U.S. ARMY

Clive Preble

Clive Preble of Sullivan served in the Army in World War II as a laboratory technician with the 25th General Hospital.

Laboratory work involved drawing blood from soldiers and taking urine samples.

However, during his time with the European Theater, Preble was called on to serve as a litter-bearer during the Battle of the Bulge.

“It was a mess,” Preble said. “A lot of blood.”

As a litter-bearer, Preble was one of a group that had to move closer to the front for about a month until the Americans drove the Germans back, he said. “Then we were returned to our own outfit.”

During the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans were sending bombs five minutes apart day and night, Preble said.

Preble was in the war 3½ years, entering Aug. 19, 1942, as a 22-year-old.

Preble went through basic training in Illinois and then traveled to Atlanta, Ga., and Louisville, Ky., for additional training.

Preble said he had no particular interest in medical work.

“I don’t know why they picked me for it,” he said.

In learning to draw blood, “we practiced on each other,” Preble said.

Both of Preble’s voyages to Europe and back were on the Queen Mary. He was one of 18,000 soldiers on board. Once a day, he was able to go on the Promenade deck for fresh air.

Seven soldiers committed suicide on the way over, Preble said.

“Just couldn’t take it I guess,” he said.

Preble, 86, survived the war without injury, as did the 15 men in his laboratory unit.

“I was lucky I was in the medics,” Preble said. “We were just lucky I guess.”

However, during a three-day leave to London, when a bombing raid started, Preble wondered if he would return home safely.

“We couldn’t get to the air raid shelter,” Preble said.

He and a few others stayed on the first floor of a building and watched the action through the windows.

Preble said he saw quite a bit of England before his unit crossed the channel, including King Arthur’s Round Table, Stonehenge and Buckingham Palace.

He had a seven-day pass to the French Riviera, which Preble described as “pretty nice.”

Preble was honorably discharged on Dec. 5, 1946, as a technician fifth grade.

After Preble returned to Sullivan, he spent a year working as a carpenter. The next year, he started digging for bloodworms, a career he has stuck with since.

Shortly after the war, Preble married Corris, a fellow Sullivan native who Preble knew grewing up. She passed away three years ago.

The couple had two children, Mitchell of Bucksport and Cynthia of Richmond, Va., and four grandchildren.

— Jennifer Osborn