In a telephone interview with Herbert Beverly, Jr. conducted by Kathryn Townsend Ballard on 24 MAR 2001, Mr. Beverly confirms that he is a World War II veteran. He states that, at the beginning of the war, he was initially classified as "4F" because of "weak arches" in both of his feet. Toward the end of the war "they had to start scraping the bottom of the barrel because they needed more men" and he was reclassified "1A" and told that he was conscripted into the Navy. "I went down to the local Army recruiter and didn't tell him about my feet." He joined the 101st Airborne Division, 501st Infantry Regiment, Company A with a rank of Private, First Class. His commanding officer was Capt. Billy Heaton, of Gadsden, Alabama. He states that his outfit arrived in France in September, 1944. "We didn't have all the fancy weapons they have now. All we had were our M-1 rifles and our 105 Howitzers. I felt like a pack animal. We had to carry all our equipment on our backs. My feet didn't bother me too much..we were driven from place to place on one-and-a-half ton trucks." He was assigned to guard the perimeter of Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge. He described Bastogne as an important supplies crossroads for the Germans, with the railroad intersecting with a main highway where supplies came down from Antwerp. "They [the Germans] marched during foggy weather when our aircraft couldn't spot them...they made it as far as, I believe, the Meuse River before the weather cleared enough for our planes to fly. They air-dropped us supplies until General Patton broke through their lines and relieved us in January of '45. I do remember it was cold...somewhere between 30 to 35 below. You know, we couldn't light fires or cigarettes or anything. I was injured and in an Army hospital for one month. Then I rejoined my unit back in Europe until it was over." He states that he went back to visit the War Memorial for the Battle of the Bulge near Bastogne in 1974. He also visited several friends that he had made in Europe and England. He particularly mentioned an English lady and her family with whom he had lived during the War. They had been especially kind to him. "She must be dead by now and he (husband?son?) must be at least in his 80's."
Person:Herbert B Beverly [1] Level of Education: 3 years of high school [1] Marital Status: Single, without dependents [1] Birth:1925 [1] õº Alabama [1] õºResidence:õº Place: Etowah County, Alabama [1] õº
Edit
World War II 1
Branch:Army [1] Enlistment Date:19 Jan 1946 [1] Army Branch:Medical Administrative Corps - For Officers only [1] Army Component:Regular Army (including Officers, Nurses, Warrant Officers, and Enlisted Men) [1] Army Serial Number:34917401 [1] Enlistment Place:õº Ft McPherson Atlanta Georgia [1] õºEnlistment Term:Enlistment for Hawaiian Department [1] Source of Army Personnel:Enlisted Man, Philippine Scout or recall to AD of an enlisted man who had been transferred to the ERC [1]
Edit Occupation:Tinsmiths, coppersmiths, and sheet metal workers [1] Race or Ethnicity:White [1] Source Information:Box Number: 0868 [1] Film Reel Number: 3.290 [1]
Person:Herbert B Beverly [1] Level of Education: 3 years of high school [1] Marital Status: Single, without dependents [1] Birth:1925 [1] õº Alabama [1] õºResidence:õº Place: Etowah County, Alabama [1] õº
Edit
World War II 1
Branch:Army [1] Enlistment Date:19 Jan 1946 [1] Army Branch:Medical Administrative Corps - For Officers only [1] Army Component:Regular Army (including Officers, Nurses, Warrant Officers, and Enlisted Men) [1] Army Serial Number:34917401 [1] Enlistment Place:õº Ft McPherson Atlanta Georgia [1] õºEnlistment Term:Enlistment for Hawaiian Department [1] Source of Army Personnel:Enlisted Man, Philippine Scout or recall to AD of an enlisted man who had been transferred to the ERC [1]
Edit Occupation:Tinsmiths, coppersmiths, and sheet metal workers [1] Race or Ethnicity:White [1] Source Information:Box Number: 0868 [1] Film Reel Number: 3.290 [1]
