt. Colonel was being transferred to an Army hospital. The order was dated a few days earlier than when this when this all occurred, but we had not received a copy, which was unusual.

Col. Framster asked me if I could have someone take him to Co. D’s kitchen, as it was mid-afternoon and he hadn’t had lunch. I had someone take him to Co. D and sent another to find Col. Eaton who was somewhere in the area. When Eaton came in, I took him into his office, his former office, and then showed him the order. After reading it, he started to cry and after a few moments he told me why. He was being transferred as executive officer of a hospital whose Commanding Officer was a man who he knew from past experience, that he was not liked by him, and that he could expect a lot of trouble. He finally recovered. He waited until Col. Framster returned and I left them to talk for a while. Then Eaton left to pack and get ready to leave the next morning.

Col. Framster really took charge, unlike Col. Eaton who used to allow us to do whatever we thought was best on many occasions. Framster kept a close observation on all that happened and actually there were no problems, all of us in headquarters performed our jobs satisfactorily, regardless of who the Commander was.

Just before the war ended, on one of our moves, we passed a sign indicating [it was] the hospital that Col. Eaton had been transferred to. After we got settled, I asked Col. Framster for permission to visit Col. Eaton, which he okayed. Col. Eaton’s hospital had taken over a big German hospital. At the front door I asked for directions to the office of the executive officer, “left on the 2nd floor”, with signs nailed to the door frames. The last door on the left was for the “Executive Officer.” As I turned in I heard a voice from across the hall- “MACE!” It was Col. Eaton sitting at a desk, the sign on the door said “Comm. O.” He told me that a few weeks after he joined the hospital, the C.O. had fallen, broken a leg and had been returned to the States, and he had been appointed C.O.! What luck!

A few weeks later Col. Eaton showed up at our headquarters and asked me to get Joe Forejt, Gil Christopher (our supply officer) and then offered the three of us positions at the hospital with promises of promotions. We all turned him down when he said that we would have to remain in Germany [as] the hospital was to be retained for occupation duty.

THE GERMANS SURRENDER

On May 8th the Germans surrendered, while we were at the Elbe River. Daily we could see the German soldiers crossing the river fleeing from the Russians and surrendering to our troops. A bridge at Stendhal which had been blown up by the Germans while fleeing from our troops was partially rebuilt, but many came by makeshift boats, and some swimming. They were ordered to leave all weapons on the other side, why I could not understand, and I saw a pyramid of guns more than 20 feet tall, and for days the road from the bridge was an unbroken line of Germans being led to a collecting point to our rear.

An agreement of the Allied leaders gave most of northern Germany to the English troops for occupation, and slowly the American units began to move to the south. Since we were nearest to the English troops, our division was the last to start for the south.

But one other went before our move. Col. Eaton had received a call from an old friend, a doctor in a hospital to our rear and had been invited to attend a party they were having to celebrate the end of fighting. This wasn’t the first time he had received such invitations and usually took off for two or three days to attend. He had discovered that a man in one of our companies had been a piano player in a New York night club, and for these trips he would have the man drive his Jeep and be useful at the party. The afternoon after he left, I received a call from division headquarters from Col. Chaille that the Commanding General was to visit the Medical Battalion on an inspection the next day. Since the Colonel was away, I mentioned to Major LaNasa that as ranking officer he would have to greet the General. He said, “Not me!” so I looked at our two Captains, who both refused. That left me, a 1st Lieutenant!

When the General arrived with his entourage of officers from division HQ, I went out and saluted, then welcomed the General to the Medical Battalion. The General returned my salute, and then asked me if I was the ranking officer present. At the time our three collecting companies were spread out over an area of almost 100 miles, (the war was not officially over, but our troops were through fighting.) The General asked for Col. Eaton. I replied that he had left for a visit to the collecting companies before we knew of the General’s visit and [that] we had not been able to contact him. Col. Chaille, standing next to the General, looked at me with a face that clearly said, “Liar!” The General told me to send out the ranking officer. I saluted and went inside our office and told LaNasa that the General had requested his presence, and I think he was ready to crap his pants! The General didn’t stay long, and I believe Jim wanted to go somewhere and rest!

