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An up close and personal interview with U.S. Army Veteran and Togetherweserved.com Member:
MAJ Arthur Jasper U.S. Army (Ret) (1943-1965)
WHAT INFLUENCED YOUR DECISION TO JOIN THE MILITARY?
I was graduated from high school in January 1943, and didn't turn 18 until the 3rd of June, you had to be 18 to go on Active Duty in the Army at that time. I changed shifts at the factory where I worked so that I could take the test for ASTP (Army Specialized Training Program). I was notified that I had passed the test, and it was suggested that I enlist in the Enlisted Reserve Corps so I did when I was still 17. On my 18th birthday I received my orders to Active Duty in the afternoon mail (we had two mail deliveries, five days a week then). I was granted two weeks LWOP (Leave Without Pay), after which I reported for Duty at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. Five days later I left Washington, D.C. by train for Camp Wolters.
WHAT WAS YOUR SERVICE CAREER PATH?
At Camp Wolters I had Basic Training in an IRTC (Infantry Replacement Training Center). After 13 weeks, most battalions that trained there were split in half with one half going to the Pacific and the other half going to North Africa. We were a special battalion in that we were all tentatively headed for the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP). I was the youngest guy in my company, the oldest was 23 and I was the only one out of 200 who hadn't spent a single day in college. Most of the men in my company were sent to John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. While there I organized a small band and we played a retreat ceremony each weekday evening. I was not happy with this assignment, however, since I originally thought that I would be able to get veterinary training and they had put me in civil engineering. I resigned at the end of the first six weeks even though I had average passing grades. After a two day leave I was shipped to the 106th Infantry Division at Fort Jackson, South Carolina where I ended up as a Rifleman in "B" Company, 423rd Infantry Regiment. (This was one of the two 106th Division Regiments that were surrendered in the Battle of the Bulge). Right after Christmas 1943 I managed to transfer to the 81st Engineer Combat Battalion and soon after I applied for Aviation Cadets in the Army Air Corps, I was accepted and shipped out to Miami Beach. We had two solid weeks of testing and I was fortunate enough to be among the 26 out of 200 men in my Flight who qualified, making me a QAC (Qualified Air Cadet).
Three weeks went by and all 26 QAC's were relieved, without prejudice, for the convenience of the Government. We were shipped to Fort Jackson where they tried to make me a Rifleman again, but I talked my way into the 312th Engineer Combat Battalion. I was assigned to "B" Company and they asked if I wanted to be the Company Clerk since I could type. I respectfully declined, even though I could have made Corporal overnight - I did not enlist in the Army to sit behind a portable typewriter making out pay rolls. A few weeks later I asked the Company Commander for a PFC (Private First Class) stripe, which I did get and stayed that way for a long time. There were over 130,000 men sent from the ASTP, the Air Corps and the Coast Artillery to various Infantry and Airborne Divisions, all of which were over strength in grade which is verboten in the Army. Therefore, most promotions came through losses from killed and wounded in combat.
After going through Camp Oklahoma and Camp Lucky Strike, both in France, we boarded the Liberty Ship "Marine Fox" on July 3rd 1945, my future wife's birthday. We sailed on July 4th, and landed at Newport News Virginia, on Friday, July 13th - how's that for luck! The war in the Pacific was over on the last day of my 30 day furlough which was a good thing for me as I found out later that we were scheduled to land in Tokyo Bay on D-Day plus 10 in December 1945. After the furloughs ended we were all sent to Fort Benning, Georgia. In late Summer, 1945, 146 Engineers were relieved from the 87th Division and sent to California to work on an experimental bridge. In the third week of November I started a 51- day furlough and hitch-hiked back to my home near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While at home I received a telegram telling me that I could return to the 18th Engineer Battalion in California and become the Battalion Sergeant Major, or go to Camp Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania for discharge. I chose to be discharged but then reenlisted in the Reserves. After serving in both the Reserve and the National Guard I was transferred to the Reserve Retired list in the Grade of Major in March 1965.
DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN COMBAT OPERATIONS? IF SO, COULD YOU DESCRIBE THOSE WHICH WERE SIGNIFICANT TO YOU?
Yes, with the Third Army in the European Theater of Operations. My combat service included the Battle of the Bulge and two other major battles. We went to England in November and France during the first week of December 1944, crossing the English Channel on an LST (Landing Ship Tank). We had gone from New York on the Louis Pasteur, a French ship that the British had captured before the French could scuttle it. It was the seventh largest passenger liner afloat, and the stabilizers had been removed so we could make knots. Of the 10,000 men on that ship about 9,000 were sea sick, I didn't eat or drink for nine days!
 In France we went to Metz where our artillery took out the last Forts there which is in itself a historic event since those Forts had not been breached for centuries. We were then shipped to the Saar where we had our first real baptism-by-fire. Our casualties were quite high and I recall that one company commander was relieved because of the high rate of trench foot.
