I am Wade E. Temple. I am from Little Britain, Lancaster County, Pa.
I was called for the draft in Harrisburg Pa in March 1953 during the Korean War. At that time I lived in Talleyville, Delaware and worked for E.I. DuPont. I decided after the draft physical & testing that I would enlist. I went to the Federal Courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware and talked with the U.S. Army Recruiter. Since I was attending a basic electronic evening class at the time, he suggested the possibility of a radio repair assignment in the U.S. Army Security Agency under the National Security Agency. I took a chance, and enlisted. I went through another enlistment physical & testing in Philadelphia in April 1953.
May 1 1953, another enlistee and I took the train from Wilmington to Philadelphia and street cars in Philadelphia to 2602 Grays Ferry Avenue (There was an Armory here). Here we were sworn in with 15 other enlistees. We traveled by bus to Camp George G. Meade Maryland the same afternoon. Here I got my initial military indoctrination by soldiers just back from Korea. I was given diverse aptitude tests, uniforms, hair cut and a picture was taken among other things.
Here many other ASA enlistees were collected. When an airplane load was gathered, we were taken by bus to the airport that is now known as the Baltimore Washington Airport, and flown to Evansville, Indiana. From here we were taken by bus to Camp Breckinridge near Morganfield in north western Kentucky. Camp Breckinridge was deactivated in October 1953, and the 101st Airborne Division moved to Fort Jackson. The camp layout is still there. The camp golf course is now a public one.
I was assigned to Btry A 81st AAA Bn 101st Airborne Division for 8 weeks of basic training. The 101st Airborne was inactive as an Airborne division at that time. The Korean War ended in July during my basic training thanks to our new president, Dwight Eisenhower.
After basic training, which ended 4 August, I was given 5 days leave and 3 days travel time. A group of us chartered a plane and flew from Evansville, Indiana to Washington DC. I took the train from there to Wilmington Del. After leave, I took the train from Philadelphia to Boston and another train to a town near Ft. Devens reporting 12 August 1953 to ASA-TC 8622nd AAU Fort Devens Mass.
19 August 1953 I left Ft. Devens for assignment at Camp Gordon Georgia, in ASA Casual Detachment #2 8600 AAU TSESS (The South Eastern Signal School) to pursue course of instruction in mos 1648, Field Radio Repair. I was in Company 12, 3rd platoon. The Course was 24 weeks long. I had one leave at Christmas while here. After graduation I left Camp Gordon on April 7, 1954 for Assignment in Germany. I was given 12 days leave and 2 days travel time to report to Camp Kilmer, NJ on 21 April. I met Dean Slagle at the bus station in Philadelphia on that date and we took a bus to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.
Along with D. Ackroyd, F. Camphausen, R. Giacometti, W. Gordon, Ken Kerner(a TSESS classmate), R. Langlois, Dean Slagle(a TSESS classmate), T. Smith, G. Williams and W. Yancy we were transported by bus on 25 April 1954 to Westover Air Force Base Springfield Mass., for MATS air transport to Frankfurt Germany. We flew out of Westover Air Force Base around midnight probably on 26 April. We were on KP duty and were called to the barracks around 5pm in the afternoon to get ready for the flight.
We landed in the Azore Islands the next morning for refueling, flying towards the new day. The Air Field name was Lajes Field. There was a problem with one of the engines and parts had to be flown in from the States, so we were on the volcanic island for 2 days with nothing to do except enjoy it. This was the first time I was in a foreign country. The Azore Islands belong to Portugal. Two days later we flew on and landed at Frankfurt RhineMain airport.
Our quarters in Frankfurt were in the Gutleut Kaserne adjacent to the Main Train Station. This was the ASA Casual Detachment 8620 AAU APO 757 US Army. Three of us went for a walk the first Sunday morning that we were there. We took the street that went directly away from the train station. The were no signs of bombing from the war. However what was strange was that the streets were totally deserted. This turned out to be normal in many towns in this period of time. The only people that we did see were in a street car that we saw far from the train station.
On 4 May 1954, G. Giacometti, W. Gordon, R. Langlois, Dean Slagle, G. Williams, W. Yancy and I left Frankfurt by train for Hielbronn the headquarters of the 502 Comm Recon Group APO 176. Ken Kerner left the Azores with a Navy plane the day before the rest of us and was already in Heilbronn. Heilbronn is on the Neckar River between Heidelberg and Stuttgart. This is where I saw the first ruins and graves from the bombing during WW2. The view from the front steps of the train station was of a development of red brick homes. The only thing that remained were the naked walls. At the kaserne there was a view of a hillside where there were 2 mass graves with thousands of dead in each grave. Heilbronn was bombed many times during the war by both the British and the U.S.A.
I do not have my orders for assignment to the 332nd Comm Recon in Bamberg. The 332nd was under the 302nd Comm Recon Battalion. There were only 3 or 4 of us that went to Bamberg at that time. I know Ken Kerner and I went there together probably around 8 May 1954. My time in Bamberg was uneventful. I worked as a Radio Repairman on shift work. Another Repairman and I developed a switching system with toggle switches that was used in the vans to record data on record player type devices. The vinyl records could be erased and re-recorded. Another job there was keeping the engine driven electric generators running and switching when one was low in fuel. The maintenance officer in Bamberg was Lt James Ward. I am in contact with him I am happy to say. I was on leave in October 1954 with Herbie Jowers and another buddy but I cannot remember his name. We were in Zurich, Lucerne, Geneva, Cannes, Naples and Rome. In May 1955 I was on leave with Claude Frable. We visited Brussels, Amsterdam and Copenhagen. I was in Bamberg until 15 April 1955. I was transferred to outpost Altefeld at that time (See sites for further info.) replacing Thomas Truitt.
In Altefeld I was Jack of all trades. I repaired radios, climbed antenna poles, repaired the telephone line from the site to the house, repaired the road, drove to and from Bamberg numerous times to return & pickup personnel. Here I saw the German prisoners of war that the Russians released come home in late 1955. They came over the border at Herleshausen that was a few miles south of Altefeld. They had their old uniforms on, were very thin and their faces were empty and pale. I shall never forget their faces. In September 1955 Karl Richardson and I went on leave and visited Denmark and sailed from there to England. We spent a week in London. Grethe Petersen of Copenhagen, Denmark was with us in London. The commanding officer in Altefeld was 1st Lt Thomas H. Foster who I had very much respect for and would like to find. Second in command was Sgt Fred Swenk who also was our cook. He became mess Sgt in Rothwesten in early 1956. I am in contact with Fred, thanks to his son Fred Jr.
When the 332nd moved to Bad Aibling late October 1955, outpost Altefeld was transferred to Company A of the 307th Comm Recon Bn located in Rothwesten north of Kassel. I was transferred from outpost Altefeld to Rothwesten in January 1956 and was there until 20 April. On that date I went by train to Frankfurt and reported to Hq & Hq Det 21st Repl Bn APO 757. From here I was flown via Prestwick, Scotland and Goosebay, Labrador to McGuire airbase in New Jersey. I was separated from the U.S. Army on 30 July, 1956 at Ft. Knox, Kentucky.
Wade E. Temple, 423 Church St. Royersford, Pa 19468
Upated March 9, 2009