Carroll H. Dunn
I. She had enjoyed very much the relationships in the military: the people we knew, the
friends we had. She found it to be a very satisfying experience, although certainly trying
at times, including separation during World War II, during the Vietnam conflict, and
at other times when I was overseas. But she became a very strong military wife.
Q.
Did you have any feelings when you entered that you were at a disadvantage since you
weren't a West Pointer? You mentioned that a larger number came in at that time, as
you did, from civilian colleges. But was there a feeling of distinction, of being set apart
from the officers who came the West Point route at this stage?
That was one of the things that had bothered me as I was trying to decide what to do.
A
I talked about it at considerable length with Lieutenant Lothrop. He convinced me that
this was not a matter that I had to be particularly concerned about. So other than to
consider it, it never was an issue.
As you indicated, there were a fair number who came this route. There were also others
who received a commission through what was called the
Act, in the late
1930s. Then shortly
as we began to mobilize for World War II, of course many,
many more officers came on active duty. I can say in all honesty, I had no feelings
years of service that the fact that I was not a West Pointer
whatsoever in my
was in any way a detriment, or could I point to anything that was adversely affected by
that fact. Some of my best friends are contemporaries who were from West Point, but
many other friends are not West Pointers. It was not a problem in any way, shape, or
form.
8th Engineer Squadron, 1st
Division, Fort McIntosh, Laredo, Texas, 1938-1941
Q ..
Were those of you who came in through this route ever together at any time? You said
you didn't know where you were going and you described going directly to Texas, so
I guess at that point at least you weren't together with the other officers.
A
We were not together at all, and they were sent, in effect, all over the world. There
were some places where more than one was present. It happened that Roy Dodge and
I ended up at Fort McIntosh, a post with a very small unit called a squadron, in effect
a three-company battalion. It was called a squadron because it was a part of the 1st
Cavalry Division, the 8th Engineer Squadron. Roy and I were both assigned there, and
Ernie
C.] Adams-who had come in the September 1937 group-was also. In
reality, there were three of us at that one station out of a total as I remember, 17 or
engineer officers.
Q.
You were there until 194 I believe.
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