Joe-Pa

MOWW Silver Patrick Henry Medallion Recipients

Proposal and Engagement

How did you propose to Sara?

We never had a formal proposal. We just sort of assumed. As we just got to know each other better. We met on July the 25th, 1943... and I gave her an engagement ring on December the 25th, 1943... and we were married February 27th of 1944. We knew each other 6 months before we were formally engagement. [Sara: He got me a very pretty one. Showing her ring]. We married in February after we had met in July. 

Michelle: That was pretty quick!

Colonel: Yeah! Yeah!

Sara: He lived at Fort Benning and there were gobs of guys!

Michelle: He had to snatch you up quick!

Sara: Yeah! Yeah! I knew two ladies that were in charge of the USO that would have parties for the guys. Little dances, or something else. And they were always calling me to come over and bring some friends so we could have some girls there for the boys. So I could meet lots of guys! But I didn't meet him that way. 

See this link to find out how they met!

GI's

One of my good friends was a GI. When I reported to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, the Commanding Officer was a Colonel Bruner. B-R-U-N-E-R. He told me I was a one person order and I was scheduled to go to the First Battalion of the 417^th Infantry as the Plans and Operations Officer. But he sat there at his desk and said, ‘I’m going to change that’ and called in the adjunct. He said, ‘I’m changing the orders for Captain Busch. He will become the Commanding Officer of the Antitank Company’. That’s all he said! It was changed! That was it! They have all sorts of authority! So the adjunct called the company, ‘Send someone over! You have a new Commanding Officer!’ So they did and I went in. I went in the First Sergeant’s room and sat down. We had a First Sergeant who the senior, non-commissioned Officer. He was a Staff Sergeant, one rocker. Eventually as I got to know him, I said, ‘Where is the First Sergeant?’ A First Sergeant is two rockers. He said ‘He is down at the Motor Pool’. ‘Motor Pool?’ ‘Yeah, the guns needed cleaning, he took a detail.’ ‘Well, who is running this outfit?!’ I learned that that Staff Sergeant was a stevedore off the docks of New York and he was running it! The First Sergeant was taking orders from a non-commissioned staff Sergeant.

So I got rid of the First Sergeant, made this guy the First Sergeant, and so on. 

Sara interjects ‘I bet they loved you!’

VJ Day

I was in Kemnitz, Germany. I was in South Hampton, loading the Queen Mary when the Japanese surrendered. Another thing on VJ day, puzzled. I never saw so many fireworks over the harbor, over the bay than that night. Where those GI’s got all of the fireworks, I’ll never know. They weren’t fireworks – they were machine gun shells! And everything of that nature. The sky was all lit up. But where these GI’s – we called them GI’s, government issued, enlisted men/personnel.

Where they got all the ammunition, I’ll never know. But I stood on the decks of Queen Mary and the whole sky lit up with machine gun fire. They were celebrating the dropping of the atomic bomb. That’s what they were doing.

We were married in Columbus, Georgia and the Supply Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, a GI, I guess it was my last day at work; I was a Captain at the time. He said, ‘The Captain will have a need for some linens.’ And he had scrounged linens. He took bed sheets and cut them in half. And he turned in two halves and got two whole sheets! He scrounged that way. These GI’s will do that! So he gave me two solid sheets, which he had gotten from the supply, you know. They are full of those things!

So where they got all the ammunition to light up the harbor, I will never know.

Smoke Screen over the Sauer River

I was in Echternach. Echternach is a town in Luxembourg. I was with an infantry outfitting General Patton’s third army and on the night of February 6th and 7th, we were scheduled to cross the Sauer River and into and through the Siegfried line – with all the pill boxes you have read about in history and so on. We had moved up under the cover of darkness and were ready to put the boats in the water.

An EXCELLENT smoke screen was created along the banks of the river. And we actually put the boats in the water under the smoke screen and we got halfway across under the smoke screen before the Germans knew we were coming. We took advantage of everything we could from this smoke screen. We heavy casualties, sure, but years passed, years passed. I am at a meeting of a Service Club in West Chester and they introduced me to a fellow, I’m trying to think of his name – black man.

He said, ‘You were in WWII, where did you go?’ I said, ‘Went to Europe.’ He said, ‘Where?’ and I started telling him. And I learned at that moment, that that black man was one of those that put up that smoke screen. He put up the smoke screen.

The black troops in WWII were used in that capacity: to drive trucks, put up smoke screens, etc. They were not used in the close combat situation. They were used for things of that nature.

How many years later was that?
Well D-Day was June 6th, 1944, and then was shortly thereafter.

PSC Senior Canvas Jacket

Self Drawn!

Front

Back

Sleeve: First two names are his roommates.

Zoomed:

PSC Entrance: Via the Registrar himself!

How did you get into the military? 

When I graduated I hadn't the faintest idea what I wanted to do. The principal at the high school said, ‘You ought to go to college!’ I was 5th in a class of 126, so he said, ‘You ought to go to college!’. [Sara: I’m not surprised!] I said, ‘Where?’. He said ‘Well, they have a good school up at Penn State. It’s a land-grant college’. And I didn't know what ANYTHING meant. He said, ‘I’ll see that you get an application’. So I got an application, filled it out. Didn't hear a thing. Didn't hear a thing. The summer went by, its September. Didn't hear anything. And my mother and father, we didn't know what to do! So I enrolled in Pierce Business School in Philadelphia. Took a train from Valley Forge into Philadelphia to go to Pierce Business School. Ugh! Didn't like it at all! And I’m home one weekend, I ran into my high school principal. He said, ‘How’d ya make out?’ I said, ‘I didn't hear a thing.’ ‘Didn't hear a thing?! That means they didn't accept you.’ I said, ‘Okay, okay.’ He said, ‘Let me give them a call.’ So he called them and I get a telegram. And that telegram said to report IMMEDIATELY – this is the middle of October. So my mother and father picked me up. Put a footlocker in the trunk and away we went! I forget how many hours we rode, and we were only 5 miles from home. We had taken the wrong turn! This is before they had route signs! (IE: Route 322) And so we wound up in Downingtown and its daylight. So turned the car, headed north, went to Penn State.

I was overwhelmed by the campus, but we found Old Main, the principal administrative building. And first person we talked to, I told them what the problem was and they took me down to the registrar’s office. So I walked in, whoever I don’t know, I told them my name was Howard Busch. Their eyes lit up, ‘Ohhh, yes!’ They took me in, my mother and my father and they brought out the registrar himself! And he sat across the room, the table, from me and apologized that they had made a mistake. They had given somebody else my grades, my high school grades, and refused me admission. He was so apologetic, and carrying on and on and on. It was almost embarrassing. I just wanted to go to school! He said to me, ‘Howard, what is it you plan to study?’ and I was as silent as you are. There were no such things as guidance counselors in those days. But I knew I liked to fool with trees, cutting trees, eh, this and that, so I blurted out, ‘Forestry!’ He said, ‘Fine. The freshmen forester’s spent their first year at Mont Alto. There is a military man taking a car to Mont Alto tomorrow. We will put you in a dorm tonight and tomorrow morning you will go to Mont Alto.’ So I got caught up, they gave me an ROTC uniform and I was in business.