PAST THE RHINE AND TO THE ELBE RIVER, GERMAN ATROCITIES

The Germans had not been able to blow up the Rhine bridges so much that they couldn’t be used. Repairs were made and the Rhine was crossed the first week of April 1945. In about 10 days we reached the Elbe River, which was as far as the Allied troops had agreed to go according to the agreement of the Allied leaders. We were less than 50 miles from Berlin and felt that we could have reached Berlin before the Russians, but most of all, the Russians wanted to take Berlin to pay the Germans back for what they had done when in the early part of the war they went into Russia and killed thousands of civilians and ruined the city of Stalingrad.

So we sat back and waited. On April 15th, the day after we reached the Elbe, some troops of our 405th Regiment came upon a barn in Gardelegen still afire and with smoldering bodies of 1016 Poles, French, Dutch, Belgian and one American. Three escaped alive. I visited the area the next day while the bodies were being removed by the people of the town and being buried in a large, common grave. A sign was put up by our troops, and I believe that it is still there to this day. I mention this because there are still people to this day do not believe the Germans committed the atrocities that they were alleged to have committed.

More graphic photos here

On our way across Germany we came across a Prisoner of War Camp in Dachau [more graphic photos.] I do recall that I stopped there and went in and saw the ovens, still with some bones of PoW’s that had been cremated.

ON TO THE RHINE RIVER

After crossing the Roer River it became evident that the final battles would be at the Rhine. The Russians were beginning to move through Poland and into Germany. We wondered why they wouldn’t surrender, but I guess Hitler always felt the German soldiers were the most superior. But in my opinion I always felt that although they were great fighters, they didn’t have the ability to make decisions, that they could only follow orders, while the American was as good a fighter but was able to adapt himself to many occasions by thinking of ways to survive. As a result the German soldier didn’t always know what to do if things weren’t going the way they had been trained to fight.

As we approached the Rhine we were stationed in a Catholic Hospital, the Holy Trinity Hospital operated by nuns in Krefeld. Most of the patients had been taken away except those that were so serious that they couldn’t be moved. These [patients] were placed in a wing of the hospital and we used the facilities near the highway. The mother superior spoke a little English and while we were there she used to come to see me and kept asking if we were going to pay for using the hospital. I told her we had no means of paying, but suggested that she wait until occupational troops arrived and speak to them. She thanked me, although I’m sure I know what the answer would have been. But she was a charmer. I know she got our cook to give her some food for her patients during our stay there.

 

A~ Palenberg

B~ Krefeld

One day while there a couple of nurses from the MASH unit that had been with us at the Roer crossing paid us a visit; they were in another part of the city. One of them asked to use a bathroom and later she told us she was combing her hair in front of a mirror, when the chaplain came in with his hand already on the fly of his pants when he realized it was a woman. She almost fainted from shock!

Another incident that hit the Army newspaper during our stay in Krefeld- One of our company ambulance drivers got drunk one night and took off in his ambulance for the bridge that had already been blown up by the Germans. He wound up in the water practically unhurt, but the Army Times had a great headline, “Medical Battalion Spearheading the Attack on the Rhine!” Our 327th!

Mickey

This is David writing this post, not my father.

In an earlier post, he wrote that when he came back from Europe in WWII, everyone had started calling his older brother 'Mickey', and he didn't know why. He had been called 'Junior' when he left for Europe. The reason he had become known as 'Mickey' was "that during the war a song named "Mickey" had become quite popular and he began to sing and whistle the song so much that everyone started to call him "Mickey.""

I am not sure that this is that song, but it is the only one I could find that came close:

David Maciel, 11.07.10, Bristol, RI

CROSSING THE ROER RIVER PHOTOS

405th, 406th, 407th Regiments' routes

A~ Palenberg

B~ Krefeld

SW corner- Maastricht and Malmedy

Roer River

Roer River

More photos here

THE HORRORS OF WAR AND CROSSING THE ROER RIVER

Now, back to Germany- we were never supposed to receive dead bodies in our station, only if they died on route to our station. But every unit had a Graves Registration Officer. That was one of my jobs, and two of my clerks were assistants. One day they came to tell me a dead body was just removed from an ambulance and the litter was placed in a small storeroom. I told them to take everything from his pockets and to put it into small bags for that purpose. They both asked me to go with them as it was the first [time either had done this.] At the door they stayed out in the corridor while I went in, and then I knew why they had [come] to me. The guy was really beat up- one arm partially off, one leg blown off, a gaping hole in his side, and part of his face [was] gone. He must have been hit by a grenade. I got through that that experience, and never went through [anything like that] back in the U.S., although I did see some other casualties in rough shape, however. But I do recall at some later date while out on an errand I came across a Graves Registration Unit and could see hundreds of coffins lined up for shipment to the U.S.A.

