Dad's Memories
These are some things from the life of my dad, Vernon L. Albin, that I would
like to preserve. The army anecdotes especially will be of interest
historically as there is almost no record of the 16th Mechanized Cavalry Group
in World War 2. Anyway, here is a capsule look at his life.
Dad was born in a small town called Leakey, Texas in February 25, 1919. He grew
up in a poor ranching family and had to hunt for many of their meals.
To earn money for the family he joined the army in 1941. His training was in the
12th Regiment at Fort Bliss Texas. This was when horse training was an important
aspect of his life. They had to learn to shoot accurately from moving horses.
He told one story about an obnoxious captain there who was showing them how to
properly draw and shoot a revolver from a galloping horse. The captain had a
mishap in which the horse stumbled and the captain accidentally shot his horse
through the head. They all went on maneuvers in the desert under very hot
conditions in the summer. On weekends dad would ride an Indian motorcycle in
the desert.
On one maneuver in north Georgia he met my mom, Faye Albin. They married after
a short courtship. While he was still stateside my sister Jean was born.
Dad was transferred to the 3rd Army, 1st Cavalry Division, 16th Mechanized
Cavalry Group. He was trained as a radio man in Massachusetts and then arrived
in England via the QE1 on November 27, 1944. They trained there for several
months and arrived in France in February 27, 1945. They went into line alongside
the 3rd Cavalry Group. Dad's outfit primarily did scout and patrol work for the
XX Corp. They were actively engaged in the Saar-Moselle triangle near Trier and
protected the XX Corp's left flank during the drive into Germany. The 16th
Mechanized Cavalry Group had the distinction of being the first unit to enter
Germany. They crossed the Rhine near Mainz on March 29, 1945. Dad usually rode
in a jeep or halftrack with a captain and sent radio reports back as they
scouted around the perimeter. Dad would not talk very candidly about his war
experiences. He did relate one story about Patton that was humorous. One
morning their colonel lined the group up at attention. He said that something
very serious had occurred and that General Patton wanted a resolution quickly.
He than announced that during the evening, someone had broken into the supply
tent. He asked the troops "Who stole the general's cognac?" The soldiers all
broke rank and fell to the ground laughing. Dad said that sargeants were cursing
and kicking at the soldiers while the colonel was screaming at them. They never
did recover those cases of cognac, but I'm sure they were put to good use!
Patton had all of the troops tour through concentration camps. Dad went through
Buchenwald and was shocked at the piles of bones and bodies. In one room there
were large stacks of soap made from rendered human fat. The main office had
lamps with shades made of human tattooed skin.
Dad was wounded twice. The first time was when he was running across a field
to reach the safety of a tank. A machine gun was shooting at them as they ran.
Dad reached the tank and jumped in. He heard a squishing sound so he took his
boots off and found them filled with blood. He was shot across both kneecaps.
Dad healed from these wounds and was sent back to his unit. Several months later
while on patrol in a halftrack, they hit a landmine. Dad was blown out of the
halftrack and landed in the road. His friend who was driving survived but had
massive damage to his face. Dad spent months in a hospital and was then sent
home. While in the hospital someone stole his duffel bag. Years later for his
birthday I replaced most of his lost medals and patches. I never could find
a machine gun marksmanship medal for him.
Dad was able to hang onto his dogtag, an 1800's Belgium pistol and a dress
police bayonet he found.
Here is a closeup of the dagger showing the silver swastika and bone handle.
Dad made technical sargeant and was offered a chance to go to OCS but he did
not want to have the Army as a career. He was not always tactful with superior
officers. Mom laughed about how his letters home would be labeled "Sargeant
Vernon Albin", "Corporal Vernon Albin", and "Private Vernon Albin", depending
upon which officer he had insulted that week!
Dad and mom moved to Tennessee shortly after his discharge and dad got a job as
an instrument mechanic at Tennessee Valley Authority. He took a lot of
additional training and worked his way up to power planning engineer at T.V.A..
He retired after working for 35 years at T.V.A. and moved to Florida.
Karen and I moved to St. Augustne to help them. We bought and shared 2 acres of
land outside of town and lived in adjoining mobile homes there. On my parent's
50th wedding anniversary we treated them to a limo for the day, a ceremony to
renew their vows, a dinner, and a night at a local bed and breakfast. It was a
surprise and dad balked until we told them what we had set up. They did have a
great time once they went. Here they are with the minister.
We spent a number of wonderful years on our land. Dad died of a heart attack
in 1995. Mom passed away during surgery for a heart condition in 1998.