I took a minimum, absolute minimum, in forestry courses. I took everything else in civil engineering, that’s what I enjoyed. And that’s what I did. I did a very little bit of forestry, but I enjoyed the civil engineering.

The depression was still fading away, it was still active. This was fall of 1934 and there was still depression there. I graduated 1938, and jobs were still scarce. But there was a man from the Soil Conservation Service who came to Penn State and went to the Dean’s Office and he wanted to pick up 3, actually, student trainees for the summer. And so, they gave him my name along with two others, an interview, and I got a job at the Soil Conservation Service on the basis on my degree in forestry. They sent me to Lancaster. Lancaster, PA where they had a CCC camp – Civilian Conservation Corps – doing work on farms, and so on. They didn't know I was coming, that’s how well organized everything was. I always thought that they closed the door and talked among themselves and said, ‘what are we going to do with that kid that came in here?’ They agreed that they would send me out among the Amish. So I go my first work among the Amish of Lancaster County – enjoyed every moment of it. When the three months were up, they extended it, and they extended it. And finally after 18 months, they said, ‘We can’t do any more of this extending. It’s just not in our authority to do that.’ So I took an engineering job, went to work for the War Department, Civil Engineer. And that’s where I was until the summer of 1941. My roommate, close friend, Eugene Forquer, we were both distinguished military graduates from the ROTC program of Penn State, and we always kept in touch. He was from Washington, PA, Carmichaels. So Gene and I sat up all night, ya know, when you’re 22 years old you know everything in the world, you know what’s going to happen, we sat up all night, when daylight came - this was in 1941 - we said to each other, there’s a war coming and we are going to be involved. Let’s go in now so we have a choice of what we do.

So we called Fort Meade the next morning, and they were anxious to get two 2nd Lieutenant Infantry. Real anxious! ‘Come on down, come on down!’ so we waited a day until we got caught up on our sleep and then we went down. They said to Gene, ‘We’ll take you right now, if you’re ready’. They looked at me and said, ‘We have to get a release from the War Department, you’re doing engineering work for them, they have their rights to you for 60 days. We can’t take you until after the 60 day period has expired.’ So Gene and I separated. We had gone arm in arm together, ya know, in the service. So we went outside, talked it over. We came to the conclusion that Gene would go and I would catch up with him later on. [Long pause] That is the last I saw of Gene. He went in. Was assigned to the Pacific Theatre, died on a prison ship on the way to Japan, a rough way to go. They took me in September and first to Fort Meade, and then to Fort Benning and then to other places and then I went to Europe. That was the last I saw of Gene. Kept in touch with his mother for a short period of time. But that was it. So life puts you through a lot of different experiences.

[Sara interjects: they sent you down to me! Fort Benning!] We met on July the 25th, 1943.

MOWW

I am involved with an organization called the Military Order of the World Wars. It was created in 1919 by General Jack Pershing of the WWI. The American Expeditionary Forces in Europe during WWI. The organization is on the decline. It consisted of WWI veterans, WWII veterans, we picked up a few from Korea, and very few from Vietnam... they have their own organization and they just aren't oriented towards a bunch of old, WWII veterans. But we do exist and we work for scholarships for ROTC and things of that nature. We have a memorial fund right now close to 300,000 dollars and we have a $36,000 budget every year. 94% of the budget goes toward ROTC scholarships. There are 12-13 schools – University of Pennsylvania, Widener, Drexel, Temple, I would have to think about it – have ROTC programs. There are also junior ROTC, for high school. I guess there are now 6 of them here in Chester County. The school board pays the salaries and provides the room and they are very successful. They have to have 100 students to be maintained. They are a very active group. So we are able to take them to lunch once a year. All the schools, different months. In February, we bring the Marines... and in March we bring the Navy... and so on, to a central place and have a military speaker from their branch of the service who provides a good day for them. I've kept active in that capacity.

ROTC at PSC

How many years total did you serve in the Army? 
38 years. Of course that goes back to the days I graduated from Penn State!

How was the ROTC program at Penn State? 
Aside from the actual education and classes itself, what was the additional training?
We had an armory at Penn State. So those of us that were seniors were doing a lot of the instructing. We went to summer camp after our junior year at Penn State. I went to school every summer. Once to forestry school/camp, once to military training, and once to engineering camp – so I had all three summers filled up. We were 3 months at Fort Washington down near Bowling Field in Virginia for military. 3 months living in pyramidal tents, sleeping on folding cots, and it was a good experience, it was a good experience. Those of us that were in ROTC spent any free time we had in the armory. That’s where our buddies where! As so that’s where we spent our time.

On graduation from college:
When we graduated we were commissions BEFORE graduation. The professor of military, science and tactics were schred enough to swear us in to get a date of rank that was earlier than most of the ones graduating from college. So we had an earlier dated rank. On graduation day, when we went across the stage with our sabers, and shook the president, just like everyone else.

Root Beer Floats - A History of the Making.

The "Black Cow" or "Root Beer Float" was created on August 19, 1893. Frank J. Wisner, owner of the Cripple Creek Brewing Co. in Colorado, served the first root beer float. Inspired by the moonlit view of the snow-capped Cow Mountain, Mr. Wisner added a scoop of ice cream to his Myers Avenue Red root beer and began serving it as the "Black Cow Mountain". The name was shortened to "Black Cow" and later "Root Beer Float". Yes, I like Root Beer floats!

Casual Friends: Battleship Missouri

Three separate story-tellings about the same friend:

A friend of mine was the Engineering Officer on the battleship Missouri and took a whaleboat into Tokyo Bay the night before the Japanese surrender to be sure that the Japanese did not have any surprises awaiting us - all part of WWII. So I have some knowledge of the responsibilities of an Engineering Officer.

The night before the Japanese surrender, he was told to take a Whale Boat and 18 seamen and scout out Tokyo Bay. So when the sun went down, he went out into Tokyo Bay with a whale boat. They wanted to be sure that the Japanese didn't have any surprises waiting for us on the day of the armistice and signatures. He didn't find anything! But it was an experience for him.

