Being There: The military life of WWII soldier Ted Weber

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Over the decades of collecting World War I and World War II militaria, I have had the honor of meeting with many veterans from both sides of the conflicts that changed the world. At first soldiers often told detailed stories of their times in service, but as years passed and memories became dimmer, many could only recount brief snippets of their military experiences. About five years ago, I was approached by a man cleaning out his late great-uncle’s house. One of the articles from the estate was a large steel trunk containing a virtual time capsule from his 3 1/2 years in the U S Army Air Corps during WWII. Included in the cache were his uniforms, a few captured enemy souvenirs, over 600 personally taken photos, another 500 or so commercially sold pictures, and letters of correspondence with his friends and family. The crowning pieces of the collection were his diaries: day-by-day descriptions in detail from his entry date of Jan. 7, 1942 (one month after U.S. forces were attacked, causing America’s entry into the war) through much of his time serving in the African and European theaters as a B-24 armorer. Not being a front-line combat veteran per se, as a member, and eventual chief of the ground crews for a number of B-24’s, he and the others played a vital part that helped hundreds of aircrew members when they flew off to meet the enemy in combat. A Midwestern boy seeing strange lands and cultures for the first time, he would record many of the sights and sounds of a war that wreaked devastation across multiple countries and ancient lands. Ted Weber’s diaries provide a historical “right there” perspective; describing his experiences of mundane training, constant relocations, tedious boredom and sporadic hardships intermixed with the sudden terror of enemy bombing and horrific air crashes. Weber’s group moved through many territories, some somewhat friendly to the U.S. troops, while others more hostile, being only recently surrendered by the Axis. Following are some of his experiences and history in the USAAF 345th squadron, 98th bomber group, serving in WWII.

Theodore Weber was a popular 21-year-old papermill office worker in the small town of Kaukauna, Wis. when the Japanese attacked the U.S. base at Pearl Harbor. He and four childhood friends immediately enlisted, entering the U.S. Army Air Corps on Jan. 7, 1942. Traveling by train, they arrived at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., and began their basic training with marches, drills, calisthenics, “policing up”, inspections, combat exercises, endless lectures, and being assigned to the “China Clipper” (KP dishwashing).

The food was good and plentiful, the exercise and discipline hard, and Weber and his fellow soldiers developed quickly into a tight-knit group, often playing practical jokes (such as short-sheeting or lifting beds into rafters) when not too worn out from training, performing “bull work” (to be kept busy) and being yelled at by NCO’s and officers. Their little idle time was filled with writing letters home, hitting the PX for ice cream or supplies, watching feature films, and going to camp shows performed by celebrities such as Judy Garland, Jack Benny or champion pool player Willie Hoppe.

Though wanting to be a combat flyer, Weber was ordered to begin armorer’s courses, where he learned to repair and maintain small arms, large-caliber machine guns, plane turrets, 20mm cannons, aerial bombs and gun cameras. Training soon moved into the field with work on A17s, B39s, P40s, A29s and B18 planes. Weber got his first glimpse of the dangers of combat aircraft when he witnessed a bomber crash. The plane’s landing gear collapsed on the runway, rupturing the belly tank and causing the plane to be engulfed in flames. Shortly after that, a P38 landed short of the runway and burst into flames. The pilot jumped to safety as a fire crew rolled up to put out the raging fire.

With the harder work came harder play. When off duty, soldiers would often “go to town” looking for a few girls, but mostly ending up drunk and fighting with the locals or each other. One unique incident involved two young girls being pushed into a car outside of a bar by men in civilian suits. When confronted by a dozen drunken GIs from Ted’s outfit, the two men produced FBI badges, announcing that they were arresting the women for some undisclosed crime.

Training soon ended and antiquated pullman cars (without air conditioning, but plenty of soot and smoke coming in the open windows) carried Weber and his fellow soldiers through the deep south until they arrived at their new base outside of Lakeland, Fla. They were now part of the 345th squadron, supporting a fleet of B-24 liberator bombers. Their “barracks” consisted of tents located among the Florida pines, snakes, insects and alligators. One such 5-foot gator was shot by a guard as it crawled between the rows of tents. After several weeks, despite trying to combat the unhealthy mold that permeated clothing and gear, the heat and humidity took its toll with dysentery breaking out among the soldiers, including Weber. Also there, B-24s proved just as prone to accidents as any of the other planes. Weber watched a bomber crash in a huge explosion, causing intense heat that incinerated the unlucky pilot and crew, their remains later found among the smoldering ashes.

