"The Past Catches Up With Bill-An Army Records Snafu"
"I Double Dare You-A Rendezvous With Destiny. "
*Author's Note: All info about Guarnere's military records comes from his and Babe's book. Frannie Guarnere wrote letters to Dick Winters, etc. to obtain proof of Bill's being promoted to Staff Sergeant. Bill's son and eldest granddaughter told the stories included here in a podcast.*
One evening, after supper, Bill was helping Leigh with the supper dishes. She noted that he was unusually quiet.
"Honey, what's wrong?"
"Baby, I gotta tell ya somethin', an' I hope it doesn't upset ya." As Bill collected his thoughts on how to tell Leigh what was on his mind, she wondered what was going on.
"I wanna quit the government job. I know it's a good job, but bein' behind a desk all day ain't for me. This doesn't mean I'm gonna sit back an' expect ya to support us.
I read in the newspaper the other day that veterans can get money for school. I was thinkin' about learnin' a trade that would get more money for us. Now that I told ya, I hope you ain't too mad at me."
Leigh put her hand on Bill's shoulder,
"Honey, why would I be upset with you wanting a different job? I'm behind you 100 percent with whatever you choose to do." Guarnere felt more at ease.
"Thanks for understandin', Baby, an' for supportin' me. I had another idea about a job. Doin' something' wit' my hands is perfect work for me. I've really enjoyed construction work. "
"As long as it makes you happy, do what you want to do."
"Leigh, you're an angel."
Bill decided to take advantage of the G.I. Bill for educational expenses. He was interested in engineering and enrolled in classes. Unfortunately, he had to cancel his education after going to college for in Philadelphia for six months due to the government denying him the money.
When Guarnere was shot and wounded in Holland, he went AWOL from the military hospital when he learned that he was headed to a "Repo Depot," in other words, he would be reassigned to another unit.
Bill wanted to go back to Easy Company, so he painted his cast black with shoe polish to make it look like a boot. He made it as far as an airfield before being caught.
Guarnere told the Military Police that he would go AWOL again if he wasn't assigned to Easy Company. From that point until he was released from the hospital, Bill had to walk and then run in order to get himself in shape for combat. The military busted him down to Private from his previous rank of Staff Sergeant.
Somehow, the paperwork about his demotion got lost in the shuffle, so Guarnere remained Staff Sergeant.
His records only indicated that he went AWOL when he got back to the United States, his promotion to Staff Sergeant wasn't included.
Upon learning about the reason for losing the money for his education, Bill realized he was in for a long haul with the government.
Leigh wrote to Dick Winters and other officers, asking them to send letters on behalf of Bill to verify his claim that he was never officially demoted. He wasn't receiving the money for his disability due to this error.
In an interview many years after this event, Guarnere said,
"I had a hell of a time straightening out records." That was an understatement. He got officially and honorably discharged from the Army as a private in 1946.
The government then decided Bill owed them back pay since he was paid as a Staff Sergeant and discharged as a private.
Leigh was so irate that she wanted to give an interview on the radio and in print with the local newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer about the situation. She envisioned headlines along the lines of "Army Denies Songbird's Hero Husband Rank and Salary"
Bill discouraged this idea, saying,
"Baby, I know ya wanna help me, an' that ya love me an that you're pissed off wit' the Army, but this ain't the way to do it. I believe they (the Army) will do the right thing. We just need to be patient."
"After what you sacrificed, they have no right to treat you this way!"
"I was only doin' my job. If ya think about it, I went against Buck's orders to stay in my foxhole. If that would come out, if we had a hearing, it wouldn't help my case.
Leigh, I appreciate ya wantin' to help me, but a man has to fight his own battles sometimes." She immediately understood that Bill didn't want her doing what he thought was his work to do with the government and the Army.
Leigh didn't like not getting involved, but she respected and loved Bill too much to go against his wishes. This was an era where men were largely in power and a woman taking action like this would go against the societal norms.
It took about eight years for Bill to get his back pay. He was, at first, considered 60 percent disabled and he got about $145-$150 per month.
