MY DAD’S PART IN THE BIG WAR

[This year my winter history project is based on letters written by my dad, Vance Dobson, to his folks back home on the farm in rural Idaho while he was stationed in the army at Camp White near Medford, Oregon, in 1942-43. That's right – my dad was drafted during World War II.

Of course, a lot of dads were drafted or enlisted to serve our country during World War II. Some of them were soldiers before they were dads. The thing is, my dad was at the point of being too old to qualify. Born April 29, 1904, he was 37 years old as the United States entered the war late in 1941, which was right at the cut-off age for the draft (38). Now, I'm not an expert on the rules of the World War II draft, but I understand that eligible men had to be involved in civil defense or risk being drafted. So, my dad left his vocation as a private music teacher and musician in Raymond, WA, and went to work in the Kaiser shipyards in Portland, OR, where he was trained as a boilermaker and learned to weld. This was supposedly civil defense work, but before many months had passed, his good friend and supervisor, Harry Llewellyn, left the shipyards for some sort of contract work, apparently a lucrative opportunity, and took my dad with him. As the story opens, my dad is working with Harry in Chester, California. He liked the work and was making good money, but that employment fell short of being considered civil defense and in September 1942, my dad received his draft notice.

During this period, Daddy wrote home frequently. His mother, Ina, saved all of these letters, and eventually they found their way to me. I have been fascinated with the reading and hope you will enjoy the selections I post over the next few weeks. An old guy just doesn't have the same take on army life and authority as a young guy, and my dad was well able to express his thoughts and opinions. He was a thinker -- intelligent, well-read, observant, and appreciative of nature. He was also very social and "had the gift of gab." He relates his experiences, including his own foibles, candidly.]

On Sept. 10, 1942, Vance wrote to the folks at home:

Now . . . I must proceed to more serious news which I hate to impart. It seems I am slated for the army and I hope we can all take it standing. Whether this change of job had anything to do with it I can't say, but whether it had or hadn't we do what we must do. I have been ordered to appear for my preliminary physical on Sept. 14^th – Monday – at Greenville, Calif., which is fairly close by. The board in South Bend [Oregon] notified me last week and today I received the official date. There will be another physical after this and I do not know how long between.

As you know, there has been a lot of reclassifying done and I know many men were being taken from the shipyards when I left Portland for I talked to several of them.

[Vance delayed mailing the letter, though, and on Sept. 17, one week later, he adds to it. Meanwhile, he receives a letter from Ina relating that she has heard the troublesome news from another member of the family instead of from Vance himself, and he is on the defensive.]

I suppose I should have written at once but thought I'd wait first for my preliminary which I took last Monday. The preliminary exam is merely for obvious physical defects such as stiff joints, rupture, and blood test. I went to Greenville, 26 miles away . . .

It may be six weeks before I am called for my real examination and it may be I will have to go to Frisco or Marysville or Sacramento for it. I won't know anything more until I am notified. The examining doctor at Greenville told me I'd probably hear from my board (South Bend, OR) in about ten days, so you know as much as I do, I'm sorry to say. Little did I think you would hear the news by such devious means but I should know the family grapevine better. . .

[These photos were taken at my dad's home in Raymond, WA, at Christmas 1937, five years before he was drafted into the army. The last photo shows his sister Myrtle (called Lynn in that era). KW]