By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

DESTREHAN – Although Veterans Day is officially Sunday, veterans in St. Charles Parish got a jump on festivities as Parish President V.J. St. Pierre held his annual luncheon at the Jerusalem Temple in Destrehan.

Veterans from all branches of the military packed the facility for the fifth annual luncheon hosted by St. Pierre, himself a veteran.

The event featured words of praise and inspiration from both veterans and active military personnel. And before lunch was served, those in attendance were treated to a show from the National World War II Museum’s Victory Belles, who regaled the audience with period classics such as “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “Chatanooga Choo Choo.” As the show neared its conclusion, the Belles got a little more personal with some of the veterans, incorporating some of them into the show itself for a lighthearted finale.

Elsewhere in the River Parishes, celebrations will take place Sunday.

St. John the Baptist Parish will honor its veterans with its second annual Veterans Day Parade. The parade will depart from the Home Depot parking lot on Airline Highway in LaPlace at 2 p.m. and proceed west down Airline to the Southeast Louisiana War Veterans Home, where a celebration is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, St. James Parish will continue its grand Veterans Day tradition with a celebration Sunday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. To better handle the growing crowd the annual event attracts, the celebration this year will move to Gramercy Park at the corner od North Ezidore and East Fourth streets. The event will feature entertainment, food and drink and will culminate in a fireworks display.

At Thursday’s event in St. Charles Parish, a special effort was made to include female veterans in the festivities. The following is an account from Rosemary Elfer detailing her time spent with the Women’s Army Corps during World War II:

“We trained at Ft. Des Moines, Iowa, which was an obsolete Calvary training center. Bathrooms were converted for female use. We were in business. We were trained exactly like the men except for combat. We were never meant for combat.

“Always, there was a weekly full dress parade. The one I remember best was in the rain, in memorial to President Roosevelt, who had died. It was like a personal loss, and there wasn’t a dry eye among us. The big discussion was ‘How on earth can President Truman replace Roosevelt?’ We didn’t take long to respect and admire his handling of things.

“He integrated the service without incident. His motto was ‘The Buck Stops Here.’ He handled all with superb authority, which is as it should be. He also threatened reporters who printed unfavorable stories about his wife and daughter with a busted nose. He really protected his women, his mother and sisters, and even his mother-in-law, who still didn’t think he was good enough for Bess, even after he became president.

“After basic training, I was sent to Ft. Lewis, Washington. We were awakened by bugle call at 6 a.m. We put coats over our pajamas (it was always chilly in Washington) and lined up for roll call. Everybody was always present. Then we went back to bed for 20 minutes. Then we got up and cleaned the barracks and public areas. At 7 a.m. we had breakfast. Off to work at 9 a.m.

“Ft. Lewis was a port of embarkation. My first assignment was at headquarters preparing records for soldiers shipping out. My second job was maintaining a magnificent mansion where W.A.C. officers and Red Cross workers lived. I was in charge of four soldiers that were dropped off every day to do the work.

“I was then sent to the postal unit. Mail was very important in those days. There were four women readdressing letters to follow the transferred soldiers.”

. Two women were typing the transfer cards for their files. A soldier was sorting incoming mail for the company clerks to pick-up.

“Lt. Miller was in charge. I was second in charge and made sergeant.

“Everything was cheap. Twenty one dollars a month went far. Movies were 15 cents, coffee was five cents, ice cream sundaes were 10 cents, cigarettes were 15 cents, U.S.O. entertainment was free. I was presentable looking and that was all it took to have men dripping off of you. I had a date every night, and it wasn’t uncommon to have three dates on Sunday. There was Mass and breakfast, a matinee movie in the afternoon, then dancing at the U.S.O. at night.

“One of the fellows that I remember well was Willie Weber from Chicago. He played piano magnificently. Wherever we went, it was like a hero walking in. Everyone wanted him to play. Another one was a short, not good looking man. Two W.A.C.s had turned him down then he asked me to go to the movies, and I accepted. On the way home he sang beautiful opera to me. He learned to sing by imitating records. He had a wonderful tenor voice. I hope they did well with their talents. I thought they would become famous.

“I would like to encourage WWII veterans to write about their pleasant experience in the service. After all, they usually spent four or five years in service and only one or two months in combat. With boat loads of English brides coming to America, there must have been a lot of romance going on in England. I also know of some northern brides coming down south with their husbands.

“Lets hear it from you all.”