The Rainbow Journey of Bud Gahs

"I don't know if you want to interview me," a modest Bud Gahs told me when I asked to interview him at last year's 42^nd Rainbow Reunion in Ocean City, NJ. After I insisted that I did in fact want to interview him, he shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "Okay, let's do it," he said. In our two-hour interview I learned many interesting things about Bud. First of all, Bud is his nickname. His formal name is Lockered; he is the father of six children; he's been flying airplanes for over 45 years; he has owned numerous greenhouses and is an expert on plants.

Before the Rainbow

Bud grew up in Baltimore. He graduated high school at age 16. The day after graduation was his 17^th birthday; the following day he started working at a Baltimore factory. The factory produced airplanes, something that Bud has loved since he was five years old. "I was bit by the flying bug when I was young and it never went away," Bud said. It would be Bud's job to arm the airplanes with machine guns. "We made the whole bomber at the factory," Bud explained. "Things were done with efficiency. In a time of trouble, people in this country united. It really was a glorious time for this nation." Bud worked at the factory for over a year and a half.

When he was drafted in 1943, Bud figured that with his aviation knowledge he would be working with airplanes. "Instead, I found myself in the Army and on my way to Kansas to be in the horse cavalry! I had never even been on a horse. I think I rode a mule once," he laughed. He went through a 17-week training before completing nine months of ASTP. "The program was then shut down. That is when my Rainbow journey began," he said.

Bud's Trail of the Rainbow

Bud was first assigned to a rifle company and was later transferred to the 222^nd Anti-Tank Company. "The anti-tank was smaller than a rifle company," Bud explained. "We had a truck but it was to transport a gun and ten people." He was a driver in his squad because of his mechanical skills. "I drove the truck that pulled the gun," he said. That gun was a 57 mm gun. "It was similar to a cannon, only it was a large rifle," Bud said. "Our major job once we were overseas was to fire on enemy machine guns or fight off their tanks. We could fire long distances and hold off the enemy long enough for our guys to get in or out of their situation."

Despite his job as a truck driver, he still found time for his beloved flying. "I took private lessons while I trained at Fort Gruber," Bud said. "I was ready to fly solo but I was sent overseas before I could do it." He was sent to Europe in November 1944 with two other infantry regiments.

The USS Alexander

Bud remembered being on the USS Alexander for about three weeks. He also remembered the seas being continuously rough. "There were a lot of people on that ship. There were many rows of bunks and they were stacked eight to ten high." Bud said the bunks were pieces of canvas laid over pipes. "You had a rifle and a bag in that with you. Nice and cozy," he grinned. Bud's bunk was near the top of the stack for obvious reasons. "I didn't get seasick and I knew I would be okay up there. But, I didn't want anyone getting sick above me!" However, despite having a top bunk, Bud didn't spend much time in it. "The smell below deck was awful. I didn't mind sitting up on the top deck with my coat on. It was cold but it smelled better up there."

The other reason he was never in his bunk long was because of the threat of mines. "When you were in your bunk you were about 20 feet underwater. If we hit a mine, we would be in a lot of trouble. That alone was enough of a reason for me to wander to other parts of the ship," he said.

Bud said the trip overseas was the start of what he could only summarize as an adventure. "That ship was just the start. The bow did not go just up and down. It went in a continuous circle. Then one day, we landed."

Introduction to War

The USS Alexander pulled into Marseille, France in late November of 1944. Bud remembered they all traveled by truck about 20 miles outside of the city for supplies and equipment. He soon resumed his truck driving responsibilities. It wasn't long before he was acquainted with the raging war around him.

"As a truck driver, you are a literal moving target. You have 300 rounds of 57 mm ammunition immediately behind you. That can be a bit scary to comprehend," he said.

The House

One day, in the cold of winter of 1945, German forces in Schweghausen cut off Bud and his squad. Trying to find cover, Bud drove the truck behind a house. His squad quickly found safety from the raining bullets in the house. They ran up the stairs to the second floor and shot through the blown out windows of the house. A close friend and Bud were firing out a window. His friend was too near the window when a sniper shot him. This changes a lot of things for Bud.

Eventually, after hours of shooting, the Germans rushed into the house. They shot through the ceiling above them with rounds and rounds of bullets. They knew the Americans were trapped upstairs. "They thought they got us all," Bud said, "and soon they left. I was just relieved that they didn't think to set the house on fire on their way out." Bud's squad lost two soldiers that day and a few others were injured. "At first I was scared," Bud said. "But, then I knew there was nothing to do but survive. The fear left me and then I suddenly became more attentive and efficient. Not just me but my friends did the same." Bud received the bronze star for his action that day.