More weeks of preparation passed and Weber’s outfit was back on the train, taking a long trip north to Maryland. There they passed the Marten turret factory, cleverly camouflaged to look like a suburban neighborhood of small houses from the air. After a quick stopover in Washington D.C. (where Weber noted all the pretty girls), the soldiers were taken to a departure installation, given shots and physicals, and issued gas masks and helmets. Many took the opportunity to stock up on toiletries at the PX before they were to ship out.

The New Brunswick ferry took the group to the H.M.T Pasteur” a once grand ocean liner that had been converted to a troop transport. Once fully loaded, the ship set sail, joining a small convoy for a trip across the Atlantic. The ship’s glory days were well over as Weber noted that the portholes were welded shut and the crowded lower areas were infested with cockroaches. It soon became apparent that the best place to sleep was in hammocks on deck, which is where Ted and many others soon found themselves. This arrangement proved satisfactory until an occasional rain squall blew in, drenching the soldiers and their belongings.

The crossing started out well enough: Glen Miller and other popular records played over the PA, card games abounded and seven soldiers had letters cut into their hair so that when they stood together the back of their heads spelled “VICTORY”. Soldiers marveled at their first sightings of flying fish, porpoises and a single empty life boat, trying to guess what its story was. At that time the biggest enemies they all faced were boredom and apprehension about their next stop.

This changed when they neared the African coast and a periscope was spotted. The accompanying U.S. destroyer dropped depth charges, and the troop ship began a zig-zag pattern as crew members pointed their 6-inch gun at the exploding wakes. Soon after, Weber was issued an 03 rifle, which he began to thoroughly clean since it was coated with a heavy coat of cosmoline.

They temporarily anchored off the African coastline and were greeted by dozens of natives in small boats, begging for money, cigarettes, candy or anything else that the soldiers might throw down to them. A short leave was granted to Durban, South Africa which, Weber found to be a modern-looking city with a very strange mix of native costumes and European dress. Back on ship, they had a laugh at a bulletin that was posted saying that the Germans had sunk their ship, and its sinking was verified by the British.

The last stop was the Port of Suez, Egypt. There was a sky full of barrage balloons all along the shoreline as they disembarked from the ship and were loaded onto a convoy of trucks. From there they headed to a flat plain covered by a forest of green tents. On arrival, Weber was issued 60 rounds of ammunition for his rifle and made a note: “Bring on the Nazis!”

After a short stay, they boarded a dilapidated Arab train and passed POW camps for Germans and Italians, camel caravans, a few oases and Allied airfields. They crossed the desert and entered the Palestinian Frontier, which held a number of military camps. Soon they arrived at a U.S. and British combined base located outside of the city of Haifa.

The war in Africa for Weber began in earnest as the 345th went on alert with the sighting of German paratroopers being dropped in the area, and Haifa experiencing its regular bombing by Axis planes. Allied bombers immediately began an ongoing series of missions with one plane lost on the first sortie, shot down by a German Messerschmidt, and Lt. Newton being killed. All the B-24s were named by their crews, and Weber was assigned to “Skylark”. After locating the plane, he loaded 1,000-lb. bombs and machine gun ammo for a night mission to target a canal in Greece that the Germans had just completed after one year’s work.

The camp consisted of a series of 12-man tents set up on the flat sandy desert that became pitch black after sundown. Planes coming in for night landings often flew over first and dropped flares to see where the runway was. B-24s were housed in revetments, high-banked, three-sided man-made hills that helped protect the ships from potential bombings and storms.

The sandstorms proved difficult for the armorers and mechanics as sand and fine dirt blew into every small area, causing mechanical malfunctions. Guns were constantly being disassembled, cleaned with gasoline or kerosine, and swabbed out with thin oil. Orders were given that an armorer was assigned to stay with a bomber each night to guard against sabotage, and to be available to load and unload ordinance if the missions were changed. One night, a lieutenant threw rocks over the top of a revetment at the man on duty who almost, in turn, shot him. The officer then proceeded to chew out the guard for not watching the plane well enough.

Everyone was ordered to carry their rifles at all times since the Arabic population tended to be pro-German, and there was a legitimate fear of an uprising. “Skylark’s” war ended after only a short period of service. The plane was sent on a night run to bomb a German convoy, but developed engine trouble, forcing the crew to dump their bombs in the ocean and abort the mission. Several nights later, the newly repaired “Skylark” was taken up on a practice night flight, crashed on landing, destroying the plane, but miraculously causing no serious injuries to the crew. After “Skylark’s” wreck, Weber was assigned to “Lil Joe”, then switched to “Strawberry Blonde”. Before he had spent much time at his new assignment, Weber caught malaria, which had been going around the camp. Spiking a 105-degree temperature, he was admitted to the military hospital in Nazareth.

