Health & Fitness
What Happened To Lewis Hiller In WWII
A man describes his training and combat during World War II as part of a Sept. 9 event to honor veterans beginning in Delaware County.
Honor Flight is a national non-profit organization founded in 2005 to give aging or terminally ill veterans a day of honor in Washington D.C. There is no cost to the veterans. The average age for a living World War II veteran is about 90, so they are getting first priority for seats.The Philadelphia hub's next trip is Sept. 9. It leaves from and returns to St. Luke's Greek Orthodox Church, 35 N. Malin Road, Broomall, Pa. 19008.The return is at 6:30 p.m., and those wishing to join the welcome back with flag-waving and cheers would be well appreciated. Among the veterans participating in the trip will be Lewis Hiller of Dunmore, Pa. Below is his story.
By Lewis Hiller
I was inducted into the U.S. Army on August 28, 1941 at Fort Meade, MD. We received uniforms and a bit of basic Army life and bused out seven days later to Camp Walters, Texas. At Camp Walters, we completed 13 weeks of basic Army training. Following basic training, a11 40 of us new soldiers were assigned to the 45th Division at Camp Barkely, Texas. The Division was mainly made up of the Oklahoma and Arizona National Guard, including a large number of American Indians. Most of us "dammed Yankees" had never even seen an Indian before.
In March 1942, after training in Texas, we were shipped to Pine Camp in NY for winter training, expecting to fight the Russians. There we had ski training and hiking through deep snow that was up to our waist and sometimes our chests. Every soldier would take his turn at the point for two minutes and then drop back to the end of the line. Many of the men developed pneumonia and frozen hands and feet. Obviously, training was very difficult.
