Interview with Edward White
By his niece, Mary Jane O'Donnell
Circa 1980's (I think)
edited for grammar/clarity-only, 10-Apr-2001 -vjw-

"In the past few years and most violently, in the past few days-we have learned a 
terrible lesson," said Franklin Roosevelt two days after Pearl Harbor was 
bombed. We must begin the great task that is before us by abandoning once
and for all the illusion that we can ever again isolate ourselves from the rest of 
humanity." He added, "We are going to win the war, and we are going to win the 
peace that follows."

Edward J. White was 20 years old when President Roosevelt declared war and 
he had no idea what lay before him. He was the third child out of ten. There were 
nine boys and one girl, ranging in age from 4 to 24. He grew up in Bayonne, NJ, 
a city right outside of New York. He never paid much attention to what was going 
on outside his own world. He thought, however, that someday the United States 
might have to go to war. Well, that someday came quicker then he thought.

He says he will never forget the day Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, "I had picked 
my Uncle Eddie up at work. He was a merchant seaman who would bring oil to 
military tanks. "We were driving down Broadway, when the news came over the 
radio. My uncle said to me "Eddie, turn this car around and bring me back to 
work."

"I knew then there were going to be a lot of changes in my life," said Ed. A lot of 
changes there were, for in the following year, three White boys went off to war in 
three months. The first to go was Edward's older brother, Vincent, who enlisted
in the war. "I remember the day he enlisted, it was October 20, 1942. He 
volunteered for the Air Force. He was 23 at the time," says Ed. Vincent 
underwent his basic training at Miami Beach, Fla. and advanced training at 
Amarillo, Texas, Seattle, Wash. and Las Vegas, before he went overseas from 
North Carolina as a flight engineer and gunner in the latter part of July.

Not another month went by when Edward's oldest brother James was drafted to 
the Army as a Field Artillery specialist. Four weeks later Edward received his 
draft papers to the Army Ordinance. "I remember thinking that it was the thing to 
do. All my friends were going and already two of my brothers had gone."

Edward's basic training took place in Steward, Georgia. He was there for three 
months. "They taught you how to kill and survive, " said White. "I remember 
hiking through swamps that I thought would never end." One good thing 
happened to Edward there. It was that his older brother, James, was also 
stationed there. Since James was of higher rank, he sometimes pulled strings for 
his younger brother, like buying him packs of cigarettes.

He was then transferred to Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri for further training. "I 
remember when we left Georgia they wouldn't tell us where we were going in fear 
that the enemy would find out. We went up through the Canadian border to throw 
off the enemy. The only way we found out where we were going was when the 
train would stop for water. The farmers would tell us what direction we were 
heading."

The only happy memories that Edward has of Ft. Leonard Wood was that his 
younger brother Joey had since been drafted in the Army Air Force and was
stationed in, Scott Field, Ill. for his basic training. He was a radio/gunner
on a B-25 medium bomber. "We met every weekend." White said with a smile.
"It seemed wherever I went I ran into a brother."

After his training in Missouri the troop was being sent overseas. Edward 
remembers riding the train to New York. He passed right by his city. He could 
see the steeple of his church, which was right behind his house. "That was the 
worst, being so close to my family, but not being able to see them."

It was June 1943, when he boarded the Queen Elizabeth in New York. He was 
among the largest group of soldiers to be shipped overseas without an escort. 
There were no sub chasers or any navy boats. "We were all on our own," says 
Ed, "they depended on the speed of the QE to safely get us there. I remember 
zigzagging across the Atlantic to stay away from the enemy. This added two 
days to our trip." It took them eight days to finally reach Scotland. There were 
27000 troops on the QE. They would take turns sleeping on the deck. "One night 
you would be inside the next night you would be out on the deck. We were fed 
twice a day. We usually played cards to let the time pass," added Ed.

When the ship landed in Scotland the troops were taken to Ash Church, England 
by train. They set up camp there to prepare for the oncoming invasion of 
Europe. After being in England just a few days, Edward remembers being 
wakened in the middle of the night. "It was about 1:00 in the morning on October 
9, 1943 and someone was shaking me. I opened my eyes and my brother 
Vincent was in front of me. I couldn't believe my eyes. I hadn't seen him in about 
a year. It was the happiest day for me since the war started."

Vincent was stationed outside of London and the brothers made plans to meet 
that weekend in Birmingham. It was the half-way mark between them. They were 
to meet at the U.S.O. club. The U.S.O was a club that American soldiers 
could go to meet other soldiers. "When you went in, you would sign your 
name and where you were from. That way you could see if anybody from your 
city was there. He hadn't signed in yet," said his brother, "so I waited."

