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.
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