Forward Thru The Fires of Life

By Jimmie Badgett

This book is written about the lives of Charlotte and Jimmie Badgett. It contains information about our careers in the fire service and emergency management. It also covers our family life, careers, and experiences. It is factual, historical, educational, and comical. Our intent was to share the humor in our lives and encourage the reader to look for the humor in their live. It is a true book and similar to an autobiography but was written by two writers instead of one. The job descriptions provide the reader insight into the requirements for the positions we have held in our careers. We have included “Lessons Learned” as a safety guide in many types of situations. It even contains some poetry and prose. The short section on Wills and Living Trust is a very important section. Some sections may not be of interest to all readers, but skip those sections and continue reading to the end of the book. This is a great reference book and should be placed in your personal library. It is not our intent for the book to be on the “Best Seller List” but to be on your “Best Reading List.” Thank you for being a part of our lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jimmie Badgett
• Release date: Jan 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311907356

Jimmie Badgett

This is the story of my life with Charlotte. It is a factual, historical, educational, and comical book about “our family life” and careers. I cover many events: such as vacations in the US and other countries. The information in the book is based on my experience growing-up on farms, ranches, and in small communities and large cities. Included is information affecting my life: living conditions, farming, ranching, rationing, pranks, jobs, harassment, entertainment, marriage, emergencies, and many more. It covers my employment on fire departments, law enforcement agencies, emergency response/recovery agencies, arson investigation agencies, and instructing in colleges. There are many comical situations involving animals including; horses, cows chickens, hogs, snakes, frogs, dogs, cats, raccoons, armadillos, and many more. Charlotte passed away six years ago from pancreatic cancer. She had a lot of input in the book There is information on our courtship, marriage, and the love and working relationship we enjoyed during our fifty-three years of marriage. Out two daughters added a lot of information for the book. It includes over 100 “lessons learned” as a "safety guide" in many types of situations. It contains poetry and prose. It covers the importance of Wills and Living Trust. “Our” intent is to share the "humor", "joy" and our "love-for-others and our country" in our lives, and encourage the reader to strive to do the same.

Book preview

FORWARD THROUGH THE FIRES OF LIFE

by

Jimmie and Charlotte Badgett

Published by

Jimmie and Charlotte Badgett

at Smashwords

Copyright 2013 Jimmie and Charlotte Badgett

Smashwords Edition License Notes:

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Fire Apparatus

Chapter 1 Charlotte - Birth to Career

Chapter 2 Charlotte - Career

Chapter 3 International Association of Professional Women in the Fire Service

Chapter 4 Jim - Birth to Career

Chapter 5 Jim - Career - Fire Department Career

Chapter 6 Jim Career - County and State

Chapter 7 Vacations

Chapter 8 Poems and Jokes

Chapter 9 Wills and Living Trust

Includes: Trust Information, Funding Instructions, Estate Planning, Networth & Life Insurance, Power of Attorney, etc.)

Chapter 10 Recommendations

Afterword

PREFACE

This book is written about the lives of Charlotte and Jimmie Badgett. It contains information about our careers in the fire service and emergency management. It also covers our family life, careers, and experiences. It is factual, historical, educational, and comical. It is a true book and similar to an autobiography but was written by two writers instead of one. The job descriptions provide the reader insight into the requirements for the positions we have held in our careers. We have included Lessons Learned as a safety guide in many types of situations. It even contains some poetry and prose. The short section on Living Trust is a very important section. Some sections may not be of interest to all readers, but skip those sections and continue reading to the end of the book. This is a great reference book and should be placed in your personal library. It is not our intent for the book to be on the Best Seller List but to be on your Best Reading List. Thank you for being a part of our lives.

