Growing Up in Williamsport, Ohio

Note: When I write these articles, I make every effort to ensure that what I am writing is as factual as possible. While researching dates for my brother’s military service this past week, I came across a Circleville Herald article published on April 19, 1948. It stated that “four other Williamsport lads had signed up at the same time” (meaning a total of seven from Williamsport signed up). “Those accepted are Robert Frances, Robert E. Teets and Earl L. Rutherford.” If Robert Teets nickname was “Bud”, he did go to boot camp at Fort Jackson, South Carolina with Bob. Earl Rutherford went to Texas. My mother saved the newspaper for that day.
 
Bob and the Army
 
My brother Bob was in the Army from 1948 to 1952. He was stationed in various places from the east coast to the west in the United States. He was at Fort Riley, Kansas when he met Pauline “Pat” Miller (Baldwin). She was the daughter of a career Army father and had lived on Army bases everywhere.
 
Bob wrote home and asked my mother’s permission to marry her. My mother said, “no, you already have a girlfriend here waiting for you.” Bob decided to ignore her advice and got married anyway. I have always thought that military marriages must be hard. American men are good looking and gregarious….but many are from poor or average families as was true in Bob’s case.
 
He got engaged when the song “Sunflower from the Sunflower State” was popular, so Betty and I went around singing it all of the time.
 
Before he went to the Army, Bob made a plywood doll house for Betty and me but we had no furniture for it, so he and Pat sent us doll house furniture. They also sent Betty and me new dresses so we decided that this must be a good thing. : ) 
 
They married on February 26, 1949 in Lincoln, Nebraska. When Bob was on furlough, he brought Pat home with him. On February 8, 1951, his first son Robert Bruce was born at Camp Carson, Colorado.
 
Bob wrote faithfully, not only to my mother but to Betty and me. My mother saved his letters. On July 5, 1951, he started his journey from Camp Carson, Colorado to Korea. He was made a Staff Sergeant in the 27th Infantry of the Wolfhound Division and counted the days until his time was up. We prayed for him every night. I don’t believe he would have returned had it not been for prayer on his behalf.
 
Towards the end of the war, if you can call it an end, there was talk of a “cease fire”. So, we prayed for a “cease fire”. One morning when I got up, the newspaper headline contained the words “CEASE FIRE”. 
 
Bob cut his foot on a piece of shale and was sent to Fuji or Koje-Do to recuperate. He was given a purple heart. He saw action in Korea until March 6, 1952.  He was discharged as a Master Sergeant on April 14, 1952, which was his birthday.
 
More about Bob later.

©Marilyn Francis Ferguson 2020
Photography/graphics by Michele Ferguson Schuck