One of my best friends int he reserves is a Navy Captain, Retired. ROTC Georgia Tech. He was an Engineering Officer on the Missouri. And the night before the japanese surrender, he was given orders to take a Whaleboat with 18 sailors into Tokyo Bay to check it out to make sure those Japanese did not have any surprises waiting for us the next morning. So he did. In the dark of the night with 18 sailors and a Whaleboat, circling Tokyo Bay. And he has the orders, the original copy of the orders, which he received to carry out that mission. Imagine that! That was 1945! And he was able to retain those orders! I never saw the original, I saw a copy that he showed me. I don't know where he keeps the originals, probably somewhere for his family, that kind of a thing. When I got to know him, I thought he had a speech impediment because he talked somewhat haltingly and with effort and so on. It was not, I learned later a speech impediment, it was a problem which had happened in his vocal chords. And he has had recent surgery. It will take 6 months for it to clear up, but he says it will. So he'll be back to normal. But he did a masterful job of talking! Georgia Tech.

100-Year History. 100 YEAR HISTORY.

Thank you for the photos from [when you attended] the Cleveland Air Show. I had been to Air Shows at the he Willow Grove Naval Air Station when it was open but the ones there were one day affairs - not three day complete shows like Cleveland. And the Blue Angels and the Golden Knights performed every day - the Knights twice a day.

As I looked at the photos (and thank you again) my mind drifted back to (I think it was 1915) when Orville and Wilbur Wright (who operated a bicycle repair shop) invented a plane which flew a flight of (I think) approx 100 feet.

And then in 1928 Charles Lindbergh flew a single engine monoplane non-stop from new York to Paris. He an the plane came back on a ship but he then flew non-stop from N Y to Mexico City to gain some kind of a prize. His plane (the Spirit of Saint Louis) is suspended from the ceiling in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.

And the Alan Sheppard flew sub-orbital and landed in a capsule and landed in the Atlantic Ocean.

And then John Glenn orbited the earth and splashed down in the Atlantic.

And then Neil Armstrong (as it 1969?) set foot on the moon.

And NOW there is a robot exploring the surface of the planet MARS!!

ALL OF THIS IN LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED YEARS!!

ONE HUNDRED YEARS!!

What I have seen is phenomenal. And Michelle think what you will have seen when you reach my age!! I AM HAPPY FOR YOU!!

And when I look back on the L-4s, the C-47s, the C-54s, the P-49s, the P-51s, the B-17s, and the B-29s of WWII they were "primitive" but at least you have had the opportunity to see some of them. Of the thousands of the B-29s which were built I understand that there is only one left that can fly. In Europe I used to see them fly over us in waves on their way to bomb Germany.

PSU Football

Love, Sara B.B.

Signature.

I always love his signatures! 

Trench: Play by Play

In a letter you asked me for stories – one you mentioned was experience sin Boot Camp. Here goes. First the term Boot Camp is applied and used by the U S Marine Corps. In the Army we use the term “basic Training” but it is the same thing – very intensive training for those newly in the service.

There are the usual “experiences” like marching everywhere you went. Even marching from the barracks to the mess hall for a meal. There were no casual saundering over to the mess hall. It was marching! GOOD PRACTICE? Yes!

But now for an “always will remember” experience.

Look at the sketch. On the left you will see a trench. That is where you start from. Crawl up out of that trench and flat on your stomach crawl to your right until you come to and drop down into the trench on the right.

From that machine gun there are real bullets flying over your head. There is eighteen inches between the ground and those bullets. That is the space you have to crawl in.

There is a safety feature. There is a block below the machine gun prohibiting it from firing below that 18” level. You are safe as long as you do not stand up from that 18” space. But you do have the experience of live bullets flying just over your head.

Bullets are sometimes called “rounds”. Sometimes called “shells”.

The machine gun can fire a single round or a “burst” of several. A small burset is three or four rounds in rapid (non-stop) succession. Then there is a medium burst of ten or eleven rounds. And a long burst is 20 or 25 rounds. This rapid firing heats up the barrel of the machine gun and unless it is cooled it will warp and become useless. So there is a “jacket” around the barrel. This jacket is filled with water and acts as a cooling agent for the barrel.

The machine gun is mounted on three legs and can traverse 360 degrees.

How far do you crawl? Good question. The first time was at Fort Washington (along the Potomac River) in the summer of 1937 when I was between my Junior and Senior years at Penn State. We were in the ROTC Summer Training Program. As Cadets we crawled one hundred feet.

The next time was as a Lieutenant at Fort Benning, GA when I led fifty soldiers out of the trench and crawled 150’. The next time was at Camp McCoy, WI when as a Captain I led 200 soldiers out of the trench and crawled 200’. A football field is 300’ long so you get an idea of length.

YOU REALLY HAVE TO LAY FLAT ON the ground!!

During the Fort Benning and Camp McCoy crawls we did it twice. The first time was as I have described. The second time was similar except that our arms were extended in front of us as we crawled and had a rifle cupped inside the elbows. Thus we crawled but had a rifle with us.

Change the subject.

A lot of “training” becomes routine. Map reading. Rifle practice. Mortar range. Anti Tank Gun Firing. Calisthenics. Marches. Night patrols. Etc, etc. And it is all valuable. The above becomes very real as live bullets fly over your head. You don’t forget.

MOWW

Military Order of the World War has some new leadership. I joined the organization in 1979 and have witnessed the growth of a new generation of non-joiners. It affect not only military related organizations but also Service clubs and other groups. Happily, our Memorial Fund is financially able to support a program of scholarships to ROTC Cadets, Patrick Henry Medallions to AMERIKIDS, etc.

P. B. F. T. A.

Wednesday 21 September [2011]

Thank you for calling my from the airport [Pittsburgh National Air Show 2011] when the P-51s were in the air. Did you read what happened in Reno, Nevada? A P-51 was flying in a "race" and crashed into the crowd killing nine people. Yes, it was a P-51 BUT it had been altered (the wings were several inches shorter and other changes had been made so it could fly faster but interfered with its maneuverability). Tragic.

You know by now that P stands for "pursuit". B stands for "bomber". F stands for "fighter". T stands for "trainer" and A stands for "attack". The A-10 was famous as an Anti-Tank weapon in desert warfare.

Pacemaker

I may have told you earlier that in the year 2000 I had a pacemaker installed in my heart. It was done at Lankenau Hospital because this is was the first “three wire pacemaker” to be installed in the Philadelphia area. As I was wheeled into the operating room I noticed a gallery of twenty “white coats” forming. An overhead camera, three large screens, etc. In addition to the surgeons the representative of the manufacturer was there, etc.  The operation was highly successful. When it was over I asked the surgeon how long the battery would last. After some hesitation he said, “usually four years”. Michelle – that was ten years ago! All are thrilled with the success.

