Interview with George Winebrenner [11/20/2002]

Bonita Callahan:

My name is Bonita Callahan. I am a member of the Francis Slocum Daughters of the American Revolution Chapter at Wabash, Indiana. I am interviewing George W. Winebrenner in the library of North Manchester. George, I'd like for you to go ahead and tell us about your experiences and your draftee and such. Go right ahead.

George Winebrenner:

I was drafted in 1949, March the 3rd. I left Wabash, going to Fort Benjamin Harrison, and then down to Camp Joseph _______ Robinson in Little Rock, Arkansas. I took 16 weeks of basic training. After I had 16 weeks of basic training, they kept me over as a cadre or an instructor of future timing cycles of 16 weeks. I did that until VJ Day. At VJ Day they sent me to Monterey, California to form military government teams for the occupation of Japan. Out there at Monterey I stayed for one month and they put me with the 76th military government team that went for the occupation of Japan. We went to boat and it landed at Yokohama. We were there for about a week and then we went up to a little town of Co fu one-third of the way up on the north side of Mount Fukuyama. We were there for two months. Then they shipped us, changed locations, and we went up to Mount Silia across the Japan Sea from Korea. I was there just two weeks. And then we had a change of orders down to the little town of Cofield, east of Hiroshima about 25 miles. I was there the rest of my time. My duty at that time was a mess sergeant in the service. I stayed there until August of 1946 until they sent me home. I was sent to Fort Sheridan and I mustered out at Fort Sheridan in the last of August, and I was discharged in September from the service. And then I came home.

Bonita Callahan:

George, that was fine, I thank you. Is there anything special you'd like to say about your service, how it affected your life or whatever?

George Winebrenner:

We never wanted an atomic bomb to land on the mainland of the United States.

Bonita Callahan:

Okay, thank you very much.