We chose the title of the book to reflect our careers, having both spent most of our life associated with the fire service. Experience dealing with fire can be good or bad. Experience in life can also be good or bad. We moved forward to prepare ourselves to face good and bad in life just as we were doing to prepare to face a good or bad fire. We both moved forward through our lives and marriage with faith and assistance from God who we feel has been with us and given us direction all the way. It just seemed appropriate to title our book Forward Through the Fires of Life.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Appreciation must be expressed to Susan Walker and Jenny Bayles, staff members of the International Fire Service Training Association/Fire Protection Publications in Stillwater, Oklahoma. They spent hours of their personal time proof reading the book. I asked them to convert my thoughts into correct grammar and sentence structure. However, they insisted the book would be better if I wrote it like I spoke it. So they share the blame for any grammatical errors. Truly, they made a much better book by their recommendations and corrections.

We wish to express thanks to our friend, Jeff Fortney, a great science fiction writer who will be publishing his third book soon. Jeff was the first person to read the original draft of our book and he encouraged us to publish it as an eBook. His guidance made the publishing process much easier. Charlotte was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer three years ago and has been in constant pain throughout the writing of our book. Living on pain medicine made concentration difficult, but she was able to work with me a little each day. Our good friends Jim and Kay Simms, Concord California, have supported her with prayers, letters and phone calls almost weekly. Their encouragement gave her the strength to be a partner and co-author. Thanks, guys! One of my best friends and my Operations Fire Chief on the Dallas County Fire and Rescue Service for over twenty years assisted me on recalling some of the events relating to the fire service. I appreciate his support and friendship over the years. Bill Campbell retired Texas State Guard and ex co-worker with the Texas Division of Emergency Management supplied information in several areas, including jokes. Thanks to all of you.

Last, but not least, are our daughters Christi Badgett Taylor and Regina (Gina) Badgett George who lived through the experiences in the book. Charlotte’s sister Vallary Hamilton can also vouch that the book is true from firsthand knowledge. A small amount of appreciation goes to our dog Gio Badgett for giving up our playtime so we could work uninterrupted for about thirty minutes at a time before he came pawing us to remind us he was more important than any old book. (Lesson Learned: Pets and writing are not compatible!)

INTRODUCTION

The three most important values we have discovered in life are faith, timing, and stickactivity.

Faith in God is number one. We gave our lives to Christ as teenagers and asked him to plot our paths and guide us where he wanted us to go and what he wanted us to do. He has given us clear directions on each move we have made and provided us the knowledge and ability to perform well for him. Charlotte and I have been so blessed. The difficulties we have had in life and on the job have strengthen us and allowed us to meet so many people and influence their lives and be influenced by them. We believe this book will substantiate this.

Timing is next. There is a time to make proposals, change plans and even change occupations. Something may not go right one time and go well another time. The ability to determine the right time is the secret to success, knowing when to act and when not to act.

Stickactivity is a word Jim made up and coined many years ago. We don’t know how to correctly spell it, but it means to keep trying. We have a close friend, who spent nine years getting a four year degree, but he had the determination to get the degree and he did - that’s stickactivity.

Although the information in this book is factually, some names have been changed to protect the innocent and the guilty. Our lives have revolved around our family, the fire service, and church work and most of the book will cover these. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed living it.

The terms Fireman Firefighter, and Fire Fighter are used interchangeably. Fireman was the term used until women were admitted into the fire service at which time Firefighter began to be used.

According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, the English word firefighter has been used since 1903. In recent decades it has become the preferred term, replacing the older fireman, since many women serve as firefighters, and also because the term fireman can have other meanings, including someone who sets or stokes fires – the opposite of the firefighting role.

The most asked question of a firefighter wearing some type of fire department identification is: Do you know (name) he/she is on the fire (or a) department in city"?

First, you need to tell the person what type of fire departments they are a member of. We have career, volunteer, combination, public safety, private, contract and possible other types of fire departments. They may be employed by a city, county, fire district, airport, industry, military, etc. There are many divisions within most career fire department, such as fire suppression; fire prevention bureau which includes, fire inspectors, fire investigators, arson investigators, educators, and sometimes fire prevention engineers; training divisions, staff and administration.

