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~. Scrapbook/Diary of WWII by Robert O. Uppgaard US Navy 97 th Seabee Battalion. Dec 7 th 1941
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Scrapbook/Diary of WWIIby Robert O. UppgaardUS Navy 97th Seabee Battalion Dec 7th 1941 When Pearl Harbor was bombed, I was 18, had graduated from Washburn High School in Minneapolis and was a student at the University of Minnesota. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt asked congress to declare war. We came together as a country to support our troops and rationed for the war effort.
April 1943 (Age 19) • I joined the US Navy CB’s as a Frogman (also known as a Junior Seal) • The Seabees were Construction Battalions. This included: carpenters, electricians, bulldozer operators, pipefitters, plumbers, sailors and construction engineers. • Priority was given to the men with solid professional experience.
~ • At Camp Perry Boot Camp in Virginia, we received rugged training and were taught to shoot a rifle. We learned discipline, survival techniques, to hit the deck, listen and follow orders! • I was assigned to the 97th Seabee Battalion at Camp Endicott, Rhode Island that deployed to Roseneath, Scotland (North of Glascow). • A British ship transported the entire battalion in two weeks from New York to Liverpool, England.
~ • We were stationed in Scotland -The Battalion Medical Officer Henry Wujciak, M.D. found a creative place for me, serving in Sick Bay alongside Corpsmen. He called me “Uppy” and he was “Doc” or “Wuj.” • I also had other responsibilities such as coordinating USO entertainment groups for the United Service Organization in England.
Two weeks prior to D-Day, the day chosen to invade the German occupied coast of France, Doc called me aside and asked if I would volunteer to assist the medic unit that would accompany him. I responded: “Doc, I’m not a corpsman” He said: “It will take 20 minutes for you to understand all you need to know.” We hit the beach late afternoon June 6th, 1944. I was instructed to give a shot of morphine to anyone wounded and say help was coming.
~ • My first deployment was D-day, June 6, 1944. As a Seaman 1stclass • I served in the medic unit at Omaha Beach. (British were east on Utah Beach)
Ships were exploded by mines in the water on our way from England toward France.
~ • On June 7, we were shelled by 25 rounds from German 88 canons in pill boxes on land. We received many casualties. • My responsibility was to treat 7 injured. Doc and Medics were nearby treating others.
~ I recorded the story with two cameras and a diary on British toilet paper, It was the only paper available on board HMS as we crossed the channel – June 6, 1944.
We built the largest floating harbor in history. These structures were made possible due to the absence of natural harbors at Normandy. • All the pieces were made in England then floated and assembled along the coast of France. The block-long piers, bridges and caissons of cement (Chests that keep out water) were put together like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
Sea walls were constructed of box-like concrete sections 200 feet long and 60 feet high with internal compartments to make them float. Once they were put in position, valves were opened and the sections, called phoenixes, were dropped to the floor of the sea. Inside this harbor, floating piers rode the waves and bridges linked them with the beach. Their construction was done under near constant enemy fire.
Once on land, we dug trenches to sleep in between the hedge rows.
American graves at Normandy Beach during the D-day invasion.
After the war, graves were moved to LaCome, France – American #2 Cemetery
Pacific Theater My second deployment was Oahu Hawaii 35th Special CB Battalion I had 3 jobs: 1) Assisting the battalion Commander’s office…
3) Playing trumpet (center back) in the Seabee Orchestra and driving the bus to performances.
I served 3 years - 4 months and was Honorably Discharged at Age 22 August 1946 as Boat Swain Mate 1st Class – (in charge of the deck crew).
I worked for many Battalion Commanders in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters who taught me important life lessons: • Expand on your communication skills: - Learn to listen! • If you see something that needs to be done – DO IT! • Always search for better ways to do anything. Seabee Motto • The difficult do immediately – the impossible takes a little longer.
We are called the Greatest Generation. • We survived the Great Depression. • We knew our neighbors. • We were taught: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” • We created Big Bands, Mt. Rushmore, and the Eisenhower Trans-Continental Highway. (Lincoln created the Transcontinental Railroad.)
Ann Richards, Former Texas Governor, described this time period: “I’m really glad that our young people missed the Depression and missed the big war, but - I do regret that they missed the leaders that I knew, leaders who told us when things were tough and that we’d have to sacrifice, and that these difficulties might last awhile. They brought us together and they gave us a sense of national purpose.”
My advice to future generations • What you are doing now in high school will determine your success in life. • Do not go to college until you have developed reading and writing skills, plan to study and have a goal. • Focus on your best talents. Prepare for what you would like to be doing with your life. Make a difference and be the best you can be. Become a creative thinker. • War is not a video game. If you decide to serve in the military you need to understand the purpose, follow orders, and have the ability to manage stress under very difficult conditions.
My generation did its best. It’s now your turn to help make a positive change in the world. Thanks! Dr. Robert O. Uppgaard, DDS
