Showers and Laundry
My dad, combat medic Richard Berkey wrote in his journal:
Nov. 4, 1944: “Went up to 43rd General Hospital about 10 miles from here this morning to be a blood donor. About 30 of us went in a truck—Cyphert, Kerr, Skillman, and myself from medics. Sat in lab all morning waiting for turn, had swell chow, breaded Spam, macaroni and cheese, peas and carrots, peaches and jam, went back for seconds. First meal I’ve had enough to eat for a long time. They got enough blood for today so gave us a towel and got to take a swell shower. Um, um, was it nice. First bath for two weeks.”
Nov. 9, 1944: “Went to Gardanne about 5 miles north of here with Sellen, Haggerty, and Shufrin and took a shower in a factory, returned at 3:00.”
March 1, 1945: “Had the whole 68th AIB out in a wheat field outside Saessolsheim, France (for medal ceremony). Cold blue Monday and a French farmer was plowing with oxen in a field ahead of us. Had to borrow all the clothes I wore since all mine were dirty.”
July 1, 1945: “Washed all my clothes and everything else that would wash the other night. The last couple of months of the war I didn’t even own a set of olive drabs. Couldn’t get supplies so everyone shared what they had. After wearing our clothes three or four weeks they weren’t good for anything else but to throw away, so we did, and “bummed” some off of a fortunate fellow that had an extra pair. When the war ended I had a pair of windproof green pants that were 6 inches longer than my legs and would reach around me an extra half turn, and also a shirt that was so small that I could hardly move.”
“We couldn’t even stand the smell of ourselves.”
The Quartermaster service was responsible for handling laundry and shower stations. First, a local water source, often a stream or river, had to be located. Once the water was decontaminated, it was pumped into a tank on a truck and driven to the temporary shower set-up. Heated by portable boilers, the water was then fed to the showers. A laundry unit supplied the soldiers with clean uniforms in a tent set up near the showers.
These units served in the European Theater and moved with advancing Allied forces staying at least eight miles back from the frontlines. Four fumigation and bath companies were available to each army during the winter months but at least double that number would have barely met the needs. Often combat troops were moving too quickly to utilize the bath points. Laundry priority went first to evacuation hospitals, followed by medical depots, salvage installations, and troop units.