Sunday, April 25, 2010

Raymond Bennight and WWII - summary


Coming Soon: Raymond's entire written history of his experiences in the Army



Raymond E. Bennight
Military Information

(Taken from his written account, summarized by Loraine Bennight Nielsen on 01/23/2009.)

Date: 02/04/1941
Location: Fort Ord near Monterey, CA
Details: Drafted into the Army, Company B

Date: 08/1941 to 11/1941
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Details: Attended military school for mechanics, graduated 11/1941

Date: About 11/1941
Location: Stockton, CA
Details: Company B moved while dad was in school (above).

Date: 11/1941
Location: Stockton, CA
Details: Was told he could be released from the service because he had been too old when he was drafted. Got a physical exam in order to be discharged and was put in isolation for 12 days with tuberculosis. Later determined that he never had tuberculosis and he was released.

Date: End of 11/1941
Location: Stockton, CA
Details: Released and became part of the Army Reserves 12 days before attack on Pearl Harbor.

Date: 12/1941 or 01/1941
Location: Fort Lewis, WA
Details: Returned to active duty assigned to “C” Company at Fort Lewis.
Taught mechanic skills at a military school called Camp Murray (near Tacoma, WA).
Promoted to T-3 (Staff Sergeant).

Date: About 10/1942
Location: Virginia
Details: Field training before going overseas as part of General Patton’s 1st Armored Division.

Date: 11/1942
Location: Camp Kilmer, NJ
Details: Departed on the flagship of the convoy, an Italian ship the British had seized and manned. 18-day journey to Casablanca, Morocco.

Date: Late 1942/early 1943
Location: Constantine, Morocco
Details: Assigned to the 7th Army - Battlefield Recovery Platoon
Began traveling behind the troops to recover and repair equipment left behind.

Date: Spring and summer 1943
Location: Naples, France
Details: Recovering and repairing trucks/tanks

Date: About the latter half of 1943
Location: Besancon and Nancy, France
Details: Recovering and repairing trucks/tanks

Date: About 1944 to 10/1945
Location: Mannheim, Stockstadt, Augsburg, Kassel, Germany
Details: Recovering and repairing trucks/tanks

Date: About 10/1945
Location: South Hampton, England
Details: Journeyed back to the states on the “Queen Elizabeth” to New York

Date: About 11 or 12/1945
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Details: Released from duty and returned to Livingston, CA, where parents were living at the time.

2 comments:

  1. I really enjoy reading this, thanks for posting it and i will continue to check it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great history of his military service. We have dad's letter of rejection from the Navy. He attempted to enlist but was turned down because of his crippled hand and leg.

    ReplyDelete