Since he took the disability money, he couldn't use that money for his education due to governmental rules.
By the 1960s, the artificial leg was causing blood clots. Bill went through several wooden legs. When they wore out, he burned some of them. Some kids in the neighborhood wanted the legs. He gave one of the legs to a friend of his son.
His son later recalled in a podcast that his friend's sister "screamed her head off" when she saw the leg in their basement.
Bill's eldest granddaughter said in the same podcast, that they "should've saved the legs and made a table."
There was a danger of the blood clots going to Guarnere's heart or lungs. He told his doctor, who in turn informed the government,
"You're gonna get me on the damn leg an' get me workin', or get me off the damn thing right now an' give me full disability." Bill was granted full disability in 1967.
After a couple of years of fighting the government, Guarnere went to a hearing in Washington, D.C. where he was exonerated and his records were officially corrected.
While this was going on, Bill worked as a salesman, he also sold rugs and worked for U.S. Gypsum. Prior to doing construction work full-time, Guarnere worked as exterminator.
When Stephen Ambrose interviewed Bill about the records snafu, he asked,
"Mr. Guarnere, are you angry with the government because of the mistake they made with your files?"
"Hell, no! What are you gonna accomplish? I was one of the ones who got lumped. You take your lumps and it all works out in the end."
AU headcanon game: Hilldane meet the family and the family's cool with them. 💕
Hey @lizisodd ! I’m tagging you because this has been in my drafts for so long I’m afraid Tumblr won’t notify you! Thank you for sending this and thank you for waiting forever for me to answer!! 💚
Omg I needed this. I’m being so mean to them recently, I gotta give them some love.
So, we know Eddie had younger siblings. And that’s a lot to come home and tell everyone at once. So I think he tells Mamma and Daddy first. Like, maybe this is a more modern au? They’re out to dinner or Mamma has made dinner and they know they’re gonna meet Eddie’s SO. And Eddie is nervous, bc why wouldn’t he be, but also he knows his parents love him no matter what.
Andy is NERVOUS. Like taking-off-his-hat-to-shake-hands, hello-ma’am-how-do-you-do nervous. Eddie keeps rubbing at his arm or his back, squeezing his hand while they wait. And of course, Mamma and Daddy are… surprised, to say the least. Maybe dinner is a little awkward, “So what do you do for a living, Andy?” Rather than “What are your intentions with my son?” And after the dinner Andy gets an approving handshake from Daddy and a hug from Mamma, thank God. Eddie’s got this smug smirk like he knew all along there was nothing to worry about.
Meeting the siblings is a different story. Which is that Eddie just pulls off the bandaid and Andy gets to meet all of them at once. They ask so. Many. Questions. And half of them are none of their business. Eddie lets Andy field most of them, but every once in a while he speaks up when Andy looks a little lost or overwhelmed or just doesn’t know how to answer. It’s entertaining. it’s cute! Eddie’s siblings are protective, so they DO give Andy the shovel talk, the older ones do anyway. Honestly, Andy might find it flattering.
As for Andy’s family. Eddie is a little terrified because Mr. Haldane is sort of a gruff man (on the outside). And Andy’s dad thinks he’s so fuckin funny and decides to speak in Scots at first just to watch Eddie try to keep up, meanwhile Andy is like “DaAaDd!” Andy’s mom has already adopted him, she’s knitting him a Christmas stocking as we speak. She’s like the lord has blessed me with another son, god is good, end of story. (And if Eddie were to break his heart she’d probably burn his house down, don’t worry about it)
Bill is supportive but also a little shit (youngest siblings stand up) and really makes Eddie work for it. Gives him the third degree over beers at his place. By the end of the night though, they’re drunk and getting along like a house on fire.
Hi Liam! I don't feel like doing work so close to the holidays, so please enjoy this half-baked thought I wasted 10 minutes finding a gif for.
So many fics have Eddie wearing Steve's Yellow Sweater™, yet nothing with dressing him up like S1 Assistant Youth Pastor Steve. Please use the space below for a prompt or a rant or anything else you fancy ...
