WARTIME EXPERIENCES
by Helen Granger Belt

Before my experiences of living through World War II, I met and married Morris Edward Belt, And this is how it all began.

I met Morris when I was 16 and about to start my senior year of High School. I would be 17 in January. High School, then, was only 11 grades. Our church, Roberts Avenue Methodist, was having a Youth Revival, and I attended. Morris was leading the youth choir that night. He was a music major at Lamar College and was actually a visitor at our church. Morris often told it that he spotted me in the congregation immediately as someone new since I had been away from home all summer visiting relatives in West Texas. This was my first trip to church since returning home. There was a reception and refreshments after the service, and Morris approached me and introduced himself and welcomed me to the church. I replied, "You must be new. I've been a member here all my life."

Well, he walked me home that night, the 3 blocks down Roberts Avenue from the church. When we got to my house, he stepped right over the low picket fence and opened the gate for me. Being 6' 3" tall had its advantages. We began dating after that. My mother liked Morris and always had a piece of pie dished up for him. He said many times his eyes lit on me when he saw a big-eyed girl in a rose-pink dress. I thought he was pretty cool, too - a tall, dark haired boy who resembled John Payne (a popular movie star at that time.)

Two years later, we were married at my parents' house on Roberts Avenue in Beaumont. It was Christmas Day 1941. We both were working and had only the one day off for Christmas. Seemed like a good day since all my relatives were there anyway.

Our country was at war - first with Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7. Then, we joined the Allies in war against Germany. The draft was on! Morris was called up but given 4f because he had a heart murmur believed to be caused by infected tonsils. After having a tonsillectomy, his heart murmur disappeared and he decided to enlist in the Navy. He passed the physical, was inducted and sent to Boot Camp at Corpus Christi. Then he was sent to Kingsville Naval Air Base where he stayed almost 3 years.

Morris became a radioman and often flew in the small planes seated behind the pilot. His long legs had to bend double to get into the cockpit. Flight pay was a welcome addition to his small salary and my $44 a month allotment.

Lucky for us, Morris was able to get his college degree while stationed at Kingsville. A neighbor, math professor at Texas A&I, became our good friend and mentor to Morris. Mr. Porter advanced us money for tuition and books. This incredible friends and his wife were a godsend. Morris, by arranging a night shift at the base and going to school in the day, was able to graduate with majors in both math and music.

But that' not the only time a helping hand was given to us. We were in California in March of 1945, the last year of World War II. Morris had been transferred to Alameda Naval Air Base. ON his 2nd birthday, Skip and I rode the train to Oakland and stayed with a friend of Grandma Belt temporarily. I needed a job and a place for us to live. Here's where another wonderful event occurred. At Mills College, a small institution in Oakland, an auditor named

Mr. Farquhar was checking their books. He looked through the window of the president's office and saw Morris. Skip and me sitting in the personnel office where I was applying for a job. The next thing I knew he was hiring me to work at his home, helping his wife take care of the 4 children 4 months to 7 years old. He picked up my trunk and had us installed in a large 3rd floor room with bath and a little room with a crib for Skip. It was a beautiful neighborhood in Berkley on a hill near the famous Claremont Hotel. We could see the Golden Gate bride from our bedroom windows. How luck could you get! I had one day a week that Mrs. Farquhar kept Skip so Morris and I could ride the train into San Francisco and go sight seeing. We saw it all.

On one occasion we took Skip to Golden Gate Park. He was playing in the sandbox on a rare sunny day when a loud speaker blared forth the news that President Roosevelt had suddenly died. Vice President Harry Truman was now President. Roosevelt had been elected to a 3rd term because wartime was not a good time to change. However, Truman went on to go down in history as a very good president.

Among the everyday job of living during those years, so memories stand out. Early years of marriage during wartime were not the norm. Girls were getting married because of the war - many very young. I was less than 2 years out of High School with only one year of college and knew little about housekeeping, cooking and money management. Still, I had observed in the kitchen at home and the depression had made us all frugal.

It was Thanksgiving and we were invited to dinner at my Aunt Florence's home in Corpus Christi. Morris need a haircut. We had enough money for the bus trip but not enough to pay 25 cents for a haircut. So I cut Morris' hair myself. We laughed later, but at the time, Morris was too embarrassed to take his off cap since it covered the hole in his hair. With practice, I got better at barbering.

We had lots of fun experiences in California, but the tense or dramatic events stick in Memory. One time the Farquhar's little 3 year old son climbed out the bedroom window onto a ledge 4 stories above the back yard. The house was on a hill, 3 stories in front, but 5 stories in the back due to 2 basements. His mother had climbed out and calmly talked him back into the house, holding him by the hand. I was devastated since I was in charge of taking care of the children. This was a revelation to me on how mischievous a 3 year old can be.

Later on that summer, we went to the country where the Farquhars had a summer cabin. They loved to camp. It was school vacation. They decided to go back for a week. However, I stayed in town. The cook had been given the time off and someone and to prepare dinner each night for Mr.Farquhar who was working. Kind of a nervous time for me. I baked a lovely cherry pie one night and set it on the fridge to cook. Imagine my distress when I opened the fridge door and the pie fell upside down on the floor.

Oh, I learned the hard way from my mistakes. But even after all that, the Farquhars wanted me to stay on with them after Morris was shipped out to Hawaii in August. I wouldn't stay. I wanted to go home. They made all the arrangements for my train ticket and sent Skip and me off. I was back at the Granger house where we lived until Morris was discharged.

After Morris went into the Navy Air Force, he was stationed at Air Force bases in Kingsville (Texas), Alameda (California) and was on a transport ship to Oahu, Hawaii when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. He heard it on the radio news on the transport ship. His thoughts didn't center on all those innocent people killed so much as that the bomb had put terror in to the hearts of the Japanese and that the war would soon, at last, be over. On the way back, he flew reconnaissance missions over the south pacific islands, assisting the pilot in small two-man planes, folding his tall frame up to fit in the small seat. They were never shot at. The war was winding down. And then the war was over, the Armistice signed in November of 1945.

In November I rode the greyhound bus to Houston, stayed at the YWCA dormitory for the night, and rode the bus out to Ellington Field the next morning to welcome Morris home. I remember clearly the music coming over the speaker system. It was "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree Til Johnny Comes marching Home."