Brothers Divided

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“Well, they sent my brother Howard to the 104th Timberwolf Division in training in the Mojave Desert in California for the North African campaign.  They sent me to the 42nd Infantry Division in Oklahoma, Camp Gruber, Oklahoma. In my case, after about three months, they woke up and realized on my training, I belonged in the artillery, so they moved me over to the light artillery unit. Once again, as a gunner on a 105-millimeter howitzer. Howard was not happy, because they decided they didn't need any more help in the North African campaign. They moved his division to Colorado, Pike’s Peak area.  He was marching up and down the mountainside, carrying a 45-pound mortar base plate on his back and leading a pack mule with the rest of the mortar and ammunition.  

He put in a request to transfer three different times to his captain. After the third time, nothing happened. He asked his captain, 'what’s the status of his transfer request?' The captain told him his job was to train him, not transfer him. The officers of the division knew at the time that within a few months, they were going to be the first U.S. division to go directly from New York to France, shortly after D-Day, because prior to that the division had to go to England. So, he didn't want to lose a well-trained soldier like my brother Howard to be replaced by some kid fresh out of basic training, that didn't have all that training.

Howard wrote a letter to our mother saying what happened. So, she wrote a letter to President Roosevelt saying that she would like for us to be serving back together again, when the two of us wanted to serve together, for the simple reason, I’m thrown in together with a bunch of strangers. My gun battery consisted of a hundred men.  You don't know anybody. It takes a while to live together before you do. So, if you have at least one person that you can trust, regardless of where you're at, what's going on, it makes a big difference. So, sure enough, a couple weeks later, she got a letter from the White House. Not signed by President Roosevelt, but signed by a general who was the President's aid.  The letter said, as a two-star mother, her request would be granted.   

Because at the time, that was against military policy, for brothers to serve together, especially in combat, because previously the five Sullivan brothers had gone down on the same ship in the Pacific. But President Roosevelt made an exception. But it didn't say whether I'm going to him or he's coming to me. It just said her request would be granted.  Another couple weeks later, she got a letter from the War Department basically saying the same thing. Finally, two or three weeks later, she got a third letter. from the 104th Division Headquarters, saying Howard was being transferred to my outfit, and that was cause for celebration.”