While at Palenberg, the Germans were constantly firing artillery shells in our direction. On several occasions some landed a few hundred yards away from our position, but fortunately none ever landed close enough to cause any casualties. The one thing that sometimes bothered us were the “Buzz Bombs.” They could be fired for great distances, and they had great luck in their use against London during the earlier months of the war. They were usually fired at night and the buzz could be heard in flight. But if the buzz stopped within hearing distance, it meant the bomb was dropping, and that was the time to run for cover! Fortunately none ever dropped close enough to cause damage. After we crossed the Roer River we heard fewer and fewer. We found out some time later that the plant where most were built was ruined by our planes.

Just before we crossed the Roer, a Jeep arrived from Division Headquarters with three U.S. aviators. Their plane had been hit, but not so badly, and they were able to return and land behind our lines and they were brought to us [with] just a few scratches. They stayed with us and spent the night. We exchanged names and home states. When I said Rhode Island, one of them if I knew anything about Valley Falls, and of course I said it was my wife’s hometown. He said his father had owned a speakeasy in Chicago and that he use to get his “moonshine” from Valley Falls. When I told him my father-in-law had been in the grocery business during those days and used to sell sugar to the makers of the moonshine, he said “It’s a small world!"

THE SIGHT OF BLOOD

Again I’m backing up to an incident that occurred at Camp Swift. Dr. Forejt, while on duty as medical officer of the day, had agreed to remove a cyst from the back of the neck of a Sergeant. By right, it should have been done in a hospital, but as we were getting ready to move on to Fort Dix, the possibility of losing his services could only be prevented by doing it at our station. I stayed with Joe and watched the operation… until I almost fainted at the sight of blood! I left the room, then returned. I knew I might see more in Europe! But I finally got up and left the room- the heck with it.

COMMENDATION FOR A JOB WELL DONE

While in Palenberg, the 102^nd was preparing for its first big fight, to cross the Roer River. The Germans had fought hard to stay on the west side but were finally driven away and the Division now had to plan to cross the river. It was not an easy task for the wintertime. Before we could cross, the Germans blew up the dams several miles to the north doubling the width of the river, which made it extra difficult for the engineers to build bridges. Many lives were lost in the water. Sometime later, Odie wrote in a letter that an article in Liberty magazine had stated that the 102^nd was the first division of all American forces to get all units across the river. When the crossing was completed we learned that our battalion had processed more wounded than any other medical unit in Europe to date. As a result, the battalion was awarded a special patch to be worn on the lower left sleeve. I must admit that I never did see such a commendation worn by any member of any unit but ours during our stay in Europe. I guess we did a good job!

View Larger Map

B~ Palenberg, Übach-Palenberg, Deutschland
C~ Malmedy, Walloon Region, Belgium
D~ Maastricht, The Netherlands

LIQUOR, PARIS, & ANOTHER CLOSE CALL

For the first few months all officers received a liquor ration- two bottles of scotch, two of champagne, one of American whiskey, and a couple of bottles of what we called “French moonshine.” Because I preferred champagne to scotch, I was able to trade one bottle of scotch for two of champagne. In the meantime Odie had started to send small packages to me, which included small bottles in which she had transferred some liquids for whisky and small packages of food. Most of this didn’t reach me until shortly before the end of the year while we were in Palenberg, so I decided to host a party for the officers of Headquarters and Company D on my birthday. For me it was a blast. I kept all the champagne for my personal use, and let the others drink and eat the food. I got drunk! I had planned the party for the house that Col. Eaton had taken for himself, (we couldn’t complain.) Late in the evening, I noticed that Joe Forejt was no longer with us, and I went out to look for him. The clearing station was in a school across the street. The walk from the house to the street was covered with ice, (it was mid-January!), and I never got too far and finally crawled back into the house and into a bed I somehow found. Late the next morning when I awoke I went across the street to our office and found Col. Eaton talking to two strange officers- one of them was a full colonel and the other a major. They were in front of a large map pinned to the wall and discussing the situation, I presume. They stopped talking and turned to face me and I asked “What the hell is going on?” Col. Eaton made some mention of me being ill and sent me back to bed, and I went.

