|
“My Story”: A Taylor resident describes his time in France during the Cold War 
AN AMERICAN IN FRANCE: Melvin Stanley’s story appeared in the French newspaper for the city of Moulins just a few years ago. Stanley spent three years at the Air Force base there repairing and working on cargo trucks, weapons carriers and other vehicles for the armed forces. Stanley said he and his wife plan to return to Moulin to visit his old stomping ground.
Courtesy photo |
By Melvin Stanley I was born on 21 May, 1937, during what is called the Great Depression in the United States, to a farming family. I am the youngest of eight children. I am the only one of my brothers or sisters to advance past the eighth grade. I have lived in the state of Texas all of my life, except for the three years that I spent in France My mother passed away when I was 7 years old, so after that I lived with my dad, brothers, sisters, aunts and cousins. After the fifth grade, I changed schools about every semester. After I turned 17 years old, I had enough of that, so I quit school. With permission from my father, I joined the military U.S. Air Force in January of 1955. I completed my basic military training in April 1955 at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, and then went to a military technical school to learn automobile mechanics at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyo. After completing my training, I was able to take a short vacation at my home in Texas while in route to a transit air force base in Brooklyn, N.Y. where I stayed for about four days before being flown to Orly Field in Paris. There were about eight G.I.s together from the air base in Wyoming. In Paris, October 1955, we eight G.I.s found out that we were going to Moulins, and we were transported to the Gare de Lyon. The Moulins Air Depot was not a large installation in terms of military bases. To the best of my knowledge, there were only about 250 American GI's stationed at Moulins. The rest of the workers were French Nationals, and there were probably as many or more Frenchmen working on the base than Americans. Many times the American G.I.s would eat, drink, and have a good time at the L'Oasis Cafe until curfew, then we would run out the back door where there was a ladder located against the north wall to the base. We would climb over the wall and run and jump in bed before bed check. The base when I arrived, October 1955, was basically completely refurbished. When the U.S. took it in 1951 or 1952, it had probably been demolished by the Allies. It was previously a French Calvary base, to my understanding. The Americans maintained a storage area about three or four miles east of Moulins, where we had rows and rows of vehicles in different stages of readiness because of the Cold War; mainly cargo trucks, jeeps, weapons carriers, construction vehicles and other various types of vehicles. The storage area was where I worked, along with other G.I.s and several French mechanics. We worked in four large military tents that had openings in the back where we placed heaters that used either diesel or kerosene for fuel. The heaters had blowers that maintained heat during the winter. We would pull in vehicles from the storage area every six months, year, or whatever time was required, remove all of the material used to prepare them for storage, put gasoline and batteries in them, start them up and check them to make sure that they were running properly. We would check the oil level, anti-freeze amounts, check for proper brake operations and lubricate them. After each vehicle passed inspection, we removed the gasoline and batteries, prepared them for storage again and hauled them back out on the line. This was a never-ending process. The first winter I was in Moulins, I understand was one of the coldest winters that Europe had in a long time. Several people lost their lives due to the cold. My extra clothing was a field jacket and a large coat that was called a parka. It sure came in handy, but got very greasy. While at Moulins, I had two vacations. One weekend I went to Paris. I was supposed to go with a friend of mine, but he decided not to go at the last minute, so I went by myself. I stayed at a hotel on Rue Richer near the Follies Bergere. I went dancing at a place where there were several Americans. Mostly, I did not enjoy that trip very much because I was by myself. Also, I had a seven-day vacation in Thiers, which is in Auvergne just south of Vichy. This trip was very enjoyable because myself and a friend met two young ladies, and there was a circus in town, probably because there was a festival going on at the time. My friends and I went several times to Vichy. Vichy was a beautiful place because it had a large park which ran along the Allier River. Vichy had a lot of tourist because of the mineral water and mineral water baths. Once while visiting Vichy, we ran low on money and we had to spend the night in the park. I didn't get much sleep that night, and I was so sleepy the next day that I almost missed my train back to Moulins. In Moulins, we Americans spent most of our time on Place Garibaldi, Place d'Aller, Rue Regremartes, on the plage on the other side of the Pont Regemortes swimming, and on Place de la Republique near the park and the Gare. There were several bars and street-side cafes on Place d'Aller that we patronized. There was a place to dance on Place de la Republique near what is now the Hotel de Park across from the Park. Just off of Place Garibaldi was a cul-de-sac where there was a nice bar, a cinema and a place to dance. I did a lot of growing up in France. I was18 years old when I first arrived and 21 when I left. As a matter of fact, I was so socially immature that the young French girls at first said to me, “Vous etre tres mignon.” I guess they thought I was babyish. I am grateful to the country of France for instilling in me and the American people a sense of loyalty, nationalism and a desire for all people to be free. The French flag, tri-colors, red. white and blue, are the same as ours. I returned to the U.S. and was released from the Air Force in December of 1958 at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey and returned to my home state of Texas. Chateauroux Air Station was closed in 1967, plus all other U.S. military installations, at the request of France's then President Charles De Gaulle. I worked at various jobs until May of 1960; thereafter, I went to work for the U.S. Postal Service in Midland. While in Abilene, where I was transferred to, I attended university, which was financed by the U.S. Veterans Administration because of my prior military service. Since I didn't graduate from high school, I matriculated with a GED. I graduated in four and a half years with a bachelor's in business administration in accounting from Hardin-Simmons University, while working full-time for the postal service. I didn't get a lot of sleep all of the time. In January 1972, I went to work for the Internal Revenue Service. My position was as a revenue agent. I was assigned to the Austin office of the IRS. I lived in or around Austin from May of 1972 until August of 1994, at which time, I moved to where I presently live in Taylor.
|
