(PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
GLASGOW … Don Glasgow stands in his home in October of 2024. There he holds up a book that holds many of his life stories, including the time he spent on the ship Henry Gibbins.
By: Jacob Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jacob@thevillagereporter.com
World War II as we know it today began back on September 1st, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. Even with this day being marked as an official beginning to one of human kind’s worst wars, many other events contributed to this start, with some taking place many years before.
Whether that be the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 or the invasion of Czechoslovakia in March of 1939, many events took place both before and during the start of World War II.
But like with most other things, what comes after is often what is looked at most. When it comes to World War II, and all other wars our people have fought in, what took place was dedication, bravery, sacrifice, and above all – selflessness.
Everyone had their part to play in that war, and the ones that came before and after it. This article tells the story of one man’s journey across the Atlantic over and over again, working to ensure that our presence in Europe remained unchecked by the Germans.
That man was Don Glasgow. Don was born in Cleveland, OH in 1925. Him and his family were forced to move to Sturgis, MI in 1929 after his father lost his job during the Great Depression.
Sturgis was then where Don remained and graduated from High School there. Following his graduation and 18th birthday, Don received his papers for the Army. His birthday was in August of 1943, and he was in the Army by that November.
By that time in the war the Axis powers had already surrendered in North Africa along with Italy on September 3rd of 1943. The Germans would however reenforce Italy, with Rome not being liberated until June of 1944, just one day before the beginning of D-Day.
Don was sent from home to Chicago where he and other men from the area were transported to Camp Abbot, just south of the Bend in Oregon. This base was used by the U.S. in WWII for sixteen months as an Army Corps of Engineers Training Center.
Upon arrival, Don completed a 17-week course that included basic training, the building of bridged and roads, along with the use of various weapons and explosives.
Once training there was complete, Don was scheduled to be trained in communications. There he was to learn how to do various activities, including how to string wires and equipment on the battlefield.
However, plans changed when another soldier fell ill who was being sent to radio school. At that point, Don was bumped into that class and was sent to New Jersey. There at Fort Monmouth, Don learned morse code and was shipped back to the West Coast, this time to Fort Lewis in Washington.
It wasn’t long though before he was shipped once again to the East Coast, this time to New York, where he learned how to become a high-speed radio operator.
These operators were part of the Army Signal Corps and ensured effective and smooth communications between the Army and the Navy. During this training, operators were expected to keep copying code over and over again on a machine called a Mill.
A “Mill” was a special kind of typewriter included only capital letters and numbers with a slashed 0. It was used primarily due to there being no lower-case letters, which is not found in morse code. Don also learned how to repair and test different kinds of radios.
Following all of his schooling, Don was assigned to a troop transport as a radio operator. The ship was named The Henry Gibbins and served as a troop transport from the United States to various ports in Europe.
Originally laid down as the Biloxi, the ship was delivered to the Army Transport Service in February of 1943 and renamed Henry Gibbins. It was then acquired by the Navy in March of 1950 and served in the Korean War and various other assignments.
Don explained that he was one of three radio operators on board the ship, along with three Naval Radar Operators.
When the ships first started transporting personnel across the Atlantic, everything operated as a convoy in order to be protected against U-Boats and German Luftwaffe (the German Airforce).
As the ships travelled, Don shared that every once and awhile you could hear a loud thunderous sound. This meant the escorts protecting the transport ships had detected a U-Boat and were deploying depth charges.
At the time, and all throughout the war, both German U-Boats and Aircraft were sinking ships, which meant the threat was always there for something to go wrong.
Still though, a job needed done. Don and his fellow radiomen were the only connection between the ship and their homes/destination.
Ships sailed in convoys of around ten, with each of them being located fairly close to one another, but also far away enough to where an issue for one ship wouldn’t be an issue for another.
The usage of radios between ships was of course one of those issues and was not normally welcomed. German U-Boats would be able to track where the signal came from and use that to find new targets.
To that end, morse code was sent through light flashes from ship to ship, along with flag signals. Radio messages being received was not an issue, with many coming from the U.S. Mainland. These messages kept the men informed about current events and the coming weather.
The trips took around a week to get across the Atlantic, due to the ships traveling at a slower speed to avoid detection. Troops would also be transported back to the United States after bringing new ones to Europe.
GOVERNORS ISLAND … Don Glasgow, pictured here, stands on Governors Island in New York after serving as a radio operator on the ship Henry Gibbons. Here, Don serves the transmitter station on the island until he was discharged from the Army.
Don explained that he has many memories of his time on the ship and of when they made port in Europe. One such memory was during a transport to La Havre, France.
The city was practically destroyed when they arrived but many of the people were trying to sell items. Woman especially were on the street attempting to sell lace.
Don however did not have the money needed in those days to buy from the woman. Due to his father passing away when he was 12, and his mother raising him and his siblings alone, Don arranged for a portion of his military wages to be sent home to his mother.
This fantastic gesture was made even more wonderful when later, after Don returned, he learned that his mother had been saving those funds for him upon his arriving back home.
Don also recalled a special moment on the ship that took place after the Germans surrendered. It was his turn to man the radio when a message came across the network that informed every one of Germany’s surrender.
He took down the message to and gave it to the skipper but also made a copy of the original message that came across as a memento.
Following around ten trips on the Henry Gibbins, Don was sent to serve at the transmitter station on Governors Island in New York. There he looked after the station until his discharge.
During his time in the service, Don explained that some of the men felt as though life on the ship was a bit easier. However, the role they served was an important one and helped out as well.
“Some of the people who had been in combat talked with me on their way home. Some of them resented that we got it easy as radio operators and we really did.”
“But As I thought about it later, the radio operators were the only ones in communication with the home country. We were the only way to communicate with anyone on the ships with the radios and morse code.”
“There was no way to communicate with voice back in those days. That came later. So, I think we were an important part of the whole thing.”
Don later met his wife Marian, who has since passed away. Together they had four children together. Don now resides in his home in Fayette.
