Welcome History Nerds

welcome to my blog! I go by Gamila which is an old nickname. I'm from Texas, and I'm a huge history nerd especially about World War II and military history- honestly anything really. I'm currently a 23 year old grad student getting my masters in Heritage and Museum Sciences. For hobbies, I write, draw when I can, do historical research, living history/reenacting, play Dungeons and Dragons, and currently learning to ride horses! DMs open for non-followers, feel free to hit me up if you have any questions about my research.

My research:

So, we're back! Quick thank you to my friend who patiently as ever helps explain acronyms and translates them!

Aaand, 1942, Pearl Harbor has happened, and our boy Juergens has joined the Marines! I'll be starting off with his muster rolls here, and then his military file which will give us more information.

Of course! Happy to help. It's very helpful indeed.

Hi! Sorry for the late reply- finally around to checking my tumblr between grad school and everything lol.

So to answer your question, yes, I do. I have a friend of mine who is a Marine vet. It's very helpful to have someone with a military POV- whether current or past experience- if you're doing research into military history. She helps a lot with explaining things, giving me that POV, and decoding acronyms (more common than you'd think lol). I have other contacts who I could also potentially reach out to about questions, and I know a lot and have been around a lot of vets.

If you're trying to do research into the military, into military history, or veterans for whatever reason it's great to build up some contacts. If you don't know anyone who is or did serve, I'd highly recommend hitting up the Marine, Navy, Army, Coast Guard, Air Force etc reddits as a good way to connect with people through the power of the internet (and anonymously if you're a little nervous about these sorts of things).

Back once more! Finished up spring semester- whew- and moving onto summer classes. Trying to be a little more frequent with these posts, sorry.

So onto to 1940- moving once again to....

Louisville, Kentucky! Now Juergens is 21, but still living with his parents. Hey, life ain't cheap- we get it. His mom is working now, as a stenographer for the U.S. Treasury Dept.- 40 hours a week, full time. Juergens is also working- 60 hours a week as a clerk- what industry? it's a little hard to tell, but the first word seems to be "chain" and the second may be "grocery"- at least that's my best guess. The Industry Code for the census in 1940 also supports this- "061" being "food stores".

Now this census is taken in April- one of the questions asks if the person had been paid somehow or employed in March. Mr. Juergens answers no- his job type is accountant, but he's been unemployed for 3 weeks now. But from the other questions, we do know that Mr. Juergens had a job prior, as did his family members- and that his wife and son, while employed now, were seeking work recently. In 1939 however, he only worked 26 weeks- unlike his wife and sons' full 52 weeks.

We can also see how much they all made in 1939- adjusted for inflation for 2024, Mr. Juergens made $15,722, his wife made $21,988, and his son, $24,165. The Juergens are still being hit by the Depression, I think, especially Mr. Juergen, forcing his wife to work (which she hasn't before in previous censuses) and our man Lewis Juergens to work overtime and- quite nearly- become the breadwinner for the family. Compare their total income of just over 2k in 1940, with the Leckies'- Mr. Leckie bringing home 4k and Robert Leckie 2k just by himself.

So as I mentioned in my previous post, this one is a little different. Leckie talked about being in the hospital numerous times during his time in the Marines- from malaria, to the enuresis, and of course, to him being wounded. His military file confirms this- out of everybody I've looked into, this man has a legit whole section for his hospital visits I won't post any of these- as I mentioned before, even if the man has been dead for 20-30 years, still feels a little odd to do so.

Instead, I wanted to use what Leckie experienced to talk a bit more about the experience in the Pacific and the numerous hardships Marines like him (and others fighting) went through. Please take this as a research starter- I've researched it best I can, but this is not an authoritative source, nor am I a medical/mental professional of any sort. That out of the way- let's get started!