But the time has come. The battery is within months of failure. So, after a lengthy discussion with the surgeon it has been decided that the battery will be replaced on 10 or 11 of November in West Chester which is now equipped to do it. Replacing the battery is no big deal BUT One of the wires implanted in the heart is showing weakness. There is risk involved in replacing that wire (and they do not know which one it is). I finally got around to the critical question – suppose the wire fails, does that establish a life threatening situation? His answer was a firm “No”. He explained how I still have two good wires, etc. He explained where the wires are, their functions, etc. So, all is in place. Battery replacement is routine but he was not anxious to attempt going into the heart to replace that wire.

Telegrams!

Your letter with the copies of telegrams triggered memories of earlier years. Two telegrams in particular. The first one (I hope I can still find it) was from the Registrar of the Pennsylvania State College in October 1934. He apologized at length for an error in their Admissions Office and urged me to come to state College as quick as possible and I would be admitted.

The second one was from Josephine Ziegler (Sara’s cousin) to me when I was in Europe during WWII. It was sent to me in June 1945. It announced the birth of our son H. William Jr.

I had them and hope that I can still find them. Historic! 

Personal Break Cart

It was on Chesterbrook Farm. In Valley Forge. My grandfather would go out into the fields with a few men of this farm and work out in the fields. Each day, I would get on Sunset, my horse, and ride out to the field. I would bring a sort of... trailor. It operated as a wheelbarrow to the horse, and it housed milk cartons. Sunset and I would take this out to the spring house and fill those milk cartons with water. We would approach the throw gate, I would hope off, open the gate, Sunset would walk through, and I would close the hatch behind us. From there, we went around and distributed these milk cartons of fresh, cool water from the spring, to the working men in the field. I was their waterboy!

Bombs, Jeeps and Teeth.

Michelle: Wasn’t there another time you were in a plane in Europe during the war?

Colonel: It was a... let me think... a B24. It was so primitive a plane that the only guy up front was the pilot and the fuselage, the body of the plane, there was an opening. And they actually pushed the bombs out through this hole. Pushed em out! They were armed when they left, but they dropped down out of this hole. Real primitive.

 

Jackie: Did you see them pushing it out the hole? While it was armed?

Colonel: Yeah!

Michelle: Where were you flying over at that point?

Colonel: Germany. I don’t remember where.

Michelle: Why were you up with them that time? Weren’t you usually with your anti-tank company?

Colonel: Couldn’t tell you at the moment. Ya know, its just one of those things, yeah. You just... did.

Jackie: So what was being pushed out through the hole?

Colonel: Bombs. It would explode on contact with the land.

Jackie: Was there any chance of it going off in the plane?

Colonel: No. They were armed in the same way that a mortar shell is armed. A mortar shell is not, not alive. And you fire and drop it down the tube of a mortar. And there in the base of it, there’s a, like a shotgun shell. And it hits a triggering device at the bottom of the tube and that in effect, arms it. But it’s not fully armed yet. And it comes out the tube, still not armed. But when it leaves the nozzle, the end of the tube, then a spring in it, as a result of the change in direction, arms it. And a safety pin flies out at that point in time. Then its armed as soon as it leaves the tube of the mortar and it’s alive the whole time it’s in the air. As soon as it lands, it’s gone.

Jackie: What year was that, do you know?

Colonel: Mhmm, 1945. Yep some of it was 44, but most of it was 45.

Jackie: So how big was the bomb coming out of the place?

Colonel: 2 feet, maybe 3 feet long. A foot wide. Things are pretty primitive at that point.

Jackie: Were they heavy? Did you get to hold one?

Colonel: OH yeah. You took them to the plane on carts and then two guys carried them in, one at a time.

Jackie: How many were on the plane?

Colonel: Five.

Jackie: Did the second time landing the plane have a better landing?

Colonel: Mhmm! [Chuckles]

[See post First Flight for that story!]

Jackie: Have you ever driven a tank? Was it easy?

Colonel: Oh yeah. Yeah. It’s not as hard as it looks. If you’ve driven a bulldozer, you can drive a tank.

Jackie: Have you driven one of those?

Colonel: OH YEAH! [His entire expression lights up] [Chuckles]

Michelle: What was your favorite vehicle to drive?

Colonel: Jeep! Jeep! They were fun!

Jackie: Did it have the top around it or was it just open?

Colonel: Both, both. You had the material to make a top, but it was soft. Out in Luxemburg in February. 1945. We shared driving. It’s a hard top really, but it’s not very good. We went on and were on the back of the Frankfurt territory. And we could only hear sounds to know what’s coming. And I knew what I heard was an 88. The 88 was an artillery shell, 88 millimeters in diameter. And it has a typical sound when it’s coming. Sheer and I knew it was artillery, an 88 coming in. You can almost identity where it’s going to empty, and you can almost identify where it’s going to land. This 88 is in the air and I’m sitting on the right hand side, Sheer is driving. And we both sense the same thing. That that 88 is going to come in somewheres to our left. You can’t be sure where, but you get the sense where it’s going to be. Sheer took the Jeep off the road... into a ditch, turned it over, threw both of us out. But he had saved our lives in that the 88 went over and landed somewheres around there [past us]. Because he turned the Jeep over, we were both thrown out. He was in a ditch, and he was on his side, and so on. You have... the windshield was down, but we had a piece of canvas covering the glass. So that, there’s no reflection so no one is watching you. I got thrown out and got caught... and the front windshield is looking down on the front engine and the front of the jeep, and so on. I hit the corner of the window with the canvas covering. And my face went right smack into that. Knocked out three teeth. Actually it was two knocked out and one broke off, and so on. And they looked at me after and do on. There was actually a dentist in our unit! So he took me back and pulled out the reminder of the other tooth. So I was missing three teeth!

Trish: They don’t give you novocaine for that, do they!

Colonel: Heh, Heh! And that’s the way I lived for several years! Until everything’s all over, and I came back and notice, I have a partial, right there. They replaced my three teeth. So I still have that partial, after all these years!

Jackie: Do you have any scars?

Colonel: No, no. You act on incident, and when Sheer heard that, he knew coming in. He didn’t have to, but over the shoulder and into the ditch. The only thing that could be done was turn the Jeep over. He knew what to do!

Jackie: Did you ever drive the Jeeps?

Colonel: Once and a while, occasionally, but that was his job and I didn’t want to take it away from him.

Jackie: So tell me about driving the tanks?

Colonel: Oh, that was when we were back in the states, as part of getting acquainted, getting used to them and so on. Anti-tank company. As I say, if you can drive a bulldozer, you can drive a tank! Levers control the tracks, one on each side, one for each tred.

Jackie: So how do you see out? A tube?

