Bodnar, Stephen, J.
Stephen J. Bodnar: World War II
Tape-recorded Personal Memoir
Abstract
Mr. Bodnar dictated this memoir following questions supplied by the Midwest City Rotary Club as part of their project to document veterans from Tinker Air Force Base and the Midwest City area during the 1940s, 50s, and 60s.
Memoir
Q: When and where were you born?
A: I was born in Carteret, New Jersey, on July 6, 1925.
Q: And when did you first begin thinking that the US might get involved in World War II?
A: Although I was aware the war was going on, I thought the United States would get involved in the war eventually. I knew we were at war when I heard on the radio about the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Q: What was your reaction and the reaction of your family and friends when Pearl Harbor was attacked?
A: Myself, family, and all my friends were completely surprised and found it hard to believe that Pearl Harbor had been attacked.
Q: How old were you in December of 1941?
A: I was sixteen years old in December 1941.
Q: Were you already in the military in December of 1941?
A: No.
Q: If not, were you drafted or did you enlist?
A: I enlisted in the army shortly before I was eighteen years old. This was in the summer of 1943.
Q: How did the other men in your area feel about serving in the military?
A: No one had any reservations about serving. Some wanted to be drafted, but many eagerly enlisted. Some as soon as they reached seventeen. Some even left high school early.
Q: How did you family and wife or girlfriend feel about you going off to the war?
A: My family was reluctant to see me go, but felt it was necessary and the proper thing to do.
Q: In what branch of military did you serve?
A: I served in the U.S. Army in the infantry.
Q: Where did you undertake basic training?
A: My basic training was at the infantry school in Fort Benning, Georgia.
Q: Was that a good experience?
A: The training was tough. It was based on officer candidate school basic training. The company was made up of eighteen- to twenty-year-old single men from all over the United States who were “gung ho.” All scored above average on the army intelligence test and were slated for the army specialized training program to be educated as engineers at colleges and universities and then commissioned. The test score required to get into the army’s specialized training program was higher than that required for officer’s candidate school. We had a good platoon leader and non-coms. They were steady, tough, knew their stuff, and did a good job. Our morale was high. Our platoon was very competitive to be the best platoon in the company and battalion. The battalion commander voted us the best platoon in the battalion. There were no problems getting along either in the platoon or the company I served in.
Q: What was your interactions with men from all parts of the country?
A: African-Americans who were wounded were not segregated in England General Hospital in Atlantic City, New Jersey, nor in Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C. where I was a patient. There were no problems with African-American soldiers who either shared rooms or wards with me. I did not know of any problem at either hospital between the races. I was also a patient at MacGuire General Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, but I cannot remember if there were any African-American patients there.
Q: After basic training, where did the military send you?
A: After basic training, I was sent to Carnegie Institution of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. However, after only being there six weeks the army terminated the specialized training program and I was sent back to the infantry. I was assigned to I Company, 377th Infantry Regiment, 95th Infantry Division at Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania.
Q: In what capacity did you serve during World War II, your duties, you rank, and the places in which you served?
A: I was a private, a rifle man in a rifle platoon. I served in Pennsylvania, maneuvers in West Virginia, a short time in England, and then saw combat duty in France. Conditions in garrison in the United States were always good. On maneuvers conditions were sometimes good, sometimes bad. In England, conditions were only fair. In combat, it was cold, it rained, it was wet, and it was muddy. I had only one shower in two months and I also changed clothes only once in that period. The food in the USA and in the rear areas were good, but in the combat area we were fed C-rations, K-rations, and (garbled) rations.
Q: What kind of contact did you have with the people back home and what kind of correspondence did the military permit?
A: I corresponded regularly with my family members and occasionally with friends in the military and at home. There was no problem with the correspondence. Once the unit was alerted to go overseas, the mail was censored. Again, there was no problem.
Q: Do you feel comfortable talking about the combat?
A: Our unit was engaged in close infantry combat with the German army. This was mostly at night in the cold mud and rain.
Q: OK, what was your most memorable experience during the World War II combat?
A: Getting wounded was my most memorable experience during World War II. This was a very big surprise. I was sure I would get through the war alive and unwounded.
Q: How long did you service during World War II?
A: I served thirteen months on active duty, but then it took twenty-one months for me to recover from my wounds.
Q: And after serving during World War II, where did the military send you or were you immediately discharged?
A: When the army thought I had completely recovered – or let me say thought I had recovered enough – I was medically discharged.
Q: What kind of reception did you receive when you got back to the United States?
A: I was discharged as an individual in August 1946. I took my discharge and my things and just went home. There was no fuss. The war against Japan was over for almost a year. Things were about back to normal in the United States.
Q: In terms of your war experience, how did those experiences affect you at all – in your relationships or in actions with your family and friends, spouse, or girlfriend?
A: I am not sure, but I must have changed. I went to war at eighteen and came back at twenty-one. I presume I went to the army as a boy and came home as a man.
Q: Do you still keep in touch with some of the people you served with?
A: Yes, I still keep in touch with some of our company members. Our company has a reunion every year. I see some of them two or three times a year and we correspond, mostly by telephone, rather frequently. We haven’t had a company reunion for about twenty years. I also write a newsletter which I publish three or four times a year. Thus far I have published about 110 newsletters.
Q: How has your World War II experience impacted your life? Did it have any affect on your view of other wars the US became involved in after World War II?
A: I agree with General MacArthur: “There is no substitute for victory.” We need to fight our wars just like we did in World War II and demand unconditional surrender from our enemies. Wars are not nice and we must stop trying to be nice to our enemies during war. The time to be nice is after we smash them.
Q: What kind of general observation or conclusion do you have about World War II?
A: Like most of my friends who served in World War II, we strongly support President Truman’s decision to use the atom bomb to shorten the war against Japan. This saved our division from having to fight in the planned invasion of Japan, and saved many lives on both sides. I am a strong advocate of using overwhelming power when we go to war, including the use of nuclear weapons if necessary. The USA needs a tough, well-trained military to safeguard our country and must be prepared to fight all types of wars – large, small, or terrorists – to final victory.
If anyone has any questions about what I have said or needs further clarification, I shall be glad to do so.
