Married to a soldier, Sophia followed her husband to his different posts and worked during the war in a restaurant.

Hello. I am Sophia Kleparski, originally from Medford, Wisconsin. At that time it was by Byfred. The second draft in April was from Stratford to Medford. My husband was drafted and sent to the recruiting station. From there he was sent to Camp First and Free. As soon as they read his credentials, which included cooking in the CCC’s and then in a logging camp in the north of Wisconsin, they put him to work cooking right away. He was in the 33rd Medical Division at Camp Horses, Tennessee. I traveled with him wherever I could. First he was in Tennessee, and they went through a lot of manuevers there through Louisiana, Alabama, and all through that area. So I went to Tennessee and I married Ted at the army chapel at Camp Florist. I remember the little things that they did in the service. If the soldiers did something wrong they were confined to their barracks. Sometimes three to five days or more, it depended upon what they did. They were confined sometimes if they left cigarette butts on the ground, gum wrappers, or any little thing. This was because if they were overseas and if these things were dropped, the enemy could pick these things up and would know that the American troops were there. I recall an incident for a chapel. Ted was sent out to Tennessee so the service men could get used to the jungles and trees and so forth. For a chapel they had two acres of the wooded land brushed out. They had cleared it out. The stumps were still there and for the altar they had these poles set up on the older fence post. They were made into the altar. The top, sides, and the communion railing looked like a hitching post. For our seats we had two button plants on the stumps. It was very interesting.

What was your job?

Working in restaurants. That was about the only job a soldier’s wife could get because we are from out of state. I remember payday in the restaurants.  We couldn’t wait on any tables, we just had the bar. The reason we couldn’t have any tables was because the service men would come on paydays and they’d line up behind a bar about five, six, or ten deep. When they got their orders we had to pass the orders straight across to one another so they could get their orders. That would go on at least three, four days, or as long as their money lasted. From Camp Force then, my husband was sent to Fort Louise, Washington, which was a very large and interesting camp. He still was a cook and the officers used to love his cooking. But he cooked for the men and the officers wanted him to cook for them. He wouldn’t because he felt that the servicemen were out there in the front lines, and they should have the good meals and be fed well. The officers from the back moved all the tables ahead in the regular dinning room. Then they set the tables at the end of the dinning room so that they could eat his cooking.

Did you enjoy Washington?

It was very interesting at Washington.  We used to love walking around. Buddies would come in with their wives.  Their wives were very interesting. Some had pretty Russian clothes with the long skirts and their buckled shoes.

Where was your husband sent to next?

From Fort Louis he was sent to Needles, California, for a maneuver. There they were very rough with their maneuvers. They were drilled very hard. I remember that General MacArthur was complaining that they were really putting our GIs in too much of a hard training because he said they were burned out before they got them. They wanted less training because it was so harsh. I know that two of his cousins from Chicago were on one of these maneuvers.  They sent them out ten days at a time with just one bag of water. That was supposed to last them ten days. Two of his cousins died from dehydration on those maneuvers. 

Do you think young people today understand and accept what patriotism is?

Some of them do.  Some of them don’t. It depends upon what their attitude is and how they were brought up. I think mostly, if they believe in God and they have faith, they are more accepting to being more patriotic. Sometimes they have to experience a rough time to really appreciate their country.

Do you have a message for people about war and what you think of it?

I think you have to learn to appreciate other people and other cultures and try to understand them. I think a lot of things can be settled without war if we were more understanding.

Is there anything else you want to tell us?

One thing, appreciate other cultures because I think each culture has so much to give to the world.