by Ron Johnston
When Herb Gaylord went off to war in June of 1942, his teenaged niece, Elsie, broke down and cried.
A lot of families were in tears that day at the bus station in Rochester, when young men from the area boarded the transport to take them to basic training at Fort George G. Meade in Maryland.
Before the second World War, Herb, a Holley High School graduate, was employed by Rochester Products, a division of General Motors, in the city. At the time, he lived with brother-in-law, Charley, and sister, Betty Podgers, Elsie’s parents and residents of Rochester, since their home was closer to work than Holley.
“Herbie lived with my family until he went into the Army,” recalled Elsie. “He was like a ray of sunshine in our home. He had a wonderful sense of humor and always had the whole family laughing with his quick wit.
“He bought me my first sheet music for the piano. ‘Moonlight Cocktails’ and ‘Clair de Lune’ were his favorites.”
Elsie continued, “At the time, Herbie was also dating different girls. He would show me pictures of his girls and ask me who was the prettiest. He valued my opinion on anything and everything. He always made me feel so important and grown-up. He was more like a big brother than an uncle to me.”
After three and a half months of basic training in Maryland, Herb got his orders to go overseas without a furlough. Still, he was able to get a pass and spent a few hours at home in Rochester.
“I thought Herbie was the most handsome and happiest man I had ever seen in his Army uniform,” recalled Elsie. “The next three years were three of the longest years of my short life.”
Those were long and harrowing days for Army Cpl. Herb Gaylord as well.
During World War II, Herb served in seven major invasions with the U.S. Fifth Army – French North Africa (Operation Torch), Tunisian, Sicilian (Operation Husky), Italian, Anzio, southern France (Operation Dragoon), and Germany. Assigned to the motorized division, he drove a “duck,” a two-ton amphibious truck.
During the fighting at the Anzio beachhead, Herb was photographed landing supplies, and the picture appeared in the newspaper. At Anzio, he suffered a chest wound, and he wrote about it in a letter to his parents, James and Margaret Gaylord of Manning, NY (near Holley).
Herb claimed he was “slightly wounded” and would provide more details later, if he was allowed to reveal the extent of his wounds.
Needless to say, Herb’s family was worried sick about him, but at least he was alive – and would recover. And, Elsie would continue to write and send fudge and cookies to him.
“I prayed every night for his safe return,” Elsie said.
After the war, Herb was discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces in October of 1945.
“My relatives picked me up at school,” Elsie said, “and the whole family greeted Herbie at the Rochester train station to welcome him home from the war.
“The first thing he did was move back to my parents’ home, buy a red Chevy, and continue his job at Rochester Products.”
Herb never said much about the war after his return. Getting on with his life, he married and helped raise two sons. Further down the road, he retired from Rochester Products, and that gave him more time with his seven grandchildren. He was also an avid golfer and New York Yankees fan.
Herb passed away at the age of 89 in late November of 2009.
“Herbie was a great influence in my life,” Elsie said. “He was so male, kind, loving, considerate, funny and handsome.”
Provided photos
Note: Ron Johnston, a 1966 Churchville-Chili graduate, is the author of One-Game Wonder.
