Veterans History Project

The Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.

The Selective Service System (Draft Board) in the Fleming, Colorado area was close to being aggressive in late 1944 and into 1945. Maurice J. Schaeffer turned eighteen in March 1944. Before the year was out he was drafted. The Draft Board allowed him to complete high school but they would need his service in January 1945.

Maurice passed the physical examination and headed to a small training facility named Camp Fannin, Texas. This place was actually an infantry training center as well as a replacement center that sent needed troops to Europe. It's in the area of Tyler, TX.

Getting to Camp Fannin was by troop train from Fort Logan, Colorado. There was no welcoming committee where the troop train stopped. Maurice remembered Drill Sergeant Bigee as being his first Drill Sergeant.

The recruits went to the usual places for haircuts and clothing issue. At the Clothing Issue Point, (CIP), he was handed a big duffle bag and told to walk along the line of tables. The people on the other side of the tables must have eyeballed him long enough to grab gear for him. Everything, including boots, fit!

Housing was in a two story barracks. It was one of about a hundred similar buildings. Maurice learned new words too. He found out that the bathroom was called a latrine. It was not a center of privacy. When it was time to eat, the group marched to the chow hall.

The Drill Sergeants talked to the trainees about going to war and being strong as well as tough. The rifle ranges were ten miles away. The first march was rough on him. When asked about being glad his boots fit, he said he was happier that the ten mile march was over! Maurice knew his service number and recited it.

There were no issues in basic training that Maurice couldn't handle. After eight weeks, the graduation went smoothly.

Maurice got a few days to go home to see family, then he reported for duty at Denver. Here another troop train was waiting. The three-day, non-stop trip took the men to Fort Lewis, near Seattle, Washington. The next adventure was aboard the USS Drew, a troop ship taking them to Osaka Japan.

The ship was equipped with bunks stacked four high and little room for passage through aisles. The key to getting through this was spending as much time that was possible on the top deck. If one stayed below, the chances of getting sick increased dramatically. The route was 3 or four days.

When the ship arrived, the troops assembled in their respective units. Maurice was with the 98th Division. The men were marched to an airplane hanger where they stayed waiting further instructions. The cement floor of the hanger was hard so, the leadership of the unit thought they should move the men to an outside location. The men assembled their pup-tents and slept on the ground. The rains came. For three days, it rained. Maurice said that everything he owned was soaking wet! It would have made staying in the hanger pretty good!

The timeline for Maurice's service is that he had eight weeks of basic training then fairly soon on a troop ship headed for Osaka, Japan. It is early to mid-August 1945. One piece that hadn't happened was advanced training for Maurice. This became an on-the-job situation. The field was photography – now called combat camera. He was assigned to the 64th Topographical Engineers of the 98th Division.

After drying out from the rains, Maurice and others went to Tokyo, Japan. Their Hqs was a low-profile building. His income was about $21.00 a month. This building was where he lived, ate, and worked. Not a bad commute.

Maurice was assigned to a supply section where they provided all the material needed by the unit and its members. This building also housed the archives of the photographs taken of the Pacific War and especially those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While Maurice was still in Osaka, the Japanese surrendered to Allied Forces. Of course, that event changed everything war-related.

Maurice heard of the surrender on the radio by the Armed Forces Network. He did take the opportunity to tour the bombed sites. The images of that horror are still on his mind. As the supply sergeant, he was assigned a vehicle, a Jeep, so he could move about the area gathering and delivering needed items. There was some social life there for the soldiers. His assignment in Japan was for a year.

When his tour was completed, it was time to re-deploy. Based on the length of service, and the fact that the war was over, going back to the "States" was going to happen. Again, he boarded a troop ship and three days later, he was back at Seattle, WA.

Maurice made some good friends in the service. He stayed in touch with many of them. As time marches on, the relationships seem to fade as well. Maurice has remained active in veterans' activities. He has been the Commander of the American Legion chapter in Sterling, CO.

SGT Maurice Schaefer, thank you for your selfless service!