Toward the end of August, I received my orders to report to Camp LeJeune, North Carolina to attend electronics school.
Anita quit her job, much to the consternation of her employer and the Defense Department officials who thought she should stay on her war related job until the war was over. They told her she probably would not be able to get another job if she left this one.
Not true. All employers were desperately looking for help and they were willing to hire new workers, if only for a few months, or even for a few weeks.
We parted once again. Anita went to live with her parents, taking the train to St. Louis. She probably spent some time with her sister Nell, before they took her to Edwardsville.
I traveled to North Carolina by troop train. We went through St. Louis but were not allowed off the train to make any phone calls. No cell phones.
The Gilbert Islands were under discussion for some time as to whether they should be bypassed or be included in the 'Island chain' on the road to Tokyo. Japan had invaded the Islands and had them well fortified and defended.
Admiral Nimitz began the central Pacific campaign. General MacArthur landed the Marines on Makin and Tarawa. Makin was reclaimed with minimal effort. Tarawa, however, was surrounded by reefs, making the landing very difficult. The Japanese also had ample time to prepare for its defense.
I arrived at Camp LeJeune on August 23rd, 1943. The camp is located in New River, North Carolina. It was named in honor of former Commandant of the Corps, Lt. General John LeJeune, a decorated hero of World War I. The base, covering thousands of acres, was built in 1941.
Marines, Navy and Coast Guard personnel trained here during the threat to world peace as the possibility of a war in Europe grew in intensity. It was also used as a training center for several Army amphibious divisions.
The base started with tents. The first permanent buildings were completed in September of 1941.
To show how serious the threat of war was there were over 1,400 permanent buildings and the required service facilities in place, including a 1,370 bed hospital by the end of 1942.
At the beginning of WW II , Marine Commandant General Thomas Holcomb met with President Roosevelt to discuss the Women's Corps.
The Marine Corps Women's Reserve was activated on November 7th, 1942. They were to be called 'Marines' no nicknames.
Over 20,000 would serve during the war. They came home with the very same feeling as their compatriots, 'Once a Marine, always a Marine'. Women Marines began to train at the base in 1942 at the rate of 1,000 a month.
My new address at Camp LeJeune was: PFC, T.J. Kolesa, Company A, Signal Battalion, Barracks 313, Lower North, Camp LeJeune, New River, North Carolina.
I had a foot locker. That was quite a change from having to live out of a sea bag for all these months.
I was sent to basic electronics school, learning about electricity and how it worked in the transmission of radio waves. This took only a few weeks. My grades were good enough to qualify me for additional training. This school was to last two months and when I discussed it with Anita, we agreed that she should come to North Carolina.
To us, two months seemed like a long time. She left right after her 18th birthday. This time the best way to travel was by bus. She took one to the town nearest to the Marine base, Jacksonville, North Carolina. Again, I was unable to meet her and she took a Marine Corps bus to the Visitor's Center. They had a reception area and we were able to embrace and explain how much we missed each other.
The next day we went into Jacksonville and found a place to stay. The apartment building we chose had gone 'bordello' and had quite a reputation.
Nobody told us. In addition to being noisy, the place was very dirty and had bed bugs. The manager didn't agree with us on this score. She said she had seen a lot of bed bugs in her day and these weren't bed bugs.
To our great pleasure, because I was a PFC, had a school assignment and was married, we were eligible for non-commissioned base housing.
In our case, it entitled us to live together in a trailer at Midway Park. There was a waiting list but we were assigned a unit in just a few days. The quick service was appreciated.
Anita obtained a job on the base as a hostess with the Visitor's Center and I started school. I was going to learn to operate a new, state of the art, fire control radar unit, the SCR 584.
Bus service was provided, connecting Midway Park, the main base area, the schools, Jacksonville and the beach. Enlisted Marines and dependents had a beautiful beach area assigned to them that we used regularly. We, being mid-westerners, loved the sand and water. The surf was always high and the breeze always cool.