Oh no you don't even know what you've done here. Okay costuming is one of my all time favorite things, so I'm going to talk too much about subtle stuff (fair warning this is just me having fun so if it's at all inaccurate or not true, well I'm just a guy who likes a show too much LMAO)
Okay so let's start with season one. Steve dresses exactly liek you said like an assistant youth pastor lmao but it's also just like very showing of who he's trying to be there
First of all his hair is way more stylized in this season than any other. We talk about Steve's hair so much, but here in this season it's so obvious that he's trying to be someone specific instead of just who he is. He's also always wearing a collared shirt and a very dark jacket, and the costumers have said that they use darker colors for darker moments/feelings, so he's wearing this exact jacket when he destroys Jonathan's camera AND when he and Jonathan have their fight
Really the first time we see him without his collar or his dark feelings jacket is when he goes to save Nancy and Jonathan
He's laying himself more bare and he's let go of the chain jerking him around (his terrible friends and their opinions.
Okay so season two is also really interesting one because Steve's hair is parted the other way now (literally changing sides), but specifically because of Steve's jacket. Yes I know I talked about the jacket being a signifier of Steve's darkness before, but in this season it's different
This is right after the bathroom conversation between him and Nancy. This is him trying to convince her to stay with him, and feeling rejected, and not understanding how he can fix something he didn't even realize was broken. His jacket is zippered up
But when he's walking with Dustin, it's back to being open. Okay I can hear you saying to yourself 'Liam this is a wild leap to take' except is it??? Bc it isn't and I can tell you why
HIS JACKET IS ZIPPED UP WHEN THEY START THIS WALK. But as they keep walking he opens up to Dustin and the kids. His jacket stays open for the rest of the season, even when it's the middle of the night and probably way colder and it would make a lot more sense for him to zip up his jacket? Is this actually a thing that matters? No probably not to anyone else but I like symbolism and I search it out like a little squirrel looking for nuts to store for winter
Also here is where I mention something important. Steve is a social chameleon. He's learned/was taught that the best way to get people to like him is to be like them. That's why he was so easily ranked in with the popular kids, even when it's clear that he didn't really like it all that much given how fast he flips. He also dresses a lot like Tommy in S1, and then in S2 we see him start to develop his own style once he's broken up with Nancy. But even in developing that own style, he's still a social chameleon. He's still going to try and look like the people he wants to have in his circle
Which brings me to the very first sweater we ever see Steve in
LOOK AT THAT COLOR AND LOOK AT THE COLOR OF DUSTINS HOODIE ABOVE Same exact color!!! Now I'm not saying this is anyyyyything conscious. Steve isn't looking at his closet and being like yes I will choose this because Dustin wore this color and I know he likes it, but I am saying we have literally never seen Steve in any shade of red before this moment.
Now season three. I know he was in his Scoops Ahoy Uniform for most of it (thank the gods for those shorts) so I'm not gonna talk too much about that but I am going to talk about that last final outfit as another example of chameleon Steve
This is actually a two fold example of Chameleon Steve. First of all he's dressed pretty much just like Marty McFly the character from Back to the Future which is the movie he and Robin ran into after the Russians. Second of all he's matching her too. Dark blue, Dark blue, White accents, White Accents. Just like Dustin he chooses colors that are similar to the people he likes. We're also once again seeing him start to open up color wise (first time we see him in yellow).
Now Season four. Well Season four we see him getting stripped bare (quite literally) for a good portion of the season. Obviously we have the battle vest and I love that, but I want to talk about Steve's jacket again and one particular outfit that I think sums up growth for Steve in a lot of ways while also showing some other stuff
His Dear Billy outfit.
