en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Sat, 25 May 2013 13:08:13 GMT 15 By Camisha Johnson
When two young boys from Drew County took off for parts unknown during World War II, they had no idea that more than 70 years later they would be sitting before a group of seniors at Drew Central High School sharing the action, drama, and horrors of how a war unfolded before their eyes. Senior English teacher, Karon Parrish sent out information requesting names of WWII veterans who could share their experiences with her students. The students had already been introduced to the literature of several Holocaust survivors but were unable to find very much information from the American soldier’s experience. Elvin Bates and Robey Scott, two names that came up, were invited to speak. Elvin Bates was drafted in 1942 to 1945 serving in the 742nd Tank Battalion attached to the 9th Infantry Division in the 3rd Army under General Patton. Corporal Bates quickly learned that he would be making history when the training he received for over a year became the training that would save his live. While stationed in southern Alabama, Bates learned how to waterproof trucks, not submarines, but trucks normally only used for the road. He became a Tommy Gun expert as well. He spent a short time in New York and remembers how bitterly cold it was. “It was cold and we rode the train all night to get there. Snow was knee deep, so we got a chilly welcoming to the city. The one thing I remember was as we were leaving was the lights of the Statue of Liberty” recalled Bates. After spending eleven days, Bates ended up north of Ireland and then unloaded in Scotland. He and his buddies rode the train all night going south to London. His special training of waterproofing trucks was shared with other units in the southern part of England. “I remember this one night; it was so foggy you couldn’t see ahead of you. Nazis had spotted us, and there were plenty of ships sunk that night. For a long time, my unit was gagged which just meant you weren’t supposed to talk about what went on that night” Bates said. “I remember looking out over the water and it was full of fire and debris and bodies…just floating in the water. It was a sight I won’t ever forget.” Bates recalls how he saw his first jet plane which belonged to the Germans. He and his unit stayed ready for the plane as it swooped down and around the men. During the Battle of the Bulge, Bates remembers “It was 10 below or colder. I was black, blue, and bruised up. Sitting in the fox hole, just waiting. I got hit in the hip by some debris and first thing I thought was I can’t walk. I was trying to see if I still had a hip. Wasn’t long I discovered I could move my foot then my leg so I was alright. I toughed it out.” Nearing the end of the war, Bates became a barber by default; he was the only one skilled to cut hair. The pay was about $1 a head. Bates became creative as he used an old silk parachute for the barber drape. Before long, he had a steady stream of customers. Having been fortunate enough to survive the war, Bates returned home with the Bronze Star and purchased 40 acres of land with a house and pickup. Robey Scott was born March 4, 1924 in Monticello and enlisted at 18 after graduating from Monticello High School in 1942. “I volunteered to the army. I felt a sense of duty and everybody else was doing it. I remember how united the United States was back then” Scott said. “I still remember my serial number. It’s just something you never forget” Scott said. Scott was sent to Gainesville Texas for his initial training then on to Camp Shanks, New York. Ironically, both Scott and Bates spent time in the same training camp. Shipped out from New York, one of the ships in the convoy was lost. Scott was sent to France where he saw his first action. “Here I was a boy 18 and some of the boys I was with was 19 and hadn’t ever done anything except go to Sunday school. Here we were, learning how to kill the enemy. Did you young people hear me? We were sent over to do one thing, kill the enemy. That’s war. I had just seen my first soldier and it happened to be a German. Didn’t matter, it was the first. It made an impression on me let me tell you.” From France to Germany, Scott saw more action where he and his unit at one point became surrounded by 250 Nazis. The men were able to get away by entering the river. Scott said, “You can make time in the cold water when you have to.” One of the horrific scenes Scott recalls is when his unit liberated a concentration camp in Germany. Scott said, “I thought to myself, how could humans do this to other humans?” Scott shared a photograph he had from the liberation of the camp for the students to view. Being on the front line, Scott expressed to the students that there was nothing between him and the enemy “except air”. While in Germany, Scott recalled an emotional event on Christmas Eve. Scott was moving his men through a farm that had a barn where they could stay warm during the night. The soldiers found a couple on the farm and they shared what rations they had for dinner. One of the soldiers asked the couple if they had any children and they replied yes, they had one son who was forced to enter the German army. “Everything got real quiet then when we realized we were fighting their son and their son was fighting us. We just went ahead blessed the food and ate. After that we sang the only song we all knew “Silent Night” Scott said. Scott said “Adolf Hitler was the weapon of mass destruction during WWII.” After the war was over in Europe, Scott was shipped by way of railcar to the Pacific because the war was over there. Before he arrived, the bomb was dropped on Japan and they were diverted to Paris. Once in Paris, the soldiers received a three day pass to London before heading home by crossing the Atlantic. Before they reached the dock, the ship was uneven so all the soldiers had to shift to the other side of the ship so it wouldn’t sink. Students questioned the veterans on different aspects of the war and what their thoughts and feelings were to the Iraq War. Bates stated “I know everyone was working ‘round the clock to make sure we had everything we did.” “It was the first time in history; women got out of the house and had to go to work. That’s the only part I hate about that time. I wish they didn’t have to do that,” Scott said. “But our country was united like you’ve never seen back then.” Bo Sanderlin, senior, asked Scott what he would tell young people about joining the armed forces. Scott said, “Make sure it’s your decision. Not your parents. It will teach you duty and discipline.” ]]> Sat, 27 Oct 2007 18:16:00 GMT