George C. Ward was born in Erlanger, Kentucky in January 1926. He was raised in Florence, Kentucky. He had one brother and two sisters. Ward was the middle of the siblings. His brother was drafted before the war started and served in the 10th Battery of the 18th Field Artillery at Fort Bragg [Annotator’s Note: Fort Bragg in North Carolina] for the duration of the conflict. The battery tested ordnance at Fort Bragg. The family lived during the Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] by Ward’s father selling ice in northern Kentucky. Ward’s siblings had previously passed away at the time of the interview. The family just got along during the Depression and had very little. They had a farm. The older males worked the animals and crops. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], Ward heard the news over a radio broadcast while he was at a service station. He did not realize the magnitude of the situation, but soon found out. Some of the boys of Florence were killed in the war. The town population was about 750 during the war. The population has grown over the years. Ward’s father and other ancestors are buried in Florence. Ward would like to go back, but he does not drive. Ward received a draft letter when he was 18 years of age. He had never been away from home prior to that point.

George C. Ward had his basic training at Fort Custer in Michigan [Annotator’s Note: he was drafted into the US Army in February 1944 shortly after his 18th birthday]. After his 17 weeks of basic training, he was deployed overseas by ship. The voyage took 31 days to reach Bombay, India. He crossed India in a train with a boxcar full of liquor. His sergeant consumed a considerable amount of the liquor while en route to their destination. Basic training had been rough, but he put up with it. The first sergeant was a sorry person. While at Fort Custer, Ward and some friends would take off for Kalamazoo right outside of Battle Creek [Annotator’s Note: Fort Custer is near both Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, Michigan]. There were four lieutenants who each had their right leg shot off. They would get boozed up. Ward, at only 18 years of age, was scared to bother them. The officers were treated at a hospital in Battle Creek. The basic training camp was for military police. Ward does not know how he was selected for that duty. The training was rough. It included infantry training. For Ward, being away from home was difficult. Ward learned to patrol and perform military police duties. He was assigned to rough towns at times. That was about 1949 or 1950. Ward went overseas via Los Angeles [Annotator’s Note: Los Angeles, California] in October 1944. A Marine guard on the ship pulled his pistol on Ward’s buddy. Ward’s friend threw the weapon overboard and ended up in the brig [Annotator's Note: military prison aboard a Naval vessel or base; slang for jail] as a result. When Ward crossed the Equator for the first time, there was a ceremony recognizing the event. He was assigned to 503rd MP [Annotator’s Note: military police] Battalion when he was deployed. While on the ship, he performed KP [Annotator's Note: kitchen patrol or kitchen police] duty. The weather was rough for the old ship, but they reached Bombay after 31 days. Ward was seasick during the voyage. He slept in the bottom bunk which had three bunks above his.

George C. Ward Bombay [Annotator’s Note: he was deployed to Bombay, India as a member of the 503rd Military Police Battalion in November 1944]. He went by train across India to Calcutta [Annotator’s Note: Calcutta, or Kolkata, India] and then to Burma by a truck engulfed in red mud. He would not trade the experience for anything. It was shocking to see the local people begging for money. His first stop in Burma was Myitkyina where a big battle had just ended. Merrill’s Marauders [Annotator’s Note: the 5307th Composite Unit (provisional) commanded by General Frank Merrill] had just secured the area along with the 475th Infantry Regiment]. Ward had reached the area by train. People were jumping on the train and trying to get on it. Myitkyina was blown up when Ward observed it. Supplies came up the Irrawaddy River to Myitkyina which was a hub for access to northern Burma. There was train and water traffic as well as different airstrips. Ward’s friend from Tennessee was with Merrill’s Marauders when he was wounded. Ward returned home and was discharged. He reenlisted two months later and was sent to Italy despite requesting Germany. He had 14 months of good duty there. There were pretty women there. After Italy, he returned home by ship. When originally deployed, he had crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and then through the Panama Canal [Annotator's Note: manmade canal in the country of Panama that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in between North and South America] to the Indian Ocean to Calcutta. Ward spent 14 or 15 months in Myitkyina as an MP [Annotator’s Note: military police] on the Burma Road at the Chinese border. Ward had to be careful of the Chinese under Chiang Kai-Shek [Annotator's Note: Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek was the leader of the Republic of China between 1928 and 1975]. Those soldiers would shoot at him despite both of them being on the same side in the war. Additionally, he had to deal with alligators and tigers. The locals used the tiger fat and skin for medicine. While on patrol by himself one night, he spotted a black panther. Both decided to go in opposite directions. Ward did not want to mess with the panther. The Burma Road [Annotator's Note: a road linking Burma with southwest China] was used to supply China and Chiang Kai-Shek. By the time it was finished, the war was over. Ward led the first convoy through. Seven men from his MP company were killed. Some of his best buddies were among those killed by the Chinese bandits trying to steal the cargo off the trucks in the convoy. The rebels were under Mao Zedong, the communist. They were shooting at the Americans all the time. Ward’s truck had a blowout. He is not sure whether it was from gunfire. The Chinese bandits were a big problem. With the end of the war, Ward was happy to return home.

George C. Ward remained in Burma after the war [Annotator’s Note: he was deployed to the China-Burma-India Theater in November 1944 as a member of the 503rd Military Police Battalion]. He stayed there for three or four months before returning home. He arrived in New York City [Annotator’s Note: New York City, New York]. He went through the Suez Canal a number of times also. He was discharged quickly at Fort Dix [Annotator's Note: now Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Trenton, New Jersey]. He and an Indian friend from Texas did not get their money before separation, so they had to hitchhike home. En route, they ordered food but had no money. The waitress gave them extra food. When they reached Ward’s home, his mother gave the Texan money to complete his trip home. That was the last Ward heard of his traveling companion. Ward was a corporal when discharged. Ward reenlisted in 1946 because he did not care about anything. He was wild and lived it up. He drank back then, but gave up drinking in 1950. He was glad he served. He would have been a mechanic in Kentucky if he had not. He wanted to see Germany when he reenlisted, but was sent to Italy instead. He was glad that happened. He could see the sites in Italy. He was discharged the second time in 1949. He was still a corporal. He was a bad boy. [Annotator’s Note: he laughs.] He met his wife when she was 17, and he was 26 years of age. Ward was in a 105 [Annotator's Note: M2A1 105mm howitzer; standard light field howitzer] artillery battery and trained troops for the Korean War.

For George C. Ward, going through the Suez Canal and through the desert was the most memorable experience of the war. Seeing the Tower of Pisa [Annotator’s Note: in Pisa, Italy] was also memorable. Ward served in the war because he was drafted and had no other choice. He did not want to go, but was called up. All his friends were going into the military. He would have felt like a heel if he had not gone. Ward left school in the tenth grade. He was a bad boy. The war caused him to meet Gwen [Annotator’s Note: his wife] in Columbus, Georgia. He married her which changed his life. He quit smoking and drinking. Without his service, he would not have left Kentucky instead of seeing the world and sailing completely around it. He went from New York to Bombay and Calcutta [Annotator’s Note: Ward deployed from New York City, New York to the China-Burma-India Theater and Bombay and Calcutta, India in November 1944 as a member of the 503rd Military Police Battalion]. World War Two means little to America unless a person served in the conflict. Institutions like The National World War II Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana] are important to remind people of what happened during the war. It keeps people from forgetting the conflict.