CARIBOU, Maine — “Where does one begin to talk about a father?,” asked Freeman Wright’s daughter Cindy Mishler in a commemorative book she and her sister-in-law Jaimee Mishler created along with helpful memories from the rest of the family. The printed tribute was pulled together several years ago on the occasion of Wright’s 90th birthday.
“After 70 years, there are so many memories of one who did such a variety of things, that it is hard to cover them all,” Gloria wrote.
The keepsake book documented not only many of her own memories from childhood, but included journal entries Wright made during his two years overseas, serving in World War II.
Before delving into the life of such an honorable and dutiful man, it is important to understand his background, and the years he lived leading up to those four years he spent fighting in one of the most influential wars in history.
For his bravery and heroics while fighting overseas during World War II, Wright was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, one of the highest honors the U.S. Army awards. According to the official report from the Office of the Commanding General at the Headquarters of the 100th Infantry Division, “for meritorious service in support of combat operations during the period 6 November 1944 to 23 April 1945, in France and Germany, as radio chief of the battalion communications platoon, Sergeant Wright consistently displayed technical ability and determination in the discharge of his duties. On numerous occasions, and particularly during the drive upon Stuttgart, Germany, radio communication played a vital role in the operations of the battalion, and Sergeant Wright’s unremitting efforts in maintenance of radio equipment contributed materially to the success of our operations.”
Jumping back in time to 1942, Wright was thrust into a new experience, unlike anything he has been through before. It was a time when Americans were facing the eminent threat of the Axis Powers, as Nazis and Japanese forces waged war on two different fronts, throughout Europe and the Pacific.
“We were inducted into the new 100th Infantry Division on November 15, 1942,” said Wright. “After about three months of basic training, we started training for overseas duty.”
Wright describes his memories of training throughout many of his journal entries, and recalls it as a time of lots of hard working, and even more marching.
“Basic training meant attending classes every day. We learned to shoot on the rifle range with the Garand rifle. We also learned to shoot automatic rifles,” said Wright. “We did a lot of marching most every day. We started going on hikes, first five miles, then 10, then 15 and then 25 miles, which was always at night with full pack.”
Fortunately, being a farm boy from Aroostook County, Wright seemed to fit right in on the training grounds.
“I enjoyed hiking and obstacle courses. I was in good shape, being brought up on a farm,” said Wright. “I got along very well with the young men from the South, as many of them were also brought up on a farm.”
Wright went even more in depth explaining his training regiment, and his early experiences in the Army, prior to his first deployment overseas.
“I first trained in an ammunition and pioneer platoon. I trained to lay and find land mines, to set and find booby traps and how to make grenades and use explosives,” said Wright. “Our basic training ended on March 27, 1943. We looked forward then to our first furlough, but suddenly rumors started to fly that we were going to be shipped out, maybe overseas.”
With the news that a deployment overseas was a definite possibility, the training regimens began to get tougher, as Wright recalls.
“Our training shifted to crawling under machine gun fire and attacking simulated German villages. In July of 1943, we sweated on long marches and had to live on one canteen of water each day. With the temperatures in the 90’s, we didn’t do much washing,” said Wright. “In August of 1943, we started training as a Division. It took seven months before we could maneuver as a Division. In November of 1943, we went on maneuvers in the hills of Tennessee. I’ll never forget the mud, snow and cold weather up in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We were encamped just west of Lebanon, Tenn. We had much rain, which later turned into snow and ice. I almost froze in my pup tent. I put my shoes inside my blankets.”
From Tennessee, Wright was then put into communications, which eventually took him to Fort Benning, Ga.
“I was one of those chosen for communications and was shipped to Fort Benning to learn the Morse code and train in sending and receiving messages,” said Wright. “By this time, I had been Corporal and later before shipping overseas, I was made Staff Sergeant and put in charge of the radio section in the 1st Battalion Headquarters Company of the 100th Infantry Division.”
