My father, Sigmund "Sig" Wenger, was drafted in March, 1944, at age 33, married with one child. He scored high in math skills and was sent to Camp Roberts CA for field artillery basic training. Next came line training at Fort Riley KS. He believed he was slated for the Pacific Theater when he had the opportunity to volunteer to abbreviate his line training and go to Europe. This was how he ended up at Fort Leonard Wood with the 70th where he was assigned as a gunner in Battery A, 882nd F.A. One other A/882 vet has informed me that he followed the same route to the 70th, but didn't mention the part about volunteering.

He seems to have hit it off with Capt. Bricker, probably because Bricker had been a math professor at one of the state universities in Oklahoma. Once they got into combat he recalls spending most of his time on the field phone, alongside Bricker, receiving spotter reports. His closest buddies seem to have been Sgt. William A. "Bill" Clark and fellow T/5, Francis M. Rehbehn. (A/882 vet Isaac M. "Ike" Gustin reports that they are both deceased.)

When the 70th went into occupation, 882nd F.A. was headquartered in Hanau, east of Frankfurt. Battery A was stationed nearby, in Hohe Tanne. One of the photos is marked "reading a map" on patrol in front of the town hall of a small village - Rendel." I thought "patrol" was a euphemism for sightseeing until I found a letter from the period saying he was to lead a security patrol the following day.

When the transfers came, he was sent initially to Battery A, 10th F.A, 3rd I.D. In a V-mail home, dated 4 Oct 1945, he tells my mother that he will be transferring to another unit in a few days. He finished his occupation duty in Bremerhaven, in HQ Battery, 307th F.A., 78th I.D. Having been a reporter prior to the war, he ended up editing a battalion newspaper, "The Daily Volley." He was flown stateside in January, 1946, due to a serious illness in the family and was discharged in March.

He still remains uninterested in talking about his wartime experiences, but agreed to share some of his photographs. I offer them, here, in the hope that they may reach the families of some of the other men of A/882. Photos are located here.