The Kitchen

Early one morning, one of Bud's squad members awoke to some noise in the kitchen of the house they were staying in. Bud's friend was a 36-year-old Chicagoan and milkman with the last name of Hickey. He came dashing into the kitchen and was soon face to face with two Germans with raised rifles. Hickey surrendered his rifle. In telling the rest of Hickey's story, Bud said there was a good German and a bad German. "The bad German wanted to kill Hickey right there, but the good German talked him out of doing that. He convinced the bad German to take Hickey as a prisoner and they started off towards the woods," he said. While in the woods, a shell killed the bad German. The good German, Bud said, gave his dead comrade's gun to Hickey. They decided that if they came across American troops first, Hickey would turn the good German over as a prisoner. If they stumbled across German forces first, he would do the same for Hickey. This plan saved both of their lives. Unfortunately, their plan didn't work, Bud said. Bullets from American tanks killed the good German.

"Hickey was a father to three girls when he was drafted. He thought he was too old to go to war," Bud said. "When he was with us in Germany, he always said he thought he would be sent home at any time because he had kids. Like the good German, he always was hopeful." Hickey did make it home and went back to his life as a milkman in Chicago. He and Bud kept in touch for many years, up until Hickey died about 20 years ago.

Dachau

On April 29, 1945, Bud rode past Dachau. "We were assigned to the woods next to the camp. When the camp was liberated some prisoners escaped into the woods and they (chain of command) wanted to make sure they were real prisoners and not SS," he said. While clearing the woods, they heard rustling in some bushes. Bud had his rifle lifted and was ready to shoot when a man crawled out and started kissing his feet. "I almost shot him because I was so startled," he said. "There was a language barrier but I was very moved when they kissed my boots. He was so thankful." Bud said. "I was shocked when I saw him. He was so desperate."

Dachau was a surprise to all of them, Bud said. And it wasn't until a few days after the liberation that the realization of it all set in. "We'd heard that people were in concentration camps, but no one could have imagined it was this bad," Bud said. He never wandered through the front gates of the camp until 1972.

Bud had gone back to Germany with his wife as part of a greenhouse tour. They had been traveling all over Europe analyzing various types of greenhouses, when he decided to make a detour to Dachau. "I remember there was a green lawn and benches and on one of the benches was a man. We sat next to him and he told us he had been a prisoner there. He had come back for some reason. Who knows why he had wanted to come back. I just kept thinking that he looked so old, but we probably were the same age."

It was on that trip that he decided to rent a car and go back to the house in Schweighausen. The house was still there, Bud said. The only difference was that it was completely repaired and there was a fence around it. He spoke to some neighbors of the house and they told him they thought a former Nazi SS guard lived in the house. Bud walked up the path to the house's front door and knocked. The man who answered spoke broken English but denied Bud's request to come into the house. Bud asked if he could walk around the outside of the house, and he was told no again. "As I walked away from the house, all those memories came flooding back to me. It was just all like I had remembered it," he said.

Occupation

Bud drove trucks until the end of the war. "It wasn't a bad thing," he said, "I didn't have to walk much." He spent time in Austria and he said his memories of the Austrian people are that they all had such great spirits. "I liked them very much," he said. With the war ended, he took advantage of the extra time on his hands. He traveled when he could. He went to England and Paris and took some short trips around Austria. "Everyone was just waiting to go home." And when Bud was allowed to go home, he headed back to Maryland.

Life After War

After settling back into civilian life, Bud went back to college. He had been attending John Hopkins University before heading overseas with the Rainbow. He'd thought he would be an engineer. However, he'd had a change of heart. He decided to attend the University of Maryland and pursue a career in horticulture. In his spare time, Bud was asked to be a Boy Scout leader, an organization he had belonged to as a boy. Through a fellow Boy Scout leader, Bud met his future wife, Thurley.

Bud went on to own numerous greenhouses. His specialty was cut flowers and that evolved over the years to include potted plants. He worked in the greenhouse industry for 47 years.

Another interesting fact I learned about Bud during our interview was that he is a local Baltimore celebrity. According to Bud, a local television station interviewed him on how to take care of plants before the cold weather hit. The initial interview was such a hit, that when the holidays rolled around, Bud was asked to talk about poinsettias. He was then called by the station and asked if he would do an appearance on a show called Baltimore At Ten, one of the first "talk shows."

"They wanted me talk about flowers every Monday for 3 to 5 minutes. I could design my own segments. I agreed to do it," he said. Because Bud joined the Actors Guild at the persuasion of the station's union, he was paid $38 a minute. "Not a bad job," Bud said with a laugh.

He did the show for about two years, until it was pushed off by Oprah Winfrey's talk show on another Baltimore station. "Everyone watched her and Baltimore At Ten went out of business. I guess losing out to Oprah isn't too bad."

Rainbow Today

Until October of 2010, Bud had been the president of the Eastern Region Chapter for the past two years. "I enjoy coming to these reunions," he said.

He has been driving up from Maryland to attend the Ocean City reunion for years. Yet, it was on this particular trip that he and Father Bob Weiss, ironically saw an anti-tank gun in New Jersey. "It was in front of a park, I suppose it was for a memorial. I haven't seen one of those in 60 years," Bud said. "And I saw one yesterday on my way up here to the Rainbow."

/emt
2/27/2011