Have you used newspaper accounts to piece together someone’s military service? The Nemaha County, Kansas, newspapers are a treasure trove of information, providing valuable insights into the lives and service of those who served in the military during World War II.
Today’s clipping comes from the July 31, 1941 issue of the Courier Tribune.
Their Tanks Are Boards
The Army Simulates Armored EquipmentVenzle B. Skoch, Baileyville, has another interesting batch of letters from his son, Corp. Sylvester A. Skoch, who is with the Medical Detachment of the 752nd Tank Battalion at Ft. Lewis, Wash. Corp. Skoch’s last note indicated he was soon to go to Denver to take a short course for a surgeon’s assistant—commonly called a technician—at Fitzsimons General Hospital.
In a letter dated July 8th, Sylvester tells of leave to visit Albany, Oregon, where he met Diane Skoch and his wife, the former Edith Luckroth. Albany was having a celebration featuring feats of lumberjacks in a log-bucking contest, using logs three feet in diameter. Bobby Skoch, son of Franz and Edith, was the champion sawyer. He sawed his log in two minutes and 17 seconds.
“It was a seasoned log and hard,” said Sylvester, “but that boy sure made the sawdust fly.”
Another contest was in pole climbing, using 115-foot poles. The object was to climb the pole, hang a man on the top, and beat the other fellow down.
“Log rolling is the big event of the sports,” says the Corporal. “A log 12 feet long, six inches in diameter, is peeled and made as smooth as a rolling pin. It is then placed in the lake. Each of two contestants wearing spiked shoes tries to dump the other by spinning the log with his feet. The sport takes a lot of good footwork, and in this event, a 12-year-old boy was the champion. I mean to say he was good! Stranger still, his teacher was a 16-year-old girl. She out-rolled him easily, but he had taken on the old lumbermen and won his title first.”
Franz and Edith, and family, are looking and doing well. They have a nice house at the edge of town with a good-sized garden. Franz is working in a door and window factory, operating a little machine which produces the strip which divides the window panes.
“We went to Silver Creek Falls for a picnic dinner. There are seven falls, the highest 170 feet. Large caves are worn out beneath the falls and of course, we went into them and watched the water spill in front of us. These mountain streams are clear as crystal, and when the sun is able to get through the pines and peaks, one can see the trout swimming. Believe me, the ‘Evergreen Playground,’ as Washington and Oregon are called, is really a most beautiful bit of country. These people really enjoy it too, and you can’t blame them. If these states advertised like California, they would put that state in the shade.”
Corp. Skoch writes again, July 18th, saying in part: “It’s getting terribly hot these days, and these woolen uniforms don’t help much. The humidity makes one notice the heat, and swimming is the only way to be comfortable. We go to American Lake, about 30 minutes’ walk. It has a lot of nice beaches and girls. What more could one want? At the enlisted men’s beach, we don’t have to wonder if a general is leering at us from ambush either.
“Was out on bivouac with two companies and was in charge of the first aid squad. The casualties were small, considering we were subjected to three gas attacks—mostly tear gas. It is used mostly to acquaint the men with gas before the time comes and to make them understand the necessity of getting their masks in place quickly.
“Our tanks are medium size, 20 tons, with a crew of four men each, driver, gunner, radio operator. It is impressive to see them go into action. But I hold a joker. Since Uncle Sam is having real tanks made for us, we hope that sometime the tank crew won’t have to carry a board to simulate a tank. Four men carrying a light board composed a tank on this campaign. That’s what we call real ingenuity in substituting for the galvanized gildings.
“Last week I arranged officers’ pay accounts which totaled well over $10,000… Oh yes, the primer class which I am teaching. The boys are anxious to learn and that means a lot. I have five in my class. Full-grown men, not being able to read or write, seems almost impossible to us who take grade school education as a matter of course in Kansas.
“On bivouac the other night, we had mosquitoes, and boy, were they big! I heard two of them talking. One said to the other, ‘Shall we eat him here or carry him back to the swamp?’ Said the other as he licked his big, yellow teeth, ‘Let’s eat him here; if we carry him back to the swamp, the big one will take him away from us.’”
“…talking. One said to the other: ‘Shall we eat him here or carry him back to the swamp?’ Said the other as he licked his big, yellow teeth: ‘Let’s eat him here; if we carry him back to the swamp, the big one will take him away from us.’”