By 1944, Wright was aboard a ship heading for the Port of Marseilles, France. After traveling another 500 miles from Marseilles, Wright finally found himself in the combat area, where he was now putting all his training to use.
“Our first engagement was in the woods. We were there until Thanksgiving in 1944. The winter was spent fighting in the Vosges Mountains,” said Wright. “In late December, we attacked a town called Bitche, which was located at the lower end of the Maginot Line, built by the French, but taken over by the Germans.
Wright recalls that it wasn’t too long after that, as he was operating the radio one night that a message came through in the clear, when usually all messages were in code.
“The message said that the war was over in Europe! The Germans had surrendered,” said Wright.
World War II was all but won, and it was time for Wright and his brothers in arms to return back to their families, a life they had scarcely known while serving their time fighting the tyranny plaguing Europe and Asia. But, Wright and his comrades would soon be venturing home, where he would stay in Aroostook County to raise his family until this very day.
Wright, now 92, was born on a farm on the Madawaska Road on March 16, 1922 to Charles and Lillian Wright.
“He was named Freeman Henry Wright, and he has always been called Freeman, or “Freem” by you (those who knew him),” said Mishler. “To us, as his children, of course, he’s always been called ‘Dad.’ He has always been a good provider, working during the day hours at Northern Sales & Service, across the road from our home, as I grew up in the 1950s, and on our cars in our garage during evenings, after lunch and often times on Saturday as well.”
Freeman and Estelle had four children between 1944-58. The oldest is Gloria, lives in Stillwater, N.Y. Next was Freeman Jr., who lives in Tuscon. Their third child was Cindy and final child was Lynn Haines, who lives in Caribou.
After his time of military service in France and Germany during WW II, Wright returned home to reunite with his growing family. He dedicated much of his life to his work at Northern Sales & Service, but would also go on to teach at Caribou High School for 10 years. Now that his family has expanded exponentially, his children and grandchildren remember Wright for many of the things he did after the war especially his consistently gentle and relaxed demeanor, while still always remembering his service.
Mishler recalled a later incident that occurred while Freeman was helping to tear down an old potato house, to get lumber to build his garage.
“Both he and my uncle Leo Hebert lost a leg during the tearing down of the old potato house,” said Mishler. “However, they both managed to continue providing for their families. As I recall, I was about 13 years old when dad went to Togus for rehabilitation. He would talk to mom on the phone, wondering what work he would be able to do, once he came home.”
“He had given some thought to the possibility of working in an office, maybe on Base, but that was with little enthusiasm,” said Mishler. “When he did return home, he learned to his surprise, that Northern Sales has added onto their building, providing a place for dad to train other young men, to do some of the excellent body work Northern Sales has seen and appreciated that he had done for them over the years. In a way, this was an honor for dad, as his hard efforts and accomplishments were recognized.”
“Despite one leg, he never lost his interest in hunting and fishing. He always brought home the best tasting trout, and while he strived to get his annual deer, I looked forward to the mouth-watering partridge. He usually has three or four, and mom knew how to fix them just right,” said Mishler.
“As you know dad, he usually cleared his throat before he spoke. So once he did that, you knew he had something to say, even if he didn’t hurry to do so. If there was a broad smile on his face, you knew he was about ready to share another joke. Joke telling in the Wright family has always been a common practice, as Grampy Wright, his brothers and sisters could fill a room with laughter.”
The book published to honor and document many of Wright’s experiences overseas is a tribute that will last well beyond Wright’s lifetime, and far into the years of his great-great grandchildren, acting as a commemorative memory that will forever maintain the legacy of a not only a World War II hero, but a family-oriented and honorable husband, father, grandfather and now, even great-grandfather.
Since returning back from World War II and establishing a family in Caribou, Wright has been involved a great deal with the United Baptist Church here in Caribou, and has done a great deal of volunteer and service work with the church that he sees as not simply giving back to the community, but doing what is right and moral.
