Approximate Years 1956-1959
Ages 20-23

It’s amusing to me to read my grandfather’s autobiography and his time in the Army. It was peacetime, that period after Korea before Vietnam that he was in the service. He spent his days in Germany, and battled seasickness to get there and back again. This tall behemoth of a fisherman, laid low by time on a boat. 🙂

The autobiography is transcribed exactly as it is presented in the original document, which was handwritten and did not have the benefit of spellcheck.

Page 21

I asked my sergeant if I could get off, because I recognized that person as Gene Mann from Mt. Morris. Someone I had gone to school with. He said I could, but be sure to be there when they came back from breakfast so I could rejoin them on the return trip. I ran up to the ship and asked the person on deck if Gene was aboard. He said yes, and went below and Gene came on deck. Boy was he surprised to see me. He had joined the navy one year before I joined army and our chances of meeting there on the bank of the Rhine river [were] mighty slim. Yet there we were. And he was staytioned on the other side of Karlsruhe from me. We later got together for a night out on the town.

Later on the next year we were getting ready to Gyro back to the states and the new battalion that was going to take our place had sent over their advanced party over. I was the Co. Armorer at that time. My section sergeant sent me down the hall to get some typing paper from supply. I got there and the guy standing on the other side of the counter was Bill Marten from Mt Morris

Page 22

We were both pleasantly supprised. It really is a small world. Meeting two guys from home halfway around the world. We finally packed up and started for home. I was going to 34 days leave as soon as we got back to the states. We rode the train back down the valley as it were to me, to Bremahaven. We got on the USS Harry S Taylor a 450 foot, flat bottomed troop ship and by supper time we were in the English Channel and on our way to the states. By the way that supper was my last meal for the next ten days.

It was the last part of the month of February and we were headed into the north Atlantic. The seas were very heavy. Shortly after supper a guy was walking by our bunk area and stopped right there in front of me and lost his supper. That did it for me. I spent an hour or two trying not to get seasick, but lost the battle. I was very sick and six days later, without food or water, I finally passed out from dihidration. I was strapped down in sick bay and fed interveniously to keep me alive.

Page 23

I stayed unconscious until the night before we arrived at Brooklyn Navy yard. I became [conscious] as we got near the coast and the seas calmed down.

Aerial view of Brooklyn Navy Yard c.1959

I got back to my Co. got my gear and the next morning at 9 am we got off the ship and on a bus, that took us to grand central station and I finally ate breakfast. I had lost 15 pounds in the days Not really my idea of a diet, but it will sure take the pounds off.

I ate turkey sandwiches and drank beer all the way to Rochester train station which took 8 hours. Mom & Dad & Penny and little Mike were there to greet me.

On the way home I told Mom about the sea sickness and being unconscious and dreaming about thick pork chops and ginger ale. Dad was a meat cutter and had brought home the meat for the week which included thick pork chops. And mom always had ginger ale, So when we got home she cooked up three and I had trouble eating two of them. It took me almost a month before I could put away a full meal. My stomach just could not handle it.

Page 24

For a month I ran a trap line from Sonyea at Pioneer Rd all the way up thru Wayland to Webster’s Crossing and back down thru Conesus and the south end of the Conesus Lake and to Geneseo, where my folks had moved to after I went into the army. About 40 miles. I would drive Dad to work in Wayland in the morning and pick him up at night.

I spend the rest of each day skinning & stretching pelts and then do a little beer drinking. Then go pick Dad up and go home and have supper. Then he and I would go have a few beers.

After leave time was almost up I called one of the guys that lived in Lema and made plans to drive down to Fort Benning Ga. to our new assignment. We left a few days early and took our time. We drove the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway in the first days of the month of march. It was beautiful all the way. Snow now there I was in Georgia

Page 25

I was back in my outfit for about a month and did not have a job.

The put someone else in charge of the armory. So they asked me if I wanted to go to Headquarter Co. and drive truck. I said yes. So my truck driving career started on April 27, 1957.

[END]

Original: VanNostrand_Robert_Autobiography-Full

Do you have more information or photos? Let me know in the comments!