32nd Station Hospital

North Africa Part 2

Click on image to enlarge Here you see some local boys shining shoes for our men.

Click on image to enlarge Above you see an Arab funeral procession. The body is placed on a rack carriedearers who are preceded by professional chanters; their chanting had some kind of rhythm which we could imitate after we were there a while; we could hear them blocks away. A railroad ran from Oran through Tlemcen then onto Casablanca. So when battle casualties arrived at airport in Oran from the Tunisian Campaign, either by auto conveyance or by air (C47 transports), some were loaded on trains and when they arrived at Tlemcen, our staff went to check the patients. Anyone who needed more then 6 weeks hospitalization was left on the train which then continued to Casablanca and f rom there back the states. Soldiers had these long rides under some primitive conditions. Helicopters were not in the military inventory as yet.

Click on image to enlarge The picture here was taken from the top of a mountain near Tlemcen. Some unit members took advantage of the hiking trails in this area. The surrounding areas were comprised of small garden type farms which brought produce into town. After we were there a short time, our mess hall officials purchased various items for our meals; this was mostly of the fruits and vegetable variety (we had none of this in our "pipeline"). These farmers hauled away our left overs, garbage, fats, etc., which they used mostly for fertilizer. The hotel below was right in the center of town.

Click on image to enlarge This is the hotel were all of our 345 enlisted men were quarter. May room was on the second floor at the front corner where I could see up and down both streets at this corner. Our detachment would stand reveille as seen in the photo in front of these quarters every morning. The stone wall behind the men was a prison or jail were i was detained for some hours on one occasion. I was caught for being out after Curfew one night. After breakfast we would then go to our assignments at two local school buildings which were requisitioned by the army for use as a hospital. The mess hall and day room were on the fist floor. The upper three stories is were the men lived. We had dances on the roof with live big bands. Meals were not to our liking because we had no fresh food. We had powdered potatoes, powdered eggs, powdered milk, ect, along with "Spam" which you could smell before you got to the front door of the hotel. We soon found some local eating places where at least one could could get fresh eggs. Cows milk was not readily available, but goats milk was served with coffee. I rented an apartment within walking distance of this hotel.

Click on image to enlarge These two pictures show the " Hotel Des Voyageur " A four story structure, typically of French Motif inside. In the photo on the left, Note the front entrance where you can see some soldiers of my unit are lounging at the entrance. The photo on the right shows the street scene taken from my second floor front room.

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