Colonel: Yeah, you have two places to look. A tube up and you do have a slit in front of you, its narrow, but you can see out, etc. You can see reasonably well.

First Flight.

Michelle: Tell Jackie and Trish about the first time you ever rode in a plane.

Colonel: It was in the vicinity of Trier, T-R-I-E-R. Germany. March. And um, we had captured a couple of prisoners, and they were the type that wanted to intimidate you. They were vocal. Lemoyne [our translator] was with me, he knew what they were saying.

Jackie: Where were they from?

Colonel: Germany.

Colonel: As we interrogated these prisoners, they were vocal, ya know. “We’ll get cha! We’ll get cha! Our tanks will get cha!”

Michelle: How many were there of each of you?

Colonel: Oh! There was just me and a couple of other guys, maybe 3 or 4, something like that. And just 2 prisoners.

Colonel: And they were bragging that their tanks would get us. This told us that the Germans were capable of launching a tank attack. And I had an anti-tank company. But I needed to know where they were going to come from. We couldn’t tell where they were going to come from. Of course these guys weren’t telling us anything except “Our tanks will get cha”.  So, the Artillery Liaison Officer was there and a witness to this conversation. And he said, 'Captain, if you want to go up, I’ll take you'. He piloted an L4, which is a small plane, a piper.

We could take it up and look out and see what we could learn. So I said, “Okay!”. So we went back to where he had this L4, in a pasture, grass, that’s all. And it was a seat in the front and seat in the back. Pilot was in the front, and I got in the back. And up we go! We get up and he circles around, circles around. And I could tell from up there EX-ACTLY what those Germans had in mind. I could tell where they were going to come in, I could tell everything that I needed to know. I had a small radio, and I radioed back, gave directions, they radioed back, etc. And then came the time it’s beginning to get dark. It came the time for us to get out of there. He had been up; he had not gone over Germany [territory]. We had enough daylight that we could tell the pattern to their approach.  And um, he goes back to get the plane down, and as he came into that pasture, the wind was getting up. And the wind blew the plane sideways and he couldn’t begin to get that plane down. Circling around, came back, sideways again. Here we are going down across this pasture! Sideways! Up again. So he came in a third time and this time he went like this [holds his arms up at a 90 degree angle with fisted hands and pulls down on an invisible rope]. And I haven’t the faintest idea what he was trying to tell me. He was going like that [demonstrates again]. So I’m sitting in the back seat of this plane and in we come! This time I learned that he was trying to tell me that he was going to set it down. So we got in about eight feet off the ground and HMMM, HMMM, HMMM! We bounced around and so on, went all the way across the grass pasture, pretty close to a fence, but not really. That’s what he was trying to tell me – he was going to set it down no matter what! My first plane ride!


What were you thinking while you were up there?

I was really concentrating on what the Germans had in mind, I wasn’t thinking a whole lot about... He was going as far up as he could go, and still see, and not get over Germany. I say Germany, but out over the lines of their territory.

Favorite Books

Did you have any favorite books?

Bobbsey Twins! And... there was another... it was another one of those series of book, on the adventures of, trying to think... I can’t quite remember.

Sporting Background

Tell me about your baseball background.

Colonel: Well, in the early days, it was Valley Forge pickup games, so to speak. Then I played Phoenixville High School. I tried out, and I played my Freshman Year at Mont Alto [branch campus of PSU]. All freshman foresters spent their first year at Mont Alto. And I tried out my sophomore year, but I didn’t make it. And besides I was waiting on tables and taking care of a furnace, I was working my way through. I really, really didn’t have the time. So I gave up on it. When graduated, they assigned me to Lancaster and the Red Roses, so I gave it a try out there. I was a good field, no hit type of person. 

Did you like it though?

Oh yeah! Yeah.

Weren’t you first base?

Well yeah. 126 of us. We had our own team. We played locally. But after I got up to base at the main campus... Eh. There was a fellow by the name of Mel Vonarts and he was big. And a much better player than I was, so it was obvious that he was going to be the first baseman. 

Did you play any other sports?

I was 135 pounds for football and I didn’t go very far! I did get a little time kicking field goals. Little bit, but not much. In High School. 

Forestry Courses

Colonel: Mensuration. Forestry Mathematics. It’s specialized for forestry students, a mathematics course. You had to have calculus before you took it, you know.

Jackie: What kind of stuff did you learn in the class?

Colonel: Projection and volume at which you can anticipate in a given grove of trees, as a result of the size, the diameter, etc. And you learned that through a, moving through it. You have a trail, maybe 40 or 50 feet wide. You measure all the trees, diameter, species and anything like that. Then you projected that over a larger area.

Jackie: Was everything in the classroom, or did you go out?

Colonel: Both, both.

Jackie: What was your favorite class?

Colonel: It would probably in the field of Civil Engineering. I took all of my electives in Civil Engineering. And that’s what I ended up doing!

Learning Golf

Michelle: Can you tell us where you learned to golf?

Colonel: Phoenixville Country Club. I think it was in High School. And I learned that there were three holes, that I could sneak in and play golf. So I played those three, and three again. They couldn’t see me from the clubhouse!

Michelle: Could you ride your horse there? Or could you walk?

Colonel: Walk, we walked. 

Yust!

Michelle: Did you have a translator with you?

Colonel: Oh yeah, Lemoine.

Michelle: What was he like?

Colonel: He was a good kid. Personal young man. He knew that he was doing. I don’t know how many languages he spoke, but he knew everything.

Sara: I have forgotten about that other man that took care of you so good. The one from New York.

Colonel: Yust! 

Sara: Yust!

Colonel: We were in Camp McCoy, Wisconsin and they were filling in vacancies...transfers... new people joining the outfield as we prepared to go overseas. We had a few vacancies they filled in. And they shipped in this one kid and he was late checking in. And the First Sargent looked up at him and said, “Where have you been?”. And he, in his Swedish accent, said “I yust got here!”. From that day on, he was known as “Yust”. Everyone in the outfield knew his as “Yust”. “Yust!” No one knew his name! He was a PFC. Private First Class. Turned out that Yust was Evoug Green - a native born Sweed. Naturalized in the United States and enlisted in the Army.

Sara: His wife’s name was Elsie. She was a dancer in New York and a beautiful, beautiful lady. We got to be friends with her and they came down to see us.

