My War, by Marshall “Leu”Waverly
(December 7, 1941, to December 1945.)
My name is Marshall Waverly, but everybody after April 9, 1942, called me “Leu.” I picked that nickname up because I was a Lieutenant in the US Army. The name Leu seemed to work for my fellow warriors who made up a small group of Bataan survivors. I was the only officer, and rather than have them call me “Lieutenant” or “Sir,” they just called me “Leu.” That was ok withme.
Our group, which I called “Team Six,” was a homemade assortment of Americans caught up in their first war. Basic training could not have prepared us for the next three and half years of pure hell and war. That we all made it home to our families and loved ones is a testimonial to the will of man to survive and use every available drop of common sense to stayalive.
Like my comrades, I started my adventure as a very young and idealistic man, full of patriotism. Without these Spartans, we could have lost World War II and our freedom. Surrender was not an option for these young men and women on December 7, 1941. They came in every shape, size, nationality, and religion from all corners of the world. Team Six also came from this honorableassembly.
There was “Doc,” or Richard Myers, from Smyrna, Georgia; “Swede,” or Magnus Svansajo, from Springfield, Massachusetts; “Scout,” or Raymond Feather, from Alder, Montana; “Dyna,” or Paul Mason, from Little Rock, Arkansas; and “Cookie,” or Walter Brennan, from San Diego, California. These were young men with loyalty and abilities that surfaced when the warstarted.
“TEAMSIX”
“Cookie” “Doc” “Leu” “Dyna” “Swede” “Scout”
I was born on July 8, 1919, in Orlando, Florida. My father was a trial attorney and later in life, a Circuit Judge. My mother was a school teacher turned legal secretary, when she married my dad. Orlando was small, but a very fast-growing town in centralFlorida.
My life was normal, as I saw it. My dad was big on Boy Scouts; so, I went through the whole drill, all the way to Eagle Scout. I loved it all. My other passion was the ham radio. Our neighbor, Mister Samson, was a professional full-time ham operator, with the latest radio equipment available. He was a retired New York stockbroker; now living h