This outfit is incredibly similar to the one he wore back in s2 when he first protected all of the kids. Light grey outer jacket, inside darker shirt, but he's wearing a collar again. TLDR he's back to trying to button up, back to something familiar that will 'keep him safe', but also a jacket and a color that he would associate with 'protecting the kids'
Anyway that was a very very long talk, but Steve's progression of outfits and the way he dresses himself is very interesting to me, and like I said if there's even a hint of symbolism I'm there
I got an email from Ulta saying "shop with Julissa!" and it took me a moment to comprehend that Julissa is a haircare brand founder and not a spicy Gallavich artiste (unless ... are you drawing porn during board meetings?!). So if I did go shopping with you at Ulta/Sephora/etc, what would be in your cart?
this is the funniest fucking thing! 😂 that is very much not me, however i have been known to draw during meetings... the joys of working from home, ya know?
so, i was curious and googled who this julissa from ulta is, and she apparently has a line of curly hair products! which is literally right up my alley. so that would totally go in my cart, thanks julissa who's not me from ulta! i'm also running low on perfume, so that's on my shopping list too 💙 what will you be getting?
1. What animal would you like to be reincarnated as?
2. If Showtime did a webseries on a minor Shameless character, who would you want it to be about and what would happen?
3. If you wore/wear a reusable cloth mask for the pandemic, describe the design.
oOoOoOo!! these aren't stupid at all! [rubs crab hands together] let's get into it!
an otter 🦦 hands. down. absolutely zero hesitation in this answer, now and forever. i just wanna hold my otter wife's hand and have my own favorite rock and float around in all my peaceful floofiness. the ✨DREAM✨
i desperately need to know what happened to our dear Ethel. mel (@gardenerian) wrote an amazing ficlet about their headcanons/wishes for her, but i'd have loved for the creators to acknowledge her importance and/or highlight her journey. however, i don't wish a shameless reboot, miniseries, webseries, or movie on anyone - is it terrible of me to say i'm happy it's over? asjdhlfk
i wore a cloth mask for the first year and a half or so, but fabric face coverings fucked up my skin so badly i switched to medical masks last summer! i wear the black ones primarily (my cloth mask was black too askdjlfk i'm very boring) and sometimes the white/blue ones if the ear straps break while i'm at work!
It's Friday night and I'm bored, so I'm gonna send a question. What's the last fun thing you bought yourself? 💸💸💸
LIZ WELCOME 🥳🌼
Perfect time for this question actually since I just got a package today
I got some new clothes that are so cute and I wanted them for my upcoming vacation. I got a cute top that the straps tie into bows, a denim overall top type shirt. And what I was most excited for; a pastel rainbow cardigan sweater!
1. What was your favorite childhood Halloween costume?
2. What time do you usually wake up on a weekday?
3. What do you want for lunch?
The only one that really stands out is the year I did the stereotypical witch with the full on green face paint. I think I had a fake nose too, but I can't remember
hahahaha
Well, what I just had was a cup of coffee and two pieces of chocolate covered caramel... about to go out and do some work though and a salad sounds kind of good. It's sunny and a little warm. Just about salad weather.
Ooh, sleepover Q&A! You don't know me, but I love your work. Think of me as the girl in your class your mom made you invite. 😂
1. What's something you collected as a kid?
2. And something you collect now?
3. If you had $1 (or $1.25, thanks inflation), what would you buy at Dollar Tree?
4. What's your favorite takeout order?
5. If you played in a celebrity game show, which charity would receive your winnings?
Ooh, hello new friend! Welcome to the party!🥳💖 I'm so glad my mom is looking out for me like that, she actually has an excellent track record.😂
1. Keychains and stuffed animals! My chosen souvenirs from every trip. I still have them all and now have a self-imposed rule that I only get to buy new stuffed animals if I don't already have one of the species. This means I pretty much don't get to buy any.😅
2. Journals and quills that I rarely use, but like the look of. Also craft supplies I will never actually use.
3. Something silly or fun! Those off brand toys are fantastic sometimes. The last thing I actually bought there were some taper candles for my Christmas decorations.
4. Cheese enchiladas, rice and beans from a place near my parent's house. We get it every time I'm home without fail, and sometimes I get extra to bring back with me.
5. Something for animals! Probably World Wildlife Fund or National Wildlife Federation, or maybe the local Humane Society.
