Freeman Wright, 90, of Caribou, a World War II U.S. Army veteran, entered the service Dec. 7, 1942.
“From Fort Devens we went on a troop train with window blinds down, not knowing where we were headed,” said Wright, “We kept peeking under the blinds and tried to guess where we were going, some thought we were going to Texas and might end up in a Calvary outfit.”
“When we finally reached our destination in Fort Jackson, S.C., where we were inducted into the new 100th Infantry Division on Nov. 15, 1942, after about three month of basic training we started training for overseas duty.
Basic training meant attending classes every day, learning to shoot on the rifle range with the Girand and automatic rifles. We did a lot of marching most every day and got our shots in the evenings, standing in long lines one company after another. We started going on hikes, first 5 miles then 10, 15 and then 25 which was always at night with full pack. I enjoyed hiking and obstacle courses, I was in good shape being brought up on a farm.
Wright said he first trained in ammunition and pioneer platoon. “I trained to lay and find land mines and to set and find booby traps, also how to make grenades and use explosives. Out basic training ended on March 27, 1943 and we looked forward to our first furlough.”
“Suddenly rumors started to fly that we were going to be shipped out, maybe overseas. It turned out that our division was to guard the railroad tracks from the northern border of South Carolina to the southern border. Actually President Roosevelt was on a secret mission to Mexico to speak to the president there. I remember seeing someone standing on the rear of one of the cars with the president’s dog. I’m not sure if it was the president or one of his aids. We stood side-by-side from one side of the state to the other,” the veteran recalled.
“On Aug. 10, 1944, we were alerted for overseas duty in the European theatre of Operations. We went to a port in new Jersey to be shipped out from there. We received all shots needed for overseas duty and physical examinations. While in New Jersey I had a chance to go into the city and tried roller skating but couldn’t stop for a woman who fell in front of me and I ran over her. The next morning I went again into the city saw the Andrew Sisters. Being a modest farm boy I felt that they had way too much makeup on. But it was great seeing them anyway,” said Wright.
“Our convoy consisted of 11 ships. At 0930 hours we passed the Statue of Liberty headed for the open sea, headed for Europe. We ran into rough seas much of the voyage and I was sick most of the time. Six days out of New York we were hit by a hurricane. We battled the mountainous seas for 24 hours and were forced to change course and go with the gale winds. At one point the ship came with five degrees of capsizing,” said Wright.,
After 16 days we reached the Gibraltar Straights and followed the coast of Africa for a while then crossed to France. Twenty days after leaving the United States, we landed at the Port of Marseilles, France. It was late afternoon when we disembarked from the ship and we marched with full packs 12 miles to our staging area. We were there about two week before heading into the combat zone. It was now late October. Three days after leaving Marseilles we reached the combat area after traveling 500 miles.
“On March 16, 1945, (my birthday) we entered a town and after driving the Germans out, it was there that as I entered a house to search it, going upstairs, the owner removed a baseboard and pulled out an American flag which he hoisted in the upstairs; window. What a thrill it was for me to see that American flag.”
“It was hard to believe some of the destruction I witnessed from then on,” the veteran said. One night I was operating the radio when a message came through in the clear. All messages were in code usually. This message said that the war was over in Europe. The Germans had surrendered — one of my best radio operators realized what the message was before I had it written down.”
“After the war, we took over a section of town call Schorndorf. That is where I was stationed until I returned home. We sweated it out waiting for orders to head for the Pacific or home, while I was on furlough in Scotland the war ended with Japan.”
“It’s hard to express my feelings when the ship set out on the trip headed for home. It would only take several days to reach the Straights of Bibraltar and then out into the Atlantic for another couple of weeks before we would see the statue of Liberty – and what a sight that was.”
Wright, who continues to reside in Caribou attended the opening of the Maine Military War Museum in South Portland this summer and met Gov. LePage, who was there at the museum to honor all veterans.”
