03-28-2006
( Reply#: 423 ) |
mjnyc |
Er, that's discharged Dec. 1944. |
03-28-2006
( Reply#: 424 ) |
m10bob |
Couple of theories.
We know he fell off of a linemans' training pole once, and if his injuries prevented him from doing his job, he may have eventually been discharged.He would NOT have necessarily been given a disability compensation award, nor would that necessarily be on his discharge paper.
Another theory: He was assigned at one time to "secret work" in Chicago, across from where Dr Fermi and associates were working on their project.
It is quite possible Shep would have been given a discharge to prevent foreign agents from identifying him as a "government employee".
In a related tale, Shep tells of the fact he had to divest himself of his uniforms and "live and work in civilian clothes."
(I believe this was the "Army Roommate" episode.)
When I served, I know there were certain MOS's (jobs) in which "military rules" simply did not apply.
I am quite sure he maintained his security clearance because in the early 50's, he was one of few journalists allowed on a carrier task force off Lebanon,(see topic on flicklives.com), and he was also allowed on one of the fleets' missile cruisers.
In Hoc Agricula Conc
In Est Spittle Louk |
03-31-2006
( Reply#: 439 ) |
Skoonj |
That cruiser show was interesting to me. That was the one where the civilian contractors were aboard, highly confused about one group of piping that didn't show up on the blueprints. A CPO finally admitted they were part of a huge distillery operation originally set up during WW2.
I'm not sure which ship it was. From Shep's description, it was a WW2-era heavy cruiser converted from 8" guns to missiles. There were only two ships in the fleet that fit that description. USS Chicago, which I visited briefly at Pearl Harbor in 1972, and USS Canberra. Does anyone have info to pin down which of these two ships it was? |
03-31-2006
( Reply#: 440 ) |
m10bob |
Shep did mention the name of the ship on one of his programs, but I honestly don't remember which one it was.
In fact, I thought it was "Newport News"..??
(I was not in the USN so my knowledge of ships is not what it might be.)
Shep had a habit of repeating stories or adding info to stories several times over the years, and a careful and patient listener can put the pieces together...
In Hoc Agricula Conc
In Est Spittle Louk |
03-31-2006
( Reply#: 441 ) |
Skoonj |
I don't think it could be Newport News, though that may be the port he boarded the ship on. The USS Newport News was an 8" gun cruiser, and had an unfortunate accident in one turret off Viet Nam. I believe I saw it once when it was placed in moth balls, with one gun missing. It was never converted to missiles. That's the best of my recollection anyway. |
04-01-2006
( Reply#: 443 ) |
ebruceb |
quote:
Originally posted by m10bob
Couple of theories.
We know he fell off of a linemans' training pole once, and if his injuries prevented him from doing his job, he may have eventually been discharged.He would NOT have necessarily been given a disability compensation award, nor would that necessarily be on his discharge paper.
Another theory: He was assigned at one time to "secret work" in Chicago, across from where Dr Fermi and associates were working on their project.
It is quite possible Shep would have been given a discharge to prevent foreign agents from identifying him as a "government employee".
In a related tale, Shep tells of the fact he had to divest himself of his uniforms and "live and work in civilian clothes."
(I believe this was the "Army Roommate" episode.)
When I served, I know there were certain MOS's (jobs) in which "military rules" simply did not apply.
I am quite sure he maintained his security clearance because in the early 50's, he was one of few journalists allowed on a carrier task force off Lebanon,(see topic on flicklives.com), and he was also allowed on one of the fleets' missile cruisers.
In Hoc Agricula Conc
In Est Spittle Louk
==========
We don't know that he fell off a pole once. We know he told a story of falling off a pole once.--Gene B. |
05-24-2006
( Reply#: 496 ) |
mjnyc |
In the way of a reply to my post that began this thread, I heard yesterday an episode on Mass Backwards in which Shep recalled his being at a separation center at Ft. Dix. He recalled it was a cold December and that there were POWs there. All this is consistent with the Dec 1944 discharge date in his army record. Since other members of his company were also being separated, there was nothing special about his separation.
I could only conjecture that he and his company were engaged in coastal radar and the latter was no longer needed at the time.
I have recently learned that the age of conscription was lowered from 21 to 18 late in 1942. Given Shep's birthday, he became cannon fodder in July 1942, the month of his induction. |
09-29-2006
( Reply#: 579 ) |
mjnyc |
A follow-up to my previous post:
In his Sept. 27 1969 WOR broadcast, Shep mentioned that he was stationed near Stuart, Florida. A Google search identifies that installation as Camp Murphy.
.....................................................................
Camp Murphy Southern Signal Corps School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The United States Army Signal Corps established Camp Murphy, a top-secret radar training school in 1942. Camp Murphy is located between Stuart and Jupiter in sourtheastern Florida, at coordinates 27°0#8242;17#8243;N, 80°07#8242;45#8243;W.
History
The camp included over 1,000 buildings and housed more than 6,000 officers and soldiers. The camp was deactivated in 1944 after less than two years of operation. All but three of the camp buildings have been torn down or removed but some of the building foundations remain. |
11-25-2006
( Reply#: 604 ) |
m10bob |
Shep did tend to blur facts/places/ and events..
Shep was discharged from the army at Camp Atturbury near Columbus Indiana.
It is entirely possible he out-processed at Ft Dix and the army transported him to Atterbury for release.
In Hoc Agricula Conc
In Est Spittle Louk |
12-03-2006
( Reply#: 627 ) |
svea3 |
In Hoc Agricula Conc
In Est Spittle Louk
OK what is the language and what does it say? I even enlisted my daughter who is a language expert and she came up blank! If this was covered before this, I do apologize. |
12-03-2006
( Reply#: 629 ) |
ebruceb |
Shep once translated it as "Don't spit on the raddish farmer." It is fake Latin. See my comments on this on page 214 of EXCELSIOR, YOU FATHEAD!--Gene B. |
12-10-2006
( Reply#: 636 ) |
svea3 |
Thanks for the explanation. Mr Ruff would be happy with any type of Latin!
Linda |