March 1944- malaria time. He describes just how bad it was in his memoir- in fact, it's mentioned in his medical notes that the man had to be carried by stretcher, and that he had it 6-7 times by May '44. Malaria is no joke! Malaria is a parasite spread by mosquitos- in the South Pacific, primarily Anopheles minimus flavirostris. They thrived in these islands so no wonder malaria was such an issue. Now, malaria can only be spread by mosquitos- ie, one mosquito bites an malarial person, then bites a healthy one- the parasite is in the blood and can spread that way. So it's not like Leckie could just cough on a nurse and give it to her- but a mosquito might bite him and then bite her and she could get it that way. It can include fevers, chills, aches, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea (among others), and can reoccur in the form of malaria 'attacks' for years after you initially recovered. for Example, RV Burgin got malaria in 1945, but suffered attacks all the way to 1947. Now malaria in the Pacific was devastating. People knew how to prevent and control; it's just doing that in war was difficult. Supply issues and lack of doctors who specialized in tropical medicine contributed to the problem. Plus, as you might hear in a Marine's memoir, Atabrine needed to be given regularly to be at all effective (which even then, it wasn't 100% fool proof) but many men avoided it due to its bitter taste, real and imagined side effects. Quinine- the traditional drug- had effectively been cut off due to Japanese and German conquests.

Malaria wasn't usually fatal for American soldiers, but due to the compounding nature of infection, how quickly it could take a man out for a prolonged period of time, it could greatly reduce the strength of a unit, division, or regiment. For example, in the defense of the Phillippines, about 24,000 of the 75,000 American/Filipinos were infected. That's against 57,000 healthy Japanese soldiers. It's hard to say if Malaria really turned the tide of battle (so, so, so many factors here) but it sure did not help. Only with concerted efforts to fight Malaria, including the introduction of DDT in 1943 (first tested on soldiers with the typhus epidemic in Italy being very effective), was the Army able to turn the tide by the end of the war. Japanese meanwhile became more and more harder hit, with probably around 90% of troops having malaria in the last days of the war as they encountered supply struggles. Source 1, Source 1

May 1944- the enuresis. So Leckie would not be the first nor the last GI to suffer this malady. Psychologists- mostly Freudians like the one he meets- would have seen enuresis as part disability but also as a sign of mental unfitness. Even after clear battle trauma, enuresis might've just been a sign that the patient had been secretly unfit all along. Remembering the large mental casualties of World War I, the recruitors tried their best to weed out potential mental issues- or those they deemed mentally weak and likely to crack. Despite their efforts, soldiers, Marines, sailors, and airmen continued to suffer from trauma and breakdowns in such large amounts that it showed that all men could potentially be affected by PTSD, not just simply as a result of some inherent cowardice, mental weakness, or flaw in their masculinity. Later, connections would be made recognizing enuresis as a potential symptom of trauma and stress. In 1947, psychiatrist Kyril B Conger in the Bulletin of US Army Medical Department, observed that "under combat and emotional stress"- a condition sometimes known as "buzz bomb bladder" would appear (enuresis). It is quite possible that in Leckie's case, his was related to combat stress and trauma- only appearing during Guadalcanal, New Britain, and upon his leaving Melbourne, ruling out, I believe, possibility of infection. No mention of infection exists in his medical files, though it is noted that while on the 'Canal, "lived on what he could gather up or steal," as well as being "somewhat restless and tense,". Enuresis would and continues to remain an issue for many veterans due to stigma and trouble getting benefits, whether related to mental distress, or the after affects of Agent Orange cancer surgery (because the Vietnam vets just did't have it hard enough). Source 1, Source 2

September 16, 1944- blast concussion. In the initial days of the Peleliu campaign, Leckie is wounded- blown up by a mortar shell which hits an ammunition dump- so a little different than the show, but pretty much the same result. Leckie gets what's called a blast concussion- along with some back stiffness- in modern days, we'd call this a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). TBIs usually result from a violent jolt to the head/body- but can also be caused by something going through the brain tissue (think a bullet or metal fragment). Depending on the severity of a TBI, symptoms can range from headaches, nausea, loss of balance and problems with speech, to the memory, concentration issues, mood swings, and the more severe loss of consciousness, inability to speak, loss of coordination, weakness or numbness, profound confusion, unusual behavior, or comas. It can also cause repeated long-term issues such as seizures depending on severity and how much it happens. Even mild TBIs (mTBIs) can be problematic if repeated again and again. So, safe to say- Leckie wasn't having a good time.