In a telephone interview with Herbert Beverly, Jr. conducted by Kathryn Townsend Ballard on 24 MAR 2001, Mr. Beverly confirms that he is a World War II veteran. He states that, at the beginning of the war, he was initially classified as "4F" because of "weak arches" in both of his feet. Toward the end of the war "they had to start scraping the bottom of the barrel because they needed more men" and he was reclassified "1A" and told that he was conscripted into the Navy. "I went down to the local Army recruiter and didn't tell him about my feet." He joined the 101st Airborne Division, 501st Infantry Regiment, Company A with a rank of Private, First Class. His commanding officer was Capt. Billy Heaton, of Gadsden, Alabama. He states that his outfit arrived in France in September, 1944. "We didn't have all the fancy weapons they have now. All we had were our M-1 rifles and our 105 Howitzers. I felt like a pack animal. We had to carry all our equipment on our backs. My feet didn't bother me too much..we were driven from place to place on one-and-a-half ton trucks." He was assigned to guard the perimeter of Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge. He described Bastogne as an important supplies crossroads for the Germans, with the railroad intersecting with a main highway where supplies came down from Antwerp. "They [the Germans] marched during foggy weather when our aircraft couldn't spot them...they made it as far as, I believe, the Meuse River before the weather cleared enough for our planes to fly. They air-dropped us supplies until General Patton broke through their lines and relieved us in January of '45. I do remember it was cold...somewhere between 30 to 35 below. You know, we couldn't light fires or cigarettes or anything. I was injured and in an Army hospital for one month. Then I rejoined my unit back in Europe until it was over." He states that he went back to visit the War Memorial for the Battle of the Bulge near Bastogne in 1974. He also visited several friends that he had made in Europe and England. He particularly mentioned an English lady and her family with whom he had lived during the War. They had been especially kind to him. "She must be dead by now and he (husband?son?) must be at least in his 80's."
Person:Herbert B Beverly [1] Level of Education: 3 years of high school [1] Marital Status: Single, without dependents [1] Birth:1925 [1] õº Alabama [1] õºResidence:õº Place: Etowah County, Alabama [1] õº
Edit
World War II 1
Branch:Army [1] Enlistment Date:19 Jan 1946 [1] Army Branch:Medical Administrative Corps - For Officers only [1] Army Component:Regular Army (including Officers, Nurses, Warrant Officers, and Enlisted Men) [1] Army Serial Number:34917401 [1] Enlistment Place:õº Ft McPherson Atlanta Georgia [1] õºEnlistment Term:Enlistment for Hawaiian Department [1] Source of Army Personnel:Enlisted Man, Philippine Scout or recall to AD of an enlisted man who had been transferred to the ERC [1]
Edit Occupation:Tinsmiths, coppersmiths, and sheet metal workers [1] Race or Ethnicity:White [1] Source Information:Box Number: 0868 [1] Film Reel Number: 3.290 [1]
Person:Herbert B Beverly [1] Level of Education: 3 years of high school [1] Marital Status: Single, without dependents [1] Birth:1925 [1] õº Alabama [1] õºResidence:õº Place: Etowah County, Alabama [1] õº
Edit
World War II 1
Branch:Army [1] Enlistment Date:19 Jan 1946 [1] Army Branch:Medical Administrative Corps - For Officers only [1] Army Component:Regular Army (including Officers, Nurses, Warrant Officers, and Enlisted Men) [1] Army Serial Number:34917401 [1] Enlistment Place:õº Ft McPherson Atlanta Georgia [1] õºEnlistment Term:Enlistment for Hawaiian Department [1] Source of Army Personnel:Enlisted Man, Philippine Scout or recall to AD of an enlisted man who had been transferred to the ERC [1]
Edit Occupation:Tinsmiths, coppersmiths, and sheet metal workers [1] Race or Ethnicity:White [1] Source Information:Box Number: 0868 [1] Film Reel Number: 3.290 [1]
Inscription
PVT, US ARMY
WORLD WAR II
BRONZE STAR MEDAL
PURPLE HEART
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