LEE KAHRS INTERVIEWS BETTY BORDEAU & BROTHER DONALD

[Henry]

Another war. another time

Published in The St. Albans Messenger - December 7, 2005

By LEE J. KAHRS
Messenger Staff Writer

FAIRFAX/GREENLAND, N.H.—When Betty Bordeau thinks of World War II, thoughts of her older brother, Donald Hovey, are not far behind.
Bordeau, of Fairfax, was one of 11 chil-idren who lived hi Georgia and Enosburg i during the war while her brother served lin the United States Army Air Corps.

County native recalls life in military

Today, Dec. 7, is Pearl Harbor Day It is the 64th anniversary of the 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, which ushered the United States into WWII.

Hovey managed to emerge from the war without a wound, despite having participated in some of the most historic and important battles of the war.

He was among those who stormed Omaha Beach in France during the Allied Invasion of Normandy and fought in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium.

Hovey, now 89, enlisted in the Army Air Corps in Oct. 1942 at the age of 26. His explanation for that decision is simple.

“I knew they were gonna get me sooner or later,” Hovey said of the military draft, "So, I figured I better join up."

FAMILY HISTORY

Hovey now lives in Greenland, N.H. with his wife of 58 years, Dorothy The Messenger interviewed Hovey via telephone yesterday.

"I don't know how she put up with me that long," Hovey said of Dorothy.

Maybe he should ask her, he was told.

"I'm afraid I'll get an answer!" he replied with a chuckle.

Bordeau said she was always close to her older brother, despite the 11-year difference in their ages. Bordeau was the youngest child in the family.

"Donald was just a whole lot of fun," she said. "We used to play hockey with a stick and a tin can."

One time Hovey told his sister to hit the can as hard as she could.

"I did a job on his face," she said laughing, "Hit him right above the nose."

Bordeau remembers Dec. 7, 1941, when news of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor came over the family radio.

"We were doing dishes," she said, "and everybody was shocked. We were frozen in time."

When Hovey enlisted, the family lived on Susie Wilson Road in Essex Junction. They moved to Enosburg in 1944, then to Georgia in 1946.

Bordeau and her husband. Robert, live on Main Street in Fairfax, where they moved in 1950.

Her grandson, Sgt. Max Rooney, 30, also of Fairfax, is currently stationed in Iraq with the Vermont National Guard's Taskforce Saber. He is due to come home in July.

Bordeau supports the soldiers in her family no matter what the generation.

"I light a candle for him everyday," she said of her grandson.

WRITING HOME

Bordeau said her family was lucky to have a son like Hovey who wrote the family often during the war.

"He was so good about writing," Bordeau said. "My folks always enjoyed his letters. He was a good guy."

Hovey continued to write his parents, H. Elden and Sadie Hovey, throughout his life. In 1972, he also provided a detailed account of his 30 years as a career soldier.

"My folks had asked me if I would write a letter about my military experience," Hovey said, "just so they would have it."

The 1972 letter is a six-page synopsis of his Army, and later Air Force, career and the places he and his family were stationed over the years.

After going through basic training in Atlantic City, N.J. and radio and radar school Wisconsin and Florida, Hovey was sent to Camp Miles Standish in Massachusetts, where he was equipped for overseas duty.

It was an eight-day voyage to Europe aboard the "Empress of Australia" from Boston Harbor. The year was 1944.

OMAHA BEACH

Hovey was asked if he and his fellow soldiers were told they would be part of the Allied Invasion at Normandy, which was designed to liberate Europe from Germany.

"I don't think we did," Hovey said. "The invasion was kind of scary."

Hovey was with the first fighter aircraft squadron aboard a ship that crossed the English Channel, reaching Omaha Beach at night. It was June 6,1944.

"It was dark and raining hard," Hovey said. "They dropped the end of the boat and said, 'Get going.'"

Hovey was charged with taking the commander's jeep ashore.

