William G. Greenslade, CCC Man, Co. 5705

Biography of William G. Greenslade

CCC Man, Co. 5705, CO

Soldier, 739th AAA Gun Battalion, US Army, POW, WWII, Korea

My Step-Father was William G. Greenslade, who passed in 1995. He was born in 1922. I believe he was in the CCC in Colorado. He ran away from a very abusive father when he was 15. He lied about his age to get into the service. So he was quite young, not yet 18. He was in the C.C.C. in Co. 5705. He was also a veteran of WWII and the Korean War. He was also a Japanese prisoner POW.

He was a sniper so he was captured by the Japanese. He was treated brutally by them. Then again captured by Korea. As, he told the stories, they would drop him and a couple of others at night to take out the military leaders. Then they had no way back, so they were sitting ducks. I only knew him in his last 60's and 70's and did not live near my Mother and Bill. I missed out on so much.

I found a bunch of his pictures and tried to find his son. Yesterday, I found he had passed some time ago.

There are 20 pictures in total. I will copy and send if this is the right place. On the back of only one picture it says C.C.C. Co 5705. Picture taken at camp. I googled this and found this website. I know nothing else other than his name .

My mom was 60 when she married Bill, so I did not have a lot of time with him. I lived in Denver, so it was a weekend here and a weekend there. They built a hunting lodge in Stella, Missouri, his dream house. He was an avid hunter and avid environmentalist. He was also an early member of the teaching class of the NRA. He built an entire room in this home where he had a secured room with his guns. He made all his own ammo. My mother had a collector come and take it all in 96, a year after he died. Bill died of cancer, and was covered in skin cancer from chemicals used in warfare. He was so vibrant, it was sad that the VA refused to further treat him. They used his age not his vitality in their decision. He still had scars from the Japanese, and suffered lingering nightmares even into his early 70's. But he was so proud of his service with the special ops teams as a sniper.

His photographs are below, of the CCC Camp, and one of his army units, the 739th Gun Battalion. There is also a reunion photograph. It was a group of gentlemen that served together and in the end met in St. Louis each year. Luckily, Bill was able to attend at least twice. I prefer all of this to be shared with people who KNOW the stories. This was an extraordinary generation of very selfless men. Their story needs to be preserved.

Any information about his company, camp or service would be appreciated.

Curator's notes. Below are photos of CCC Co. 5705, CO and an Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battery. I have CCC Company 5705 located at Camp F-193, Bungalow, CO in the 1939 to 1941 time frame, so this is probably where Mr. Greenslade was located as well given his 1922 date of birth. The photos of the camp, the valley it is in and the mountains are all likely in that locale. The trains delivering the CCC men to their camp and the trucks delivering their new footlockers is great stuff (My Dad had a locker just like that, but older looking when I saw it, the metal latch and corners rusting, the leather handle decayed). As to the Army photos, the notes given me with the photos indicate the service photos are of 739 Gun Battalion. Research and the photographs suggests this is the 739th Anti-Aircraft Gun Battalion (I believe those are 90mm AA guns). The 739th seems to have served in Europe (at least some of its records are in the Eisenhower Library), and it also served in the Korean War. Since Mr. Greenslade served in both wars I am not certain when he served with the 739th. It would seem unlikely though not impossible that he served in it in both wars. Whata is puzzling is the photo of men in the jungle, which is clearly the Pacific region. Did the 739th move from Europe to the Pacific? Was Mr. Greenslade in another unit in WWII? Is the photo not one of his (his daughter in law did not know what that photo was of). More research of the 739th history might shed some light on this. But as is, the photos are great images of a AAA unit posed in the positions of working their gun. As to the photo of the young lady, she is standing with Mr. Greenslade. Her clothing suggests 1939 or later to me, her shoes look like my Moms in a 1939 photo.

Bill Greenslade's handwritten note on the back of a photograph, identifying the CCC Company in which he served.

Delivery of CCC Footlockers. Each man had his own footlocker, which he would have at the foot of or beside his bunk (varied by camp) to hold his personal belongings. Many kept theirs long after leaving the CCCs.

Co. 5705, CO

Bill Greenslade with friend, and just the friends, note Army Anti-Aircraft Command insignia on his sleeve (white with blue border and red letter text "AA" center)

Mr. Greenslade's notes indicating the 739th veteran's reunion was for his WWII outfit.

739th AA Gun Battalion, 3rd. Annual Reunion. Taken on Sept. 7, 1990. From left to right. Front Row (Sitting) Seibert, G. Ross, Walker. Second Row Vidmor (standing), Kernik, Greenslade, Ottoline, Prichard, Pearia, Andrews, Boyim, Kinney, Pauling (standing). Third Row Al Ross, Freeman, Kilbride, Reynolds, Hepps, Propheter, Morgan, Darden, Gauvan, Schelm, Kemlage. Back Row Savarino, Picha, Bennett, Scott, Sandbothe, Isler, Doza, Lange, Romer, Getz, Robin, Schmidt.