After a few days, Weber was feeling somewhat better, so in typical army fashion, was given KP duty in the hospital kitchen. Later, he was able to leave the building for short trips with other patients and visited the “Casa Nova” catholic church. A nun at the church praised the young soldiers, calling them “Crusaders for stopping Hitler and Rommel from destroying Christianity in the Holy Land”. Returning to the hospital, Weber and the others were kept busy again stacking tent poles behind the main building. That evening, they snuck a bottle of cognac into the ward and had a small party going until the angry nurses found out and put a quick stop to it.

Sixteen days passed and Weber was judged well enough to return to duty. He was promptly assigned to “Lil De-Icer” after returning to camp. At 6 o’clock the following morning, “Lil De-Icer’s” pilot was warming up the engines for a mission, but none of the gunners showed up. The “fuming” pilot had several heated conversations, and after finally off, returned shortly afterwards with a heavily smoking engine. Weber ’s next plane was “Battleaxe”, equipped with submarine detection equipment and scheduled to fly as the lead plane for many missions. In addition to his regular assignment, Weber routinely helped the other armorers on “Skylark II” and “De-Icer”.

He was soon promoted to corporal and wanted to show it. On a short trip to Haifa, he bought some enamel to paint corporal stripes on his coveralls, and a “Battleaxe” on his cap, coveralls and the plane turret covers.

The 345th’s B-24s took off on a mission to bomb Benghazi, but met violent resistance from the Axis ground and air forces. “Lil Joe”, “De-Icer”, “Shanghai Lil” and “Chief” made it back to base riddled with flak holes. The squadron was then moved by Palestinian train to Fayid, Egypt. Along the way, soldiers became annoyed when they got out to stretch their legs and became surrounded by Arab children yelling, “Buckshee” (“Give me something for free”).

They arrived in Fayid and readied for the first sortie to bomb Tripoli. “Lil Joe” (having been recently repaired) came back from the mission with its wings and props full of flak holes. “Pink Lady” had a tire and stabilizer shot up, and suffered a total brake failure which caused it to stop 1/2 mile off the runway.

Following a quick succession of missions, a lull in the flights gave Weber and a buddy time for a three-day pass to Jerusalem. They flew past the Suez Canal, then over the Red Sea, eventually landing on a British airfield. There they had a chance to look over a captured three engine Italian plane (which Weber noted was a “tub”). The crew went to the base mess area, but Weber and his friend were informed that in the British Army corporals were not allowed to eat with sergeants who were there at the time, so they waited outside. They then hopped an evening train and were seated in a compartment (blacked out for air raids) with two British officers who mistook them for U.S. officers, and proceeded to share a bottle of scotch. When the conductor passed through, the “jig was up”, and they were booted into the 3rd class section with a group of noisy Greek sailors.

In Jerusalem, Weber and his friend toured several sights and managed to get a dance date with two New Zeeland nurses. At the end of the leave, they witnessed a horrible sight as hundreds of Jews throughout the city wailed when news came out that Hitler had massacred 10,000 Jews on the first of December.

His leave ended too soon, and Weber soon found himself sleeping on “Battleaxe’s” catwalk during his turn at guarding the ship. The following morning, “Battleaxe” took off to bomb Naples, Italy where an Italian ship was sunk in the harbor. Weber later had an opportunity to ride in a B-26, flying over the water at 100 feet and blowing over sailboats. The same flight later took them 40 feet over several Arab villages, just clearing the tops of palm trees. On Dec. 17, Weber was back in the air, test firing “Battleaxe’s” guns while they flew over the desert. These test runs were the closest he would come to actual combat flights. At 6-foot-3 he was greatly disappointed when told that he was too big to be an aerial gunner.

On December 25, the camp’s commanding officer decided to throw a camp Christmas party that proved very rowdy from the start. Soldiers were issued free beer (supplemented with hidden liquor stocks), which led to a number of fights between the Americans and their British neighbors. New Year’s Eve proved even worse as overworked, stressed-out and homesick soldiers let off steam. With ample liquor flowing, one of Weber ’s tentmates shot off a captured Luger, while another took drunken aim with his rifle at the few lights shining above the encampment. These acts, though, proved mild compared to a group of soldiers that threw a live grenade into another tent, causing officers and guards to come running.

A few nights later Weber was grateful when things returned to the “new normal”. He spent a guard shift bundled in his flight jacket, bouncing in “Battleaxe’s” waist during an unusually violent sandstorm, and wondering where their next assignment would be.  

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