Harold Rae Conrad, as an enlisted man, 1942.
My dad, Harold Rae Conrad, Sr. was
attending Frostburg
State College, now Frostburg State University, in Allegany County, Maryland, when the first
peacetime military draft was held prior to the USA getting into WWII. The bill was
signed into law by FDR and the draft set in motion in October 1940. In the fall
of 1941, dad was drafted even though he was in his senior year in college.
According to dad, he was drafted, “because he was a registered Republican and
the entire draft board were registered Democrats.” The original draft was to be
for 12 months service, but shortly Pearl Harbor
would change all that.
Harold went to Fort Meade
for his basic training and then on to Norfolk
. He had risen from the rank of private to Master Sergeant, the Army decided
they needed more officers and that dad, with his 3 years of college and
Sergeant ranking would make a good candidate. So in January, 1943 it was off to
OCS, Officers Candidate School ,
to soon become a commissioned officer. He eventually achieved the rank of
Captain before being discharged.
My mom,
Dorothy Frances Williams graduated from Frostburg State
and was teaching in the Baltimore
area when she “laid down the law” and said they were going to get married or
else. She had had enough of this long distance romance. So on Friday the 13th
in November, 1942, Dorothy and Harold were married. Even the minister
questioned whether they really wanted to get married on Friday the 13th!
Most of
World War II had dad, and mom, stationed in Norfolk , Va.
In September 1945 Dad made a cruise on the USS A. E. Anderson, aka “The Mighty
A” to bring troops back to the USA .
He served as a liaison officer for the troops with their Navy crew. Their
destination was Karachi , India and back which had them
traveling 16,200 miles. When they arrived back in New York , dad was discharged from the Army.
On the USS AE Anderson ,
1945, Karachi , India
A keepsake of Aunt Dots, a gum wrapper souvenir of their first date. Everyone called Harold "Cooney", a shortening of Conrad. Conrad - Coonrad - then Coonie. You know how kids are.
Harold and Dot's parents in the back row on a family fun day.
They were that close growing up.
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