On many occasions we would take walks around the base and talk like we did in Edwardsville. It was well designed for that sort of pastime. There were tree lined walks and streets as well as lakes and streams. We walked almost all of them at one time or another, talking and having fun.
One day a full Colonel must have thought we were having too much fun and not following the rules of saluting an officer when we passed, even though we passed on opposite sides of the street. Most officers overlooked this except during formal activities. The Colonel said I deliberately crossed the street to avoid him. I don't remember doing that. As a matter of fact, I rather enjoyed saluting my officers. I believe it made them feel good also. I messed up that time. He dressed me down real good, while Anita stood by and I stood at attention.
We soon made friends with fellow Marines and their wives and fell into the routine of living on the base. We kept contact with some of them for years after the war was over but have now lost track of all of them.
On October 25th we celebrated our first wedding anniversary in our small trailer located on the base at Camp LeJeune. Our first Christmas away from home was coming up and we were determined to celebrate it.
The trailer was big enough for a small tree and a few other decorations. Anita cooked a full course dinner.
We were one of only a few who decorated. The base, however, was decorated quite well. The most impressive display was done by the radar schools.
A large long range SCR 270 radar antenna was used as the mounting for a sign spelling 'NOEL' in large letters. This sign was atop a three dimensional Santa.
They told us they had an occasional snow at the base. Everyone, including us, were hoping for a white Christmas. We didn't have a white Christmas but we did have several heavy snows that winter.
The SCR 584 Radar that I was learning to operate was the latest available and was to be used to direct 90mm, Antiaircraft fire. The operators' school was very easy for me. It consisted of learning all about the equipment and how to keep it working under adverse conditions.
I guess my advanced testing was right because it seemed to have pegged me correctly. I finished on November 30th. On December 1st, I was promoted to Corporal. All but two class members were given overseas shipping orders. The two of us had excellent grades that warranted our being held over for a more important schooling program as they put it. This next school was designed to teach me to repair radar units as well as operate them.
I was assigned to technicians' school to learn on the obsolete SCR 268.
Land based Marine Corps radar is used to locate enemy aircraft that can't be seen because of distance, darkness, fog, rain or smoke.
A high frequency radio wave is transmitted in the direction that is to be checked. The wave bounces off of any object in its path and is reflected back to the radar set that also has a receiver. By using a directional antenna, a location can be determined. By checking how long it takes for the signal to return it's possible to determine how far away it is. There is also a system to determine if the target is a friend or a foe.
I'm sure you know about radar as it is used to catch automobile drivers going too fast, to predict the weather, and to guide our airplanes during takeoff, while in flight and during landings.
RADAR received its name from the phrase, "Radio detection and ranging." The concept was first discovered in 1924. A British physicist bounced a radio wave off of the ionosphere. It's as old as I am, or I'm as old as it is.
The basic radar unit consists of a radio frequency generator, just like you have in your microwave, a transmitter, like the police car has, and an antenna he points toward you so a signal can bounce back to his receiver, which measures how long the exchange takes, and it is converted to 'miles-per-hour'.
We heard rumors about a new radar unit being designed to be used during an invasion, portable enough to be carried ashore while under attack.
It would be available quickly for defense of ground troops. That's what we were being held over for.
This new radar was highly touted and we were hoping it would become available before our class was over. This didn't happen. I finished class on the SCR 268 on March 21. Two days later I was promoted to Sergeant.
While our orders were being prepared for our transfer, word came that a new Mark XX unit would be available in about a month and shipped to Camp LeJeune.
Those of us that made sergeant were kept over to learn all about this new radar unit.
During January and February of 1944 Allied forces occupied Kwajalein and Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands chain, continuing the stepping stone plan toward Japan.
Not having a class assignment, I had a chance to go to Illinois with Anita. We were able to spend a week there.
We did not know it at the time but there were 'three' of us making the trip. Anita was pregnant. The picture of us used on this book's cover was taken under a pear tree in Mom and Dad's front yard in Edwardsville.