There are numerous chief titles within the fire service, including deputy chief, battalion chief, district chief, administrative chief, operations chief, fire marshal. The ranks of Lieutenant, Captain, and Chief are consistent with military ranks and law enforcement ranks. During the civil war, most departments were volunteer organizations. The men were needed in their communities to protect the lives and properties from fire, expected to increase in many areas due to the battles which could be fought there. Initially firefighters were exempt from military service by both sides. As more battles occurred and casualties increased more personnel was needed in the military. Many firemen volunteered to fight and they were allowed to remain together and assigned to the same companies. Many were promoted to lieutenant and captain and they were referred to by these titles when they returned home. The term chief came from the use of the old steam engine operators.

Steam engines were introduced into the fire service just prior to the beginning of the war. It took a lot of skill to properly and safely operate these large heavy machines and the most knowledgeable man in mechanics was usually chosen to be the chief operator. The engine operator was responsible for the delivery of the water applied on the fire so he was basically responsible for the men on the lines and the loss of water could be very devastating. There was usually one fireman who would operate the steam engine and he was referred to as the chief operator or chief engineer. This was very vital role in combating a fire and this was a very import position. Chief began to be used for the top position in the fire department.

The steam engine was often referred as the machine or engine and for many years the fire trucks were also referred to as machines or engines. They are now referred to as engines or pumpers. Types of fire equipment will be discussed later.

Most career firefighters work 24 hour shifts at an assigned station and they only meet their relief firefighters at shift change. They may also meet the other firefighters on their department at some training sessions and at fires where they do not have time to talk nonprofessional. They do not meet fireman from neighboring towns very often. So now you know the likelihood of us knowing another fireman is not likely. However, we never tire of being asked this question, so keep them coming.

Philadelphia is generally acknowledged as the birthplace of the American fire Service. In 1682, the city of Philadelphia was founded by William Penn. Structure fires were common due to the main building material being wood, lack of water sources near structures, and delayed notification of fires resulted in total loss many times. Philadelphia bought its first engine in 1718 but did not put it in service for several years. Ben Franklin often wrote about the dangers of fire and the need for organized fire protection in his newspaper The Pennsylvania Gazette. He gained the support of others who were concerned about the need for fire protection. Franklin was familiar with Boston’s Mutual Fire Societies which were also known as Fire Clubs. They provided protection for the paid members only and did fight fires for non-members.

After a huge fire in Philadelphia in 1736, Franklin created a fire brigade called The Union Fire Company with 30 volunteers. The Union Fire Company was an association for mutual assistance. Each member agreed to furnish, at his own expense, six leather buckets and two stout linen bags, each marked with his name and the name of the company, which he was to bring to every fire. Later on owners of property had to have a wooden ladder capable of reaching the roof stored on their property. The first full-fledged volunteer firefighter in America was Isaac Paschal. The idea of volunteer fire brigades gained popularity. The number of volunteer fire departments increased and in many of the towns the local citizens joined the department. The fire department allowed the men to gather and talk not only about the fire department, but also their daily lives and occupations. It became the community gathering place. These citizens were able to afford to purchase equipment. The members had to pay fines for missing meetings and fires. Citizens donated money to help fund the operations of the volunteer fire departments. Volunteer firemen were often elected to office in cities giving them status and allowing them to obtain more support from the community.

It is generally believed that Cincinnati, Ohio, established the first professional and fully paid fire department in the United State on April 1, 1853. There are some who believe that Boston Massachusetts was the first paid fire department as they had a paid fire chief and firefighters in 1679, but most likely had some volunteers on the department, if so they would be considered a combination fire department.