Edward had heard his brother was on another mission over Nazi-Germany and 
that he was to return that day. So he walked over to the English air field to
wait for his brother's B-17 bomber to return. "One by one they came in. There were 
ambulances around for the wounded airmen. A lot of bombers came in that day," 
said Edward. But his brother's bomber never came back. Edward waited all day. 
Finally an officer came over to him and told him there was no use waiting around, 
all the bombers were back. "I just though it couldn't be. I went back to my camp 
and told my commanding officer what had happened. He said he would get back 
to me when he contacted Vinnie's commanding officer."

Well the officer did get back to Ed. It seemed that Nazi anti-aircraft fire had put 
an end to the brothers' plan. The plane was shot down over Germany. The crew 
was reported missing. Vinnie's body was not found until December 27, off the 
coast of Sweden. "It was very hard losing a brother in the war. I was the last one 
in our family to see him. Vinnie had a little boy back home that he only got to see 
twice. It really was tough on his wife and his mother. I just wish his son was able 
to know his father. That's the kind of toll the war had on people. Many innocent 
people were killed during the war."

It was very hard for Edward and his family to get through Vinnie's death. But the 
war went on and Edward was shipped to France. Five days after the allies 
invaded Normandy on June 6, 1944, his troops were sent there to set up a 
transportation and maintenance depot. This was to keep the invasion moving 
forward. They arrived at Chateau De Vincennes, two miles outside of Paris. "We 
arrived there the day the allies took Paris," told Edward.

By now another brother, Frank was in the war. He was in the Army, stationed at 
West Point. At this point, five White boys had served in the war. For the next
two months, Allied troops occupied what had been German headquarters on the
Champes De Ellyse. After the place was cleared of enemy snipers and the city 
got back to normal, a replacement depot was formed. On May 7, 1945, Germany 
surrendered. "I'll never forget that day, but the war wasn't over yet. There was 
still a war going on in the Far East. I was going to be sent back to the States for 
30 days and then I would be sent to the Far East to fight the war there. I was 
glad to be going home even if it was only for a month."

Edward left Le Harve, France to land in New Port News, Virginia nine days later. 
He said, "We were treated with steaks, watermelons, and just about anything we 
wanted. It was a much better ride on the way back." Once Edward arrived in 
Virginia he was transferred to Fort Dix by tram. Once he was in Fort Dix he called 
to let his family know he was on his way home. "I'll never forget the excitement in 
my mother's voice," he exclaimed.

He remembers walking in his house to be greeted by a happy family. "Most of my 
friends were still at war. Two of my brothers James and Joey had been 
discharged. I was very happy to be home."

Thirty days later Edward was back on a train to the same Missouri camp he had 
basic training in. "Then word came over the radio that Japan had surrendered. 
People were going crazy. God had answered my prayers. As soon as I arrived at 
camp I put in for my discharge. A few days later I was on my way home.

The war had taken a big toll on Edward and his family. There were five brothers 
in the war. That was half of the family. Edward remembers their house being the 
only one with five stars in the window. And one star was in gold. Which meant 
you had lost a son in the war. He remembers his parents being very strong and 
brave for their sons. However, since five sons went off to war and one did not 
return, he says, his mother was never the same. "She went down hill from there. It
was the turning point in her life. She had just turned 50, and with the loss of a 
son, it really tore her apart."

There were many changes in the White house during the war years. "My sister-
in-law, Gurtie, who was married to Vinnie, moved in after the death of my brother. 
Mom took very good care of Gurtie and her son, Edward Felix."

The White boys who were in the war and not married, would send home part of 
their paychecks to their parents. They tried to help out anyway they could. Once 
Edward's younger brother, Joey, sent home enough money ($300) for their 
parents to buy the house they had been renting for 10 years on East 47th Street.
"I think we were very mature for our age. We were between the ages of 18 and 
23 and we had a lot of responsibility. I don't think kids today could handle as 
much. When I read the letters that my brothers and I wrote to each other and to 
our parents, I can see the love and compassion that we shared for each other."

When I asked Mr. White if the war taught him anything he responded, "To trust in 
your loved ones and God and to be strong and not to be afraid to show your 
emotions. War is an experience that I hope no other generation has to go 
through. It was a time in my life that I will never forget. I thank God every night 
that I made it through the war. And I also pray for world peace.