TBIs have a long history in US military medicine- dating back to the Civil War. In WW1, this was often recognized as shell shock, with later understanding that sometimes there wasn't a clear distinction between combat-related PTSD and blast TBIs. However, with improved medical knowledge, survival rates from head injuries had gone up dramatically in WW2, leading to more need for rehabilitation.This had been due to penicillin, but also the innovation of mobile neurosurgical units by battle zones, and redesigned helmets. The WW1 dough-boy helmet did not protect the wearer's back neck, and so prior to the war, redesigns had been made with "visor and skirt-like extensions were added to protect the back and sides of the skull, and a suspension system and adjustable liner elevated the helmet from the head"- that's what Leckie and other American servicemen wore. Now, with the modern War on Terror conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan, improved body armor helps survival, and medical understanding increases, but blast-related TBIs have nonetheless become the most common injury faced by servicemen and women- creating a situation one of my sources likened to the aftermaths of British offensive of Somme, July 1916. Source 1, Source 2, Source 3

So that's the three most notable things that Leckie undergoes. I really wanted to highlight them as they have both historical revelance during World War II, and continued revalance for Leckie's modern counterparts in the military. Again, please note- I am not a medical professional. Please take this as a research starter and more about providing a medical history rather than a diagnosis or professional understanding of these conditions.

Alrighty, we're back! so firstly, a quick list of links of the ships Leckie and his comrades were on (including the hated Elliot).

https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/g/george-f-elliott-ap-13.html

https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/us-navy-ships/alphabetical-listing/g/uss-george-f--elliott--ap-13-0.html

https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/tryon.html

https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/macleish.html

So this one is my best guess as to what the USS MacLeay is- that name did not come up in a search so I think it was mispelled.

https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/p/president-adams.html

https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/us-navy-ships/alphabetical-listing/g/uss-general-william-mitchell--ap-114-0.html

I think this may be the Johnson- part of it is cut off and there are a few ships by that name in use during the war.

Now back to Leckie. So I'm going to try to keep these next bits in order throughout his service, but it's basically his promotions and the deck court martial. firstly in March of '42- he becomes a PFC- congrats!

Then, he gets demoted- this is when he and Juergens and co. sneaked back on the ship and got caught. It lines up pretty much as he retold it in his memoir.

But no worries- he gets promoted again in January of '44- congrats!

Then he gets wounded later that year.

He probably has let his parents know- since Leckie is wounded the month prior- at least I hope he did. He was wounded on September 16th so at least he wasn't in the hospital too long, I guess. Still, I would be so glad to get a letter like this if my son/loved one was wounded- you'd much rather wish for a quick recovery, I would think, and to be kept updated at a time when you couldn't just call someone.

A quick shout out to my friend who helped me with the acronyms! And yes, this is a LONG post.

Alrighty, next on the military file for Robert Leckie- his time in the service! Here are the classifications he gained- if you have read his memoir, you might remember him becoming the company clerk for a short time- it made it here!

Alrighty- here's my boy's military file. In case you thought we were done lol (we're never done with Leckie). Thank you to @bleedingcoffee42 who got this for me- she may have already posted a bit about it, so I apologize for any repeats. Go check out their research! They're amazing.

So firstly, his enlistment pic- with a little bit of sass, I think.

We also have a bit of info given for his prior education/work history.

this helps narrow down a bit of the conflicting information in the newspaper articles, I noticed. I'm curious why he went for a law degree (not what you'd expect) but seems to have given it up for journalism?

And some description for the color of his hair/eyes. He's also 160 lbs.

We're back with the next part of Juergens's research! Remember when I said they're moving around a lot? Yeah, fast forward to 1935 and they're in Tampa, Florida. Florida- lucky for us- did a mid-state census so it was a nice catch. That county is where Tampa is in.