Colonel: Yust was a character. We had crossed the Sauer River and its February 1945. Bitter cold, nasty, ugly. We were in a wooded area crawling up, no leaves on the trees, just brush... uh, there was a pill box up there and we wanted to get that pill box.  Take it, so we could live in it briefly at least and so on. So I’m crawling along through the brush, through the leaves and sticks and everything on my belly. I don’t want to stand up. Swanson’s over here [points to his left] and Nok is over here [points to his right] and we’re all working our way up. And here comes Yust right beside me and its 2 o’clock in the morning. And he gets up and gets a hold of my shoulder. And I turn to him and he says, “Captain, if we ever get out of here, I’m going to ask Elsie to marry me and I want you to be my Best Man.” At 2 o’clock in the morning! Middle of February! Snow! Bitter cold! Germans are dropping mortar shell's all over the place! And this Sweed wants me to be his best man! I said to him, 'You can count on it, Yust!' and we went on. 

Michelle: What was the wedding like?

Colonel: It was small. In New York City. Very nice, very nice. Who was the Orchestra at the Roosevelt?

Sara: Roosevelt Hotel?

Colonel: Lawrence Welk! At that time.

Sara: So we had beautiful music! It was nice because we were part of the wedding.

Colonel: Yust is gone. He was my good friend up until he left us. Parkinson’s took him. Extended period of time. Cremation. And we went up and his son had retained a boat to take the remains 3 miles out. The daughter and son were there. We quietly went out. Late afternoon. And as the sun went down, going down on the horizon, the boat stopped and they scattered the remains. And so the daughter had brought along a tape player. So after the remains were scattered, she played the appropriate tape. And we just sat there as it got darker, and darker, finally we came back in. 

68 Years of Marriage. And Counting.

Today

March 13, 2011

Colonel is wearing his hat from WWII, good ole authentic USArmy Uniform from the 1940's. He did clarify, that this is not the EXACT hat, because better gear was worn while traveling the English Channel to protect "the head region". This hat was worn during training and when he was teaching back in the states post-WWII.

How They Met!

This is where they met, filming a commercial for a bed and breakfast. 

He was a Captain in the Army, she a southern belle.

Captain Busch and Sara Baldwin.

Postage Stamp!

"I never thought I'd see the day when my FACE was on a POSTAGE STAMP! Only royalty is on postage stamps!" 

- Mrs. Busch

VE Day in Europe

Colonel describes this day at two separate times, detailing different, unique information:

1

I was in Kemnitz, Germany. It was in an area where we were to turn the territory – we owned it – we were to turn the territory over to the Russians. We had gone too far. And we were to withdraw; only AFTER we had turned this territory over to the Russian’s. It was to be their territory to occupy.

I’m waiting for them to come in, the unit had gone back. I had a task force with me of men, hand-picked men, to hold that territory right there. We’re waiting for the Russians to come in; in the meantime the civilian population was fleeing ahead of the Russian’s. They didn’t want to be in Russian-occupied territory. And word spreads among civilians. So they knew that this was to be Russian territory. They didn’t want that. So they were fleeing in front of the Russians. The roads were blocked with people: little old ladies with four wheeled carts, all their belongings in the carts, maybe they’d have a dog; maybe they’d have a cow. The roads were loaded! Just loaded! You couldn’t move through all these people!

We, being the task force that I had, had taken over a house. A nice house. We weren’t going to live like a... you know... whatever. We were going to have the best! We did, and we took over this house. In the living room, there was a baby grand piano... a Lieutenant with me. When the day was going on, everybody wanted something. They all come to the door, they wanted something. They wanted a pass to go somewhere, they wanted medicine, and they wanted food. Michaels was with me. 3 o’clock in the afternoon, Michaels just shook his head. ‘We’ve had enough of this, let’s go’. We went out in the backyard and we laid down on the grass. Took a blanket, laid down on the grass. Somebody took our picture, LAYING there on the grass on VE DAY! We were sleeping! We didn’t see this picture until a long time thereafter. But we were both sleeping on a blanket on VE DAY on the grass in the back of this blush house. That is how we spent VE Day!

The day went by and the people continued to come. Michael’s left. And I was stuck with the job of staying there. But eventually, they had pretty much gone. Then came the day that the Russians came and we were ready to turn it over to the Russians. The trucks came, non-descript, you would scrap trucks of the type that they were driving! They pulled up. An Officer got off and with him, I suspected an enlisted man. He became the interpreter between myself and him. Eventually, I got to know this enlisted man well enough that I felt that I could ask him questions. I asked him, ‘Those 1^st three trucks that got off... the men on those trucks disappeared. Where’d they go? And then, the 2^nd three trucks... they got off, but they stayed there in the trucks. The next 3^rd three trucks... they are still sitting there! Tell me, what’s going on?’ And he knew me well enough to tell me, ‘The 1^st three trucks... the men got off and they were going off into the countryside to get food. That was their first priority – food. And they disappeared. The 2^nd three trucks... the men got off and they were going to get places to stay – billets. Places where they could stay. The 3^rd... they are going to take over the installations in which they will be the guards. They could care less.’

This was the Russian Army that I met. Non-descript trucks. They were after food.

And this was a Russian enlisted man that was talking to me. But he felt that he had my confidence that he could speak frankly. And he made fun of the Officer. The Officer didn’t know what he was saying – he couldn’t understand English. But this interpreter spoke good English. And when he would make fun of his Officer, the Officer would nod his head, ‘Mmmhmmm, Mmmhmmm.’

2

"Between us [The United States Army] there were all these displaced persons: Poles, Slovak’s, Chek’s, all of them, who had no home. And they were fleeing in front of the Russians; they wanted to get into the American territory. And so from daylight until dark we were overwhelmed with these refugees. Clogging the roads, everything. We had a house, which was our headquarters. And we posted guards around it and so on, but they all wanted to come into the house and get a pass to go to here or there, or get something. We were just overwhelmed. So Major Michaels and I were stuck with the job of preserving order there. By three o’clock in the afternoon, after having gone through this since daylight, he said to me, he said, “We’ve had enough of this. Let’s get out of here.” And so we went out in the backyard of this house, nice place, and he got a blanket somewhere and we laid down and fell asleep. And while we were asleep somebody took that picture. I did not know they took the picture until I received it in the mail when I returned to the states.

Now that was May the 7th, 1945. Now what is that? 63 years ago was that? 63 years ago. And I’ve had that photograph ever since.

Ah! That's history!"

Back of the photo:

Callaway Gardens, GA

This is where Sara taught swimming lessons for three summers. 

"Relaxing by one of the southern pools in the area" - Howard

It has since become a resort, click here to see!

Pictured: Howard Busch

A book from Callaway Gardens, including a handwritten note to Sara & Howard from the Virginia Callway.

College Course: Public Speaking

Michelle Hanrahan

COMMRC0520

10Mar2010

Ceremonial Speech

Colonel Howard W. Busch

United States Army, Retired

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

Howard W. Busch is the only man I know that has been able to recite the entire Gettysburg address from age nine to present day at age ninety-three. In third grade at the Valley Forge one room schoolhouse, Howard stood before the class and visiting Army Officers to recite Lincoln’s address. For the remainder of that school year, he traveled the state of Pennsylvania with these Officers reciting the address at local schools and community functions. This was the first of many ways that Howard served his country. We are here today in celebration of Howards lengthy and inspirational life.

