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The next day I was put on a train with several other P.O.W.s headed
for Denver. What a great feeling to get to Denver when I didn't know
if I would ever see it or Betty again! Our meeting that night was
very emotional. The next morning we went to see our parents. We had just walked into the house, and I had hugged my Mother, when someone outside on the sidewalk hollered at my Dad saying: "They just got cigarettes at the corner store!"Without a word, my Dad dashed out of the house. He came back with a pack of cigarettes in his hand. I was miffed and said: "What's going on? I just come back after a year overseas, almost got killed, and we hadn't even greeted yet and you take off for a pack of cigarettes!"We greeted and he said: "Maybe you don't know it, but a war has been going on...I knew you were okay, but the cigarettes don't last long when they get them in." 
We found that the civilians were at war also, as this war was an
all-out effort. Civilians suffered some, too. The normal person,
unless you had a high priorty, got a coupon for gas for your car.
This entitled you to four gallons a week. Mom could hardly get
soap powder for clothes washing. Sugar was rationed and tobacco
was in short supply. Everything and everybody contributed to the war
effort. I had a ninety-day delay enroute, prior to my next assignment. The war with Japan ended, which meant that I didn't have to go to the Pacific Theatre of war. Instead, we went to Santa Monica, California--quartered in resort hotels on the beach. Betty went with me on this assignment. We had only to report for an hour in the morning, and the rest of the day was ours. They really rolled out the red carpet for us. Anything we wanted to do was free: movies, skeet shooting, night clubs, and dramas (we got the best seats in the house). We lived like kings. From there, we were assigned to an airbase at Santa Ana, California for discharge.
I quote my navigator's words: "I thank God for my life".Many thousands, including Sgt. Valdez of our crew, didn't come home. Some, like Sgt. Nuccio of our crew, came home wounded. An extra close bond forms between men in severe circumstances, and memories of those days will never be forgotten. Hopefully, no one else will have to experience them.
The war was a terrible event but one invaluable result was the priceless friendships that developed. Everyone sacrificed for each other to survive. I received no medals for bravery or meritorious service, but I came home alive.
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Elmer M. Brockmeier, and littlestar Ideas
This document was updated on 10/6/00.