Fireman originally referred to anyone in the fire service as the fire departments were composed entirely of males. That is not to say women did not take part in fire fighting as they often assisted at fires. Women were encouraged to form auxiliaries to assist the male fireman with food, lighter duties, but not in the actual hands-on fire fighting. They often served on the early bucket brigades by passing water from the water source to the firefighters near the fires. This method was used in fighting a fire before the advent of hand pumped fire engines, whereby firefighters would pass buckets to each other to extinguish a blaze. Water had to be supplied to the early hand pumpers as they were not capable of drafting from a water source and there were no fire mains to deliver water to the hand pumpers.

Fire hydrants were originally referred to as fire plugs. This term dates to at least the 17th century. Hollowed-out wood log pipes were first used for water conveyance in the late 1700s - early 1800s, Trees were plentiful and the logs could be hollowed out to form pipes which could be joined together to transfer water for long distances. One end of the tree was tapered and pushed into inside of another hollowed out tree. I am sure they leaked a little, but they were able to provide a pretty good supply line. They could be used as a source of water to fight fires. When a fire occurred, the volunteer firefighters dug down, found the log pipe, and augured (bored a hole with a bit) a hole through it. Later wood plugs, normally redwood, were installed at specific locations when the main itself was installed, so that the firemen would know where to find a plug in advance. The fireman would dig up the cobblestones down to the main, then bore a hole into the main so that the hole would fill with water from which they could fill their buckets for the fire brigade. Later they served as a reservoir to furnish water for hand-pumped fire engines and later steam pumpers.

When the fire was out, the hole in the pipe would be sealed by driving a wood (oftentimes redwood) plug into it. The plug's location was often noted and marked before the pipe was covered over, so the plug could possibly be used as a source the next time instead of creating a new hole in the wood pipe. The wooden plug was called a fire plug. This term is still used to identify a fire hydrant.

Fire hydrants are commonly color coded to indicate how much water a particular hydrant will provide. The barrel section of the hydrant can be painted any color but is usually red if they are older hydrants. The hydrant tops and caps (also called bonnets) use standardized color codes following national standards so the firefighters will know how many gallons of water a hydrant can flow. The National Fire Protection Association® Standard 291 states fire hydrants using public water supply systems should be painted chrome yellow and their tops should indicate the available GPM (gallons per minute). Below 500 GPM should be red, 500-999 GPM should be orange, 1000-1499 GPM should be green, and 1500 GPM or more should be blue. They must flow this amount of water at 20 psi (pounds per square inch).

The National Fire Protection Association® is a United States trade association formed in 1896 that creates and maintains private, copyrighted, standards and codes for usage and adoption by local governments. They recommend fire hydrants be painted visible colors like chrome yellow, bright red, white, etc. They suggest red for private systems and chrome yellow for municipal systems. However, many towns prefer to paint their hydrant colors different from the recommendations in the National Standards and you can find fire hydrant barrels painted just about any color. Some cities paint their fire hydrant barrels (and tops) with character designs. The tops of the hydrant should still follow the National Fire Protection Association® standard colors for the benefit of the fire service. The saving of a life or a structure could depend on the amount of water a hydrant can flow.

FIRE APPARATUS

All fire service vehicles are generically referred to as Apparatus. Apparatus is classified into different types for different purposes.

Engine - This is the basic vehicle in the fire service and the one most familiar to the public. It is the one the children like to ride on and set in the driver’s seat. Engines are often referred to as a pumper because they pump water from fire hydrants. The standard fire engine could generically be referred to as a triple capacity engine as it has a water tank, high capacity water pump, and hose. A standard pumper can do three jobs as they pump water, transport personnel, and carry hose. It is also possible to have apparatus that can perform four or five major functions. These are called Quads or Quints. A quad would have a pump, water tank, hose and a full complement of ground ladders. A quint would have a tank, water hose, pump, ground ladders and an aerial device. There are variations to the ground ladder requirements for quints because of the lack of space. Engines can also be classified as Type I, Type II or Type III." This pertains to the size of pump etc. Typing is used to standardize equipment for use by the fire service. It will not be explained here.

