Wanda Molsberry Bates
Here is the final part of Wanda Bates' essay about how the wars in the past have affected the life of her family and others like them. With all the talk recently of possible war with North Korea, I thought about this three part essay and wanted to share it. I pray we will not have to face this war of which we hear incessant rumors. If Wanda was still alive, I'm quite sure she'd look at me with a smile and say "Well, here we go again." Please share this post written in 2006 with others.
Part 3:
"And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars...For nation shall rise against nation, & kingdom against kingdom:" (Matthew 24:6,7)
WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS--Part 3--Later Wars and Military Service
Other conflicts began soon after the end of WWII. America was involved in the Korean War during the years when my nephew, John Molsberry, served in the Navy. While in the NROTC program during his college years at Iowa State University he participated each summer in Midshipman cruises, with his first assignment on the USS Iowa during his freshman year. During the summer cruises he had shipboard responsibilities with assignments in most operations of the ship. Summer activities gave a taste of being on a troop ship, assaulting a beach, and spending time on an aircraft carrier. His last summer was spent on a destroyer.
At the time of his graduation from college in 1951 he was commissioned as an Ensign and received orders for active duty. His NROTC agreement was to serve l5 to 24 months, but because of the conflict in Korea, President Truman increased the time to 36 months. Immediately after graduation John was married and had a short honeymoon. In stories he has told of his days in the Navy he has described the separations from his wife and family as the most difficult part of his years in the service.
His first assignment was on the Pine Island (a seaplane tender). The ship was to serve as the admiral's flag ship for the task force assigned to support operations in the Far East. This ship was not directly involved in conflict but they were aware that at any time they could be directed to Korean waters. One assignment in the Formosan Straits was precarious as
Chinese Nationalists threatened to return to the mainland and Communist forces on the mainland were determined to prevent that. These units were in a constant state of readiness for conflict. The Pine Island and a sister ship patrolled the area. Our government's hope was to prevent hostilities there. John describes the ships as mobile gas stations with large supplies of aviation fuel. During his years in service he visited many "far away places with strange sounding names," such as Kwajalein, Keelung, and Sasebo. He carried out many shipboard duties and responsibilities and gave several years of his life to military service.
The baby boy, Rodney Bates, who shook his rattle on VJ day in 1945 grew into manhood and the day came when war touched him personally. He attended ROTC classes in college at Kansas State University and was awarded the rank of Second Lieutenant. He received a 1A military classification on his wedding day, July 20, 1968. He was trained at Ft. Huachuca in Arizona and Ft.Riley, in Kansas, and was on call but he was not sent to Vietnam.
Our son-in-law, Tom Lowe, did see duty in Vietnam. He received training at Ft. Campbell in Kentucky and was in Vietnam from May, 1968, to June, 1969. He hasn't discussed the conflicts, but he told a story of being in a restaurant in Sydney, Australia, when he was able to go there for R&R (Rest and Recuperation). When a car backfired outside the restaurant, he and other service men in the room instantly dived under the tables.
Years passed, and Grandson David Bates enlisted in the Air Force in December of 1998 for a four-year period. He was trained at Lackland AFB in Texas and at Keesler in Biloxi, MS. During his four years with the AF he served in Saudi Arabia twice for 60 day periods at the Prince Sultan Air Base. He has commented that there were many Bin Laden construction signs in that area. At the time of 9/11 he was working on servicing planes at the Offutt Air Base in Omaha. Seeing President Bush's plane landing there on 9/11 is
a vivid memory for him. Shortly after that happened he deployed for a stay in the Azores and had two 60-day tours at the Omni Air Base in Oman. Other operations were at Katar (Qatar). He completed his years in the Air Force as an E4, Senior Airman in December of 2002. After that he worked for a time for the Air Force as a civilian at the SAC Air Base in Omaha. The enlistment period was for eight years. He has had four years of inactive duty with the possibility of recall. (David tells me his gas mask is not as frightening as the WWI masks. See Part 1).
We hear daily reports of wars and rumors of wars on the news and are very much aware of operations taking place very close to us. Just recently the Big Red 1 has returned to Ft. Riley, which is just a few miles from our town. The Fort is alive with activity with many more troops with their families coming into the area daily. Providing for their needs is a major concern for surrounding cities as well as at the Fort. We are very much aware of the sounds of war when we hear loud booms of gunfire when training exercises are being conducted.
We are all touched today by the turmoil in our world. Unfortunately, there are no signs of any peaceful end in sight.
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