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Hon.
Edward C. Reed: Prisoner of War After training in radio/wire
communications, he was assigned to the 86th Infantry Division, which was known
as the Black Hawk Division. While training at Camp Livingston in Alexandria,
Louisiana, Reed was assigned to a rifle company, C Company of the 343rd
Infantry. The Judge recalls that "it was not a happy prospect." Fortunately, a
colonel saw that he might have some talents beyond carrying a rifle and a radio;
he had him transferred to the Headquarters Battery of the 86th Division
Artillery. The unit finally got out of
the rains of Eastern Texas and Western Louisiana when it was shipped to
California. Amphibious training followed in preparation for duty in the Pacific
theatre of war. But when the conflict in Europe intensified, it was off to
France. There he served as the radioman to General Einer Gjelsteen, the comman-ding
general of the 86th Division Artillery. Wherever the General and his aide went
in their jeep, Sgt. Reed would follow with a driver in a truck loaded with radio
and communication equipment. The General liked to be near the front lines with
his troops; however, one time they advanced too far and crossed German lines.
The vehicles were hit with heavy machine gun fire. The General and his staff
surrendered without loss of life. They were interrogated by a German officer who
said he had formerly lived in Milwaukee. He made a prophetic statement to them,
"today you are our prisoners, tomorrow we are yours." He knew the war was lost. Officers and enlisted men were
separated. Sgt. Reed was placed in a prisoner of war camp that was full of
French soldiers who had been there since 1940. Food was adequate, because the
French soldiers were required to work in the local fields and could bring
produce back into the camp. A short time later, the prisoners noticed the German
guards were leaving the camp and knew something was happening. The 99th Division
arrived and freed them. Sgt. Reed's unit, the 86th
Division, ended the European war in Austria as part of General Patton's army.
They were then shipped to the Philippine Islands to prepare for the invasion of
Japan. President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb averted the planned
invasion and saved the lives of many in the 86th who would have been at the
front. Judge Reed recalls the food in
the Army being usually good, even in the combat zone. However, he believed, with
many others, that the Army took all the truck drivers and made cooks out of
them, and took all the cooks and made truck drivers out of them. For
Thanksgiving in 1944, there was only one turkey for the company, and the cook
was unsure how to spread it around so that everyone would get some. So, it was
cooked, then the cook took a cleaver and chopped the turkey up. Everybody got a
spoonful of it, including bone and maybe a little bit of turkey meat. Judge Reed's father registered him at the university as soon as word came of his separation in 1946. Graduation from the University of Nevada was followed by law school at Harvard University. The opportunity to serve his country in World War II strengthened his commitment to public service. Now, at 80 years of age, he continues to carry a substantial case load as a Senior U.S. District Judge.
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