Nothing was ever said to me about the party, except how they all enjoyed the food and drink, with one exception. Major Tauber, the division psychologist (and a real quack in my opinion) a few days later said he hoped that I would go in to see him, that we should talk! Of course I never made an appointment!

Incidentally, to back up a little, to get our liquor ration for the month of December, every unit was to furnish a vehicle to be part of a convoy to go to Paris to pick up the liquor. I persuaded Col. Eaton to let me go to Paris on two conditions- that he let me have his driver, PFC Zito, and that I have an ambulance to make the trip. Zito, the driver, was more than willing to go, and with an ambulance, it was a great trip, as the ambulance had a heater.

Our ambulance was the last vehicle in the line, and since the trucks ahead were not speeding, Zito and I slowed down to see the countryside, then we would race to catch up with the others. We arrived in Paris about dark and our vehicles were ordered to a parking lot near a warehouse where the liquor was stored. Then we were rushed to a kitchen near a hotel and we were told that curfew was at 9 pm. It was already 8 pm and we hadn’t eaten. I think a lot of officers expected to do some hell-raising but never did. The next morning after each unit’s vehicle was loaded, we took off on our return trip. Since we were the last vehicle, Zito and I did some detours to see some of the sights of Paris before catching up with the rest.

Since we left Paris quite late we did not go all the way in one day and stopped in some town, I don’t recall the name, and we were told to visit whatever units there were in town for a meal and a place to sleep. I had seen a sign for an aid station so we went there. The Doctor in charge had us fed and then put a couple of cots for our disposal, so we spent a comfortable night. As we were leaving I was handed a copy of the Army Times, and [then we] proceeded on our way. I was only about 4 pages. When I reached the last page, there was a map and an article which described the push by the Germans at Malmedy. While reading, I glanced out the window as we passed an intersection, and I found myself reading a sign, “Malmedy 5 KM”, about 3 miles. I had Zito race ahead of the convoy and stopped in front of the lead truck. A major in charge was a bit surprised when I showed him the paper, so we changed direction at the next intersection to avoid any possibility of meeting up with any Germans!

A~ Weymouth, England
B~ Cherbourg, France
C~ Maastricht, The Netherlands
D~Malmedy, Belgium
E~ Paris, France

Click on the map for a better view.

HOW THE ARMY WORKS IN BATTLE

At this point I’m going to draw a sketch to show how our division was to operate, at least according to the books. I’m only going to show the regiments and our battalion, the other units of the division usually supported the regiments in like fashion.

It was normal procedure to have two regiments on the line, with one in reserve, which in time would replace one of the front line regiments so they could rest and refresh themselves. However, when the Germans tried their last attempt at The Bulge, the 84^th Division of our 9^th Army was sent to help and for a while all of our three regiments were spread out on the line in our sector.

Usually the collecting companies were from one to three miles to the rear of regimental headquarters. All units of the regiments had doctors and aid men, but their purpose was mainly first aid and then to send the men back to our battalion for more help. In just about all cases, wounded all reached our clearing station as we had more doctors and were better equipped to handle some serious cases. But we also sent the more serious cases back to the hospital units where they could be handled more easily. We were not supposed to hold casualties for any period of time since we were more apt to be on the move in order to be able to continue to give quick support to the troops ahead.

CLOSE CALL IN GERMANY

At this time the front line was just about at the Dutch and German border and within a couple of weeks we were in the town of Palenburg in Germany. From that time while in Germany we always stayed in hotels, hospitals, schools or some large building where we could be properly accommodated. It was in Palenburg that I came the closest ever to be hit by enemy fire. One day an ambulance from my old Company B came in with some casualties. Before the driver left I went out to talk to him. His ambulance was parked almost against the school building and we were standing between the school and the ambulance when a German plane came screaming alongside and sprayed the ambulance with gunfire less than three feet away. No one was hit.

It was here on our first day in Palenburg, Joe Forejt tried to jerk a table cloth from under a complete set of dinnerware from a dining room table, but my mentor disappointed me! We were alone when he made his attempt and his story and mine were not the same! But I never told anyone the truth!