A.V.
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by Guy Nasuti
Private Guy Irvine Wetherell was a twenty-one year old rifleman, a "Go Devil" in Company I, 60th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division who fought in the Cotentin Peninsula of France until being wounded in July 1944. Following the divergent paths of Private Wetherell and those of his regiment using letters, medical records, and other primary and secondary sources, a clearer picture emerges of one soldier's small role in combat, his wounding, and recovery away from the theater of war.
Guy Wetherell trained with the 78th Infantry Division after being drafted in March 1943. Throughout his time with the 78th, Private Wetherell made the most of army life. In a letter to his parents, dated 21 March 1943, he writes:
"We arrived at Camp Butner"¦. We are supposed to be classified tomorrow"¦. Do you know what this camp is? A camp for infantry and field artillery. They call it the 78th Division or "Lightning" Division, and we were going in the Air Corps"¦.We are now in the infantry for good."
It is apparent that Wetherell's confusion was caused by the hope that he would enter the Air Corps, considering he was working in Columbus, Ohio as an aircraft mechanic before being drafted. Throughout his time with the 78th, he often mentions and holds out hope that he can put in for a transfer to the Air Corps. But this hope never materialized.[1]
In boot camp, Private Wetherell trained hard and had no shortage of excitement. According to a letter home dated 4 April 1943, he and two of his buddies had gone to a movie when
"A fellow rushed in & said for the 310th Infantry men that were there to report back to their barracks at once. We ran all the way back to the barracks & there they told us to put on our fatigue clothes, to get our rifles & bayonets, to draw steel helmets and to fall out"¦.We drove to Durham before we found out what was going on. It seems that a gang of negroes got in a fight with some M.P.s from camp. They killed two of the M.P.s & drove off the rest. When we arrived in town we went right down to colored town & there was a whole mob of negroes"¦.The officers with us were pretty sore about the two soldiers that had been killed & I thought they were going to pull their revolvers & start shooting. Instead they told us to fix bayonets & start walking forward, you should have seen that crowd run"¦.The M. P.s now have orders to shoot if any negro makes the slightest hostile move."[2]
Private Wetherell was also instructed in many other things besides bayonet drills, riot control, and how to fire his M-1 Garand rifle. He was taught how to swim (a necessity for the upcoming amphibious invasion of France), and how to defend himself with ju-jitsu and judo. In July, he found out to his delight that he would be promoted to corporal, and was also made a squad leader a month later, which gave him added responsibilities. At the end of August, he joined the company boxing team, which allowed him to "get off early because of training for the fight." In a letter dated 28 August 1943, he writes of his first fight:
"I was fighting a pretty good boy & lost the fight on a knockdown in the last 30 seconds. I had the fight all sewed up until then. I broke this fellows nose in the 2nd round & had him bleeding all over the place. I could have got a knock-out but I was just too tired."
A flyer he sent with the letter declares "Boxing Tonite: 1930 at the 310th Open Arena Rear of 3rd Bn. Hdqtrs. 7 Scrappy Bouts. All 310th Scrappers. See them in action Tonite!" On the flyer, Guy Wetherell of Company F was scheduled to fight a man identified only by his last name, Erchol, the man whose nose he broke, from Company E.[3]
A basketball enthusiast who played for the 1940 State Champion Pickerington High School in Ohio, Private Wetherell joined the 2nd Battalion basketball team. In a letter to his parents Hannah and Guy S. Wetherell he writes:
"We played the Tenn. State Guards last Sat. & beat them. I got 12 points. We are going to play some college team tonight. Our battalion commander really likes basketball & the players are getting some breaks"¦.(we) get showers that way where the rest of the men don't."[4]
Apparently, the 2nd Battalion squad's basketball team was good enough to play against college teams. In the same letter, he writes that "we are supposed to play Vanderbilt in 2 weeks." It was the last basketball game he ever played. Near the end of 1944 he would sadly remark, "It doesn't look like I'll ever get to play the game any more."[5]
In September 1943, Wetherell's promotion to corporal came through. He managed to keep his stripes for five full months before an incident which he related to his family in one of the last letters home before being wounded in July of the next year:
"Would the family feel too bad if I was made a private? The mess sergeant got smart the other day when I was going through the mess line & I was forced to knock him down. My platoon leader was there & said he had it coming, but I don't know about the C. O. I think it will all blow over because this guy has been asking for it for a long time but has been getting away with it."
