Editor’s note: This column originally published in September 2014.
Rural Mt. Pleasant resident Bob Batey, formerly of Wilton, was 15 when he lied about his age to get a job at the tank arsenal in Bettendorf. It was a good job, and well paying. Because of the war, the country was short of labor. But the movie, “The Shores of Tripoli” infected young Batey with the desire to be a Marine. He was big for his age, and mature looking. So, still 15, it was no problem lying about his age once again to enlist in the Marine Corps. After all, Pearl Harbor had been bombed, World War II was raging, and it was the patriotic thing to do to fight for your country.
Within days, Batey was on a train for Chicago for a physical exam, then on another coal burner for San Diego. The trip took six days and seven nights. The new recruits were quite grubby and in ill humor when they arrived. A marine sergeant met them and was so belligerent that Batey wondered why he had left his cush job back in Bettenforf.
Eight weeks later, Batey was picked from his 42-man boot-camp platoon to attend sea school, and received two nights a week liberty, when there was no liberty in boot camp. In the third week of sea school, ten of the recruits from different platoons were called in and sworn to secrecy about what they were not told. They also lost their liberty for ten days, the serious part.
At the end of ten days, they were called back in and told they had been chosen to be President Roosevelt’s personal guards. The troops were more trusted than the police.
Young Batey and the other troops were soon on a ferryboat for Catalina Island (there were few bridges in 1943). From the front of the ferry, they watched in amazement as porpoises showed off, jumping over each other. The boy from Iowa had never seen such a wonderful sight.
They arrived at President Roosevelt’s son’s house and were told that the president would be giving a national radio broadcast. Young Batey was given a .45 caliber pistol and told to hide in the shrubbery along the walk by the front door and shoot anyone trying to enter. Thank God any door-to-door salesman would have been stopped before reaching the door!
After the president’s talk, Batey was ordered to stand along the drive while the President departed. For fear of an assassination attempt, the president was hidden in the back of a limousine by secret service agents, and couldn’t be seen. However, the president’s wife, Eleanor, was a different story. She was in another car, and leaned out the window and waved. She hollered, “Hello, Marine!” to Bob, a memory he will never forget.
Because of the secrecy, the ten troops assigned to guard the president never talked about the assignment, even amongst themselves.
Batey went on to be stationed on the brand new, war ready, aircraft carrier, USS Cabot. He was a gunner, and participated in the bombing of Tokyo. He lost most of his hearing in one ear. Upon discharge, he was offered a disability for the hearing loss, but it would delay his departure. Batey declined the disability and headed home.
Once home, at the age of 17, he re-enrolled in high school and played football. But no class-room education could compare with his experience as a 16-year old marine, guarding the president of the United States.
Have a good story? Call or text Curt Swarm in Mt. Pleasant at 319-217-0526 or email him at curtswarm@yahoo.com.