February 14, 1945 - August 22, 1946 

Interview December 2000

I was very lucky to be able to interview Alvin “Bud” Jorgensen for my World War II project.

He was born April 5, 1920 in Ephraim, Utah.  He graduated high school and went through two years of college at Ephraim Junior College.  He finished his schooling in 1940 at the age of twenty and went to work as a foreman for the Kilfoyle Tamping Company in Price, Utah, for three years, until he joined the army on February 14,1945 at Fort Douglas, Utah.

He took his pre-induction physical on March 1, 1944.  He kept waiting to receive orders to ship out.  During this time he kept working and his boss wanted him to apply for a deferment, to keep him from going in Bud refused, so without his knowledge his boss went to the Manti office where he was registered and applied for the deferment.  His records were then sent to Salt Lake City.  Bud and his wife went to Manti during this time to visit her parents and he ran into the chief of the draft board.

The chief was going to have him arrested for not being in uniform.  Bud explained that he had not received any orders to go in yet.  Within three weeks his records were found in Salt Lake and return to Manti.  Within a short time after that, he received his orders to go to Camp Holders in Texas for Infantry Basic Training on February 14, 1945.

Bud remembers taking his pre-induction physical with a guy who was sent to Africa and then Italy.  He had been wounded twice and in the hospital, and was back in the unit again, before Bud ever received his orders to go in.  It took nine months from the day of his physical, before he went into the army.

Bud went into infantry basic training as a private.  He spent 13 weeks there.  After basic training he was able to go back home to Manti for a few days before going to Fort Ord California for training in crossing infiltration courses.  He then went onto Camp Stoleman for more infiltration training.  After leaving Camp Stoleman, he went to San Francisco to get on the ship with 1700 other men to head for the Phillipine’s.  This was on July 31, 1945.

During Bud’s time in basic training he went through special training to learn how to handle guns and hand grenades.  While he was in basic the war ended with Europe.

After banking on the island, the war ended with Japan.  They went onto Manilla Bay on August 27, 1945.  Bud remembers when everyone unloaded off the ship, it looked like a cattle train to Los Angelas.  While he was in Manilla Bay, he saw a whole train of Japanese P.O.W.S ( prisoner of war ) being shipped out of there.  The Phillipino people were yelling and spitting at them.  He remembers feeling really bad for them.

The army set a tent city seven miles outside of Manilla Bay for the men to stay.  They had one long tent set up for gasoline drums and the latrines (bathrooms).  Bud was in one latrine one morning and down from him in another latrine was another soldier.  The other soldier threw a lit cigarette down the latrine and the whole tent exploded.  The last he remembers about the other soldier was that he was still in the hospital.

During Bud’s time in Manilla Bay, it rained every day and the men would grab their soap and shower in the rain.  It was the only way they could take a shower.

While at the tent city they were only five miles from Clark Air Force Base.  For entertainment the men would watch the fighter planes practice fighting maneuvers during the day.  Other times they would go around and pick up un-exploded motor shells that were found in the fields around their tent city.  Bud felt very lucky to come home alive and with all his body parts.

Bud then transferred from Manilla Bay to Ling Guy and the Gulf of Japan, then joined the 109th military Government Headquarters.  The 109th Replacement Depot  helped ship supplies out.

One of the ships that the 109th had to load with supplies was the 33rd Infantry Division. When the 109th was leaving Japan, the 33rd Infantry Division were dug in on the beach in Japan for three  days before the 109th could get to them and unload them.

While Bud was in Japan, a few of the men were sent on a detail (job) in a truck with a sub machine gun on it.  While Bud and the other men were loading the truck with lumber, the Japanese started shooting from the hills.  He said, “It scared me so bad, that I was ready to jump under the truck and dig a hole for protection.  But he didn't need to.  The sub machine gun operator opened fire, spraying the hills with bullets.  He yelled at the men to load the truck and get the heck out of there.  That was the only time Bud remembers being shot at.

After being with the 109th for quite awhile, he went on to be a Personnel Sgt. Major as a replacement in the Battalion Headquarters.  He was an E-5 and most of the key personnel from this battalion, were from Utah.

After this job, he went on to the 11th Replacement Depot.  In the 11th, he did health physicals and chemistry on men.  This took place in Negoia, (Nee-go-e-a).  After the men were checked out, they were shipped to Wakayama, (Walk-e-am-a),  from there they were shipped back to the states.

The 11th Replacement Depot came straight from France through the Panama Canal and were going to send the American P.O.W.S home from Japan, but by the time the 11th got there, the P.O.W.’S had been sent home through the 4th Replacement Depot in Yokohama. (Yo-ko-ha-ma) When most of the men went back to the states, the 11th Replacement Depot was broke up and people were re-assigned. 

Bud went on to be Administrator ( Non Commissioned Officer) with the 68th Replacement Battalion.  His job duties were to supervise and direct work personnel - which means to put people where they are needed, and to take charge of correspondence, records, reports, payroll, special orders, morning reports, sick reports, rosters and discharges.

Bud still remembers his serial number, which is, 39 940 512, even though he can’t remember other important numbers.  He says, “This is one number he will never forget.”

Bud’s wife sent a request in for a dependency discharge.  This meant that he needed to be out of the Army to take care of his dependents.  Shortly after her request, Bud was honorably discharged from the United States Army on August 22, 1946 from Camp Beale, California at the age of 26.

While in service Bud received four different medals.  When asked what they were for, he couldn't remember. They were:    The Asiatic Pacific Companion Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, and World War II Victory Medal 

During his tour with the Army, Bud spent four months in Infantry Basic Training as a Private, six months as Clerk General as a Sgt., and five months as Administrative N.C.O. (Non-Commissioned Officer) as a Sgt.

At the time of this interview Bud was almost 81 years old.  It has now been 54 years since he was in World War II.