Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
5:28 | Expecting to be a part of the Japan invasion force, George Wilkerson went home for a 30 day leave. While he was there, the atomic bomb lifted that weight from his shoulders. He had to stay on for a while as a supply sergeant, but he was soon back at the University of Missouri.
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The Army promised him college and then Officer Candidate School, but George Wilkerson and many others were called into the Army after a short time. He went to an armored battalion and became chief of a 105mm gun crew.
In a frigid Boston, George Wilkerson boarded a huge troop ship bound for LeHavre. He didn't partake in any of the gambling, which was a smart move, considering what happened to one of the big winners. Once they prepared their equipment in France, they headed for the Rhine.
They crossed the Rhine on a pontoon bridge. George Wilkerson's field artillery unit moved fast and were in five countries in as many months. It was cold, their mail couldn't catch up to them and George Patton managed to make them hate him, the one week they were under his command.
In Belgium, George Wilkerson's unit captured a gun factory and the whole inventory was offered up. He got a couple of nice shotguns and he also "liberated" a movie camera. His artillery unit was lucky in other ways, chiefly they got the coveted 10-in-1 ration.
At the end of the war, George Wilkerson was part of the force occupying Dachau. He describes the horrific scenes resulting from the genocide that was just becoming apparent. He spent some time in Europe before he returned stateside and was in two vehicle accidents. Apparently, the danger was not over. (Caution: Graphic Descriptions)
