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Decorated war veteran relives memories of World War II
  
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By ROYCELYN BASTIAN
In the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at Ohio State University, 24-year-old Carlos Hayden knew he had to spend one year in the United States Army after graduation, but he did not know he was going to spend the next five years fighting in World War II.
Now, 63 years later and at the age of 91, Hayden remembers his experiences in the Second World War.
“I did not think any differently about serving in World War II because that is where everyone else was going. That was the natural thing to do,” he said.
The veteran was commissioned into the Army in June 1941 after graduating from college with a degree in business education. He reported to duty at Fort Knox in Kentucky and trained for three months as a basic artillery officer at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. Once he completed his course, he was assigned to the First Armored Division and went on maneuvers around the country.
“We went on a maneuver in Louisiana to practice our training, but we used wooden guns that were supposed to be 75 millimeter guns,” Hayden. “We used fake guns because we did not have real ones at that time. When we got real guns, we had some that were used during World War I.”
Once that maneuver was over, they moved on to North and South Carolina before going back to Fort Knox, a day before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Before Hayden received his orders to go overseas, he married Marguerite, who died in 1997, in 1942. Shorty after, Hayden and others with the First Armored Division were sent to Fort Dicks in New Jersey and shipped to Europe in May 1942.
“We landed in Northern Ireland and spent four months patrolling the area with no lights, looking and waiting for a surprise attack from Germany,” Hayden said.
Witnessing none, the division was then shipped on the Queen Mary to northern Africa where they zigzagged across the waters to dodge any potential attacks from Germany. The division landed in Oran, near Algeria, and went in search of finding German troops. That was the first time the division came under fire.
“We were in a desert and there was no place for us to hide and take cover,” he said. “There was a track made by a tank that I jumped in but I still did not have a lot of protection from German planes flying above and shooting at us.”
It was in northern Africa where many of the casualties took place, especially during the Battle of Kasserine Pass. During the battle, Hayden was the artillery forward observer and went with the infantry or tanks and conducted artillery fire on German troops. After there was a call for fire, he would send map coordinates of where they wanted to fire.
“Sometimes, we did not know exactly where we were, so we would do an air burst, shoot out there and if we missed the burst, we knew we had to adjust our shot,” he said.
Once the Germans surrendered in northern Africa in March 1943, the First Armored Division was transported to Italy on a liberty ship along with tanks and trucks in search of more troops. After two and a half years, the Germans surrendered and the war ended.
Reminiscing on his past, Hayden remembered a replacement who came under his command when he was in Northern Ireland.
“We had started receiving replacements who just got out of boot camp and I did not want them because they acted like civilians and the men on my crew had been around and had experiences,” Hayden said.
After time went on, Sgt. George Weinberg, one of the replacements, began to make an impact on Hayden.
“After I was asked by him, I told him that I did not want him here, but since then I have learned a lot,” he said. “I never had to give him any orders; he was always prepared and he trusted me completely.”
That camaraderie lasted for many years, even until they were briefly reunited 15 years ago when Hayden was on vacation.
After World War II ended, the division was sent back to the United States. Hayden taught business education courses in Ohio when he decided to go back and get his master’s in school administration. He later earned his doctorate.
He and his first wife, Marguerite, moved to southwest Houston and he taught classes at the University of Houston and joined the U.S. Army Reserve. After his wife died, he married his second wife, Ann, in 1984 and they moved to Atascocita. With his first wife, Hayden had two children, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Among the awards he earned were two Silver Stars and a Bronze Star. Hayden also received the Purple Heart for a minor wound during the war.
Now, 63 years later and at the age of 91, Hayden remembers his experiences in the Second World War.
“I did not think any differently about serving in World War II because that is where everyone else was going. That was the natural thing to do,” he said.
The veteran was commissioned into the Army in June 1941 after graduating from college with a degree in business education. He reported to duty at Fort Knox in Kentucky and trained for three months as a basic artillery officer at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. Once he completed his course, he was assigned to the First Armored Division and went on maneuvers around the country.
“We went on a maneuver in Louisiana to practice our training, but we used wooden guns that were supposed to be 75 millimeter guns,” Hayden. “We used fake guns because we did not have real ones at that time. When we got real guns, we had some that were used during World War I.”
Once that maneuver was over, they moved on to North and South Carolina before going back to Fort Knox, a day before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Before Hayden received his orders to go overseas, he married Marguerite, who died in 1997, in 1942. Shorty after, Hayden and others with the First Armored Division were sent to Fort Dicks in New Jersey and shipped to Europe in May 1942.
“We landed in Northern Ireland and spent four months patrolling the area with no lights, looking and waiting for a surprise attack from Germany,” Hayden said.
Witnessing none, the division was then shipped on the Queen Mary to northern Africa where they zigzagged across the waters to dodge any potential attacks from Germany. The division landed in Oran, near Algeria, and went in search of finding German troops. That was the first time the division came under fire.
“We were in a desert and there was no place for us to hide and take cover,” he said. “There was a track made by a tank that I jumped in but I still did not have a lot of protection from German planes flying above and shooting at us.”
It was in northern Africa where many of the casualties took place, especially during the Battle of Kasserine Pass. During the battle, Hayden was the artillery forward observer and went with the infantry or tanks and conducted artillery fire on German troops. After there was a call for fire, he would send map coordinates of where they wanted to fire.
“Sometimes, we did not know exactly where we were, so we would do an air burst, shoot out there and if we missed the burst, we knew we had to adjust our shot,” he said.
Once the Germans surrendered in northern Africa in March 1943, the First Armored Division was transported to Italy on a liberty ship along with tanks and trucks in search of more troops. After two and a half years, the Germans surrendered and the war ended.
Reminiscing on his past, Hayden remembered a replacement who came under his command when he was in Northern Ireland.
“We had started receiving replacements who just got out of boot camp and I did not want them because they acted like civilians and the men on my crew had been around and had experiences,” Hayden said.
After time went on, Sgt. George Weinberg, one of the replacements, began to make an impact on Hayden.
“After I was asked by him, I told him that I did not want him here, but since then I have learned a lot,” he said. “I never had to give him any orders; he was always prepared and he trusted me completely.”
That camaraderie lasted for many years, even until they were briefly reunited 15 years ago when Hayden was on vacation.
After World War II ended, the division was sent back to the United States. Hayden taught business education courses in Ohio when he decided to go back and get his master’s in school administration. He later earned his doctorate.
He and his first wife, Marguerite, moved to southwest Houston and he taught classes at the University of Houston and joined the U.S. Army Reserve. After his wife died, he married his second wife, Ann, in 1984 and they moved to Atascocita. With his first wife, Hayden had two children, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Among the awards he earned were two Silver Stars and a Bronze Star. Hayden also received the Purple Heart for a minor wound during the war.
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