Hope F. "Buck" Wilmer, Battery "A" 55th Artillery, C.A.C., November 1938 - January 1941

H. F. "Buck" Wilmer of Huntington, WV. who is now 84 years old (2004) served with the 55th Artillery, CAC between the wars in Hawaii. Buck had contacted me after finding my web site and seeing the page on the 55th Artillery. At the time I did not have any information on the 55th Artillery during the between the war years. He was kind enough to share several photos with me and also told me his story about what they did during those "Peace Years". The following is a composite history made from notes that Buck had shared with me from the questions I asked him of the photos that he shared.

Buck relates, "I enlisted in the Army in my home town of Lynchburg, VA on September 15, 1938. The controversy over life time Medical Care for Veterans is the one thing that I distinctly remember being told by the Recruiters. It made 3 years in the Army much more attractive. After a short stay, first at Ft. Slocum, NY then at the Brooklyn Army Base, known as the Overseas Replacement Depot, we sailed, sometime in October on the Army Transport USS Republic, down the East Coast through the Panama Canal and up the West Coast to San Francisco. We traveled to Ft. McDowell on Angel Island for another short stay. Back to our ship, the USS Republic, and on to Hawaii. No matter how hard that I try, I can't remember the exact dates of any of this. I do remember eating Thanksgiving Dinner at Ft. Kamehameha in 1938."

Ft. Kamehameha, or Ft. Kam as they called it, was located on the right hand side of the ocean entrance to Pearl Harbor right on the Ocean. "Our Barracks were about 12 blocks from the entrance. We would walk through Hickam Air Base to the Navy Base in order to attend the FREE movies. In fact, if you were going to Ft. Kam by Bus or Auto, you had to go through Hickam Field, as Ft. Kam, Hickam Field and the Navy Base are all next to each other. When planes landed at Hickam Field they would fly right over the roof of our barracks. Across the Channel there was 16 inch gun emplacements at Barber's Point that we trained on. At Ft. Kam, "A" Battery 55th had 155mm, Anti-Aircraft Guns (3 in) and 37mm guns. We also had an Observation Post in the top of Diamond Head for the Battery of 12-inch disappearing guns pointing at the entrance to the Harbor. It was something to see the splashes from the shells at the target pulled by a Tug Boat. Anti-Aircraft guns were fired at a target ( sleeve ) pulled by a airplane. I have seen the pilot cut the target loose when the shells came too close."

"Buck" stated that during his time with Battery A, of the 55th Artillery he never left the Island of Oahu from 1938 - 1941. "When we were out on maneuvers the tents we used were the large tents. This was our normal practice except, when we went across Pearl Harbor Channel to Ft. Weaver in order to train on the 16-inch guns. At Ft. Weaver we used Pup Tents, and why I don't really know. Inadequate and out dated Weapons, that was all that I saw while in Hawaii, but, we still had to fight wtih what was on hand."

When they were out on maneuvers several battalions of 5-inch Anti-Aircraft guns would gather. All batteries would fire for record and they had plenty competition. "We would be out about two weeks, training and firing for record, and if we did well, we got a big party. In order to be eligible for the Expert Gunners Badge, and $5.00 a month bonus for a year, (if the money don't run out) we had to qualify on all of the weapons, 155mm, Anti-Aircraft, machine guns, etc. I think the 64th Artillery, C.A.C. was stationed in down town Honolulu at Ft. Shafter. Back at Ft. Kam we had the 1st. Battalion of the 15th Artillery, 41st Artillery, and the 55th Artillery. I don't have any idea of where the rest of the 55th was during this time. At various times I was a member of the Gun Crews, Cook, and Mess Sergeant. Back then we were trained to take over about any position.

For R&R "Buck" and his buddies would take a trip around the Island and go site seeing. After a while they saw it all, but they never got tired of the beauty and diversity of Oahu and Honolulu. Also for entertainment they had entertainers come to the Field House at Fort Kam. All kinds of events took place here including Basketball, and other sports. "Buck" relates; "And then they ruined it all by moving the Pacific Fleet from the West Coast to Pearl Harbor. That caused it to be crowded at the YMCA and the Black Cat Cafe on payday night in Honolulu. That, I believe was in 1940. Along about that time we were put on full alert and issured live ammonition for the first time since WWI. Also, guards were stationed all over the Island on highways, bridges,etc. So, it was obvious the big boys was expecting something."

"When I returned from Hawaii in January of 1941 I had to serve until September to finish out my 3 year enlistment, so, I was sent to Ft. Belvoir, VA. That is where I received my Military Police training. I was discharged in September of 1941 and I re-enlisted in the Army Air Force when the War started just a few months later. Since I was not out of the service more than 3 months, I received a big $ 75.00 bonus. After serving at Bolling Field in D.C. and Wright Field in Ohio in various jobs including Guard Duty, I volunteered to fill a vacancy for overseas duty. I was with the 12th Air Force in a little town just South of Naples Italy."

"I was one of the lucky ones, always just far enough from the front lines not to be in too much danger. The most danger came from the British firing their Anti-Aircraft guns during German air raids with the shrapnel raining down. We used to say that when the Germans come over the safe place to be is right at the target. The worst day for me was when we docked at Bari, Italy just after the Germans had sunk a large number of our ships. This German raid was called the "2nd Pearl Harbor", and the reason that we don't hear much about it is because one of the ships sunk was loaded with Mustard Gas. Another problem we had was the Mt Vesuvius volcano eruption. It made a mess of things, including airplane engines that had to be returned to the States for Repair."