Page 120 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2018- Online Magazine
P. 120
Bill Womack “Floydada” -
Last Man Standing
by Lana Copp
He was assigned to the were marching wall to wall in
Oklahoma National Guard, the valley. The sergeant told
serving with the 45th them, “Hunker down and dig
Division. He finished basic in, boys. We don’t have that
training at Camp Polk, LA many bullets.” They had two
and then went to Military cans of heat, one thin blanket
Police school in Georgia for each and a two-man pup tent
four months. He credits an for each pair of them. That
ex-FBI agent for teaching him was the first night Bill had
how to shoot correctly. ever slept on the ground.
They burned one can of heat
After MP school, the 45th the first night and one the
MP Company was flown to next night. The rest of the
California and boarded the time there, about ten days,
Private Sadao S. Munemori they only had a blanket each.
(USNS), an American ship Bill still doesn’t like cold
with an English crew. While weather.
aboard, Bill heard someone
yelling, “Floydada, Floydada, After serving his time in
where are you?” It was Dan Korea, he was flown back to
Blocker (who would later California before being sent
play Hoss Cartwright on the home. They arrived on a
popular TV show Bonanza). Friday and were not able to
The actor-to-be had grown get their discharge papers
illy Joe Womack was up in O’Donnell, Texas, and until Monday. Bill and one of
born July 7, 1928 in someone had told him there his friends, also from Texas,
BFloydada, Texas to was a soldier on the ship went to town on Saturday
Arthur Virgil and Ida Mae from Floydada. They visited and bought western shirts,
Hollingsworth Womack of the whole 17 days it took to boots, belts, and jeans. They
Sandhill, Texas. He lived cross the Pacific Ocean. took their uniforms, with
on a farm in the Sandhill medals still on them, off on
Community and attended His unit was then sent across Monday and changed into
school at Floydada. He Japan by train, and the men the clothes they had bought
played football and had to were sent in smaller boats and left their uniforms on the
walk home 13 miles every across the Sea of Japan bunks. No one has been able
day because the buses had to South Korea. When to find any pictures of him in
already run. He graduated they stepped off the troop uniform.
and worked at different jobs carriers with their machine
before being drafted in 1951. guns (called grease guns), Billy Joe and five brothers
pistols and backpacks, the served their country in the
temperature was 24 degrees military. Only he and his
below zero. He said the brother Jay actually saw
ocean was like “slush” as combat. Bill often says, “Can
they waded ashore. They you imagine my mother
marched several miles in having to send six boys off to
frozen britches and wet socks. war?”
The sergeant made them stop
and change socks and put the Bill told me that people
wet ones next to their navels think when veterans get
to draw the moisture out of together with their buddies at
the socks. reunions they talk about war
stories, but he said all they
When they arrived at their talk about is the love they
post on top of the mountain have for each other and how
and looked down into the lucky they are to be here.
Inchon Valley, the Chinese “War stories are what is in
120 Lubbock Senior Link
