Payday at Fort Clark in 1938. By Joe IsbellAbout the time for preparation of the monthly payrolls at the Class B office at Fort Clark, Maj. Gen. Walther Krueger, commander of 8 th Corps Area at Fort Sam Houston, ordered a big maneuver that every one was to participate in. Naturally Sgt. Davin was upset. He explained to the Post Commander that he would not be able to make payday that month if he complied with the requirement of "no exceptions" as stated in the maneuver order. The Post Commander advised Sgt. Davin that only Gen. Krueger could exempt him. So naturally a memo was required and Sgt. Davin wrote it because the Class B 2 nd Lt. was seldom there. It was as though he was Class B "in addition to other duties". He explained in the memo that "most likely the troops would not be paid" unless he and the clerk could spend that week preparing the payrolls. About six days later the memo came back "disapproved" with the personal signature of Gen. Krueger. At reveille on the date of the beginning of the big maneuver when all the Infantry, Artillery and Cavalry of the command would be cruising all over the Pecos and Devils river country for a week, St Davin and his clerk, all dressed up in full field regalia, closed and locked the door to the Finance Office and posted a sign on the front door reading, "CLOSED! OUT FOR A STROLL!." Sgt. Davin signed it personally. A week later the two Finance Personnel returned, all dusty, dirty, fatigued, etc., and before unlocking the door to the office, noticed just under Davin’s signature, the following notation: "By Command of General Krueger", with the hand signature of the General. Sgt. Davin and his clerk worked day and night on the payrolls and the payday. Ed: Joe provided the following additional information on the people in this story. Col. John Hamilton Davin, FC, later was Post Comptroller at Fort Bliss, retired about 1960. Four star Walther Krueger retired shortly after WW II. When Gen. Douglas McArthur was rescued from the Philippines, and assigned as CG, AFFE in Melbourne, he quickly asked for Gen. Krueger. In McArthur’s memoir Krueger is described as the most efficient and capable officer he had ever known. Gen. Krueger led 6 th Army in the invasion of Japan in 1945 and stood next to McArthur on the deck of the ship at Japan’s surrender. In 1938 Joe Isbell was a Cpl. in rifle co., 3 rd Division. He later got into Finance to escape wearing those wrap leggings. The BN. S-3 was Capt. H. W. Crandall who went on to be Chief of Finance from May 1956 to August 1958. (Ed: Those of you who don’t remember what it took to prepare manual payrolls need to be advised that the computer has not been in our tool kit forever. To me, the value of this story is that reminds us that time after time our Finance people are called upon to do the near impossible and they generally do it against all odds. Let’s face it, we are a very select group and darned proud to be Finance.) |