"I had just started up the cliffs and the Germans started bombing our ships," Hovey wrote to his parents. He drove the jeep up and away from the beach as far as he could in the dark.

"We couldn't use light, just sounds," he remembered. Once at a safe distance, Hovey unrolled two army blankets from his bedroll. He sat up in the jeep and dozed under the blankets all night in the rain.

In the morning, he and his fellow soldiers looked for their squadron and, "got reorganized."

The war waged on, and Hovey's squadron moved east.

"We worked every day (of course it was war),” Hovey wrote, “but had a hard time to keep up to General Patton going across France.”

BATTLE OF THE BULGE

Hovey's squadron provided air cover to Patton's tanks as the general's troops drove back the Germans. On. Dec. 16, 1944, German forces began an offensive into the Ardennes region of eastern Belgium, where American lines were thin.

Thus began the Battle of the Bulge, the deadliest battle of WWII. with 81.000 American casualties. The battle raged on for over a month.

Hovey's squadron established an air base in Hasselt.

"We lived in tents in the woods not far from our aircraft," Hovey wrote. "We were in direct line with the German Buzz Bombs (V-I guided missiles) that were launched on England."

It was at this time that the squadron's first sergeant took ill and had to go back to the states.

"I was working on radio in an airplane," Hovey said, "and my commander came in with a pair of sergeant's stripes in his hand. He said, 'You're the first sergeant now.'"

How did he feel about the promotion?

"I was scared," Hovey said, "You're talking about (being in charge of) 200-some-odd men.

On Jan. 1, 1945, 50 German aircraft attacked the squadron.

"We accounted for 42 of them," Hovey wrote, meaning only eight German planes got away.

Hovey was asked to compare the experience of the Invasion of Normandy with the Battle of the Bulge.

"I'd say they were about equal," he said. "There was a lot of shooting going on. It was scary"

Did he ever wonder what he'd gotten himself into as he fought the war?

"Oh. yes," Hovey quickly replied, "many times."

The German Army never recovered from the losses incurred in the Battle of the Bulge, which ended on Jan. 28, 1945.  The delay in time was key to the final downfall of the German Army's plans. The loss of resources, both human and artillery, accelerated the final German defeat and caused an early end to war.

On May 7,1945, Germany surrendered and May 8 was declared V-E day (Victory in Europe).

On Aug, 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. The second atomic bomb was on Nagasaki three days later.

On Aug. 15, 1945, Japan surrendered.

Hovey and his squadron left Europe for home in Nov. 1945, and he was discharged that month. He married Dorothy in 1947.

A CAREER

Hovey was recalled to active duty in 1950 to Ethan Alien Air Force Base in Colchester, where he was serving in the National Guard.

For the next 20 years, Hovey was took assignments around the country and around the globe. Korea, California, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, France, Japan, Newfoundland, Delaware, New Jersey New Hampshire, and New York State.

While stationed at Stewart Air Force Base in Newburgh, NY, the Hovey's children, Donnie Jr. and Diane, were born. Both children were delivered at West Point Army Hospital.

Hovey retired in 1971 as a Senior Master Sergeant. He and Dorothy settled in New Hampshire near the coast. He said they had always enjoyed the area when he was stationed at Grenier Air Force Base in 1950, and decided to settle there.

Looking back, Hovey said he enjoyed his military career, particularly the travel aspect.

"I was able to take my family to Europe," he said. "We were stationed in California, Alaska, we were able to see the country."

Hovey was awarded numerous medals and commendations throughout his career, including the Army and Air Force Good Conduct Medals, a Silver Star for the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign, a Bronze Service Star for participation in the air offensive-Europe, Ardennes, Central Europe, Normandy, Northern France and Rhineland, a World War II Victory Medal, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Gold Pride Achievement Award, and an Air Force Commendation Medal.

Hovey will turn 90 on July 9. His attitude toward his age and his experience is ironic, given what he's seen in his life.

"I never thought I'd make it," he said. "It's kind of scary when I hear 90."