Wings, Wars and Life: An Autobiography

By Robert Beryl Swatosh

A Merriam Press Autobiography of Robert Swatosh who helped plan the invasion of Utah Beach, and was there on D-Day, and St. Lô breakout. Awarded the Bronze Star with “V” for Valor for crossing the field of fire at Falaise Gap to rescue a Regimental Commanding Officer and staff with a small detachment cut off by German paratroopers, was direct support artillery officer for Patton on his sweep across France, wounded a second time at Metz, ended war in Czechoslovakia, was the Military Governor of Vilshofen, taught ROTC at University of Minnesota until the Korean War, when he was CO of 999th Armored Field Artillery Battalion. Directed the salvage on the Russian cruiser Knockimoff which was sunk by the Japanese, with its treasure trove, in the Tsushima Straights of the China Sea in 1905. Later he was in atomic research and the “Spy in the Sky” satellite program. 37 photos and illustrations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9781458351500

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Wings, Wars and Life: An Autobiography

by Robert Beryl Swatosh

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Hoosick Falls, New York

2022

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eBook Edition 2022

ISBN 978-1-4583-5150-0

Copyright © 1997 by Robert Beryl Swatosh

First print edition published in 1997 by the Merriam Press

All rights reserved.

Additional material copyright of named contributors.

The views expressed are solely those of the author(s).

This work was designed, produced, and published in

the United States of America by

Merriam Press, 489 South Street, Hoosick Falls NY 12090

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Dedication

To my Father

Edward A. Swatosh

and my Mother

Nina Beryl Stake Swatosh

with Love and Appreciation

Their inspiration through life never failed me.

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To my Wife

Sandra Peters Swatosh

Her constant confidence, love, and dedication

have always supported me, and made this book possible.

Acknowledgments

God has blessed me. I have given roots and wings to four wonderful children. Fought World War II from D-Day on and Korea with only minor changes in my anatomy; lost one eye and part of one hand. I worked in a Top Secret war room in England planning the invasion of Europe. I was Bigoted for Neptune of Overlord and planned the invasion of Utah Beach. I was at Utah Beach on D-Day, was at the St. Lô breakout, was awarded the Bronze Star with V for crossing the field of fire at the Falaise Gap to rescue a Regimental Commanding Officer and staff with a small detachment cut off by German paratroopers, was direct support artillery officer for General Patton on his sweep across France, wounded a second time at Metz, ended the war in Czechoslovakia, spent two years as Military Governor of Vilshofen by Passau, taught ROTC at the University of Minnesota until the Korean War. Was in command of an armored battalion in Korea pushing the Chinese north. As president and chief executive officer of the Pacific Far East Salvage Company, Incorporated, directed the salvage on the Russian cruiser Knockimoff which was sunk by the Japanese, with its treasure trove, in 320 feet of water in the Tsushima Straights of the China Sea in 1905. Then was in atomic research in the military and the Spy in the Sky satellite program with the Lockheed Missile and Space Company.

I want to thank some of the very special people who had a great impact upon my life. They are true friends and loved ones without whom life would not have been the same. These are in addition to family and relatives.

Generals Clyde Watts, Alfred E. Kastner and George S. Patton, Jr., all great leaders and men of character; Reverend Vinton Lee, Congregational Church, Belle Plaine, Iowa; Father Eustace, my Catholicism Instructor; Father McCann, Life in the Spirit Seminar teacher; Dr. Melvin and Mrs. Irene Meeks (Dr. Meeks delivered Shawn in the hospital at Lawton, Oklahoma); Harry Dampier, CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) for my Commercial Pilot Rating; Helen Prosser, Flight Instructor; Edward J. Bannon, 999th Battalion Executive Officer; E. Osborn Floyd, Battalion Surgeon; Professor and Mrs. Jean Hempstead and Mrs. Louise Hoerner, houseparents at Frisbie House; William E. Holmes, Collegiate Press Superintendent; and others too numerous to mention.

I am writing this for my children and grandchildren. I wish my grandparents had written about their trip to the U.S. on a sailing ship, then to Chicago and later Iowa in a covered wagon! I am not proud of some things I have done but write of them truthfully so you may know me better and understand the times in which I lived. I also hope you may learn and avoid some of the mistakes I made.

