Oral History Lieutenant Leonard Wilson Tate Oral History Conducted with Marjorie and Vicki Tate 1984 -- 1987 11 Naval Historical Foundation Oral History Program 2001 . a •1 I Lt. Leonard Wilson Tate World War II Career with the Scouts And Raiders and SACO FOREWORD In the winter and early spring of 1984, my husband recorded accounts of his experiences as a “ Scout “ during the naval invasion of southern France in 1 944. and as an intelligence agent with the Sino American Co-operative Organization of the U.S. Naval Group,China; the so-called “Rice Paddy Navy” in 1945. He did this at the urging of his elder daughter, Vicki(Tate)Knauss. Vicki later transcribed most of the first tape. After his death in 1987, 1 started very slowly to write up a family history. In order to complete his section of this, in 1999 I transcribed the rest of the tapes. I added the above title here to facilitate filing and to clarify the subject matter. The material being donated consists of Chapters 2 through 8 of the biography of my husband. I had thought to request a copyright, but rereading the donation form convinced me That this would seriously limit the use of Leonard’s story. My request to readers is to please give credits to him and use the facts accurately. Marjorie I-I. Tate ( Mrs. Leonard W.) January 25, 2001 Winchester, Virginia INTRODUCTION MY HUSBAND I-{ow can I adequately express my feelings about a man who fell head over heels in love the first time we met? Who spent the rest of his life trying to please me and taking care of us all? Who lit up any room he entered? Lee possessed a simple gallantry and an innate courtesy. These seem like strange qualities to admire today, but when thinking back about his personality, these characteristics impressed me first. When we first met in November 945, he had just come home from his harrowing intelligence work in China during World War II. He was still painfully thin, but he looked mighty fine in his dark blue navy uniform ... auburn hair, fair skin, tall, and very masculine. He rose to his feet, poised and polite, and almost immediately apologized for a slight rash from malnutrition still evident on his wrists. The next quality that was so typical was his generous, outgoing nature. Wherever he went, Lee gathered people around him. He had collected a group of ambulatory patients from St. Albans Naval Hospital on Long Island (most of them were recovering from dysentery or shrapnel wounds or malaria, etc.). They escaped into New York on weekends looking for fun and girls to date. They were still telling war stories but were making the change back to civilian life and were ready to start afresh. Lee saw what he wanted when we had our first date and went straight for it. No hesitation or flirting or looking for an affair. He wanted a wij! He was somewhat taken aback when I didn’t immediately respond to his marriage proposal and considered that he had waited a long time for my answer, which came five months later! There was quite a lot of competition, and we went through some tempestuous months. Since he didn’t have enough “points” to go on inactive duty, he was able to stay in New York and tend to the major task of courting his future wife! When you read our transcriptions of his tapes (my daughter Vicki helped), you’ll discover that he had a wry sense of humor. Skipping over the horrible things experienced, he managed to bring out the comedy of situations he found himself embroiled in. Letters to his parents (of course they were strictly censored) were slanted mainly toward easing their anxiety; in fact, some of the messages he sent them were out-and-out lies! There were weak areas in his personality. For instance, he held grudges against people who had wronged himforever. If there was a problem job to do, my own instinct was to study it and work at it until it was fixed. His instinct was to ask someone else how to fix it or to get someone else to fix it! Leonard would never discuss a difference of opinion with me if we were both disturbed by it. He would simply walk away. However, my husband’s worst problem was his drinking. He started drinking bootleg liquor in his teens in Oklahoma. During the war, all of the guys drank hard, and he continued to need it. This was a source of much dissension in our marriage and made his daughters very i . unhappy as they grew older. In his later years, at my insistence, he limited his daily intake to two veiy stiffmartinis before dinner. Lee had many attractive habits. He was fastidious in his personal care, neat with all