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The News-CourierSunday, February 18, 2001Page 15Vision 2001: PeopleOur job was to go in and hit the beaches and clear the mines and obstaclesand clear lanes for the troops to come in.Bv JI HU'S U. Bvkksovi IFor The Nevvs-CourierI-d McMunn was destined to participate in one of the greatest military events in history.The Athens man would land at Omaha Beach. Normandy, on D-Day and help free Europe from the tyranny of Nazism. But on this particular Sunday morning, he was 18-years-old and enduring another dull work day at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville where he was helping construct ammo bunkers.Around noon, the radio program was interrupted by startling news. Pearl Harbor.* Hawaii, had been attacked by the Japanese.If the attack was meant to demoralize Americans, it had the opposite effect. They were stirred Tip like a nest of angry yellowjackets.Ihe shocking news spread quickly throughout the building where McMunn was working and everyone was exhorted to work harder and produce more for the war effort. The next day. the United States and Britain declared war against Japan and on Dec. 11. Germany and Italy declared war against the U.S. McMunn. one of five childrenof Doc and Leona McMunn. w as■born and raised on a hard-scrab-• •ble cotton farm just west of Athens on Buck Island Road. His father. Doc, had gone to France during World War I as a doughboy with the famed 42nd Rainbow Division and fought Germans. And the way youngMcMunn figured it. if he had togo and fight another generation bf Germans, so be it. Many of hisJfriends were members of the 127th Combat Engineers, an Athens National Guard unit that had been mobilized in January 1041. and sent to Camp (Claiborne. La. McMunn decidedto enlist in the armed services.E(l McMunninmilitaryHis first assignment wasbuilding runways for B-17 bombers and constructing barracks for 8th Air Force personnel. Later his outfit moved to South Hampton to construct a floating dock made of huge logs brought m from Canada.It wasn't until the NormandyInvasion that he learned how the dock was used. It was towed across the channel, anchored at Normandy and used for shipsdocking and unloading.Tent living in England was on dirt floors and uncomfortable.But when he moved to NorthWales m the mountains where hebuilt Bailev bridges and trained with the British commandos, life was real I v miserable.“Rainv. drizzly and cold.See Military. Page 18GRAPHICS‘COPIES* PRINTING CENTERServing Athens Surrounding Counties Since 1986¥Newsletters ¥Programs/Manuals ¥High Speed Copies ¥Typsetting Design ¥EnvelopesHe went to the post office and tried to join the Navy, but he weighed only 117 pounds and was turned down for being too small. So in December 1942. he joined the Army. After processing at Fort McPherson, Ga.. in January 1943, he was sent to Camp Claiborne, La., and assigned to the 358th Engineers, a new outfit being organized.He never received basic training and never went to a rifle range. Instead, he was put to work building cardboard shackscto house the burgeoning number of new troops arriving daily.The 360th Engineer Regi-ment, commanded by a Col. Barksdale, headquartered at Camp Shelby. Miss., was t in Louisiana on maneuvers and needed more personnel to till its ranks. McMunn was available.Assigned to the 360th Engineers, he was sent to the range for two hours one morning and a short time later boarded atrain with the blinds closed and transported to James. N.Y.. for the eventual journey to England where forces were the invasion of Nazi-occupied France.In the summer of 1943, McMunn boarded the Joanne DeWitt, an old Dutch vessel been hauling cattle and hogs,for Scotland in a convoy of 150 ships.submarine wol prowled the Atlantic. The JoanneDeWitt was hit by a torpedo in the bow but the damage was slight. It pulled out of the convoy and steamed for Iceland where repairs were m, it made the longand dangerous journev to* *Glasgow. Scotland, unescorted. After docking at Glasgow, the troops were loaded into boxcarsn to Cambridge. England, just north of London, where they pitched tents in a cow pasture.PEOPLEJOBS JOBS FOR PEOPLEStewart, Wynn Associates realize that our employees are our most important asset. If you are an employee looking for a good job, or an employer seeking dependable, skilled employees, call Athens Employment Specialists - Stewart, Wynn Associates.Call now: 8:00am - 5:00pm Monday thru Friday.OfferedDietaryClericalAssemblyProduction Accounting Forklift Operators lanitorial/HousekeepingWelders Millwrights General LaborConstruction Electrical Shipping Receiving Cad Operatorhave four offices to serve youStewart, Wynn Associates. Inc. - Athens110 Thomas Street - P.O. Box 788Athens, AL 35611 256-233-7968 Fax:256-233-7915Al Associates, Inc. - Hartselle 1521 Sparkman Street - P.O. Box 37Hartselle. AL 35640 256-733-7999 Fax:256-773-3134PEOPLE. Inc. - Cullman 207 4th Avenue SE - P.O. Box 1007Cullman. AL 35056 256-739-3760 Fax:256-737-0436AJ Associates, inc. - Hartselle 819 6th Avenue SE - P.O. Box 2178Decatur, AL 35602 256-350-4000 Fax:256-351-0588
Newspaper Details
Athens News Courier
Athens, Alabama, US
Sun, Feb 18, 2001
Page 41
Full Page
Clipped by
Deborah S.
USA 27 Dec 2022
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