The Early Days, 1916 to 1940

I was born at Sheldon, Iowa, on October 11th, 1916 at six p.m. The telegram to California announcing my birth is interesting for it’s antiquity as well as content. Therefore it is shown here:

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The middle name Beryl was traditionally given to the first born of the Scottish Clan McNeil (my Mother’s Mother). Beryl was the semiprecious stone worn on the dagger with the Kilts of the Clan. I believe that the name had some meaning for inheritance, responsibility and liability to the Clan.

My father, Edward A. Swatosh, was a Lieutenant in military service on the Mexican border at the time. There had been border clashes for years and Mexico was allied with Germany at the time. This created fear that an attack across the border could come about the time our expeditionary force arrived in Europe. History shows that it never happened and most people today do not realize we even had troops there.

The Mexican Border

The Mexican Revolution, (1910-1920) was characteristic of the Wild West. There were many bandits; guns were tools of survival along the border. The Rio Grand valley was aflame. Mexican troops on the border would often attack U.S. towns, steal livestock, kill travelers, derail trains, and burn bridges and buildings. Records show that in 1915 there were seventy-three recorded raids over the border with twenty-five U.S. citizens killed and many other scattered incidents.

On March 9, 1916 the notorious Mexican bandit, Pancho Villa invaded U.S. territory. He attacked the town of Columbus, New Mexico, with a band of five hundred men. Elements of the 13th U.S. Cavalry were in and around the town. Although taken by surprise, they rallied and repulsed the raiders. Much of the town was destroyed and the battle ended with 190 dead bandits and seven U.S. soldiers killed and five wounded. After the battle Brigadier General J. Pershing, Commander of the 8th Brigade at Ft. Texas, received the following orders: Pursue and disperse the band, or bands, that attacked Columbus. To accomplish this mission he was given 10,690 men. The force consisted of seven cavalry, four infantry, and two field artillery regiments with combat support forces. The first Aero squadron (Signal Corps), of ninety-five men and eight planes was assigned to the force. The twelve pilots flew 540 missions (mostly courier flights), in support of the expedition.

My father, a lieutenant in the Iowa National Guard, was part of this force; as was Captain George S. Patton, Jr., the same Patton whom I served under in Europe as he lead the Third U.S. Army across France & Germany.

The last recorded horse mounted charge of U.S. cavalry was on 5 May 1916, when the 11th Cavalry surprised a large band of Pancho Villa’s men at Ojo Azules, Mexico. They killed fifty of the enemy in a two hour running fight. They lost no troopers (info from U.S. Cavalry Museum, Fort Riley, Kansas, courtesy Don Stivers). I spent my first two years of active duty with the 2nd Cavalry Division (horse) at Fort Riley, (1940-1942). After Pearl Harbor one brigade was sent to the west coast to defend it against the expected attack by the Japanese. Had they known how weak we were then they could very easily have taken the entire west coast. We may have been able to hold them at the Rockies. We definitely could not have prevented them from landing.

President Lincoln once said: Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant to step across the ocean and crush us at a blow? Never… At what point then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reaches us, it must spring up among us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of Free men we must live through all time, or die by suicide. He could not foresee huge aircraft carriers and planes which made it possible for the Japanese to take that Giant Step across the Pacific. Though man has progressed by quantum leaps in science and technology, he seems utterly powerless in preventing war, bloodshed and human misery. Why? During the First World War our troop strength in Europe was 2,171,560 of which 116,908 were killed and 204,002 were wounded. Many casualties were from flu and pneumonia. The only medicine they had was aspirin and whiskey.

