William DeWitt:
CLASS OF 1947
Holland High SchoolClass of 1947
Holland, MI
Michigan Technological UniversityClass of 1957
Houghton, MI
Longfellow Elementary SchoolClass of 1938
Holland, MI
William's Story
Military
Drafted on January 17,1951 in Michigan
Sent to Camp McCoy Wisconsin for basic training in 978th Ordnance Depot Company 5th Army, for the coldest Winter ever (51 below zero)
Went to Aberdeen Proving Grounds Ordnance School for the hottest Summer,until August.
Embarked for Germany on an old troop ship, with a brief stop in France, Then on to Bremerhaven.
Went by train to Ludwigsberg and eventually Boeblingen as unit of 7th Army.
Went to Troop Information and Education training in Dachau, and also qualified as as semi truck driver to see many cities in Germany.
Was in a truck accident in Kaiserslautern just before going to Bremerhaven to embark for New York at Thanksgiving.Saw the worst of the North Sea with 40-50 foot waves tenting all around with great awesome beauty.
Landed in New York Christmas Eve 1952 and sent to Michigan for discharge New Years Eve 1953 to join my wife and baby daughter in Holland, Michigan.
Civilian and Family
Joined others in going to Michigan Tech to become a mechanical engineer, spending year round classes and working in The Copper Products Research Laboratory. Added a baby girl and boy before graduating BSME in 1957.
Profssional and Family
Applied my engieering skills to companies in Milwaukee, Wisconsin while increasing my fatherhood with a baby girl, and then twin boys.
Spent a couple years traveling and working around Illinois and Michigan and back to Wisconsin,.for the coldest winter on record, I moved my family to Florida after suffering hypothermia in a factory parking lot.
Found Florida nice for year round living, so I worked in several jobs in Aerospace, which were OK for making...Expand for more
a living. Went on the road as a contractor to IL,VA ,VT and AZ.
Was divorced from first spouse while traveling and married present spouse in 1989. We moved to Florida, and have lived in Clearwater, Largo and also West Miami (Kendall)and Boynton Beach for consulting work.
Moved back to Largo, Florida, and worked as a consultant until 2004.
We live in Clearwater near US 19, and I worked full time, 2004-2009 as a plumbing specialist at Home Depot in Palm Harbor, FL. Life goes on!
In 10 years, I hope to be retired. I'm going to get there by winning the lottery or just keep on keepin'on! In the meantime I may write a book about a living nightmare I suffered, while living in Michigan; not biographical of course because it is too fictional in nature although the memories are burned into my everyday thoughts. Therefore I cannot escape those thoughts.
If I get one do-over I would like to undo those moments in time.
Having just enjoyed a Christmas with my loved ones, my memory goes back to the 1951 Christmas in Germany. Some of my buddies and I spent some quality time with some unfortunate children without families, after World War Two.The 7th Army USO girls provided gifts, treats and games while a few of us lonely family men enjoyed the company of those children as our own for a few moments.Great company;wonder where they are today?
Revised and posted June 25, 2011.
I have good memories of working and consulting in mechanical engineering in aerospace and medical engineering, but there are few if any jobs during this second great depression, which resembles the first one as recalled from my young days (now 82 years young, by the way)
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