DONNELL'S LIFE STORY

Part 3

This is Part 3 of my story as I lived it over the first 85 years. (Part 1 starts at the bottom of the page.) Many of these historical events were reconstructed from photos, letters, and such that I have in my possession. Some facts came from family members, others solely from my memory.

HIGHPOINTS OF MY LIFE

There were lots of good things that happened in Corsicana that I have already addressed. There were two very important major events that I chose to delay until now. Both were the highest points of my life that gave me purpose and direction as to how to live my life. These were: 1) attending Calvary Baptist Church, and 2) meeting my future wife.

CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH

The Ted Hoggatts and the Dillards were always solid Southern Baptists. They went to church regularly and took their children with them. They accepted the standards without question and passed these beliefs on to their children. This commitment came to an end when we moved to Colorado. During the 18 months we were there, we had no opportunity to attend church because the nearest church at that time was in Rifle, a distance of 30 miles. Since we had no car and our horses were only workhorses, we were unable to make the trip.

Daddy always had at least one horse for his work and sometimes two, depending on the time of the year. He was a farmer though, not a cowboy. His main duties in Colorado were irrigation, tending to the cow feed stock during the spring and summer, and feeding and taking care of the cattle during the cold winters. This was the way of life for most of those living on Piceance Creek in 1931. Since going to church was out of the question, there was very little social life.

While in Waxahachie, we had gone to the church near the cotton mill until it closed. Then we went to the big First Baptist Church near downtown. Things were never the same until we moved to Corsicana.

GETTING BAPTIZED

I don’t know if it was just luck or Dad found a church to his liking and then found a vacant house nearby. As it happened, Calvary Baptist Church fit our needs perfectly and was only three blocks down the street. Us kids were baptized there, which was a very special time in our lives. I am proud to still have in my possession an old black Bible that has on its front page, “Holy Bible, Presented to Donnell Hoggatt from Senior S.S. Class of Calvary Church.” On the front of the next page in my handwriting of long ago is this: “Grandmother Allie Aurelia—Pope Hoggatt, born Feb. 6, 1872 in Fayette Co., Texas, daughter of Salem Pope and Molly Ann Whitley.”

FINDING MISS DAISY

Another happy time for us all, with due credit to the church, involved Dad. There was this very charming lady that sang in the church choir. She was so well respected by all that she was known only as “Miss Daisy.” Dad had never paid special attention to any woman since Mother died. It just happened that Miss Daisy lived between our house and the church. Things got more interesting at church after Dad met Miss Daisy. The two made a great couple and were married soon after I left Corsicana for Camp Bowie.

MEETING JEAN

The other special event, besides those involving Calvary Church, was, I believe an act of fate: I met the girl destined to be my wife.

The P & S Hospital and the nurses’ quarters were just down the street from the church. Just by chance, I happened to be near there one night when an ambulance rushed in after an accident. I ran over to see what happened and before I knew it, I was helping out, getting the injured into the operating room, etc. After that, when I heard the ambulance coming, I would dash for the hospital in case I was needed. That is the way I met the head nurse (soon to be the administrator) of the new nursing program. This caused me to be invited to the first party given for the students of the new training program. I really didn’t want to go but finally followed through on my promise to the nice lady in charge.

I was introduced to several ladies, and then it happened! This very attractive girl kept hold of my hand and stared me straight in the eye. I had never had anyone look at me like that, and my heart was completely out of control. She acted as though she already knew me, and she quickly tried to put me at ease. I thought she had made a mistake, but she quickly corrected that.

Jean York was one that wasted no time expressing herself; one always knew how one stood with her. By the time I left that night, we had agreed to meet the next day, a Sunday. I left a little stunned but thrilled that this pretty lady was so interested in me. To this day, I’m still amazed but elated that she saw something in me that I didn’t know I had. I like to believe that she was right! We saw each other almost every day and I went out to meet her family, which consisted of: her mother and father, Sam and Julia York; her brother Robert; and her older sister Ruth. Her oldest sister Nan had already married and left home. Ruth was also in the nurses training program with Jean.

FUTURE LOOKS GOOD

By the time I left Corsicana with D Battery, 132 Field Artillery Battalion in January of 1941, we knew that we would share our lives together. We were two happy people and not a bit concerned about the future. In fact, it looked pretty good to both of us. Camp Bowie was only 170 miles west of Corsicana, so I could come home almost every weekend. Our tour of duty was supposed to be for one year, and we were not concerned about the U.S. getting into the war in Europe. (Pearl Harbor didn’t happen for another year.)

