Veterans Day - The U.S. Army at Fort Benning, Fort Dix, & at Sea

Today is Veteran's Day, and once again, I would like to thank all of the Veterans out there, in addition to all of the men and women who are currently serving.

Here are some more photos from my dad's collection.  These were all taken after he first reported for service with the U.S. Army, but prior to being sent to McNair Barracks in Berlin, Germany.

My dad was initially sent to Fort Benning (Fort Moore, today) in Georgia, for his basic training.  He took quite a few photos at this location, but unfortunately, I don't know the names of most of the soldiers.

 

 

 

According to the name patch on the uniform, this would be Pvt. Ross (or maybe Rose?).

Pvt. Dawson:

Pvt. Turner:

Based on the attire, I'm guessing this guy was a cook.  Maybe they called him "Cookie"?  Note the large box of saltine crackers in his hand.  I wonder if the soldiers on the far left, were lined up for the mess hall?  I'm also wondering if that object hanging next to the window, was a type of "gong" for signaling when it was mealtime?

This was the only photo in the bunch, which allowed me to see what was in the center of the "star" on all of the soldiers' sleeves.  This is a "2nd Infantry" patch, also nicknamed "The Indianhead Division."

The same image was used on the letterhead of the base's stationary.  This is from a letter that my dad wrote to his family back home.

Pvt. Mathias:

 My dad is in these next four photos.

 

 

After finishing his basic training at Fort Benning, but before being sent to Germany, my dad was sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey.  He wasn't there very long, which would explain why he didn't take as many photos at that location.  The next five photos are all from Fort Dix.  

The soldier in the distance here, looks like he might be holding a transistor radio.  And his face looks like it was covered with shaving cream.  Note the pair of feet hanging over the edge of the bunk, above.

More feet!

In February of 1959, my dad was taken from Fort Dix to New York, to board a military transport ship and set sail for Germany.  This next pic was taken from a moving vehicle, traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike.  If you squint, you can see the Statue of Liberty way off in the distance.

And this is the view from that same spot, today.

My dad took this next photo before boarding the U.S.N.S. Geiger (the ship which would take him to Germany).  The ship seen here, is the U.S.N.S. Upshur.

And these next two pics were taken after boarding the U.S.N.S. Geiger.  The other ship in these photos is the Concordia Sun.

This color image shows my dad standing on the deck of the U.S.N.S. Geiger, while en route to Germany.

The U.S.N.S. Geiger was a U.S. Navy transport ship, and was first used during the Korean War.  In later years, it operated primarily out of New York, traveling to England, Germany, Italy, Greece, Turkey, North Africa, and American bases in the Caribbean.

Here's an image from Wikipedia, showing the U.S.N.S Geiger out at sea.

According to the name patch and rank insignia on this soldier's uniform, he was Private First Class "Lant."

I believe this part of the ship is called the tower mast, and that the windows visible at the top are the ship's bridge.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!

And I think these two cylindrical objects on the deck are called, "mooring bollards."

The water appears to be a little rough here.

All of these ship images were pretty dark, and required some "lightening."  This was the best I was able to do with this next image.  It does look like it was pretty overcast, and the deck looks wet, so perhaps it was raining.

I wonder if that was another military ship out there on the horizon?

This set of photos contained only two "interior" shots of the ship.  Maybe that soldier was writing a letter home to his parents or girlfriend?

Here he is again, shining his shoes.

The ship had it's own daily newsletter, The Geiger Counter.  My dad saved the issues from the last two days of travel.

The last day's newsletter was labeled, "Souvenir Edition," and had special cover artwork, along with the message, "Welcome to Deutschland."  (The ship was arriving at Bremerhaven, Germany.)

The first page had special farewell messages from the ship's captain and the crew.

The fact that there was a children's playroom on the ship, tells me that there must have also been civilians on board.  Perhaps if a soldier's family was going to follow him and relocate to his assigned location, they were allowed to travel with him on the same military ship?

Oh boy, a children's party with games, prizes and refreshments, on the Promenade Deck!  I hope the refreshments were served by "Isaac, Your Bartender," and that the games were supervised by "Julie, Your Cruise Director."

This page included world news events.  I wonder if Khrushchev was already planning his upcoming trip to America and to Disneyland.  (He was originally supposed to visit Disneyland on September 19, 1959, but the visit was canceled, due to security concerns.)

More world news, including the 1959 Academy Award nominations for best actor and actress:

This page had an article about how the bridge of the ship is it's "brain," and also a poem, "Ode To An Army Wife."

The last page showed the current position of the ship, along with a few other details.  That line going across the Atlantic Ocean shows the ship's progress, starting with it's departure from New York, and extending across towards it's destination of Bremerhaven, Germany.  At this point, the ship had already been at sea for six and a half days.  Since this was the last day before reaching Germany, it must have taken a full week to cross the Atlantic Ocean.  When my mom was hired to work for the U.S. Army Special Services Division that same year, they flew her to Germany on a military airplane.  I suppose it wouldn't have been very practical, to fly every single U.S. soldier to their various European destinations.

I believe once my dad arrived in Bremerhaven, Germany, he then traveled by train to Berlin.  I don't have any pictures to document this, but I do have this picture from when he was leaving Berlin for Bremerhaven, at the end of his two years of service.  My mom took this picture while seeing him off at the train station.  The photo is labeled "Leaving Berlin," and it's dated August 29, 1960.  My mom left Berlin three months later, and married my dad just a couple weeks after she arrived back in the U.S.