It's not the best quality, I'm afraid, so I'll go ahead and summarize what this tells us. Mr. Juergens is 44, and still unemployed- but he does have a college education as emphasized in the past censuses. Mrs. Juergens is at home, and our boy is 16 and a student- so he's in school. They're renting an apartment- so we've not even got our former house we were renting earlier. Here's where they lived!

The apartments are also still availble for rent! The building itself was only 9 years old in 1935, but now it seems a lot swankier than it probably would've been in 1935. The apartment actually is only a couple blocks away from the seashore.

https://www.apartments.com/texas-tampa-fl/f5n5jqs/

Thanks to the lovely @bleedingcoffee42 , we also have a rough idea of when, exactly, the Juergens arrived in Tampa with these articles. This means that since April 1930 (the date of census) and before the start of the school year (Aug-Sept 1931) the Juergens arrived in Tampa- a time period of about a year and some change.

Despite his family not doing so great financially (remember, dad was in finance just before 1930 and finance was first/hardest hit right after the stockmarket crash), Juergens is still working hard in class. Good job buddy!

Now in high school, he's continuing to be active, campaigning for class officer- probably a sophomore at this point- and perhaps holding up to that "natural-born leader" trait that Leckie attributed to him.

Here's a link for a little more about his highschool and his middle/junior high school. The former is pretty high ranked now.

Some history from Wilson also gives us the idea that this was still a very new community at the time.

Alrighty- thanks to the wonderful @bleedingcoffee42 we have Leckie's yearbook. I'll include a few links to their posts about it below. This is the rest of it.

that's him, bending over in the middle picture, pretty sure.

He also wrote these poems for all his classmates.

@bleedingcoffee42 posts:

Part1:- ambitions, dislikes, etc https://bleedingcoffee42.tumblr.com/post/804570048986529792/from-robert-leckies-senior-year-hs-yearbook

Part 2:- yearbook pic!

Part 3:- basketball stuff.

Part 4: varsity club pick showing off checkered pants and fun socks.

Finally! Here we go- starting with the census record in 1920. Out of Team Leckie, Juergens is the oldest of the four and the only one born before 1920- so he actually shows up in this one. Btw- we're going to be jumping around the States a LOT- more than I was expecting for sure.

In 1920, Juergens shows up for the first time. And for some reason, they use his middle name as his first name- not sure why but it seems as if he's a junior?

At this time, Juergens is a year and half. His dad is 37- mom 29. Dad is the son of a German immigrant, and Mom is the daughter of two Irish immigrants. Does Dad speak German? Does Mom speak Gaelic? We don't know, but it's very possible they may have known some. At this point in time, Dad is a assistant manager at a soap company- no idea on wages, but doesn't seem like a bad place to be.

The house they're renting is this one here:

Their neighbors? A Swedish-American couple.

By 1930- we're in Chicago. Great Depression has just happened.

Interestingly enough, the Juergens are listed as renting an apartment- one that Mr. Juergens is noted as being the past owner of. Did he sell it off to make it ends meet? He's also a bonds salesman now- but unemployed and on the "schedule" though I'm not sure what that means. Perhaps on some sort of welfare?? Might be why he sold the apartment. Either way, not doin great! But they do own a radio!

Even more interesting- our boy "Chuckler" is 11, and in school, but is listed as being unable to read and write- neither can his mother. Yet on the 1920 census, she can read and write- my guess, is a typo.

This seems to be their house- I'm guessing it's a condo of some sort back in the day, with two separate apartments- still is, I think. From my research, this neighborhood was pretty solidly an immigrant one, and on the census there's a lot of second-gen irish, scottish, first gen welsh and even german. Additionally, based on some info from a friend actually from Chicago (I myself have never been there lol), that area may have been very popular with roman Catholic Germans pre-World War I. Knowing the Juergens are Catholic, and Mr. Juergens is a second gen German (his dad is born there), perhaps that's why they ended up there again. Especially if they used to own the place.

From the teaser pictures of the national museum of the Pacific War Bush gallery renovation.

Also link because I am so stoked for this thing. Cannot recommend these guys enough.