Story of a Hero

As was the case for many young men during the early 1940’s, Bill McIntyre, now 104 years old, was drafted into World War II. As one of the few centenarians in his generation, McIntyre feels it’s more important than ever to share his account of the war.

McIntyre’s journey began on November 2, 1942, when he was drafted and sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. After partaking in various required testing and procedures, he was asked what he wanted to do for the war effort. McIntyre explained that he was already working in finance, so he preferred to continue that work. Granted his request, McIntyre’s story is one of accounting rather than battlefields – yet still harrowing.

“It was December of 1942, and I was placed on a train to Indianapolis where the Fort Benjamin Finance School was located,” he recalled. “I completed military finance training there as well as basic training.”

While in Fort Benjamin, McIntyre and 41 other men from the school were put on a train headed to Brooklyn, New York. From there, their destination was unknown. The men boarded a troop ship and journeyed for 15 days, dodging submarines and other ships along the way. It was a crash course in the dangers of the high seas during wartime.

Following a seemingly treacherous and eerie pilgrimage, the men finally reached Gibraltar and headed east. Landing in Oran, North Africa, McIntyre and the other men stayed in a replacement depot for several days.

During his stay in Oran, McIntyre and the other men discovered that the French Foreign Legion was headquartered there. This piqued McIntyre’s interest because he had read about the Legion in high school. One weekend, the men traveled to the region where the Legion was officially located. Most of the soldiers scattered among the area, but McIntyre went directly to the Legion. He was met by a master sergeant there and was given a tour of the establishment.

Once finished with his visit, McIntyre couldn’t find a way back to where he was staying.

“Out of fear of being considered AWOL, I decided to jump on an empty freight train car,” he remembered. “I jumped off the train car when I reached a recognizable destination.”

McIntyre finally began his promised finance work after arriving in Algiers. Although McIntyre was in the department he requested, he described it as a “terrible job.” McIntyre had to handle casualty paperwork for pilots who were missing and/or killed in action. The job was depressing and put a heavy weight on his soul and mind.

McIntyre hoped to bring light to his dark assignment by getting the opportunity to fly during his year-long stay in Algiers. Unfortunately, he never got the chance, even though most men in finance did eventually get to fly. Instead of flying, McIntyre’s commander requested that he take a Liberty Ship, on which he spent 11 days traveling.

Docking in Sicily where famous U.S. Army General George S. Patton had just been, McIntyre finished up his time of service.

I was even blessed by Pope Pius XII in Rome before traveling as far as Venice when the war ended,” he shared.

McIntyre was sent home to his family and friends on a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. He intended to work for the War Department, but never ended up going because Japan surrendered. Finding his footing after the traumatic events of the war, McIntyre took advantage of the G.I. Bill and graduated with a degree from Oklahoma University.

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Written by Jeff Bell

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