K 37472591 One Soldier's Story - U.S. Army Horse Cavalry - China -Burma-India Theater, 1943-1945 (Paperback)

Recollections one man's experiences in the U.S. Army's Horse Cavalry at Fort Omaha and Fort Riley from 1936 through WWII and later in the reserves. The author, now 89, learned to ride with the Cavalry at the age of 12. As WWII broke out, just as he completed high school, he enlisted and was sent to Ft. Riley for basic training. Already trained in weapons and horsemanship with the military, he completed basic training and then was assigned to train other enlisted men in basic training. After training three units, he was sent to the China-Burma-India Theater. He arrived in Burma just as the Battle of Myitkyina was ending and Allied troops were taking the city from the Japanese. From there Ketzler, who knew both weapons and horsemanship, was assigned to a mule packing unit which picked up air dropped supplies and took them to the front lines along the Ledo Road. He was then flown to China where he went to Kunming assigned to train Chinese soldiers and officers on use of American weapons. Finally, as the war ended, he supervised the unloading of ships at Shanghai which had been ready for the invasion of Japan. Ketzler returned from WWII and served in the U.S. Army Reserves. One Soldier's Story is Ketzler's recollections of the individual experiences which give the reader a feeling for what life in that part of the war was like. Some stories are humorous and some are shocking, but mostly, they convey the day by day life of an enlisted man.