Interview with William Helmich [12/1/2005]

Brian Baumgart:

Were you drafted or did you enlist yourself?

William Helmich:

I was drafted.

Brian Baumgart:

Were you living in Evansville at that time?

William Helmich:

Yes.

Brian Baumgart:

Why did you pick that branch of service you joined?

William Helmich:

I had no choice. I was assigned.

Brian Baumgart:

Do you recall any of your experience in boot camp or training?

William Helmich:

Well, when I lost the wristwatch. The guy stole my watch -- and that's the only thing I remember from the basic training. About that wristwatch being --

Brian Baumgart:

How did that happen?

William Helmich:

The guard that relieved me asked to borrow my gloves. And my wristwatch hung to the wool glove and I let him use my gloves. And the watch hung on the glove and he just kept the watch. He did. Louie Goldman __+ Chicago.

Brian Baumgart:

Where exactly were you assigned to after your training?

William Helmich:

Pardon.

Brian Baumgart:

Oh, where did you go after your training?

William Helmich:

Basic training, Camp Cook. Camp Chanks (ph). North Africa, Southern Italy, Manila in the Philippine Islands.

Brian Baumgart:

Do you remember anything like the weather or what it was like when you got there, those places?

William Helmich:

The weather in Africa was hot, humid. The weather in Italy, we got hot winds blowing across the sand from Africa which across the Mediterranean was humid. Your shoes would rot. They would fall apart from mildew. And the winters spent there were zero or below. And the boat ride to the Philippines we missed the typhoon by, say, ten miles. Arrived in the Philippines in, say, November which was warm weather due to the fact that it was warm in the Philippines. And that's about -- that's about the end of it there.

Brian Baumgart:

What were your jobs there?

William Helmich:

My job was to set up the camp. Supply sergeant. Hand out equipment, so forth and so on. Primarily set up the camp, pitch tents, so forth.

Brian Baumgart:

Did you ever see any combat?

William Helmich:

No combat. No combat. We were assigned to the 15th Air Force. We thought we were going to be in the infantry, but we wound up in the medics.

Brian Baumgart:

Were there any casualties in your unit?

William Helmich:

We lost one man at Bari, Italy was called the second Pearl Harbor. It was in December 3rd of '43. The moon was full. Hitler referred to it as a bomber's moon, a full moon where you could see. Our motor pool ship -- there were several ships sunk. One driver, Walter Seals from Ohio, ambulance driver, was lost. His body was never found. We lost one man. Nice boy.

Brian Baumgart:

And if you can tell me about some of your most memorable experiences while you were enlisted?

William Helmich:

Well, one aboard the ship going over to Africa. Garbage detail, trying to dislodge some clogged garbage I went sailing through the garbage hopper. Was caught by my friend who saved my life. And North Africa I was walking down the steet with three friends. I looked up, they had stopped in the store. I was alone. I looked up and here come a French boy with a sabre or a bolo knife who had been hit in the face with a cantaloupe rind. And naturally I smiled. He thought I did it. He come after me with that bolo knife. But across the street was four other GIs from another company. They realized what was taking place. They came in behind me and pulled out their pocket knives and that French __ boy saw and he took off. And then in the Philippines sitting on my bunk a guy passed with a patch over his eye. He had been drunk, cracked his head on the bed of a truck. He thought I did it. He had slipped in behind me with an ?invention? shovel about to split my skull. And the top sergeant who happened to be in the barracks knocked the shovel out of his hand. And another time going to Manila to get supplies we traveled one street and vehicles had crossed that street numerous times, numerous times. But one day we had heard that the Japs had mined under that street and there was a truck loaded heavy got blowed to bits. It was enough force to set that mine off in that street. And that was the end of that.

Brian Baumgart:

Were you ever awarded any medals or citations?

William Helmich:

Medals? Let me see if it tells. The medals come under battles and campaigns. Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, declarations and citations. EAME W2 bronze stars. Asiatic Pacific Theater, good conduct. Meritorious unit award and victory medal.

Brian Baumgart:

Were you ever injured at any time?

William Helmich:

None. No injuries.

Brian Baumgart:

How did you stay in touch with family and friends back home?

William Helmich:

By writing V-mail. V-mail we would write on an average size sheet of tablet paper, but the military condensed it. And when it reached home it was no bigger than a postcard.

Brian Baumgart:

What was the food like?

William Helmich:

The food in basic training was strictly nutritional. Proper food. Aboard the ship going to Africa the food was terrible. Africa, the food, okay. In Africa to prevent malaria we had no Quinine because Japan had all the Quinine sewed up. We were given a generic tablet called Alabrine (ph) which was bitter as gall, but we ate it with our fruit cocktail. A lot of guys threw theirs away. And Italy the food, okay. The ship from Naples to the Philippine Islands, the food was Navy cooks, A-okay. And the ship from Africa to Toronto, Italy, LST the food was good -- British crew were in control of the ship. By coincidence the LST was made in my hometown, Evansville, Indiana. The food very good. Italy nutrition. The Army mess, all mess halls -- from what I understand all mess halls had the same food because the menus were made out from Washington in the states. All the camps had the same diets. The dieticians the same. But in overseas the food was different. It was up to the discretion of the mess sergeant. Yeah.

