Original Research
The research for this project was done mainly with primary source materials. Some primary sources are lacking such as specific unit records due to the researcher not being able to locate the records. When the researcher contacted the St. Louis National Archives to try and find records on the 203rd CAB (AA) the Archivist informed the researcher the records had been destroyed in the 1973 fire.[1] The lack of records in the archives meant the researcher had to rely on other primary sourced documents. Some of the primary sources used for the project on the 203rd Coast Artillery Battalion (Anti-Aircraft) are the Carthage Evening Press, the Houston Chronicle, the Lamar Democrat, interviews with members of the 203rd CAB (AA), and several other Missouri local newspapers, and artifacts found in the different collections within the “203rd Coast Artillery History Collection” at the Museum of Missouri Military History in Jefferson City, Missouri. Each of the primary sources are valuable to the project, because the newspapers described what happened in real time as written by the men of the 203rd CAB (AA) to the hometown newspapers from deployment. The interviews showed memories of members of the 203rd CAB (AA) from many years after the end of World War II. Having the different accounts of the events of the 203rd CAB (AA)’s advancement through war game training to deployment in the Aleutian Islands will help determine what role the 203rd CAB (AA) played in the success of United States in the Pacific Theatre during World War II.
A primary source that will be a valuable asset to the research is the Carthage Evening Press, the newspaper from Carthage, Missouri. Carthage, Missouri, was where the 203rd Coast Artillery Battalion (Anti-Aircraft) became a guard unit after the Civil War. In 1940-1941, the Carthage Evening Press received letters from some of the men of the Missouri National Guard 203rd CAB (AA) while they trained in the Texas and Louisiana maneuvers. Dean Henry wrote to the Carthage Evening Press[1] and the Lamar Democrat[2] telling the story of the training the 203rd CAB (AA) went through and where the training took the men. First Lieutenant Dean Henry titled his reports to the newspaper as “Camp Hulen Scribblings.” The newspaper excerpts give accounts written by members of the 203rd CAB (AA) about the different activities the 203rd CAB (AA) were doing in Texas and Louisiana.
The “Camp Hulen Scribblings” by Dean Henry are informative on what the 203rd Coast Artillery Battalion (Anti-Aircraft) experienced during the Texas and Louisiana maneuvers of 1941. Lieutenant Dean Henry wrote home to the newspaper to inform family and friends of what he had been doing at Camp Hulen near Beaumont, Texas. Lieutenant Henry described what duties he had at Camp Hulen while the rest of the 203rd CAB (AA) performed in Alexandria, Louisiana, for the big war games.
Carthage Evening Press also received updates on the 203rd CAB (AA) during the Louisiana Maneuvers from Lieutenant Colonel Cliff Titus. Colonel Titus described in his letters to the Carthage Evening Press exactly how the war games were going to work. Commanders established two teams: the blue team and the red team, and the teams went to battle against one another to simulate real war conditions. Colonel Titus described the weather in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and how the different weather conditions each day affected the men’s performance in the war games.[1]
Another section of the Carthage Evening Press covered a wider view of the boys of Battery D, the 203rd CAB (AA), and signed the entries as The Boys of Battery D. The excerpts signed by the Boys of Battery D, offered more in-depth descriptions of their locations.[1] The Boys of Battery D, also told exact times of their actions, as in time of day, example at 5 p.m., on August 11, 1941, arrived at Wharton, Texas
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Carthage Evening Press included another smaller section written by “Breezy” Johnson, another member of the 203rd CAB (AA) involved in the Louisiana Maneuvers. “Breezy” Johnson wrote about his experience at Camp Hulen while the other men moved on to Louisiana to perform in the war games. Each of these sections in the Carthage Evening Press provided written accounts by members of the 203rd CAB (AA) about the United States’ involvement in World War II.[1]