This was my first visit home since becoming a Marine. I was a nineteen year old sergeant in the U.S. Marines. We tried to visit as many friends and relatives as we could without being too pretentious. Gasoline rationing was in full swing. It was hard to get extra. Dad was allowed just enough to get back and forth to work. A good friend of ours heard we were in town and came to our rescue. He had some emergency coupons and asked if we could use them? We could and we did.
We returned to LeJeune and enjoyed our cozy trailer home. It was perfect for the two of us who felt like we were still newlyweds.
The new Mark XX unit had not yet arrived and I did not have a class assignment so they put me in charge of a barracks full of students who were attending various radar operator schools. My job was to see that everyone got up for exercise before going to their classes. There was no letting a Marine get soft.
I could then leave and spend time with Anita at her job. We would act like we were meeting for the first time in months. Occasionally I had to stay for evening colors and was delayed an hour.
Anita knew my schedule and usually had a candle light supper waiting for me. We felt and acted like we were on an all expense paid vacation in the Carolinas!
Our trailer was about twenty feet long and a little over six feet wide inside. One end contained the sitting quarters with a table for eating. The other end had the bed and closets.
The kitchen was between them. There was one door. It had windows at each end with several along each side.
On cool mornings we used the oven for heat. If it got too warm we used fans.
After spring arrived we planted some flowers and I built a wooden picket fence that attracted quite a bit of attention as no one ever bothered to make any improvements around the trailer park.
Anita's nephew Edward had joined the Marines and started his basic training. Edward, Verna Mae, Anita and I were close to the same age. The four of us were very compatible and of course we were now related.
Anita invited Verna Mae to come and visit with us in North Carolina so she could see how Marines lived. Verna Mae stayed with us, living on the couch at the end of the trailer.
We went to the beach quite often. Verna Mae enjoyed it very much, never having seen the ocean before.
She also enjoyed the attention she generated as a single attractive blond. She was still a 'ten', with platinum hair and she hadn't added any excess pounds.
She made quite a hit with the Marines. I didn't know I had so many friends. Here I was with two beautiful girls. Verna Mae was enjoying her visit and we were too. We changed roles. Instead of Verna Mae being the chaperon, we were.
Another thing she enjoyed was being able to 'pig out' on shrimp that we could get in large quantities from the commissary. We enjoyed them with crackers and a cold drink.
They were raw and had to be cooked in the trailer. It wasn't long before the trailer smelled of boiled shrimp.
At that time we still did not know that Anita was pregnant. It wasn't long before the smell that had permeated the trailer walls, furniture and clothes set off spells of nausea. We began to suspect something. A check with the base hospital confirmed that she was pregnant.
We were, of course thrilled and somewhat surprised. We had made no effort to avoid pregnancy since our marriage and were beginning to wonder if we would have children. There was also that ever present myth that radar made you sterile.
The base doctors encouraged her to go home so she could be treated by her family doctor. The truth was that the base didn't encourage babies and did not want to take on this responsibility. The government did cover all costs for dependents at the time so it wasn't a cost saving program.
We thought about names for our new baby but couldn't come up with the perfect choice so we postponed it until later.
Anita and Verna Mae left for Edwardsville by bus. I moved back to the barracks. Anita moved in with her parents who were glad to have her back. Her Dad was not improving and her Mom could use the help.
After Anita left for home I began to write my regular letters. There wasn't any particular theme to the cartoons. Each one was different. Most were self explanatory. Some did require additional information that was included inside such as words about how I missed her not being with me.
About half way through boot camp I developed warts on each of my hands. I didn't pay much attention to them then as they never bothered me. However, after several more months they began to increase in size and in numbers. I watched them closely until there were dozens on each hand some of them big enough to bother me.
Now they were a problem. I went to the base hospital and reported them. The corpsman asked me if they bothered me. "Yes." I said. He asked if I wanted them taken off. I said, "Yes." He asked if this was a good time and I said, "Yes." He said, "Let's do it." I said, "OK." He did it.
