Plant City Goes to War

By World War 2 the small farming town of Plant City had grown to about seventy five hundred residents. Phosphate mines and strawberry fields with the centers of commerce as they had been since plant city's incorporation in 1885. But many young men left behind the mines and fields and the city east of Tampa for a new calling overseas. These are some of their stories. John Germany was a student at the University of Florida when the war began. The battles overseas captivated the nation throughout his education. It's been said many times that it's true. That the Second World War was a popular war.

Pearl Harbor happened on a day some of the 7th 1941. And it will be going to school in my team for two everybody was talking about. The war. When we were in. In Europe. I had the. Experience. Of going to be the first ground troops and they're just gotten at the Eagle's Nest. Which was. Really a very exciting experience and I was the only officer with my troops at the time. And there was such a. Pull to take all sorts of. Memorabilia from they were called that which they had just left it was the air the. Paratroopers were the first troops and we were the first ground troops. But I had to be the

bad guy and tell the soldiers you can't touch a thing. We. Rescued. Some. They were a workforce of people that had been in a contradiction camp in Czechoslovakia. And that at that time they you know the fires were still hot in the heavens. And they immediately when we came in. They members that were to be. Killed were and wanted to turn on the guards and throw them out. And it was hard to kind of control and you can understand how you would feel if you had been subjected to such. Torture that they had been subjected to but we kind of kept it kept it on an even keel. And those were the. Kind of. Things that occurred before we got orders to go.

I had a girlfriend back and blasted. It When I came out of the service. I saw her and she said by John for it. Where have you been I haven't seen you lately. That's funny. So that just shows you that you know you think you've done something that others don't like so it brings you down to earth of her. Lonnie Davidson was 17 years old when he enlisted in the Army in February 1941. Like many around the country Plant City residents were left with few chances for work. After the depression. I thought that the normal way offered an

opportunity of not only your little venture which are all youngsters us older seem to seek but also the opportunity for a little better paycheck. It really wasn't all that much to see. A burr on the heart of Burwell was just a rubble rubble pile. You could go to a downtown bar lounge. In July. Of 45 and look before point for the compass and you would not see one building with three story walls and tie. So.

The destruction was told. You can handle the. Fighting of the war. Much easier and you can have a lot. Of. The memories and memories. Of home and the attachment and all to. Your beloved family and I and their invite good friends. When I was commissioned. I knew that. I wanted to. Pursue. The military of

my. As a profession as opposed. To my. Wife's vocation and also to speak formerly for the challengers that it provided. And my only for the opportunity. That it provided and a. Shaving achieving. Worthwhile effort son and it was. And the. Self-satisfaction that one can. Derive. From a job well done. And. Last but no means least the camaraderie. I have. To have friends apprenticeships

or just. Of course was recruited all during my military service are absolutely priceless to me. Philip patronized her I was a technical sergeant in the US Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1945. He served as a Flight Engineer on B-17 flying out of England on 26 missions including a harrowing and historic one. They won an only day that the Germans used. Ram in attacks like the Japanese and kamikaze April 0 7 to 45. I happen to be on it. And they were all over the place and. Even though they may decided then that these were all just green pilots that didn't know what they were doing. I had an idea that. It was different when things like that are happening you got a whole lot of time to do much

thinking but you see Rahm in here and I ram in there and here is more of him come in and. And. You can fire at him and they don't care they come in do. You know or an airplane. I was in the top drawer and I was empty and on one particular day when we went to Frankfurt evilly wasn't inflected for having. And I had. Eaten too many Vienna sausage that somebody sent me. From home. And man again I get sick. But. I could have. Not gone that day. But when you missed flying with your own crew you had to make it it would be strange to some time to when they were flying to get back. To you and at the same time. So I figured if I don't eat breakfast maybe I can make it all right. But same theme when like today where you pressurize the

go to altitude and your. Stomach gets to blow and I was sick the whole time. I remember turning that toured around where. We were it was on the first on the flank yet and it busted the Plexiglas dome with tours of the air it was going to be cold and fast. I just turned it around where there wouldn't come in and hear what happened from then on that. Anyway I'm a debtor. At one time I thought I'd like to just you know stay in Europe for awhile and see the rest of the country on the ground I saw it all from here. But when the time came I was ready to. Come home. And. It at that time you didn't fly back you know it even though it flew a brand new

