Have you ever wondered what was happening with the U.S. military during February 1941? Even though we weren’t in war, many young men were either volunteering to serve in the armed forces or were being drafted to serve. Today’s tidbit comes from the front pages of the Feb. 27, 1941 and March 3, 1941 issues of the Courier Tribune (Seneca, Kansas).
Army Accepts All But One
Gerald Wempe’s Hearing DefectiveAll the 14 young men who went to Fort Leavenworth early Monday morning for examination preparatory to induction in the U. S. army were accepted but one, the exception being Gerald Wempe, who was found to have defective hearing.
“There were reports here Tuesday that Herman J. Engel, Goff, and Bob Adriance, Seneca, might not be accepted but these were disproved Wednesday morning when official notice was received by the draft board that 13 out of the 14 were approved,
A card from Bob Adriance stated the selectees get only three hours’ notice before they are sent to other camps. He thought it possible the contingent might leave Leavenworth late this week.
Gerald Wempe, son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Wempe, Seneca, was not long in finding that he would not be accepted for service. Gerald was back home Monday afternoon, turned down because of defective hearing in his left ear.
Gerald previously had applied for service in the Navy and was rejected for the same reason. He is assisting his father in farm work and can now proceed with the satisfaction that he did his part; that it is not his fault he was refused.
Gerald said the Nemaha contingent was met at the train by truck and taken to quarters. Physical examinations got under way the same day.
The draft board is not able to say just how Wempe’s place will be filled. James E. Severin, Baileyville, and Louis Grollmes, Seneca, are volunteers. Grollmes has not yet taken his local medical examination. One colored boy Donald C. Davis, is to go in the March contingent. If a call for replacement is received before the order for March comes in, Severin probably will be chosen.Courier Tribune
27 Feb 1941
page 1
Get News of the Draftees
Are Assigned Quickly
Ten to Camp Robinson,
Two to Ft. Knox
More Volunteers Here
News about Nemaha county draftees is pouring in from all sides this week.
From the reception center at Ft. Leavenworth comes word that 12 of the 13 men sent from Nemaha county and accepted there last week have been assigned to camps.
Ten of the 13 left Thursday for Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Arkansas. Two were sent the same day to Fort Knox, Kentucky.
The men sent to Camp Robinson and the general heading of their units are as follows:
To the 137th Infantry: William G. Rucker, Wetmore; Vernet H. Randel, Corning.
To the signal company, 35th division, Edward J. Vogel of Bern; Leonard Talley of Centralia; William Flaherty of Havensville; Homer Turner of Oneida; Francis Block of Seneca; Herman Engel of Wetmore.
To the 161st field artillery at Camp Robinson: Elmer Walter Allen, of Corning and Lloyd Frederickson of Corning.
Sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky, both men to be attached to the First Armored Division, are Cyril F. Olberding of Baileyville and Clarence R. Hazlett of Onaga.
Bob Adriance, Seneca, was the only one left in Leavenworth of the contingent. He has asked for assignment as a photographic specialist and this may be the reason he is held back.
On the Home Front
Seneca—The Nemaha county draft board has a March call to furnish two men, one colored. Both positions are being filled by volunteers. James Severin, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Severin, Baileyville address, will leave this Wednesday. The call for a colored youth was filled Sunday by Donald Davis, Sabetha.
Three Seneca men are new volunteers to serve their year ahead of turn and will be the first men to go on next calls. They are George H. Joyce; Louis Grollmes; Dick Moore. Moore is not a native Nemaha county youth but has been employed here in the National Farm loan association office and so registered here.
Reception Center Is Spick and Span
It is still the army but what an improvement over the early days of 1917 when Elmer joined up at Camp Funston and drilled for a month in blue denims and then was issued clothing too large or too small for him!
Nineteen-forty-one’s selected service men are neatly fitted in serge O. D. and gone are the stiff collars and the sloppy wrap leggings.
Mr. and Mrs. George C. Adriance and Miss Johanna Lierz called on Bob Adriance at the Reception Center at Leavenworth Friday and
Column 4
Sunday. The recruit said he had gained five pounds in his first week of service.
The men do little or no drilling at Leavenworth. They get their uniforms and “shots” and frequently are sent to permanent camps within just a few days. The boys spend their spare time on detail. They police the grounds for cigarette butts and matches; work on the camp roads and prepare the ground for spring seeding. Other squads are on barracks duty, scrubbing every inch of the woodwork daily. The men are not allowed bunk fatigue until four o’clock so they sit on the floor when they get tired of standing. The floor is clean enough to eat from if that were necessary. As a matter of fact, eating is the best thing the recruits are doing right now and the chow is both plentiful and good. Guests of recruits are permitted to eat with them in a special dining hall where the meals are served on aluminum platters, subdivided so that food does not all run together like it does in the regular army mess kit. However, the selectees in the main camp mess hall still use the old kit. Sunday’s meal featured baked ham, mashed potatoes, lima beans, lettuce salad, applesauce, wafers, and ice cream. Yes, there are seconds.
The boys early get a taste of discipline. They have to get the first sergeant’s permission to speak to the C.O. They still address officers in the third person.
Note: Recruits seen about camp are a fine looking bunch of men; maybe it is because the uniform is such an improvement over World War days.
Courier Tribune
3 March 1941
page 1