Charboneau, Otter Lake, NY

1942: Uncle Fred enlists in the U.S. Army

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Sepia Saturday 688. Ninth in a series about letters written by my dad’s brother Frederic Mason Charboneau while in the US Army during WWII.

From October 1940 (when he signed up for the WWII draft) until January 1942 (when he enlisted in the U.S. Army) I don’t have details about the day-to-day civilian life of my dad’s brother Frederic Mason Charboneau.

Uncle Fred is shown below during that period in a photo taken outside the Otter Lake Hotel, which was operated by his parents W. Ray and Mary (Owen) Charboneau — and where he may have worked for a time.

Frederic Mason Charboneau at the Otter Lake, N.Y., hotel (c. 1941). On Jan. 13, 1942, he said goodbye to his civilian life and enlisted in the US Army in Remsen, Oneida Co., N.Y. (The names of the woman he’s posing with and the hotel staffer are unknown). Scan by Molly Charboneau

In the army now

Thus Uncle Fred’s story resumes with his enlistment, on Jan. 13, 1942, in Remsen, Oneida Co., N.Y., at age 23 – a life-changing day that he mentioned a year later in a Jan. 12, 1943, letter home:

Dear Mom, Well tomorrow morning makes it exactly one year since I stood out in front of the Remsen School and said goodbye to you and my civilian life. It doesn’t seem that long to me, probably because I have been on the move seeing new sights and traveling in strange country.

The Remsen School, where Uncle Fred registered for the draft in 1940, apparently became the staging ground for young men enlisting for military service after the US entered WWII in December 1941.

The Remsen School where Uncle Fred signed up for the WWII draft and enlisted on Jan. 13, 1942. Source: Google Maps

Enlistment and early military service

I could not find any press coverage of Uncle Fred’s enlistment. However, the US National Archives maintains a searchable electronic database of WWII Army enlistments where I was able to learn key information about his entrance into military service.1NARA: Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946; NAID: 1263923 (His full enlistment record can be found here.)

  • His place of enlistment [where he reported for duty] was Ft. Niagara in Youngstown, N.Y.
  • He went in as a private and his branch was “Warrant Officers, USA.”
  • He term was “Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law.”
  • He had “4 years of high school” [apparently his business school classes didn’t count].
  • His civilian occupation was “Clerks, general office” [implying he may have found a job after registering for the draft, when he said he was unemployed].

Baseball at Ft. Niagara

Looking for information on Ft. Niagara, I found an interesting story on the New York State Parks and Historic Sites blog about pro and semi-pro baseball players who enlisted and played ball there during Uncle Fred’s tenure.

Baseball practice outside the barracks at Ft. Niagara (1942). The games must have been a treat for Uncle Fred and other enlistees to watch basic training, as they embarked on an uncertain future. Source: NYS Parks and Historic Sites Blog.

A blog post titled “When Wartime Baseball Became a Powerhouse at Ft. Niagara” says the base had long fielded baseball teams that played against other Army teams:

But starting in 1941, as the U.S. military began ramping up its manpower, events fell into place at Fort Niagara for assembly of a formidable baseball team made from professional and semi-professional players, even including a former pitcher for the championship New York Yankees.

Above is a photo of the Ft. Niagara barracks during baseball practice. The games must have been a treat for Uncle Fred and other enlistees to watch during basic training, as they embarked on an uncertain future.

Up next: Uncle Fred’s first WWII letter home. Please stop back! Meanwhile, please visit the other intrepid bloggers over at Sepia Saturday.

© 2023 Molly Charboneau. All rights reserved.

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10 thoughts on “1942: Uncle Fred enlists in the U.S. Army”

  1. I love how you added the photos, once again, to enhance your ancestor story, I also love how you dig into every lttle bit of info, like finding out the school was used as a “staging ground”, and about the baseball players. I just came across that database as well, while looking up military info for a client’s grandfather; it’s awesome!

    1. I’m usually pleasantly surprised when I search for historical photos and details — such as with this info about the baseball players. The database was another serendipitous surprise, which I plan to make more use of.

  4. I love the idea of young men from all over the region discovering that some of their new comrades are professional baseball players. Remsen, New York looks to be about 225 miles east of Fort Niagara, a day trip by car today but probably not in 1941. Do you think this was Fred’s first travel to western New York? A few years ago I met a North Carolina man who was from Fred’s generation and a WW2 veteran. We got to talking about food and regional differences and he told me how he had never been north into any “Yankee” states until he was drafted and sent to Pennsylvania for army training. He got to experience many unfamiliar foods, places, dialects and vocabulary. He soon discovered that his new Yankee buddies were not so strange after all.

    1. I believe this was Uncle Fred’s first extended trip outside of New York’s Adirondacks and Mohawk Valley, where he, his parents and his brothers lived. Even before going abroad, the basic training experience would have been new to him, as you describe.

  5. I can imagine those baseball games & practices might have been quite the treat for the new enlistees – helping them relax and think about something else for a while besides what they might be in for in the uncertain future awaiting them.

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