History varies on when and where the first hand pumper, steam power fire apparatus and the first motorized fire apparatus were invented. According to some history books the first pump designed for firefighting may have been created by Ctesibius of Alexandria around the second century BC. The technology was lost when Alexandria burned. It was reinvented in Europe during the 1500's. Thomas Lote built the first fire engine made in America in 1743. John Ericsson built the first steam powered fire engine in the U.S.

The first steam powered fire engine was built in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was presented to the Cincinnati Fire Department on Jan. 1, 1853, making Cincinnati the first city in the world to use steam fire engines. The steam fire engine forever changed firefighting in Cincinnati and spread quickly to other communities. Impressed with the engine, local government leaders decided to form a professional fire department rather than relying on volunteers. According to the history of the Cincinnati Fire Department, they were very progressive and had many first in the fire service. By 1863, Cincinnati had replaced all of its hand-engines with steamers. The Cincinnati Fire Department was the first to use horses to pull fire engines. Fire lanterns served as headlights for the engines before the days of street lights and the firemen carried lanterns that helped them see through dense smoke. The larger steam engines weighted up to seven tons and required two or more horses to pull them. The smoke from the smokestack often put out sparks which started new fires and often landed on the firefighters. The smoke from the smoke stack was often more dense that the smoke from the fire. They looked like a fire breathing dragon and many children were freighted by them.

The first self-propelled steam engine (pumper) was built in New York in 1841. Firemen did not like the self-propelled machines and complained. They found many faults with them and their use was discontinued by many departments. The volunteer fireman prided themselves on hitching the horses to the steam pumpers and responding from the fire house in a very short period of time. They had contest to see who could hitch the team the fastest. They loved their horses and the working relationship they had with them. This caused a resentment to leave the horse drawn response and go to the more undependable motorized fire engines. The motor operated vehicles often broke down and the fireman did not feel they were as dependable as the horse drawn apparatus. Motorized fire apparatus did not gain acceptance until after 1900.

The main purpose of a fire engine is to deliver water from a fixed source such as a fire hydrant or a lake, river or some other type of water source to the fire. Large diameter hose is connected to a fire hydrant or from a surface water source and is pulled into the pump (drafting) where it is delivered in gallons per minute at various pressures. The fire engine carries an assortment of fire hose for fighting the fire. Supply lines from the engine to the point of delivery are through hoses of 4 ½, 5, or 6 inch diameters. The supply line can be wyed (splint off) and water then travels through smaller hand lines. The larger lines can be used for monitored devices if needed. Fire engines must have a water tank of at least 300 gallons capacity and pump capable of delivering at least 250 gallons of water to the pre-connected attack lines.

Engines have pumps capable of delivering 250, 500, 1,000, 1,500 and 2,000 gallons per minute. They carry several sizes of fire hose. They are required by NFPA® (National Fire Protection Association) Standards to carry a certain amount of supply line and pre-connected initial attach lines. These initial attack hoses can be from garden hose size to 2 1/2 inches in diameter (inside measurements). Over the years, hose has become lighter and easier to clean.

When I went to work on the fire department the fire supply lines were 2 1/2 inches in diameter, 50 foot sections with brass connections and weighed over 50 pounds per section. They had to be washed and dried before they could be reloaded on the truck. Now the supply lines are up to 6 inches in diameter and can be loaded right back on the truck. Most fire engines carry equipment such as ladders, pike poles, axes and cutting equipment, halligan bars (hooks used to pull walls), portable fire extinguishers, positive and/or negative ventilating equipment, floodlights, hose ramps, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), and general tools. Many fire appliances are based on standard truck frames with heavy duty suspensions, brakes, tires, alternator, transmission and cooling systems; audible and visual warnings such as sirens, horns, and flashing lights; and a two-way radio. Many have built-in GPS and computer capability.