On the bright side, I would never have to pick cotton again or work at the cotton mill, as the army was better than that. Jean was also excited about her training to be an R.N. We were both looking forward to our future together. Our first Christmas together in 1940 was a very happy one.

The year 1941 passed fast, with me coming home often. Even better, Dad brought Jean to Camp Bowie one weekend. My first year in active service came up in November 1941, and we were given a one-year extension, with a few exceptions. Those that were married and those over a certain age were allowed to go home. Many did.

BUT THEN . . .

Then an event changed our way of life and our future together. I was at home on a weekend pass, from retreat on Friday to roll call on Monday morning. That Sunday morning, Jean and I were sitting in her parents big Buick parked in their front yard just talking and listening to the radio. The music stopped with a special announcement: the Japanese was attacking Pearl Harbor! The order came that all armed forces were to report immediately to their stations: all leaves were cancelled. The war had now started for us and we were in for the duration.

PROMOTED TO CORPORAL

Although our training was rigorous and the 36th Division had participated in the great maneuvers in Louisiana, we were permitted passes and could wear civilian clothes when not on duty. Also during the year, I had been promoted to corporal, the first rank of a noncommissioned officer. Now I no longer had to walk guard duty, serve K.P. or do many other duties that required physical work. I was transferred to Supplies and Ammunition Battery and put in charge of a function of the 133 Field Artillery Battalion Motor Pool with the title of Battalion. Dispatcher. I now had some authority for the first time ever! My main duty was to assure that no vehicle left the motor pool area without proper approval and that it was returned when upon completion of duty. The form used was called a “Trip Ticket.” I had an office much like a service station from which I issued oil and gas and completed a few weekly/monthly reports. This was a real “gravy train,” and the men assigned to me got out of a lot of long marches, drills, and etc. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. The war machine had things much more important in store for me.

WELCOME TO FLORIDA

In February 1942 the 36th Division left Camp Bowie in one long convoy, no Trip Ticket needed, headed to Camp Blanding, Florida for what we thought would be amphibious training. Our fist night out was near Buffalo, Texas. We just pulled off beside the road in mid-afternoon. It wasn’t long before we had company: lots of people from Corsicana-way. Jean, of course, came with several other ladies. It would be over five months before I would see her again.

During our first year of training, several things had changed within the 36th Division. We went from a four-combat square division to a three combat triangle division. This was to give us better mobility and provide us with better defense. Also, our 75mm cannons, pre-WWI, were replaced with new 105mm cannons, giving us more firepower.

CAMP BLANDNG - TROPICAL TENT CITY

While living in Camp Bowie, we stayed in square tents placed over wood frames. The same arrangement was waiting for us at Camp Blanding. Our new “tent city,” unlike the West Texas setting was tropical and very well located. We were 45 miles west of Jacksonville and about the same distance from the beautiful beaches of the old city of St. Augustine: not a bad place to spend our next five months.

Our training wasn’t as bad as that at Camp Bowie. We had weekly field trips and the weather was perfect compared to that hard, cold winter in Texas. Our amphibious training turned out to be mostly swimming and exercises at the nearby lake, not a bad way to spend the mornings. Of course, there was some type of training involving many hours all week but we could usually expect weekend passes, mostly spent in St. Augustine.

Jean and I wrote letters weekly and had phone calls often. She wanted to come to Florida, as we knew my time in the U.S. was running out. It was no secret that we would be leaving in July and would not return to Florida. I wasn’t sure her coming was the thing to do but I didn’t say no either.

JEAN TO FLORIDA = MARRIAGE

Then it happened! I was sound asleep when the C.Q. (Charge of Quarters) woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me that a lady was at the main entrance to the camp being held by the guards and was asking for me. I knew it was Jean and told the C.Q. to tell the guards that I would be over soon. I was surprised she was there but happy she came all that way to see me.

We caught the next bus to Jacksonville and were the only ones on the bus. Yes, of course, we sat on the very back seat! I guess one would say that this was romance, and I don’t know how it happened but before we got halfway to town, we agreed to get married. Jean seemed to have all the answers and our plans were complete in less than an hour. The weekend coming up was July 4, and I was getting a three-day pass. She would take the bus the next day to St. Augustine and make all the arrangements. We would meet at the bus station on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and take a taxi to wherever we were to get married. It was very simple. I checked her into a hotel near the bus station and caught the next bus back to camp in time for roll call! All this on a four-hour pass! Two people were in love and very happy.

This completes Part 3. Donnell, 11/17/06.