airplane over there came back back by ship most people get that game back on the Queen Mary first pleasured along with thirteen thousand other two. David E. Bailey Jr. was 23 years old when he made Plant City history. He drafted on March 5th 1941 was the first married man in the planned city area to be called up. I've just been married about six months. I was teaching at the classy high school and I asked for the front to leave of the year but the grappa Ward said no I had to go in right away. So I was sent to a camp Blanding Florida for basic training. We first went to New Guinea in the Dutch East Indies and then my outfit went

to Philippines. Mindanao where the northern part where the people were under Japanese domination. We were trying to free them from domination. And we were worried about the war going on and having to invade the main the mainland of Japan because we knew that the Japanese would fight to the finish fight to the day ask for the Emperor. So actually that the atom bomb was quite a blessing in disguise. My captain came to me and said biting What would you bet that you won't be going home tomorrow this time. I said Captain I don't know I can't believe that. He said well you better believe it because you said you were the first man in the company to get a discharge of the point system. I've been in the army 52 much 16 months overseas and I

was married and had a child 14 months old whom I hadn't seen. How afraid I'd be if. I was so good so delighted to be going home that I even left a lot of things that I had collected I was going to take my back with me. Not any yet. You've hopped on a.c. 47 and got out of there you know I was just thrilled to death. And kind of coming back and seeing the Golden Gate Bridge was unbelievable. It describable the joy that I felt. And even the train ride back home was. Wonderful. I was in the Great. How to Feed a great company fellas. We look out for one another and they probably saved my life several times. And I wouldn't take anything from my. Army experience. And I'm really very grateful I had the experience of being in the service because it made me appreciate life and it made me

appreciate this one whole country. I mean. Edmund Ted Covington was 22. His younger brother Harrison 18 when the pair enlisted in 1940 to Ted chose to enter the Army Field Artillery. While Harrison opted for the Army Air Corps. The atmosphere at that time. He wanted to go you know there was no question about it. Everybody knew there were no dodging back and but I didn't want to walk so I thought I'd go in the Air Force I didn't know a thing about airplanes and it seemed like a we used to make them out of paper I mean I when I ever made was a little little balsawood thing and I when I wound it up to collapse it was a set of my trigger is very good. We train our horses and they take the horses to pull a case on

and so forth. And can you imagine I mean here we are going in to a major conflict with you with a sophisticated enemy. And we're still. Using horses. I had a horse named July and you know I was a good jumper but I was about half asleep up there when Sunday morning came to this big girls enough in July decided he knew I was asleep but who do I decided I don't think I'm going to take this jump so he did what is referred to as Refuse and I took the jump all by myself and the shock just couldn't let my head hit first. And there's accretion had that same had initiated and waged broken. I wonder what happened to you. That's exactly right. If you look at it. And so we got we busted in a Manila. Fought our way through the city

you know because it was a street fight let's love Harriet street fight. But anyway so we broke down the doors out of the mosque and we didn't liberate and we moved in with them and where the prisoners were starved had been no easier to mostly civilians than that and they were starved. If. We had just received our Christmas patters in March we just got in and had all these goodies my wife had sent me some chocolate chip cookies homemade. And so here well you have kids and they're not all quite a few and they had never tasted anything so we gave all our goodies away and just made up shit. Oh they're just gorgeous. When the announcement was made. Every. Every thing that would shoot or shock there you go on that island and it was Garrick I'm telling you because of everything every guy anybody that had a gun was out there shooting at half an ear

and everyone I heard goes up is going to come back. I got you know I put on my helmet. Yeah I mean it was frightening and some people were killed that day. I do want to say this that I can recall recall it's the greatest generation I think that. That I'm a lot of malarkey. And it's true. What did they say we survived the depression and of course we didn't go in and fight the war. And miraculously won it. But I think at almost any generation would run the same thing. When the chips were down with were the kind of. Enemy that we face. I think that the current generation would have done the same thing.