I could list off some of his qualities such as respectable, humble and accomplished, but none of those adjectives do justice to this man. I can only give you examples of how he lived his life and let you draw conclusions of your own.

Howard W. Busch is the most patriotic man I have ever known and a proud Penn State College Alumni. It was at Penn State that Howard and his roommate enlisted together in the Army ROTC in August of 1941. This was the beginning of his career in the United States Army, including five active years of duty. I cannot express how much I respect his service and the protection that he provided and continues to provide for our country.

Private Howard Busch become Lieutenant Busch of the U.S. Army. He was stationed at Fort Benning in Atlanta, Georgia for about four years. It was there that he met the beautiful and petite, Miss Sara. His determination to win the heart of southern belle Sara Baldwin proved to be relentless. They met at the photo shoot for a Bed & Breakfast newspaper advertisement and from then on, the rest is history. Their adoration for each other is still seen today after 66 years of marriage. It is only when you speak to his wife that you can fully comprehend what Colonel has accomplished. His humble character prolongs as Sara willingly gloats about his accomplishments.

Lieutenant Busch became Colonel Busch of the U.S. Army. He now is commonly referred to as simply “Colonel” by many. Colonel led over 200 men across the English Channel losing only 2 lives in his journey during WWII. To this day, he prays for those two men and their families every single morning. Colonel has accomplished tasks that most can only dream of. He freed a concentration camp in Germany and directed chaos during Victory in Europe Day, also known as V-E Day on May 8th, 1945. Just a few weeks ago, I inquired more about that particular day and watched as he put himself back into that moment. Colonel recalled,

“Between us [The United States Army] there were all these displaced persons: Poles, Slovak’s, Chek’s, all of them, who had no home. And they were fleeing in front of the Russians; they wanted to get into the American territory and get a pass to go here or there. And so from daylight until dark we were overwhelmed with these refugees.”

At ninety-three years old Colonel continues to serve in the United States Army even today. Every Thursday, Colonel drives two hours to the Willow Grove Naval Air Station. With a strong dependence on his cane, he walks to his platform where he spends the next six hours with other retired veterans simply standing guard and communicating technical militaristic terms.

 I have had the privilege of knowing Colonel Busch for over fifteen years and his vivid stories have continuously amazed me from day one. From his early memories of riding bareback horse through the fields of Downingtown to fetch the loaf of unsliced bread for five cents, to exactly which car dealership and salesman he bought his first Ford Model T pick-up truck from, to remembering where the exact location of each pill boxes on the shores of the English Channel in relation to his Infantry men. Colonel’s captive story telling and ability to recall the smallest of details is truly incredible. Rarely is there ever a story told that does not include the exact date, time of day, or who was sitting where within the room.

Although we are not related by blood, I feel truly privileged to call him my adopted grandfather. I have never admired anyone more then I do Colonel Busch. He has inspired me to live my life to its fullest.

Baldwin's

Pictured: Sara's parents and her son, Bill.

Uniform Army Troubles

Do you have a guess of how many different uniforms you had in the Army?

I don’t remember... there was summer and winter uniforms.  Then there was what you called the “Tigs”. These were work uniforms made of denim for field work. I had a whole bunch of them.We wore them for select occasions. For instance, we had a field jacket which was zippered across, ya know. That was NOT worn off the post. Not worn off the post!

Got a phone call from the MP’s – Military Police – that they had apprehended one of my officers. He was at the railroad station near Camp McCoy, Wisconsin in a field jacket! They were going to release him to me for appropriate, ya know.

The MP is pretty much like civilian police, but on military bases. They were very active overseas directing convoys. They had to know where the convoys were going, and ya know, that kind of a thing.

Did a lot of your men get in trouble?

No, no. The worst one was Roberts. I was at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. About the second day, I was talking to the first sergeant and he was making up the orderly report. I looked at it. I said, ‘You reported Roberts AWOL – absent without leave’. He said, ‘Well he’s been gone for 3 months’ and they hadn’t been able to find him. The military police were looking for him. He said he’s been in trouble before. He’s out of Kentucky. He’s a gunner, and so on. He told me about him. Then we just waited. And ironically enough, in a week, the military police called and said that they had apprehended Roberts! I don’t remember where they got him. But they were bringing him back!

They walked him into the orderly room and turned him over to me. In talking to him, of course I had to put him in the Guard House, the jail, because of what he had done. I had to, I had no alternative. He went into the jail, but before he did... Sitting there in the orderly room. (An orderly room is an office. Two rooms – the first Sargent and mine, Captain at the time.) And this was my company of men. Roberts had a bad history. A bad history. And yet as he sat there looking at me, he almost burst out into tears. He said, ‘Captain, I am SO TIRED of training. I can’t stand it anymore!’ Now he had to go to jail. But the night before we left to go overseas, I took Roberts out of jail and took him with us. He turned out to be one of the most valuable men in the company. He got overseas and got his ability to FIGHT! Heh, Heh. He was in trouble all the time, he just didn’t want to train. He wanted to fight!

Stars

A letter from June 19, 2012

You asked me if I had seen any “stars” like Sinatra, Presley or Madonna. No, the nearest to those kinds of “stars” was Liberace – the skilled pianist. Saw him in Indianapolis. The other “stars” I saw were GEN Patton, GEN Westmoreland and President Coolidge and Rita Hayworth (who married a Lieutenant at Fort Benning”. 

Swimful Sara

Mrs. Busch swimming in a local pool, doing a backflip at age 16 or 18 to impress the onlooking military boys in town!

Longwood Gardens

Sara: "We used to bring guests when you didn't even have to pay to get in. It was free! And on Sunday's it was $1 to benefit the Children's Hospital".

Colonel yells: "Honey, are you back there?"

Emily and I took a detour, thought we lost them, 

and walked around the corner to find this. So precious!

Sara: "I just love the blue flowers! Blue is my favorite color, if you didn't notice. No wonder I picked the man with blue eyes!"

Sara: "Michelle, just skip in those gardens and read me the sign... Better yet, I will go all terrain in this thing."

June 2011

2/200

A letter from June 19, 2012

[ In the past, Colonel has spoken to me about the 2 (of 200) men that he lost in WWII. He feels responsible for their loss and the grief of the families and you can tell from the change in his facial expressions that it still hurts him. They were under his leadership and to this day, he prays for them and their families every single day. ]

Had a phone call last Friday from Dennis Cupp who said he was passing through the area on Saturday on way from his home in Bridgewater, VA to New York – would we be home – he would stop. I quickly agreed that we would be GLAD to see him and would take him to lunch at West Chester Golf and Country Club.

