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543rd E.B.S.R January 1999. Company "C" 543rd EB&SR ---- You and your Family are invited to the Fort Ord, Monterey, California area. On October 13, 14, 15. 1999. In cooperation with the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Accommodations are available at Motel "6" in Marina, California. Make your own reservations at 1-800-4MOTEL-6. Make your reservations early. You can always cancel by calling the 1-800- number. Fellow Veterans of Company "C", we are putting together a reunion in the Fort Ord area. This will be a no host program. We will present a list of what is to see and do. We can pool transportation Fort Ord is now a part of the California State University system. Two years ago with the help of Steve Johnson's records, Elger Anderson & I found our Company Area. It might be of interest to you. Kurt Loesch is the Curator of the Point Lobos Museum and is our man in the area. He is trying to put together things of interest in regard to the Museum. We may be able to hold our meetings at the Hudson House, an historic adobe structure in Monterey. We will try to make this a outstanding Reunion. Remember it was 54 years ago we shut the lights out in Company "C". We should show that there is a candle of fellowship still glowing. More Information will be sent in July. “OR” on his J Boat, 1945 “OR & Lorraine 1998 The following came from email from Oliver Smith, veteran of the 543rd. Company C of the 543rd EB&SR started having reunions about 15 years ago. The first one was at Cape Cod and consisted of about 3 veterans. Word of mouth spread the news and the maximum number of vets at any one reunion has been around 50. The next to the last meeting (1997) was held in Oklahoma City and was relatively lightly attended. Co. C of the 543rd EB&SR had its 1998 reunion at Morgantown Pa. Some of us started showing up Wednesday the 7th of October. The rest came in on Thursday We had 11 vets and a son of one of our people who had gone the "M" Boat in the sky. We had a total of 25 people for our tours, dinner and meetings. Earl and Doris Rank our hosts ran a very good program. On Thursday we got reacquainted and went out to dinner at a Amish farm , we had an outstanding dinner. On Friday we loaded on a bus which took us to a real Amish farm in operation with a narrator giving us the story of the Amish and their customs. It was rather impressive. About noon we loaded on the bus again, which took us to Strawsburg for a train ride where they served lunch. Later in the afternoon we went to Intercourse Pa. The city is named for its intersection of several roads. They have a model railroad set up that is BIG BIG!!! Everywhere there are shops to tweek the interest of all. Friday night we had our Company Dinner with pictures. Then the meeting to try and find who would like to host the 1999 reunion. We didn't have much luck though a lot of ideas went around. Jim Walsh suggested that we team up with B Company of the 543rd and he would look into that prospect. Oliver Smith talked about Robert Lewis Sr. suggestion that all the Brigades have a reunion. I said I would suggest it him. Dan Kramer suggested that I (Oliver Smith) hold a “no host” get together in the Monterey Ca. area by Ft Ord. The plan would be that I would locate a Motel in the area set a date and pass the word. Then those who could make it would make there own reservations. This plan seemed to go well with all. So it looks like at this time Company C of the 543rd EB&SR will meet in Oct in Monterey in 1999.Sunday we said our goodbyes to all of our old friends and went on our way. Elger Anderson, his wife Wilma, Lorraine (my wife) and I spent almost a week touring the Beautiful State of Pa. They dropped us off in Pittsburgh, where we met our grandson who is going to school there. We caught a plane home on Sat. When we left DFW we had to climb to 35000 to get above the weather that was giving Texas such a bad time. When I get the pictures of the reunion printed I'll US mail them to you, perhaps you can put them on the 543rd part of your web site. Further info from Oliver Smith follows.The 3rd Brigade was made up of three regiments: 533rd, 543rd, and 593rd. Each had three boat Companies & three shore Companies; plus the 563rd Boat Maint. Co. There were other service units but I don't remember their Numbers. There is a real good book by Gen. Heavey called Down Ramp. He was CG of the 2nd Brigade. He covers all Brigades including those in the ETO and North Africa. He does a pretty good job except, Gen Ogden the CG of the 3rd Brigade didn't want any records kept for security reasons; not even Logs, Journals. He does have a few facts but not much. The 1st Marine Div. Landed at Cape Glouster on Dec. 26,43. Second Brigade furnished the boats. The Marines had their own shore people. I was there the following June. I thought it was on my birthday (the 9th) but found out later it was the 12th. Two different logs note that they were at Cape Glouster with the 2nd Platoon of the 543rd, and we moved around to Arowe the next day. Cairns Australian 2nd Brigade assembled 901 LCVPs for the Australians, the US navy, and the 2nd and 3rd Brigades. The big need was for LCMs. Liberty Ships could only deck load 2 or 3. So a plan was worked out to sectionalize the "M" boats. The 411 Base shop Battalion moved from Cairns to Milne Bay. Started setting up the Assmbly plant. The 411& the 5211 didn't have enough people to do the job.So the 3rd Brig. were added; they formed a complete work force. Schools were set up for fitters and welders and trained the people while the plant was being finished. The 563rd (the Maint. Co) joined them in Oct 43. The first month 21 "M" boats were assembled in Dec. 43. Ninety were built in Jan. and in Feb., 120. Not less than150 per month through June 1944. Part of this info is from Down Ramp. We have a friend in Springs Tx. just north of Houston, she is under a program at the University of Texas doing resurch on our problem. I recieved a nice e-mail from Peter with several photos. I was reading his web-site and find he is a very interesting man. He has done what I am trying to do. I found early on that we would be abliged to improvise to keep our boats operating and us with them. I was reading some of it to Lorraine and she said it sounds a lot like me . I had a "C" boat at Point Lobos Ca. (she was a 50 foot Navy liberty boat) we used her for training there, then shipped her overseas. And I was issued her in Milne Bay about February or March 1944. She had been decked over forward with a flying bridge. I was to have her until about Dec 1944. When we started getting ready for the P.I.. The C Boat was pretty tired; I turned her in to the 563 Maint.Co and was issued an LCS . You may know what they were. She was 36 foot spoon bow like a LCPL but with armor on the freeboard sides and con, we deck-loaded her on a APA and at Mindoro in the P.I. We took off the steel armor and the carpenter who used to work for a yacht builder made a real nice forcabin and flying bridge. We called her a "J" boat. For some reason she was given three different numbers at different times - "J4C2", "4JC4", "4JC1". Our "M" boats had numbers like "M4C1" through 13 in the first Pl. The second Pl. " M4C14" through 29 and the 3rd Pl. had "M4C30" through 44. We left Biak Feb. 2nd 1945. So much for now Bob we hope they can help you. |
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