I am still trying to find out more about the tools of Artillery ,not just the guns .
My wife is an LPN ,and she works at one of many retirement homes in the area.
She let me talk to a man who was not in real good health ,he is a WW2 Veteran.
He was 18 years old in early 1942 ,and his job description sounds about like about what Gray Beard said his was.
My wife said i made his day ,A young Kid ,to him ,asking him about this ,When for years no one cared.
He said he was attached to an Artillery regiment ,that was getting the guns they had ,and the tools for them into service ,for shipment to England.
He said the Guns were not that old ,but the tools were sometimes dumped off from a ware house left over from WW1 ,and the American Army wasn't ready for this.
He said they spent days cleaning them up getting the tools ready ,for issue.
In Boot camp he trained with a wooden rifle , and he didn't even see a real rifle until he was 19.
I asked him if he was trained to use the tools ,he said no one left there knew how to use the tools ,anyone who did was already deployed .
He said they brought in old WW1 Vets to train the guys how to use them ,and sometimes the guns.
I asked who taught them ,He looked at me and said ,Boy who do you think taught them ?
Yes you got it, CW ,some of which were with Roosevelt at San Juan Hill ,and were only 15 during the CW.
That is about all i could get out of him ,he was with the 15th , and survived the entire war and never became a Gunner.
His name is ,Jacob Armstrong ,and i thank him for his service.