of his possessions. He had good taste in clothes and looked very patrician when dressed fonnally. It amazed me that he enjoyed polishing shoes! He would gather all of the family’s shoes, lay them on newspaper, and make them shine! When we made one of our frequent moves, he had a knack for placing furniture in the new rooms. My husband was unfailingly courteous except when some domestic catastrophe sent him bellowing hysterically to fix it! Our marriage survived many strains: the loss of the pottery business, the poor health of our first daughter, his constant struggles with sinus infections and colds, my indifferent health, much uprooting after taking the government position, and a new baby when we were in our 40s (even though a much-desired child). The worst blow came in the late 1 960s when his agency started pressuring all of the World War II veterans to take early retirement. He was 54 years old when forced out. It was a cold-blooded process. In addition, both of our surviving parents were failing. Zoma Tate (his mother) came to live with us in 1968. Paul Hemke (my father) was in poor health in a retirement home in Alexandria at the same time. In the spring of 1987, I persuaded my husband to record his childhood memories and comments about his family. My reason for doing so was that he was apparently aging so fast and seemed to be getting rather vague, partly because his hearing was so poor in spite of a new “hearing aid.” Both of us were unaware that the scythe of death was to sweep so mercilessly and so soon. Lee had regaled the family many times with his tales of growing up in a typical southwestern small town. Much to my joy, he reeled off his accounts in perfect detail and seemed to enjoy it. I transcribed these tapes years later and found great comfort in listening to his familiar and dear intonations. Very little has been eliminated -- only repetitious passages, many “uhs,” and question marks were inserted where his voice was not clear. Following these tapes are his accounts of his World War II adventures. The rest of his life is recounted elsewhere as part of family history after our marriage. Lee aged early. I guess the alcohol and cigarettes (and perhaps the near starvation in China) took their toll. By his mid-60s, he was tiring easily. Sometimes I wonder if the prostate cancer had already started working through his body. He had complained in the fall of 1986 of pain in his left arm and back, but a fool of a doctor remarked cheerfully, “Oh, you’re getting old. You know, it’s probably rheumatism!” Actually, the pain was a result of the cancer working into his bones. His death came overwhelmingly fast. After a day in the hospital with “pneumonia,” his lungs ceased to function. For several weeks, he fought valiantly while ii I last as long as his heart did. hooked up to a breathing pump. The doctor told me he would July 9, 1987. He had a strong heart and a big heart. It finally gave out on Marjorie Tate August 1999 iii . BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY Leonard W. Tate 1918 Born May 16 in Perry, Oklahoma, first child of Henry and Zoma Tate. 2nd 3rd 4th 1925 to 1928 or 29 Lived and attended and grades in Marland, Oklahoma, near 101 Ranch where his father was a manager. 1936 Graduated from Perry High School, Perry, Oklahoma. 1941 Enlisted in United States Naval Reserve while he was attending A&M College (now Oklahoma State) in Stiliwater, Oklahoma. 1942 Graduated from college with a degree in business. 1943 Received commission in United States Naval Reserve from the Midshipmen’s School at Columbia University, New York, New York. Assigned to Atlantic Fleet Amphibious Force and trained at Little Creek, Virginia, and Fort Pierce, Florida. While in Florida, transferred to Scouts and Raiders. August, sent to Europe as part of the Special Operations Group of the Mediterranean Fleet and was engaged in the Invasion of Southern France. and 1944 Back to United States. Reassigned to naval intelligence sent to China. War. 1945 Intelligence work in China until end of Pacific November, returned to St. Albans Naval Hospital on Long Island, New York. Met Marjorie in New York City. May, released 1946 January, proposed to Marjorie. Job hunted. from active duty. June, returned to Perry to start pottery business. September 14, Leonard and Marjorie married in New Orleans, Louisiana. Returned to Perry, Oklahoma, to continue work in Tamac pottery. owned and 1946-53 Leonard and Marjorie (with another couple) operated Tamac pottery. Victoria Marie born on January 1, 1952.