TRANSCRIPTION
What's your full name and where are you originally from?
My name is Juan Gonzalez
Regino and I am from San Antonio, Texas and I was born down San Fernando street
in the west side of town. A mid-wife was
our doctor then, so I was born in a house.
How far did you take your education?
I attended Pre-K at age five
to six at J.T. Brackenridge and followed to Navarro Elementary in 1936-1942
then I went to Sidney Lanier from 1942-1948 and dropped out of the 10th
grade at age 16.
Why did you drop out of high school?
I was foolish to have left
school but I did it because my mother was a single parent and I wanted to help
her get out of the neighborhood we were in. I did it to make my family better off.
While you were in school, how was the school's economy due to the war?
School was the same, but at
that time they would sell stamps and bonds in order to help out the war.
Where were you working at?
I was working part-time
during school and when I left school I went to full-time work at Western Union
Telegraph Company.
What was going on in your neighborhood during your teenage years?
It was between 1940 and 1945 that World War Two was going on and during the war they were giving out rations to buy shoes
and other house items needed to survive.
In order to make more money, we would pick up metal scraps, carton boxes,
newspapers, bottles and any recyclable things.
Why did you decide to join the Army?
A couple of my friends came over to my house and it was my day off and they asked
me to go with them to join and I said okay.
The funny thing is that they both flunked their test and I passed, so I
was the only one to go. It was a on the
spot decision.
Where were you stationed when you were sent off to the Army?
I was sent to Fort Ord in California for training and that was in that June, July,
and August. I had made an application
to move to Fort Sam Houston in the medical field. There were only two people that they chose to
go at that time and it was I and some other guy. I was chosen to go train here in Fort Sam
Houston for a medical technician and the other guy was chosen for dental
technician.
How long did training last and what was your job?
Training
was supposed to be eight weeks but I stayed longer but right after I graduated
from medical training I was sent overseas to Wiesbaden,
Germany.
How long were you there?
I cannot say exactly but we were there for a while and back then they it was called
the Army Air Corps. After about six
months of being stationed there in Germany, they came out with the Air
Force. They gave everybody a choice to
either join the Air Force or stay in Wiesbaden, Germany or to go further in to
the Army and be sent somewhere else.
How was it being in Germany?
When
we got there we were called occupational forces because we were occupying
Germany after the war and where we were staying at the buildings were destroyed
but they were remodeling so it was so it was getting back to normal for them,
but for us it was still different, we didn't use U.S. dollars, we were using
money called striped money but it had the same value.
Was the Berlin Airlift in effect at this time?
At this
time the occupational forces were going into Berlin to supply food and other
necessities. There were four
occupational forces and they were the British, French, Russians and the
Americans. They (the Russians) wouldn't let the people
receive any food or rations and that's why they had the Berlin Airlift.
What did you do after your service in Germany?
Well, I had an early discharge and stayed in the Air Force as reserves. They called it the non-participating
reserves, which meant that I didn't need to go to any meetings or any kind of
participation but we were still eligible to get drafted when they wanted. I went home for nine months and then the Army
inducted me back in for another two years.
Why did they draft you after your discharge?
I served in the Korean conflict and I was stationed in Fort Sheridan. Because I was sent home for nine months they
had me go back to training and a few friends that I made when I first went to training were sent to Korea but most of us stayed here in the United States.
What did you do in Fort Sheridan?
We
went to training for artillery cannons and other weapons that would fire in the
air to shoot aircrafts.
What was your first step when you came out of the
service?
My first step was to get on my feet. We came out with no money and I needed to find a job because I was 10 months
married and there weren't any jobs that needed training for veterans. I applied to get an electrician job but they
told me that all positions were filled, as so they said. I started working as a dishwasher and met
some new friends that were musicians and I would play with then moved on to
work for the Harlandale District.
Is there any thing else you want to add?
For all the young children that are furthering his or her education, keep on because
it is important for your future and don't let anyone tell you different.
