Wear a poppy

[Bob Potter]

Thanks for asking, Gary.

As a prior service, day-after-Pearl-Harbor volunteer (in the 1930's, he was stationed in Hawaii -- THAT is a whole 'nother story), Dad was sent to OCS and then to the anti-aircraft school at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Apparently on its way to North Africa, the unit had its ship torpedoed out from under it, losing all its anti-aircraft equipment. Upon arrival, the 337th AAA Bn (I have the HQ Company guidon) was folded into an engineer battalion. The 185th Engineer Combat Battalion built roads and bridges, rebuilt the airfield complex at Foggia (we discovered that as Dad's unit was finishing up, the B-24 squadron of our Baptist preacher was landing), and drained the Pontine Marshes outside Rome. Here he got the malaria that ultimately killed him.

He claimed to have come under fire from Anzio Annie, but I can't make the chronology I know fit that story. He did exaggerate some. He flew one mission in the ball turret of a B-17 as a ground force observer; knowing him he did it on a dare. Since he had collected some lava from Kileaua (sp?) in Hawaii, he had to have some from Vesuvius to go with it.

I need to do some unit history research. He wore alternately 5th Army or II Corps patches so I know he was not divisional. Dad had acerbic opinions of Brits, hated the French (there is a very appropriate "Willie and Joe" cartoon about that), was amused by Goumiers, loved Gurkhas, and spoke well of Canadians, so I am thinking that his unit spent a lot of time attached to Commonwealth units.

Bob