Booster Fire Trucks are also called brush trucks, grass trucks and A-Wagons. These smaller vehicles are used primarily for fighting wildland or grass fires. Some of these are four wheel drive and are designed for off-road operations. They sometime responded with contract ambulance companies to assist with rescue operations. They carry a water tank, a pump and smaller fire hose than the Engines. Some of these vehicles can be as simple as a pickup with a small tank, pump, and line while other can be equipped with all kinds of equipment. The objective is to provide faster response and to travel over rougher terrain that the heavier and slower engines. Some have plumbed in nozzles located on the front bumper that can be operated from the cab. This allows protection for the truck and personnel as the application of water in front of the truck extinguishes or reduces the size of the fire before the truck cross it. In some larger cities these trucks do not have the taller light bars on top and are lower profile to allow them to get into parking garages.

Aerial apparatus are also known as Snorkels and Aerial platforms - The first trucks were horse drawn wagons with ladders and other equipment. This apparatus transports a large complement of ladders and equipment. It usually does not have a pump and if it does it is not for firefighting. The ladders on a truck are ground ladders and are manually raised. The ladders on trucks can be 50 feet long or longer and most trucks carry over two hundred feet of ground ladders of various lengths and for different uses. These trucks are equipped with large extension ladders with or without platforms on the end. A truck may carry hundreds of feet of hand deployed ground ladders plus a 65 feet or more aerial device. A Snorkel is an articulating boom truck with a basket on the end and equipped with a pre-piped waterway and master stream nozzle to the basket. An aerial ladder truck and snorkels can reach height of over 100 feet.

There are many other types of fire apparatus including: chief’s cars, tiller ladder, also known as a tractor-drawn aerial or hook-and-ladder truck; rescue apparatus; heavy duty rescue vehicle; rescue engine; wildland fire apparatus; hazardous materials apparatus; foam apparatus; fireboat; airport crash truck; and tanker truck also known as a water truck. Tanker is a controversial term. The Forest Service prefers that the fire service use the word tender for the fire trucks which carry a large amount of water and usually do not have fire hose and allow the word tanker to be used by them as that is the term they use for aircraft that carry a large amount of water for fighting wildland fires. There are many specialist pieces of apparatus designed for special uses by many departments. A large number of fire departments also run the ambulance service and there are many different deigns of vehicles designed for this purpose.

Since there are so many types of fire trucks, I believe it is better for the public to just refer to all of them as fire trucks.

For many years the term professional firefighters was used to refer to paid fire departments and volunteer fire departments was used to identify those departments that were not fully paid. Many times the term volunteer would be used even if there were some paid positions on the department. I have served in the ranks of both volunteer and career departments and I can honestly say that these two types of fire departments did not get along with each other. The volunteers felt that the paid departments believed they were better than volunteers. This changed as states begin to pass laws requiring the training of all firefighters. Great organizations like the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) and the Fire Protection Publications in Stillwater Oklahoma published manuals for and by the fire services. Members came from all types of fire service, private and governmental and begin to realize there was one fire service and we had more commonality than differences. IFSTA will be discussed later. I can assure you that there are professional firefighters on volunteer fire departments and as bad as I hate to say it, there are a few non-professionals on a paid fire department. Look up the definition and criteria for a professional on Wikipedia and you can figure out why I make this statement.

CHAPTER 1 - CHARLOTTE BIRTH TO CAREER

I was born in a small hospital in Hayward California in 1944. The City of Hayward is in Alameda County which adjoins San Francisco County.

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The information in the following four paragraphs was taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Naval_Shipyard#History.

The San Francisco Naval Shipyard was a United States Navy shipyard in San Francisco, California, located on 638 acres (258 ha) of waterfront at Hunters Point in the southeast corner of the city. Originally, Hunters Point was a commercial shipyard established in 1870, consisting of two graving docks purchased and up built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century by the Union Iron Works company, later owned by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company and named Hunters Point Drydocks, located at Potrero Point. A graving dock is a dry dock where the hulls of ships are repaired and maintained. It is a dock, from which the water may be contained or pumped out.