The process took two days. He burned them out by electrolysis. My hands were sore for a while but they healed quickly so I didn't get any time off. It was quite amazing to me that there were so many of them and after his treatment they never came back nor did any others appear.
A shipment of 'Top Secret' equipment arrived at the base. This is what we had been waiting for. Those of us who were already assigned to the first class were celebrities.
I started schooling on the Mark XX radar early in May, learning its personality along with about twenty other students. We were being taught by technicians who helped design and build the units.
They were not trained instructors so it was difficult at times to know who was teaching.
There were also a number of civilians in the class who worked for the company that built the equipment. They would eventually go with the units to be shipped overseas.
I wrote a letter to my dad for Father's Day. This was something unusual for me. Usually my letters were to Anita and she conveyed any news that she received. This particular letter started out, "Happy Father's Day, Daddy." I wrote specifically to him, asking about his work at Shell and the work he was doing on the house.
Gas rationing, money problems that he and Mom may have and about his fishing were also included.
I referred to our previous conversations about my being sent overseas. He had predicted that soon after we returned home from our leave in April I would receive my orders.
Anita knew but I didn't tell Dad in my Father's Day message that I was expecting my shipping orders any day. A paragraph was devoted to how much I was looking forward to the war ending and returning home to him, Mom and Anita.
I also told him that if I didn't have a family I could be talked into making the Marine Corps my career.
The invasion of Europe, D-Day, began on June 6th and I knew he and Mom were very worried about Frank.
On D-Day, many gliders, both British and United States equipped were crash-landed in France. The Germans were prepared for such an operation and had placed objects in areas suitable for glider landings. The Germans had used gliders in their tactics previously.
It was no secret that the Allied forces would be landing on the mainland of France in the Normandy area. As diligently as both sides of the war tried to keep important plans like an invasion secret, both sides knew that the other side knew. However, exact location, strength and timing of Operation Overlord were carefully guarded.
The Allied forces established a beachhead on the French Normandy Channel coast. German resistance was very strong and progress was slow. Delays were mounting.
However, Hitler misjudged the Allies' strength and by the end of June, General Eisenhower had 850,000 troops and 150,000 support vehicles ashore in Normandy. Frank was among them.
Gliders were among the first to land with advance troops and equipment. Fatalities among the gliders were high because the Germans were ready for such an option and had placed obstacles, called 'asparagus poles' and barbed wire barricades in the areas where landings were expected. The bravery and outstanding accomplishments of the glider crews have been recognized and praised.
A little more than a week later, on our side of the globe, twenty thousand Allied troops landed on Saipan. Within four days the Japanese lost 243 aircraft along with three aircraft carriers and two heavy cruisers.
We lost 29 aircraft during the same period. The Island was secured on July 9th.It then became our main base for air strikes against Japan.
The Japanese army had captured Guam and Tinian in the Marianas on December 7th while their navy and air force was bombing Pearl Harbor.
On July 21, 1944, Allied forces landed on Guam. Another force landed on Tinian on July 24th. Guam was secured on August 11th and Tinian on August 15th.
Both provided launching platforms for B-29 Superfortress and B-24 Liberator bombers.
Working on the Liberator bombers and the gliders were just two of the things Anita had been doing to help win the war. Remember, it was her World War, too.
Anita's brother Howard was working as an air traffic controller in Fairbanks, Alaska. He was about to return to the United States to serve in the Army.
During his stay in Illinois, he married Gertrude Haig. Anita was able to attend the wedding that took place on June 3rd, 1944. Soon after their marriage, Howard received his orders to report for service. He entered officer's training school and graduated a Second Lieutenant. After serving as an infantry instructor in Texas for several months he was sent overseas to the Philippines where he served until the war ended.
My turn had arrived. I was trained as a technician and as an operator for the SCR 584, the newest antiaircraft fire control radar units and the SCR Mark XX, the newest searchlight control radar units. My overseas assignment was at hand. I wrote Anita and she let Mom and Dad know.