Wesley D. "Dub" Chance, Vernon Parish Louisiana ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Chance recalls tribulations of World War II Europe By Kelly Moore / Staff Writer Leesville Leader May 30, 2004 Hornbeck -- Wesley D. "Dub" Chance is one of the few remaining World War II veterans in Vernon Parish. As America prepares to observe the 60th anniversary of D-Day and the invasion of Normandy, France, Chance can recall his World War II odyessey with lucidity. He was born into a family of 12 children, 11 boys and one girl. He and his family lived in the Hornbeck community where he would graduate from high school in 1938, leaving his free love behind, basketball. After graduation Chance worked in construction until he married his new love John Ellis White on Feb. 7, 1941. Life in unobtrusive Hornbeck with a the storybook white picket fence was certainly on the horizon. After their marriage Chance began working at McGraw's Grocery in Hornbeck. That was until Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich began its evil march on humanity and the free world. "One day I received a card telling me that I had been selected ... to serve in the war," Chance said with a bit of a chuckle. Chance's wife of 63 years, John Ellis, joined in the laughter as she repeated "have been selected." On Friday, March 13, 1942 Chance arrived at Camp Claiborne, where he would become a member of the 82nd All American Division under the command of Gen. Omar Nelson Bradley. "While I was at Claiborne, Sgt. (Alvin) York, a hero in World War I came down to make a speech to us," Chance said. Soon after that speech Gen. Bradley was shipped to the 30th National Guard at Camp Beauregard and the first twp Airborne Divisons in the United States were formed -- the 82nd Airborne and the 101st Airborne in which Chance served. After stops in Tennessee and North Carolina Chance finally make it to New York where he would soon make his way aboard a German Ship, which had been captured out of Africa, and begin his journey to Liverpool, England. "It took us 27 days to get to Liverpool. We left in a convoy on a German ship and ended up breaking down three days out of St John's Newfoundland and had to tie up there until the Navy could come back and get us," Chance said. Finally, they reached their destinations -- an English base where they would finish up their training in preparation for D-Day. On the morning of June 6, 1944, a group of soldiers -- including Chance -- made their way behind enemy lines in Normandy prior to some of the bloodiest battles of World War II. This group of young soldiers went in ahead of the invasion that will forever be remembered. "Many, many things happened there," Chance said, as he slowly shook his head. "After Normandy we were pulled back for a rest. That's when the German Unit broke into Bastogne, Belgium," Chance explained. "Well, we were moved there from France on floats, that's the only way we could go." "Bastogne was surrounded by 11 divisions of Germans. We all went in thinking we were going to be sacrificed. But we didn't, we won it," he continued to recall with amazing clarity. "It was terrible, it was brutal. The snow was 14 inches deep and we had no ammo. A lot of our guys didn't even have a weapon. We were suppose to be cleaning our clothes, getting a shave, eating and getting some rest," he explained. "We didn't even have much food. They couldn't get anything in to us because the weather was so bad. That was how I spent the Christmas of 1944. We lost a lot of people." It took three weeks for supplies to get to Chance and his fellow soldiers. During that time they continued on with their duty regardless of the situation in which they had been placed. The lack of food, weaponry or ammunition did not defeat this group of soldiers. This was not the only time that Chance and his men struggled in getting their supplies. Chance also shared a story of a time when they were in France. "In France where we were there were a lot of dairies. Now the farmers wouldn't wait for the cows to come in to milk them they would get their wagon and hook it to a horse and go milk them in the field," he said. "When our supplies would finally get dropped they would have to drop them into open fields, but we couldn't just walk out there and get them. So one time we went and stole a frenchmen's clothes and borrowed his horse and wagon. One of us would drive the cart, with the frenchmen's clothes on and the other would lay down in the wagon and as we would go through the field he would pick up the rations." Chance continued. Throughout Chance's time in service he received many awards for the duties he preformed. Some of the awards he received include French Croix De Guerre in France, the Bronze. Star which was awarded in the field, two presidential citations plus many, many more. After the war was over and Chance came home he began a career and retired from Dresser industries after more than 30 years of service. As John Ellis showed off Dub's original uniform jacket she said "pretty good for a high school education."