Farm Life

When I was about one year old we moved to a 200-acre farm near Belle Plaine, Iowa. It had been homesteaded by my grandfather Frank Swatosh. He had homesteaded two farms, raised nine children and moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for retirement. There was a large Czech community there and he was comfortable with that. The farm had 160 acres astride Salt Creek and fronting on the Lincoln Highway (U.S. 30—now I-80). It was a dirt road at the time but became the first highway paved from New York to San Francisco. There was a detached 40-acre parcel about two miles up the creek to the north. All highways and roads in Iowa were dirt in those days. Paving and gravel came later. I can remember when Salt Creek would flood and come over the highway for about a mile, from our house to the Chicago & North Western railroad tracks. Fortunately it never quite reached our house but I remember it in our yard. Traffic would be halted and Dad would hitch a team of draft horses to a high wheeled wagon and tow them across for $2.00 each, that was forty hamburgers in those days. It looked like a huge lake with current and anyone not knowing where the road was could drive off of the 12 to 15 foot grades. Sometimes a bold driver or two would try to follow the car Dad was towing. When the water was not over about a foot deep, older cars had more clearance than modern ones, they could make it okay. However, sometimes the fan would pick up water and drown the engine. Then they would sit there until Dad returned. He would then pull them the rest of the way for $2.00. He should have charged double then because he would have to get out in the water to hitch the chain onto their car. The creek at flood time was like a cash crop for us.

During normal times the creek was fresh water for the livestock and a bathing and swimming place for us. There were several swimming holes where I would meet some of my friends from town for an afternoon of fun. Paul Fisher and George Haloupek or relatives would often be there.

We lived in a two story, five bedroom farm house with path. The path led to an outhouse about 50 yards down the slope to the east of the house. It was a two-holer with one large and one small. There were wooden lids over the holes and a Sears Roebuck or Montgomery Ward catalog for toilet paper. At the time the catalogs were not printed on glossy paper, or in color, but on a newsprint type stock. On winter mornings when the frost was on the pumpkin, and on the toilet seats, I would bring some wood kitchen matches from the house and wad up a sheet or two of the paper to use as a torch to melt the frost off the toilet seat. Then I would drop it, or another, into the hole so the warm air would come up onto my bottom. It was better but still not up to modern comfort.

The Farm Animals

My early sex education came from watching, and helping, the farm animals. I attended, and helped with, the birth of many farm animals. The cows and horses usually gave birth, and cared for the baby without assistance. When there was a problem I helped, or called my Dad. One time a cow had been in labor for an abnormally long time. My father inserted his hand into the vagina, after scrubbing and applying an antiseptic solution to his hand and arm, and found the calf in a breach position (it’s rear toward the exit). He finally managed to turn it around and get hold of the front legs and pull it out in a normal birth position. If the cow had been on the range both she and the calf could have died.

One time a young mare was having trouble with a delivery. It was her first. Dad reached in and got the front feet of the colt out, then he attached a rope. When she pushed, we pulled, and the colt finally came out. He lived to be a large, healthy draft horse. We bred our mares to a large draft stallion to produce large colts.

The pigs were the worst problem. We raised Purebred Duroc Jersey hogs; about 400 per year. This meant a lot of brood sows needed to be watched during the delivery of their piglets; usually eight to fourteen. The sow would thrash around and get up and down during the delivery which could last up to twenty-four hours. A mature sow of 300 pounds can be fatal to a tiny piglet if she lies on it or steps on it. During the discomfort of birth they can easily kill or maim a piglet unintentionally. Once the delivery pain is over they are very cautious and attentive mothers. It seemed deliveries were frequently at night. Dad would attend them for half of the night and I would have the remainder.

In the delivery pen we would install two-by-six timbers (usually two), about a foot above the floor on two sides of the pen. This provided a safe shelter for piglets their first days of life. As each one is born it was important to remove the placenta and/or mucus from his mouth and nose. Usually their legs would start moving and they would try to get up. We would then pick them up and put them to a nipple for their first drink of milk. If they did not start breathing immediately I would blow air into the lungs and then press on the ribs to expel it. Usually once or twice was all it took to start the pig breathing and the legs moving. After a few swallows of milk each would be pushed back into the deep straw under the guard rails with the brothers and sisters.

We always cleaned and sterilized the berthing pens and filled them with fresh straw. The piglets would stay huddled together, sharing body heat, for some time. They would eventually get hungry and stagger out looking for a meal. If delivery was still in progress we would put each one up to a nipple for their first good meal. Then they would be put back in a group under their shelter. The births were usually in winter, or very early spring, in order to have the young hogs ready for market the next fall or