Private Guy Irvine Wetherell was a twenty-one year old rifleman, a "Go Devil" in Company I, 60th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division who fought in the Cotentin Peninsula of France until being wounded in July 1944. Following the divergent paths of Private Wetherell and those of his regiment using letters, medical records, and other primary and secondary sources, a clearer picture emerges of one soldier's small role in combat, his wounding, and recovery away from the theater of war.
Guy Wetherell trained with the 78th Infantry Division after being drafted in March 1943. Throughout his time with the 78th, Private Wetherell made the most of army life. In a letter to his parents, dated 21 March 1943, he writes:
"We arrived at Camp Butner"¦. We are supposed to be classified tomorrow"¦. Do you know what this camp is? A camp for infantry and field artillery. They call it the 78th Division or "Lightning" Division, and we were going in the Air Corps"¦.We are now in the infantry for good."
It is apparent that Wetherell's confusion was caused by the hope that he would enter the Air Corps, considering he was working in Columbus, Ohio as an aircraft mechanic before being drafted. Throughout his time with the 78th, he often mentions and holds out hope that he can put in for a transfer to the Air Corps. But this hope never materialized.[1]
In boot camp, Private Wetherell trained hard and had no shortage of excitement. According to a letter home dated 4 April 1943, he and two of his buddies had gone to a movie when
"A fellow rushed in & said for the 310th Infantry men that were there to report back to their barracks at once. We ran all the way back to the barracks & there they told us to put on our fatigue clothes, to get our rifles & bayonets, to draw steel helmets and to fall out"¦.We drove to Durham before we found out what was going on. It seems that a gang of negroes got in a fight with some M.P.s from camp. They killed two of the M.P.s & drove off the rest. When we arrived in town we went right down to colored town & there was a whole mob of negroes"¦.The officers with us were pretty sore about the two soldiers that had been killed & I thought they were going to pull their revolvers & start shooting. Instead they told us to fix bayonets & start walking forward, you should have seen that crowd run"¦.The M. P.s now have orders to shoot if any negro makes the slightest hostile move."[2]
Private Wetherell was also instructed in many other things besides bayonet drills, riot control, and how to fire his M-1 Garand rifle. He was taught how to swim (a necessity for the upcoming amphibious invasion of France), and how to defend himself with ju-jitsu and judo. In July, he found out to his delight that he would be promoted to corporal, and was also made a squad leader a month later, which gave him added responsibilities. At the end of August, he joined the company boxing team, which allowed him to "get off early because of training for the fight." In a letter dated 28 August 1943, he writes of his first fight:
"I was fighting a pretty good boy & lost the fight on a knockdown in the last 30 seconds. I had the fight all sewed up until then. I broke this fellows nose in the 2nd round & had him bleeding all over the place. I could have got a knock-out but I was just too tired."
A flyer he sent with the letter declares "Boxing Tonite: 1930 at the 310th Open Arena Rear of 3rd Bn. Hdqtrs. 7 Scrappy Bouts. All 310th Scrappers. See them in action Tonite!" On the flyer, Guy Wetherell of Company F was scheduled to fight a man identified only by his last name, Erchol, the man whose nose he broke, from Company E.[3]
A basketball enthusiast who played for the 1940 State Champion Pickerington High School in Ohio, Private Wetherell joined the 2nd Battalion basketball team. In a letter to his parents Hannah and Guy S. Wetherell he writes:
"We played the Tenn. State Guards last Sat. & beat them. I got 12 points. We are going to play some college team tonight. Our battalion commander really likes basketball & the players are getting some breaks"¦.(we) get showers that way where the rest of the men don't."[4]
Apparently, the 2nd Battalion squad's basketball team was good enough to play against college teams. In the same letter, he writes that "we are supposed to play Vanderbilt in 2 weeks." It was the last basketball game he ever played. Near the end of 1944 he would sadly remark, "It doesn't look like I'll ever get to play the game any more."[5]
In September 1943, Wetherell's promotion to corporal came through. He managed to keep his stripes for five full months before an incident which he related to his family in one of the last letters home before being wounded in July of the next year:
"Would the family feel too bad if I was made a private? The mess sergeant got smart the other day when I was going through the mess line & I was forced to knock him down. My platoon leader was there & said he had it coming, but I don't know about the C. O. I think it will all blow over because this guy has been asking for it for a long time but has been getting away with it."