Dennis Cupp is the son of Orbille Cupp, a soldier in my Anti Tank Company, who lost his life in February when we were attacked through the Siegfried line and crossed the Sauer River into Germany – 1945. Orville left a wife Glenna and four children – Ivan, Wayne, Dennis and Regina. I have told you about them. We visited them frequently on our way to Florida. Glenna had passed away in 2009. We no longer drove to FL but we kept in touch and I was glad to see Dennis again. I knew Orville, knew hmi well, and was less than one hundred free from him when that German mortar shell came in over the trees and took his life. We [Dennis and I] went to lunch, talked at length about his Mother and Father, sort of a “reunion”.

Windsor Hotel: A History of

A Brief History

http://www.windsor-americus.com/history.htm

Welcome to the Windsor Hotel. Built in 1892, to attract winter visitors from the north, the Windsor was a 100-room, five story Victorian structure complete with towers, balconies, and a three story open atrium lobby. It occupies nearly an entire city block, and was the site of numerous balls and celebrations. As famous as the structure is, are the visitors who have graced its halls. The Windsor closed its doors in the early 1970s, but recently underwent a $5.8 million restoration which returned the historic structure to its original grandeur. Its grand opening celebration was attended by former President and First Lady Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter as well as many former guests who returned to the old hotel to relive its good old days. Visitors, now, can stay in any of 53 period style rooms with all-modern amenities. No rooms in the Windsor are exactly the same, so each room has its own warmth and style.

1888: The Beginning

On August 22, 1888, a reporter for the Americus Recorder found John Sheffield and Ross Harper measuring off the courthouse square, which was bounded by Lee, Lamar, Jackson, and Forsyth Streets. Upon inquiring as to their purpose, young Mr. Sheffield responded, "because Major Moses Speer and Papa told me to". In the following month, two Atlanta architects, W.H. Parkins and G.L. Norrman, submitted proposals. The selection committee of S.H. Hawkins, John Windsor, and C.M. Wheatley opted for Parkins’ design, on March 21^st. It consisted of a four-story, square, wooden building with 120 rooms.

The Grand Opening transpired on June 16, 1892. Thousands attended the opening and over 100 guests registered the first day. A Grand Ball lasted until well after midnight in the fifth-floor ballroom. The city’s electric railway on the hotel’s west side was revived for the summer (Americus Electric Car #2 is now on display at Lake Blackshear Regional Library on Lamar Street).

In September, 1910, the hotel was completely renovated with electric lights, new elevators, telephones, and steam heat, at a cost of $75,000. Numerous smaller scale renovations occurred over the following decades, but the Windsor never regained her full, Victorian-era glory. In the 1930's the property was again sold. This time to Mr. Howard Dayton, of Daytona Beach, Florida. Mr. Dayton owned a number of hotels in Florida and South Georgia and kept the Windsor in operation for another four decades. Finally, in August, 1974, having operated for some time as apartments, the hotel closed her doors after 82 years.

What’s in a name?

Originally, the founders had decided on "The Alhambra," as a name that would lend an international flavor to the resort. However, this struck a discordant note in the community. Consequently, the hotel was named for John Windsor. As one of the leading capitalists in Americus and one of the ten incorporates of the new resort hotel, it seemed fitting to use the Windsor name. The community agreed that "The Windsor" was more suggestive of those aristocratic qualities to which Americus aspired.

John T. Windsor, 1847-1930

John T. Windsor was born April 24, 1847, on a farm in Webster county, one of 13 children to Alexander and Harriet Terry Windsor. He later attributed growing up in such an environment to developing the habits of industry and economy that made him a successful capitalist.

The road from farm boy to financier was a fairly smooth one. As a 17-year-old Webster Countian, John Windsor joined the Confederate army as a private in Company F, Third Georgia Reserves, was quickly promoted to commisionary sergeant and served in that capacity until the end of the war.

In the summer of 1866 he moved to Americus and joined the Bethel Baptist Church (now First Baptist Church) on August 31st of that year. He would remain a valued member of that congregation for more than four decades.

John T. Windsor’s business career began as a clerk in the dry goods store of Jowers and Usry. Then, in the late 1860s, he and Robert T. Byrd, under the firm name Byrd and Windsor, briefly ran a dry goods emporium in the building constructed by the former partner in 1867 and still standing at the northwest corner of Jackson and

On April 24, 1870, John Windsor married Emily Amelia Lester, daughter of Alfred J. and Amelia Barlow Lester. The entire family resided on a farm located on the southeast corner of Rees Park. The home became the younger couple’s inheritance upon the death of A.J. Lester in 1874 and survives to this day as Aldridge Funeral Services.

Within three years he acquired control of Dr. William W. Barlow’s considerable estate, as the nephew by marriage. In 1880, John Windsor was elected cashier of the Bank of Americus and held that position for six years, steadily building his reputation for financial acumen. He then parlayed that reputation into the presidency of the new Peoples National Bank midway between Jackson and Forrest Streets. After a year, he resigned to accept the position of cashier, so as to be in more active control of its business. Under his leadership it was regarded as one of the soundest financial institutions in Georgia. It was remarked that at no time in his life had he owed an amount he could not cash.

Whatever happened to John T. Windsor? During the first decade of the twentieth century, the Windsors left Americus to move to Havana, Cuba. Eventually they settled in Winter Haven, Florida, where John Windsor died and was buried on April 20, 1930, several months after his beloved Amelia had passed away.

1986: A New Beginning

As mentioned earlier the Windsor Development Corporation was formed in 1986 by present day local visionaries and nearly $6 million dollars was spent to restore the original Victorian features of the hotel and add all the modern conveniences. The process of major restoration began in October of 1990 and the hotel reopened on September 20, 1991.

All the wood in the lobby is golden oak which had darkened considerably over a 99-year period. To restore the original color, the wood was cleaned with acetone and rubbed with tung oil. The two chandeliers are not original but are circa 1890. The rug was handmade in Thailand. The design of the rug was computer-generated and inspired by an original 1890s ceiling paper. The mirror on the back wall of the lobby dates back to before the Civil War, and was donated by Harriet Rylander Ansley. The marble on the lobby floor is the original and was removed during restoration, cleaned, and then replaced piece by piece. During restoration the ceiling medallion, located in the lobby, crashed into the basement and a new one was constructed from fiberglass. The framed photo of John and Amelia Windsor just outside the front desk was a gift from Bob Windsor, a descendent of the hotel’s namesake. The mahogany phone booth, original to the Windsor, was donated by Mrs. Bessie Mae Carter in memory of her husband.

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