Page 3 - 2015 Veterans

Baggett carried life's luck into military
By Joan Hershberger jhershberger@eldoradonews
Lucky. That’s the word Edward Eugene ‘Gene’ Baggett uses to de- scribe his service during World War II.
It may also describe his life from infancy.
The only boy of a set of triplets born in 1917, Baggett survived his sisters who died in infancy.
In 1927, his father anticipated the Great Depression, sold ev- erything and moved his family to Hot Springs where he had a general mercantile store. Baggett helped and learned by watching his father’s business ventures in- cluding building a brick building he built to rent. “He liked selling. He was a good salesman,” Baggett said.
Like so many in the months after Pearl Harbor, Baggett re- ceived his draft notice. He report- ed for duty and served from 1942 to 1946. He left his wife, Marzelle, in Arkansas.
After induction in Camp Rob- inson, he went to basic training in Illinois and then to Florida to train as a military police and was assigned to Fort Ord in California for the rest of the war. He offi- cially served as a military police with the Army’s Amphibious En- gineers.
“My main job as police was rid- ing that ‘45 Harley motorcycle,” he said. He patrolled the high- ways in front of the fort and es- corted convoys of soldiers being transferred to another military base.
“My son was born while I was in the service. I did not see him until the child was six months old,” he said. The day Dennis was born, Baggett was out working.
“My friends came and told me what I had,” he recalled. His wife and son joined him in California.
Patrolling the highway for speeders, Baggett followed his orders and stopped everybody who was speeding.
“Just anybody. One time I got a general’s wife. She said, ‘I will tell my husband.’ I told her that’s fine, but I’m legal.’ I’m sure she didn’t
have to pay any fines.”
“I mostly just rode my ‘45 Har-
ley motorcycle and hid behind something to watch someone driving too fast,” he said.
Other than escorting troops to new bases, on one of his return trips to Arkansas, Baggett said he brought a prisoner to a town in Oklahoma.
“They sent me after him to send him overseas and finish out his punishment,” he said.
During his permanent assign- ment in the United States during World War II, Baggett advanced to corporal. “I never asked the colonel for anything. I didn’t go overseas. I didn’t think I deserved anything,” he said. At the same time, Baggett looks back and re- calls, “I was lucky to get the job I had, I enjoyed it.”
Even stateside soldiers met ce-
lebrities. Baggett he met Bing Crosby at the dance hall. “He was so nice. I was really impressed with him. He was the highest ranked performer. He was so nice. I never, never forget him,” Baggett said.
In some ways Baggett made his own luck. He used his free time to work second jobs at the can- nery, the cleaners, “anywhere I could get a job,” he said. On the side, for a fee he provided rides for other soldiers.
“I saw a bunch of them at the bus station, picking up soldiers. I bought me a ‘37 model Ford. The motor was bad. I found it had been owned by Kelley Car com- pany in Los Angeles. They sent a man to talk with me. I bought it. I had the motor rebuilt and painted it black.”
“The police in Salinas got
to watching us and tried to put the brakes on us hauling people to town. They didn’t like it. I never stopped until I came home though,” he said. “I drove the car until I went home. I came home with it and people would not leave me alone, they wanted to buy it,” he recalled.
As Baggett was being processed out at the end of WWII ended, a first lieutenant tried to get him to stay in the Army.
“I said ‘Kiss my hiney. I am go- ing home!’” he said, still passion- ately.
“I came home. My daddy-in-law had a service station here in El Dorado. I bought half interest.” He could buy half interest be- cause he made and saved as much money as they could during those years of service in California and
his wife practice frugality along with him.
He also worked at Cliff’s Men shop for 10 years.
Baggett went on to owning a couple businesses: a service sta- tion and a RV business.
He sold used cars and travel trailers and even today has busi- ness rental property.
Marzelle passed many years ago. In 1989, Baggett married Es- telle. When Baggett was 80, he found the property where they built their current home south of El Dorado.