We were in Germany when the Battle of the Bulge started further North, then we moved to Belgium. On the way we were bombed for the first and only time during the war. The 4th Armored Division broke through the German Encirclement first. It was difficult holding the breakthrough, but with their fortitude and the support of other advancing Divisions, the breakthrough held. We were one of the three Divisions that relieved the 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne. Other Divisions with 87th Infantry Division were the 11th Armored Division and the 17th Airborne Division, both getting into combat for the first time. Later, before going to Saint-Vith and moving to the Siegfried Line, we were sent to Luxembourg for several days. We erected barbed wire aprons on the hill on the west bank of the Moselle River, mostly at night because the area was under enemy observation. In fact, we could see Germans on the other side of the river.
We then went back to Belgium and into Germany again approaching the Siegfried Line, we got involved in a lot of hot stuff there and performed a great deal of mine planting and removal. We got to blow up several pill boxes, some with Germans still in them. We also built two corduroy roads. We lost two men in my squad during that time, one was killed and the other had a finger shot off. We consequently picked up another Purple Heart in our squad making it three up to that point. It was during this period that I used a flame thrower for the first and only time, against some caves at the top of an opposite hill - we gave the Germans a hot foot.
We then moved on to Koblenz which was captured by the 87th Division. We ended up high on the west bank of the Rhine River where we drew as much incoming fire as possible by making as much noise as we could firing weapons, racing our six by six truck motors, and running our power saws. This objective was to divert the German's attention while our infantry were making a Rhine crossing at Boppard. An Army engineer outfit located a little further south with some Navy boys built a beautiful pontoon bridge from St Goar to St. Goarhausen. The bridge had two exits on the east bank, it was fantastic - that was probably the only two-exited pontoon bridge anywhere in the world and it allowed us to easily cross the Rhine in our 2 ½ six-by. As we crossed from Germany to the Czech border we had a lot of unusual experiences. Among them, Patton made sure that we got to visit the Buchenwald Concentration Camp just a couple of days after it was captured, that was certainly an experience!
FROM YOUR ENTIRE SERVICE CAREER WHAT PARTICULAR MEMORY STANDS OUT?
Serving under General George S. Patton was possibly the most significant memory of my career, as discussed below.
WHICH INDIVIDUAL PERSON FROM YOUR SERVICE STANDS OUT AS THE ONE WHO HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON YOU AND WHY?
General Patton, because he demonstrated to me what total dedication to the Army and to the United States of America is all about. I recall that when I had just arrived on continent, while I was still in England, I was scared to death of Patton just like everyone else. I even commented  to my folks in a letter back home that everything would be OK as long as I didn't get assigned to Patton's Army. Well, as luck would have it, almost immediately after sending that letter that's where I was assigned! I couldn't have been more wrong though, and I think the statistics speak for themselves. Patton had the smallest Army but he still captured more geography and POW's than all of the other Armies and he also had the smallest casualty rate - which was of course significant for those of us serving with him.
I never had a chance to personally meet the General but I did cross paths with him on 2 January 1945. We were in position near Libramont, Belgium when Patton drove into our area in an open Jeep that had no cover or windshield of any kind; he was sitting in the front seat with his hands stuffed into his tanker jacket pocket. My foxhole buddy and I were about 20 yards away from where he stopped and got to witness his meeting with our CO. I remember telling my buddy that I felt sorry for the Old Man since he was 59 years old at the time and it was not exactly a forgiving environment that we were in. Some years later I read in his memoirs, and this is embedded in my memory, because he specifically mentions visiting with the troops of the 87th on 2 January 1945 and feeling sorry for us because it was 6 degrees below zero!
WHAT PROFESSION DID YOU FOLLOW AFTER THE SERVICE AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW? IF CURRENTLY SERVING, WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT JOB?
 I was educated, initially under the G.I, Bill, and spent my entire career in agricultural pursuits. Among a variety of assignments, I was an Associate Professor of Farm Management and Marketing at Cornell University. I had earned a BS Degree in Agriculture at the University of Vermont, an MS Degree at Ohio State and a Ph.D. at Cornell, both advanced degrees are in Agricultural Marketing. My major civilian employment, for 23 years, was with the American Farm Bureau Federation where I ended my employment as Director of Marketing. I later formed a consulting company and did most of my personal consulting in Asia and Eastern Europe on contract with the American Soybean Association.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU HAVE FOR THOSE THAT ARE STILL SERVING?
The Army has had a major influence on me in everything I have done in life! In my later years, to keep in touch with my Army roots, I became active in the VFW, the American Legion, the Retired Officers Association, the Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW), and the DAV. I served as an officer in most of these organizations. One of my assignments was as a Department Commander in the MOWW.
IN WHAT WAYS HAS TOGETHERWESERVED.COM HELPED YOU MAINTAIN A BOND WITH YOUR SERVICE AND THOSE YOU SERVED WITH?
I really enjoy being a member of Army.Togetherweserved.com and I'm thankful for the opportunity to record my service history and hopefully locate some others who were there in the process. The ability this site provides to record your memories in detail is unlike anything else on the internet.
*Preparation of this interview was with the assistance of Army.TWS member LtCol Roger Gaines (Ret). We are grateful to Major Jasper for kindly agreeing to share his story in Voices.
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