May 29,1921

Harold “Buddy” Eugene Vest is born in Osawatomie, KS, and lives with his family.

1930

He lives with his parents, Lloyd and Helen, brother Earl (one year older), and sister Virginia (seven years younger) in Chicago. [2006: His parents and brother are now deceased. Virginia currently lives in Chicago.]

1938

Buddy leaves Chicago’s Tilton High School, where he studied woodworking and drafting, after completing 1½ years.

1938

He goes to work at Krinssink Brothers Manufacturing Co. in Chicago. There he shapes wall shelves and bookcases for 4½ years. He contributed to the family income from his salary. He owned a car. Cousin Dorothy believes it was a 1929 Ford Model-A with a rumble seat.

Nov. 21,1942

He is inducted into the Army at Fort Sheridan, IL (service number: [withheld]).

January 1943

He meets Ruth at a PX at Camp Custer in Battlecreek, MI. (Buddy’s tenure at Camp Custer overlaps with that of General Fortier, the Division Artillery Commander of the 94th Division. There is no evidence so far that indicates they may have met. Normally, a General officer would not notice a private or T5.)

February 1943

He is promoted from private to T5 (corporal). His military occupational specialty is foreman, construction. 

April 4, 1943

He and Ruth marry in Henrietta, TX. They return to Battlecreek and rent a room from Buddy’s 1st Sgt. “Smitty,” Smitty’s wife and 12-year-old daughter. Buddy is a company clerk under Smitty at Camp Custer.

Aug. 12, 1944

Son Herbie Darwin Vest is born in Battlecreek.

October 1944 (approx.)

Ruth and son move to Henrietta. Buddy stays at Camp Custer in Battlecreek.

February 1945 (approx.)

Buddy takes leave to visit Ruth and son in Henrietta.

March 15, 1945

Buddy arrives in Europe and is assigned as a replacement to the 711th Engineering Base Depot Company. The company is in charge of storage for the Military Railway Service. Except for a brief time in May, the company is located in Belgium.

Antwerp is a major shipping/receiving center for material and personnel sea transportation. The railroad to and from the interior of Europe terminates near the port. Material and personnel being transported back to the United States from Europe pass through Antwerp. The 711th is in charge of storage of material awaiting sea transportation back to the U.S. Buddy’s military occupational specialty is recorded as clerical.

Buddy is promoted to T4 (sergeant) while in Belgium. A member of his company told investigators that the company also guarded German POWs. Another member of the company recalls that the Russians inspected the facility at one time and purchased some equipment. Another member of the company states that a V-2 rocket came through the port. The 711th was part of the Channel Base Section headquartered in Brussels.

By the time Buddy arrived in Europe, Antwerp was far behind the lines, well out of range of conventional artillery. Although a small number of V-2’s landed in Antwerp during the next two weeks following his arrival, it is extremely unlikely that he would have been in the vicinity of point of impact.

I have been unable to find any incident that might have possibly given rise to post-traumatic stress syndrome. Apparently he retained normal hearing before and after his tour of duty, indicating that he was apparently not subjected to near explosions or prolonged gun fire. 

May 8, 1945

V-E Day Since the war against Japan was still being fought, troops and equipment were rapidly being redeployed to the Pacific Theater. The port of Antwerp was the common disembarkation point from Europe. This was a very busy time for the Channel Base Section, which was receiving troops and equipment by rail from the interior of Europe and loading them on ships bound for the continental U.S. Camp Kilmer, NJ was the receiving point in the U.S. Typically, a soldier would receive leave in the states before being shipped to the Pacific.

Aug. 15, 1945

V-J Day With the surrender of Japan, demobilization occurred very rapidly.  Much of the demobilization of Europe already occurred by this time. Accordingly, the Channel Base Section (responsible for the movement of troops and equipment out of Europe) began to shrink at a very rapid rate. The remaining units assigned to the Channel Base Section (Buddy and Penley’s units) were only a fraction of their former size. The remaining soldiers, regardless of their unit of assignment, would have most likely gotten to know each other.

Nov. 11, 1945

The 711th is shipped back to the states and is deactivated. Buddy apparently was reassigned to another unit until Jan. 6, 1946. (It is in this dark period that the incident giving rise to the interrogation most likely occurred. It is possible (no evidence) that Buddy was reassigned to the 1195th Engineer Base Depot Company during this period. Penley had been assigned to this unit since September 1945. Again, the size of all remaining units was shrinking at a prodigious rate.)

November-December 1945

Buddy is in Paris and buys his wife perfume.

Jan. 6, 1946

Buddy departs Europe for the U.S.

Jan. 24, 1946

Buddy arrives at Camp Kilmer, NJ.

Jan. 29, 1946

Buddy separates from the Army at Camp Grant, IL. He visits his family in Chicago for two or three days and then he travels by train to Gainesville, TX. He leaves a German pistol for his father to sell. The pistol sells for $50.

Feb. 5, 1946 (approx.)

Buddy arrives in Gainesville and his family moves in with Ruth’s father and mother in Henrietta.

Middle of March 1946

Buddy and family move to Gainesville. They obtain a room at a boarding house on the south side of California Street, a couple of houses west of the shop. Buddy buys used equipment and rents the cabinet shop with funds saved from his Army pay, mustering out pay, and Ruth’s dependent’s allotment. He begins operations in about the middle of March.

April 1, 1946

A help-wanted ad for the shop appears in the local paper. This corroborates the employee’s statement that the business was doing very well.

May 29, 1946

The Vests purchase a home at 1400 Culberson Street on the GI Bill with a $100 downpayment. They move in about a week later. Police officer Woodrow Clegg and family lived two doors north of the Vests. It is interesting to note that both the Vest and Clegg homes had water turned on the same day – June 6, 1946.

June 28, 1946

Buddy is found hanged in the restroom of his cabinet shop.