Baggett is a member of the American Legion and has been a member of St. Mark’s Meth- odist Church for more than 60 years. His son, Dennis Baggett, served in Vietnam and joined his father in the trailer busi- ness.
Family tradition led to military for Martin
Family history played a major role in El Dorado Patrol Sgt. Darien Martin’s decision to join the mili- tary.
“My father worked on bombers in World War II. That is the reason why my son is working on them now. My Uncle Wilbur fought beside General George Patton. My broth- er-in-law was in Vietnam and my brother was infan- try as well. Now my kids (his son and daughter) are in and I am so proud,” he said.
Martin spent around 10 years in the military, first in the National Guard then in the regular Army. He was stationed in Germa- ny with the first Armored Division for two years guarding key strategy points. When he returned to the states he joined the Second Armored Division based out of Fort Hood.
His military career be- gan at Fort Jackson in Sep- tember of 1986. Some now refer to that as “relaxing Jackson.” That was not
the case when Martin was in, he laughed. “We didn’t have any relaxation back then — not when they could still hit you. If you even looked at a woman in basic training, you got punched. There was noth- ing wrong with that ei- ther,” he said, thankful for the disciplined structure.
He trained at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., as a track vehicle repair me- chanic; working on tanks. He expected to be de- ployed in Operation Des- ert Storm, but the action finished before they left their training. “I was with a National Guard Unit out of Alexandria, La. and by the time we got geared up, it was all over,” he laughed.
He faced dangerous cir- cumstances while in Ger- many. “We had to patrol the Czechoslovakian bor- der and we also guarded the Fulda gap,” he denot- ed.
In an LA Times Articles from March, 1987, the Ful- da gap was said at the time
The sense of responsibility for us who were so young was just awesome
He made too many drastic cuts. I had no choice but to get out,” said Patrol Sergeant Darien Martin as he reflected back at his time in the U.S. Army.
Politics played a great part of his leaving. He added that his son and daughter, both in the U.S. Air Force, “are going through the same thing as me. The administra- tion is taking money from the military and spending it on some useless pro- grams,” he said.
His daughter was the first female in the family to go in the military. She was recently honored by getting “coined.” He said it was just by doing her job in a headstrong way that resembled her father. She works in the medical field while stationed at Offutt in Nebraska-near Omaha.
“You get your accolades by working hard. This is like the third or fourth time she has earned them,” he said.
His son was deployed last year as an Aircraft Arma- ment Specialist. He is sta- tioned at Dyess Airforce Base in Texas and works on a B1 Bomber. He could not say what he was coined for but he performed some co- vert operations in Afghani- stan. His son plans making a career of the military, ac- cording to Martin.
Martin is optimistic about their future in the military.
“With everything that is going on it is good to see that the veterans are being recognized and re- spected for the job that they do. And being a dad of two that makes a differ- ence,” Martin concluded. He now serves with the El Dorado Police.
to be critical as a key front- line outpost in the stand- off between West and East Germany. Both sides were backed with hundreds of medium-range nuclear missiles. Likewise, The Russian border remained dangerous after several border incidents.
“The Russians were shooting at us. You had to go closed-top in the tanks just to do your patrols then. You never heard about that in the media. The sense of responsi- bility for us who were so young was just awesome,” he said.
Recently, as he vaca- tioned to Washington State he witnessed 160 guys operating their high- ly, sensitive military jobs with complete efficiency.
The oldest among them might have been 27, he guessed.
Looking back, Martin appreciated the life les- sons which the Army pro- vided him. “The military was tough. It was demand- ing. It gave you a sense of accountability. It showed you that hard work is what you have to do to succeed. And, if you maintain a level of discipline, good things will happen to you,” he added.
Martin got out because Clinton was de-funding the military but the patri- otic tradition of service continues through his children. “President Bill Clinton threatened to shut down Fort Hood. He did close down the First and Second Armored Division.
To be a veteran
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Thank you to all who have served.
November 11, 2015
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