Honoring our Veterans

HONORING OUR VETERANS
Remembering the Big Red One
Wurzburg, Germany and Fort Riley, Kansas





This is my husband, James (Jim) Emory Gilmer, Sr.


He served in the US Army for over 5 years, 1952-1957.
He had basic training at Ft. Jackson, SC and was sent to Ft. Rucker in 1953. I met him while he was stationed at Ft. Rucker which was near Troy State College where I was
a sophomore and attending summer school in July 1953 when I met Jim on a blind date. The rest is history.....


A few years ago I wrote to the army headquarters and applied for replacement bars and medals and framed these to give to Jim for Christmas, along with his photo when he was promoted to Sgt. while in Germany.


Jim re-enlisted for more overseas duty and we had planned to travel throughout Europe. A month later he learned that all military personnel in the 1st Infantry Division would be sent back to the US in Operation Gyroscope" and nobody could transfer out of the Big Red One! There went our plans; we went to Ft Riley, Kansas instead, to the great plains. We were not too happy about these orders.



In July 1955 we were on the first ship coming back to the US (USS Upshur) and were welcomed to the NY docks on a hot, humid morning. We couldn't get off the ship until a ceremony took place and I remember standing there for what seemed like hours waiting to get off the ship, along with our 6 month old son Ronnie who was born in Germany. We are in this photo standing over the "The" in "The Fighting First Returns". Link to see story of arrival of the Upshur in NY in July 1955: ttp://www.army.mil/CMH/documents/gyroscope/gyro-1.htm


Because Jim could type, he was taken off orders to go to Korea in 1953. They needed him at Ft Rucker to type the morning report (this was before computers of course). We decided to get married that October because he knew he would be going overseas soon, but didn't know where.  In December he got orders to go to Germany, instead of Korea. I followed him in March, going as a tourist since wives could not accompany soldiers below the rank of Sgt.


This was the period of the Cold War and there were many restrictions. He had to always wear his uniform off duty. There were frequent maneuvers called on the spur of the moment when they would have to go out into the field and live in a tent, etc. Our passports were checked often to make sure we always had them with us. Despite all of these inconveniences, we enjoyed living in Germany. I guess because we were 20 years old and young and fearless!


I have a great respect for all veterans and their families. My uncle was in the Seabees and had to go to Pearl Harbor and "clean up" the damage in the harbor after the Japanese bombed us there on December7, 1941. When I was 13, I went to my first military funeral for a cousin who didn't make it back from the Pacific alive.


Tomorrow when we honor our veterans at Elba United Methodist Church, I will stand tall and say the Pledge to the Flag and applaud when the veterans stand to the sounds of their respective service songs. We have several WWII veterans in our church membership. Just last week, people in Elba welcomed family members back home from Iraq. Tomorrow will be a special day for many folks in Elba. First Baptist Church will be welcoming my cousin's husband back from a year of duty in Kuwait. His wife teaches school at Elba High School and took care of their 3 kids for a year while he was gone. I really admire her.




This is Jim, 55 years later! He is retired and is shown here working on the new playground for children in Elba. He is active in so many organizations including Rotary Club, webmaster for Elba UMC http://www.elbaumc.org/ , Sons of the American Revolution, Pea River Historical and Genealogical Society, and an active volunteer for many worthwhile causes in our little town.