The original docks were built on solid rock. In 1916 the drydocks were thought to be the largest in the world. At over 1000 feet in length, they were said to be big enough to accommodate the world's largest warships and passenger steamers. Soundings showed an offshore depth of sixty-five feet. During the early 20th century much of the Hunters Point shoreline was extended by landfill extensions into the San Francisco Bay.

Between World War I and the beginning of World War II the Navy contracted from the private owners for the use of the docks. The docks provided deep-water facilities between San Diego and Bremerton, Washington. The main naval base in the area was at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, but the continuous silting in the area made it only suitable for relatively shallow-draft ships. A Congressional hearing on Pacific Coast Naval Bases was held in San Francisco in 1920 at San Francisco City Hall, wherein city representatives, Mayor Rolph, City Engineer O'Shaughnessy and others testified on behalf of permanently siting the Navy at Hunters Point.

At the start of World War II the Navy recognized the need for greatly increased naval shipbuilding and repair facilities in the San Francisco bay area, and in 1940 acquired the property from the private owners, naming it Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. The property became one of the major shipyards of the west coast. It was later renamed Treasure Island Naval Station Hunters Point Annex. During the 1940s, many workers moved into the area to work at this shipyard and other wartime related industries.

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I was born during World War II, which began for America when President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan. This was the result of the Japanese bombing Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory of the United States. Shortly thereafter Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.

My Dad was a painter and he moved with my mother to Hayward to work at the naval shipyard and at odd jobs in Hayward. Housing was very scarce and we lived in a chicken house which had been converted into a small one bedroom house. (A chicken house is a place where the chickens where confined and laid their eggs). The owner of many of the chicken farms in the area converted these into small residence as they could make a lot more money from rent than selling eggs. Dad was rejected by the military as he had severe foot problems. His feet were burned in a campfire when he was a little boy. He had trouble with them all of his life. He painted the inside and outside of battleships. These were new battleships to be used in the War and they worked long hours to help get the ships in service.

My mother was born and raised in Clyde, Texas near the City of Abilene. My mother was a house wife and lived in Abilene until she moved she moved to Hayward. There were several air bases around the City of Abilene prior to and during World War II. Two of these were old Camp Barkley which later became Dyess Air Force Base and Avenger Field in Sweetwater.

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The information in the following four paragraphs was taken from: http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qbc02.

Camp Barkeley was eleven miles southwest of Abilene in Taylor County. It was originally planned as a temporary camp for infantry and supply troops, but during World War II it became one of the state's largest military installations. The camp was named for David B. Barkley, a native Texan who was awarded the Medal of Honor in World War I. A clerical error apparently caused the discrepancy in spelling. Construction of the camp began in December 1940. The government leased 70,229 acres, with the option to purchase a small portion, to accommodate the facility and maneuvering grounds. Although the cost of the camp was originally estimated at $4 million, when it was completed in July 1941 costs totaled $7 million.

The first unit to occupy the camp was the Forty-fifth Infantry Division, consisting of 19,000 men under the command of Maj. Gen. William S. Key. The division occupied the still unfinished camp on February 23, 1941. The 45th Divisional News was published at Camp Barkeley. One member of the paper's staff, William Mauldin, became a famous war cartoonist during World War II. Other units in addition to the Forty-fifth trained at Camp Barkeley, among them the Ninetieth Infantry Division and the Eleventh and Twelfth Armored divisions. The Medical Administrative Officer Candidate School was established at Barkeley in May 1942, and from it 12,500 candidates eventually graduated.

The camp also served as a camp for German prisoners of war. On February 1, 1944, the 1846th Unit POW Camp was activated under the command of Lt. Col. Harry Slaughter. At its peak in March 1945 the POW camp housed 840