Submitted by: Winifred Thompson, Class of 1940
In October 2008 my husband of 67 years Harold Thompson had by-pass surgery on his left leg. He has done very well, for which we are very thankful.
I recall another October in our lives when we were in our twenties. We were married on June 15, 1942 and the following October he enlisted in the Coast Guard during WWII.
I was working as a secretary for the Army Engineer Corps while they were constructing Laughlin Air Field in Del Rio, Texas. Our temporary office building was located near the entrance to the project on Hwy 90 W. The morning Harold was driven in a bus to San Antonio and then to Fort Worth to join other volunteers I happened to look out of the window by my desk and saw the bus he was in pass by the entrance. We had said out good-bye before I left for work that morning. No words can describe the feeling I had at that moment. I never knew if I would see him again.
Meanwhile I moved from our apartment we had rented to my parents’ home in the same town. I continued to work for the Army Corps of Engineers until February.
Years later Harold told me that because of the shortages in supplies he was never issued a mattress, pillow, blankets or clothing for weeks. He wore out his shoes from drilling and had no change of clothing. Finally when they reached the city of St. Augustine, Florida he not only was supplied with necessities but also had good food. Soon he was sent to a Coast Guard Base near Miami, Florida and placed on shore patrol. He walked several miles on the beach each night with other Coast Guardsman keeping their eyes open for suspicious people or maybe German submarines that had been reported near by. Later they were assigned horses to ride and this required them to work with the horses to keep them in good shape.
In February 1943 I quit my job and boarded a train to Hollywood, Florida. I was twenty years young and had never traveled that far alone. Looking back now I wonder how I made it. There was no dining car on the train and since the war it was crowded mostly with service men and women going to their destinations. I was glad to meet other wives traveling to where their husbands were stationed and so we kept each other company. Whenever the train stopped long enough we got out and grabbed a bite to eat. We slept in our seats and I remember sharing a blanket with one of the girls. After two days and nights we reached Hollywood, Florida and two happy people met at the station. I had never seen Harold in his Coast Guard uniform. He looked different to me. In some ways it was a strange feeling but it was the beginning of months of happiness before he was shipped out on an 83-foot Coast Guard Cutter.
We met other couples from Texas stationed in Hollywood, Florida. While our husbands were on duty at night patrolling the beach we wives would often spend the night together because of the blackouts we had at night we found safety and comfort being together. Rumors of near-by German submarines turned out to be true. When we heard the sirens blow at night we knew we had to turn out all our lights and sit there and wait for the all-clear siren. Thoughts of German soldiers leaving submarines and coming on the beach were often on our minds because of the duty our husbands had.
When I learned that I was expecting our first child I knew I could not stay alone while Harold was at sea so I returned to Del Rio and lived in my parents’ home until the birth. I regretted that Harold was not with me during that time to share in her arrival. When I sent a telegram to him to announce the birth of our daughter, Paula, I did not hear from him for several weeks. He was still stationed on the 83-foot cutter and I later learned that just as it was leaving the dock someone ran out with the telegram a little too late to hand it to him but yelled so he could hear “It’s a Girl!”
When Paula was eleven months old Harold was discharged. After the atomic bomb was dropped we knew he would be home soon. What a wonderful day that was when he arrived on the train and we all went down to the small depot in Del Rio to welcome him.
This year we celebrated out 67th wedding anniversary but we still have vivid memories of all those years when we were not able to be together. There were many tears in those days of separation and only through the grace of God did we make it.
Mr. and Mrs. Harold Thompson
(click to enlarge)