Veteran's History Project: Frederick H. "Fritz" Guenther

George E. Fehringer

U.S. Army

1942-1945

Corporal

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is one of many American Veteran accounts published in The Sidney Sun-Telegraph. The writer, who is from Sidney, is conducting the interviews as part of the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project.

In late 1941, the Selective Service Board was looking for people to fill the thousands of positions and skill sets in all branches of the U.S. military. Japan had made its strike at Pearl Harbor and war had been declared. The U.S. was going to be sending its warriors all over the world.

George Fehringer was 31 years old, a farmer and a John Deere Implement dealer in Peetz, Colo. He was a skilled welder. He was a recently married man. The draft board required that he submit to a physical exam in August 1942. The result of the physical was that due to previous injuries, he could still perform in a limited capacity. And he would need to report in about two weeks.

Quickly, now, things changed. He had to sell his business, secure what property he had, and see to his family's well-being for the foreseeable future. His wife went to live with her parents for most of the next 3.5 years.

He would be in a non-deployable status and would be going directly to Camp Miles Standish near Traunton, Mass., and assigned to the 15th Engineers. With the assurance that he would not be going overseas, he arranged for his wife and new baby to join him. Things in Massachusetts were looking good!

About a month later, the aspect of Limited Service was eliminated. Persons were either qualified for full, active service or they were not. George was qualified. His family returned to the midwest. He soon became deployable, sailing for England within weeks.

While in England, George obtained further training in the 3883rd Quartermaster Truck Company. George was a passenger in a military truck that crashed. George was seriously injured, having broken his back. He had lost feeling in his legs. Luckily, and with the help of very vigilant medical personnel in England, George began to regain his strength. After 90 days, he was back on his feet, slowly becoming more adept getting his former body back.

Soon, he was back in the welding shop, fixing stuff. As the repair jobs diminished, George and others were re-assigned from a Port unit to the 4260 Quartermaster Truck Company. This unit was seriously involved in the "Red Ball Express."

The Red Ball Express was the key element of moving supplies all through the European Theater of Operations. At the end of 1943, this trucking operation began in earnest under the huge logistics umbrella of ADSEC (Advanced Section, Communications Zone). They kept soldiers supplied with all the things they needed: fuel, food, medical supplies, ammunition, and clothing. At one point, there were 7,000 trucks in the Express. An immediate pool of drivers was available. Many African American soldiers had truck driving experience and made up 60 percent of the drivers at the start. They operated 24/7 and ran on roads made mostly just for them. They carried freight and people both directions. If one or more broke down, the driver would try fixing it, but if that didn't work, service was only 40 miles away. They stopped only if forced to. One big problem happened when they drove at night. Using black-out lights, the speed of the vehicles slowed, but the enemy could not see the convoys moving.

George Fehringer was a driver for several of these trucks. His was usually a five ton tractor and 10 ton trailer. In pictures, it is clear that some of the trucks were armed with .50 cal M2 machine guns. The drivers were armed as well. He drove in France mainly, carrying supplies to the area of LTG Omar Bradley's First Army. Pictures show Fehringer with other soldiers. As the Red Ball Express drivers kept driving and became more fatigued, the number of vehicle accidents increased. Commanders changed the training, tactics, and procedures (TTP) so that a second driver was aboard.

George was later based at Antwerp, Belgium, and hauled goods from the significant port there. He was ordered next to 513th Quartermaster Group. The work of delivering supplies continued up to the day of the signing of the peace in May of 1945. Even then, George and his fellow drivers of the Red Ball Express began loading their trailers with human cargo, taking German Prisoners of War back to the France-Germany border. In these missions, the trucks just dropped off the POWs at the border. They also hauled displaced persons, needing to return to their homes of origin.

In his service, and after the peace was won, George did obtain a pass to see Paris. This was an escorted trip of a few days. Ultimately, his work was over and he and his fellow soldiers left from LeHarve, France, on Nov. 1, 1945, arriving at New York harbor on Nov. 11, 1945. They were on the SS Smith. Before being discharged, he was presented the ETO ribbon with four battle stars and the Good Conduct Medal, to name a few.

George returned to the Peetz, Colo., area where he resumed farming. Sadly, he was unable to survive pancreatic cancer in the 1970s. A good soldier was called away again.

Thank you for your service CPL George Fehringer.