Brian Baumgart:

How did people keep themselves entertained?

William Helmich:

Well, we had -- in Italy we had a softball team that played various teams around. I was a pitcher on the softball team. We had a good softball team. And some guys would shoot dice on payday, play poker, sleep, or maybe go on pass to town and so forth.

Brian Baumgart:

What did you do on your leave?

William Helmich:

I never had any leave. I never went anywhere.

Brian Baumgart:

Do you recall any particular humorous or unusual events?

William Helmich:

Ah, see. One event we had a boy, a big boy from Grables (ph) Switch, Kentucky. His name Hansford C. Lanahan. He was a farm boy. 6'2", weighed a solid 230, 235. If he liked you, you had a friend for life. If he didn't like you, you better clear out of the way. He was what we called the KP pusher. In California, we had finished our noon meal. A visiting colonel happened to come through and stop. And he asked the mess sergeant, "Do you have anything left for a hungry soldier?" The mess sergeant said, "Sir, go down and sit at the table. We got something." This Hansford C. Lanahan we called Kentuck was told, "Go out and wait on that colonel." "Do I have to?" The sergeant said, "I said get out and wait on that colonel." "Okay," he grumbled. He took out the plate, cup, the saucer, knife, fork, and spoon, brought the food out. The colonel asked, "How long you been in the Army, soldier?" "Oh, about two years." The KP pusher asked, "How long have you been in, Colonel?" "30 years." The KP pusher said, "No wonder your God damn hair's turning gray." The colonel --

Brian Baumgart:

Do you remember the day that the service ended? Your service ended?

William Helmich:

My service ended the middle of January 1946 discharged from Camp Atterbury, Indiana out of Indianapolis. We were furnished a bus ticket, Greyhound bus ticket. We came back and disembarked at Greyhound bus station -- I can't remember.

Brian Baumgart:

Did you attend work or school after that?

William Helmich:

No. Unidentified speaker: Work.

William Helmich:

Work, yes. Work. I -- 1946 I got a job with Survel (ph) Manufacturing Company producers of refrigerators for a year- and-a-half, was laid off. Worked for A & P Tea Company in their warehouse '48 through '52. I quit. I was hired by Sieger (ph) Refrigerator Company which later became Whirlpool Company and stayed with them 31 years and retired in 1984.

Brian Baumgart:

How did your service and experience affect your life?

William Helmich:

I got a wonderful experience and you might say an education and it did not cost me one damn dime. I saw the world. Better than getting it out of a book. You got to see it yourself. Because the books a lot of it is propaganda. They whitewash it. They do not get to the bare facts.

Brian Baumgart:

Is there anything else like stories that you would like to add that we haven't gone over?

William Helmich:

Ha, ha (laughs). We came home in the fall of '45. We docked at San Francisco. There was a maritime strike. We thought they would not unload us. As we came under the Golden Gate Bridge we saw a lot of ships anchored waiting to be unloaded. But surprised troop ships were allowed to come on in and we were unloaded. We were put in a staging area for about a day. And we were put aboard a little launch. It was named the Ernie Pyle, the war correspondent. The launch was named for him. Ernie Pyle is now dead. And we went to Camp Stoneman, California which is located in Pittsburg, California. We went to a big auditorium at the camp and a high-ranking officer came out and addressed the crowd. Said, "Good job men, welcome home." So forth and so on. While we were there the Red Cross came through down the aisles with their bucket wanting to know if we would care to contribute. I was sitting on the end of the row. I said, "No, I will not contribute." The guy sitting next to me said, "Yes, I will give you something. Just a minute." He took out a piece of paper and a pencil and he drew a picture of a cup, a saucer, and a spoon, and a donut. And he handed that to the lady and he said, "Stick this up your ass." And she said, "Well." (Laughs.) That's the God's truth.

Brian Baumgart:

I kind of liked that rattlesnake story, if you could tell that.

William Helmich:

Pardon.

Brian Baumgart:

The story about the rattlesnake.

William Helmich:

Oh, at Camp Cook one Saturday we all took road marches or hikes. We were on a 25-mile march. And there's a lot of rattlesnakes in California in the desert. And while we would get a ten-minute break -- they used the slogan, "Take ten. Smoke if you got them. If not, bum them." One guy happened to kill a small rattlesnake. He came up and tried to throw the snake on me and I shied. So he thought I'll have fun out of him tonight. So that -- we finished the road march. Went back to the barracks, took a shower. Had supper. My friend and I went to a movie on base. We got back. It was 10:00 or 11:00 at night. I didn't turn any lights on in the barracks. I slept on the lower bunk. The man above me was sound asleep. I uncovered, rolled the blanket back and I felt something cold on my leg. And I jumped and I kicked the guy out of bed above me. I made a light. What had happened this guy had skinned that snake, had filled the skin with water and tied either end. He slept in the middle of the barracks. He was just waiting to see what I would do. I went down and I cut one end and I just socked all the water right in his face (laughs.)