In February 1941, the Houston Chronicle and the Joplin Globe[1] ran articles on the 203rd CAB (AA). The Houston Chronicle had an article “203rd Regiment Coast Artillery, Missouri,” that described the Missouri boys. One line in the article is, “you can tell a soldier from Missouri,” and described how the Missouri unit stood out from the rest of the units involved in the training maneuvers. The article listed the soldiers’ hometowns and how proud the soldiers expressed Missouri state pride. The 203rd CAB (AA) are known as the “Houn’ Dawgs” in reference to a song (an old Ozark song) called “Don’t Kick Our Dog.” The article also described the success of the Missouri unit in the war games.[2]
The interviews of some of the members of the 203rd Coast Artillery Battalion (Anti-Aircraft) are available through the Museum of Missouri Military History in the form of transcripts and video tapes. Interested parties should contact the museum director to arrange a meeting, and to gain access to the video tapes and the transcripts of the interviews.Individuals can watch the video tapes at the museum and ask for copies of the transcripts of the interviews. The interviews provide memories of the men who served during World War II. They tell stories beginning when they signed up to be in the National Guard through the time when the 203rd CAB (AA) is deployed to the Aleutian Islands.[1]
Other primary sources such as the artifacts from the 203rd Coast Artillery Battalion (Anti-Aircraft) from the service time during World War II are available through the Museum of Missouri Military History. The museum’s staff can provide access to the objects and have some objects from the “203rd Coast Artillery History Collection” on display for public viewing March-April 2020 in the Pride of Missouri exhibition. The primary sources are valuable pieces to add to the exhibit showing the visitors of the museum the story of Missouri National Guard members during World War II.[1]
The primary sources found for the project on the 203rd CAB (AA) during World War II are material culture artifacts that document the presence of Missouri Guardsmen in the role of national defense. The pride of Missouri comes through in all of the primary resources, as well with the men continually being in contact with the home front and other people being able to spot a Missouri soldier out of the crowd. All of the newspaper articles give a glance into the lives of the men of the 203rd CAB (AA), as the men served in World War II after being mobilized by President Franklin Roosevelt on September 16, 1940.
[1] The artifacts in the Pride of Missouri exhibition are from the different collections within the 203rd Coast Artillery History Collection at the Museum of Missouri Military History in Jefferson City, Missouri. [1] The different oral histories are: Jack George of Pierce City, MO. 203rd Coast Artillery MONG, March 12, 1996. 203rd Coast Artillery History Collection, Museum of Missouri Military History Archives. Mr. and Mrs. Pete Lindquist May 16, 1997. 203rd AA and World War II. Mrs. Lindquist worked in Aircraft Industry WWII. Pete Lindquist Collection, Museum of Missouri Military History Archives. “The Hound Dog Regiment in the Thousand Mile War,” The 203rd Coast Artillery Regiment (AA) Remember WWII. 203rd Coast Artillery History Collection, Museum of Missouri Military History Archives. Jack George of Pierce City and Jimmy Malching. 203rd Coast Artillery History Collection, Museum of Missouri Military History Archives. 203rd Pierce City Interviews. 203rd Coast Artillery History Collection, Museum of Missouri Military History Archives. Mrs. Dale 203rd Wife of Robert S. Dale (2nd Lieutenant in 203rd CA). Robert Dale Collection, Museum of Missouri Military History Archives. [1] Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO 1940-45. 203rd Coast Artillery History Collection, Museum of Missouri Military History Archives. [2] Houston Chronicle, Houston, TX 1940-41. 203rd Coast Artillery History Collection, Museum of Missouri Military History Archives. [1] Carthage Evening Press, Carthage, MO 1940-45. [1] “The Boys of Battery D,” Carthage Evening Press. Carthage, Missouri, Wednesday, September 10, 1941. 203rd Coast Artillery History Collection, Museum of Missouri Military History Archives. [1] Carthage Evening Press, Carthage, MO 1940-45. [1] Carthage Evening Press, Carthage, MO 1940-45. 203rd Coast Artillery History Collection, Museum of Missouri Military History Archives. [2] Lamar Democrat, Lamar, MO 1940-45. 203rd Coast Artillery History Collection, Museum of Missouri Military History Archives. [1]The St. Louis National Archives experienced a fire in 1973 that destroyed millions of military records.
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