By Suzanne Sparrow Watson and Bob Sparrow
Grandpa, left, during WWII
Today, as the nation celebrates its veterans, we want to pay tribute to our grandfather, Lt. Colonel Neill Whitman, who was drafted into World War I and begged to get into World War II. We do not have much information about his early life; what little we do know is gleaned from his WWI draft card, completed by him in June 1917. At the time he was 19 years old and working for Ford Motor Company in San Francisco as a machinist. He never saw action overseas and toward the end of the war he was stationed in Georgia, where he met our future grandmother and where our mother was born. After the war he returned to the Bay Area, where his wife promptly left him, and our mother, to return to her roots in the South.
Grandpa, on the left, at his new post
Fast forward 20 years – he married a woman named Marg and had two more children. He established himself as a sought-after mechanic in Marin County, opening his own business in San Rafael, and then closed it to work at San Quentin prison. Years later, whenever we drove by San Quentin the family joke was, “Let’s go see our relatives”, which was alarming to the uninformed and probably started some good rumors. When World War II broke out he desperately wanted to get back into the Army but was considered too old to re-enlist at age 46. An old friend pulled some strings, and he was finally able to re-join the Army as a Captain. He was subsequently promoted to Major and by war’s end he was a Lieutenant Colonel. In a stroke of genius, the Army actually put his skills to good use, giving him responsibility for a large motor base in Britain. The base, Camp Northway, was located in Tewkesbury, a small town 11 miles north of Gloucestershire. American forces first arrived in Tewkesbury in August 1942, where a large swath of tents was constructed. Officers were billeted into Northway House, which is where Grandpa lived. The camp was instrumental in supplying the cars and trucks needed for the invasion of Europe. The townspeople gradually warmed to all of the Americans. They hosted Thanksgiving celebrations and warmly welcomed the GI’s into their homes. In turn, the GI’s hosted parties for the local children, raised money for British POW support, and organized large Christmas parties with food, Santa, and gifts for the locals.
Grandpa was very proud of the work the men performed and instilled that pride in the men. In a letter home, written in 1944, he said, “Not once have these men missed a quota. And I mean, not once, despite that meaning many long hours and seven-day work weeks. They know that when the equipment leaves here everything possible has been done to give our troops what they need for the gigantic struggle going on in Europe.”
Grandpa, on the left, with Jack Dempsey
In the late spring of 1944, very quietly and without any mention of it in the local press, the American forces moved south, in preparation for D Day. Very few personnel were left at the camp, and, to some local people, it must have seemed that the camp had been abandoned. However, Grandpa and most of his crew remained. In fact, there were so many troops left in Tewkesbury that in the autumn of 1944 that they organized a series of football matches. Local people were curious to see how American football differed from soccer, but found the game easy enough to follow. One match, between the US Army and the US Navy, made the front page of the Tewkesbury Register and Gazette, particularly because it was attended by Commander Jack Dempsey, the famous American heavyweight boxing champion. We are fortunate to have this photo of Grandpa welcoming Dempsey to the base, although he probably wasn’t too excited about the final score – Navy beat Army 12-0.
In the spring of 1945 Grandpa was sent to Paris to review some of the mechanical bases in the newly liberated city. We have two of his letters that survive this period, and in them he noted some interesting observations. The first was about how beautiful – and clean – Paris was. Part of the beauty he described were the women – smartly dressed, hair perfectly coifed, and make-up applied to perfection. I’m not sure how excited Marg was to read his rather enthusiastic description of the women, but he was a pretty straight arrow, so she probably just let it slide.
On a more serious note, he made the following comments about some of the Parisian merchants: “The Germans destroyed nothing in Paris. They were well-behaved and did no looting. They took over the currency when they occupied the city. It forced a synthetic boom, and all the merchants made lots of money. True, it caused inflation and has made the French currency unstable, but the deflation did not come until the Germans were gone. Now is the tough part of the deal, getting the money back where it belongs and, as the boom has stopped, the citizens of Paris are not so sure that we have done anything for them. We are not heroes to a large part of the people. In some places they even hate us, as we blew up their towns in our efforts to get the Germans out. It is stupid reasoning, but nevertheless, it is like that. The thinking class realize that it had to be done and are for us.”
Grandpa at the Lodge in Oregon
Upon his return to England he waxed poetic about the English countryside and how happy he was to be “home”. He even threw out the suggestion that Marg join him, as he would have been happy to spend another year in Tewkesbury. Thankfully, not long after he wrote that letter the war was over and he returned to the Bay Area. But like many veterans, he sought a quieter life. By then all three children were grown and on their own, so he and Marg moved to Oregon. Grandpa loved the outdoors and was able to fish and hunt to his heart’s content. They built a fishing lodge, called the Umpqua River Lodge, where they could host guests and show them the beauty of the area. Eventually, as they aged, running the Lodge became too burdensome and they returned to Marin County, where he built a home in the remote town of Inverness. They both died in 1967 and are buried together in the Golden Gate National Cemetary.
Today we not only honor our grandfather and his contribution to a great cause, but to all veterans who have served our nation so nobly.