CHUCK HAVER
Age: 87
Born: April 21, 1923
Hometown: Pasadena
Residence: Palm Desert
Military branch: U.S. Army; 1313th Engineers
Years served: Friday, Nov. 13, 1942 — April 8, 1946. Served in the Army Reserve until April 16, 1956
Rank: World War II: captain; retired as major
Family: Wife Mary (deceased); three children, George Haver of Davis, Edward Haver of Scott Depot, W.Va., and Nancy Haver of Seattle; three grandchildren.
About this series
Staff writer Denise Goolsby will profile desert veterans from World War II through the end of 2010 — the 65th anniversary of the end of the war. Contact her at (760) 778-4587 or via e-mail at denise.goolsby@thedesertsun.com
Coming tomorrow
U.S. Army Air Corps veteran Roy Mortensen of La Quinta.
LEARN MORE: Read about other Coachella Valley residents who served in World War II at mydesert.com/wwii.
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Chuck Haver volunteered for military service, instead of waiting to be drafted, so he could request assignment to the U.S. Army engineering corps.
The architecturally inclined young man quickly moved up through the ranks.
“Things went well in basic training and I got recommended,” for Officer Candidate School, Haver said.
Soon, the 20-year-old was off to Camp Claiborne in Louisiana for the 90-day officer training program.
“My wife and I were married two weeks after I graduated,” he added.
Haver was immediately assigned to a leadership position, training an all-black regiment of soldiers — the 1313th engineers.
Haver said the group — about 1,100 men strong — was led by 45 white officers and 15 black officers.
“It was a wonderful regiment,” Haver said, adding that racial tensions were nonexistent among the men.
White officers had a choice if they had a problem.
“If you didn't want to be there, you could volunteer to go overseas,” he said.
He set sail for Europe in January 1944 aboard the RMS Britannic, an ocean liner of the Cunard White Star Line used as a troopship during World War II.
The liner traveled in a convoy of about 40 ships, Haver said, and eventually landed in Liverpool, England. From there, the men were on the move again before settling down in Cornwall, England.
“We built roads and prepared for the invasion,” of Normandy, France, Haver said.
The regiment built and widened roads so vehicles could be transferred down to the waterfront on the English Channel to be loaded into tank landing ships.
In August of 1944, about two months after the Allied invasion, the 1313th was sent to France.
“We moved up to Épernay — the heart of Champagne country. Headquarters was there.”
Haver's company tackled a variety of construction projects.
“We had lots of trucks, Caterpillars, tractors, air compressors we were a general services regiment.
“We built a bridge on the Red Ball Highway and built a German prison camp using 1,000 German laborers,” Haver said.
The camp was designed to hold a capacity of 20,000 prisoners.
“We ended up with 60,000.”
For the most part, the regiment was able to stay out of harm's way.
“We were just bombed and strafed once in a while,” he said.
“A German pilot was shot down above us, and his parachute didn't open very well. He was badly damaged. We took him to the hospital.”
Haver's work during the Battle of the Bulge — preparing bridges for demolition — was recognized by his superiors.
“As a result of that, I got a Bronze Star,” Haver said.
Later, the men converted a French camp — the former home of a horse cavalry unit — for use as a hospital by doctors and nurses coming over from Boston General after the Battle of the Bulge.
Haver was then assigned as an aid to Brigadier General Charles O. Thrasher, who was in charge of services and supplies for troops in most of northeastern France.
The promotion meant he had to leave his regiment behind. Thrasher and his staff lived in a château in Reims.
“My mentor when I was a general's aid was Clay Shaw he was suspected of being complicit in (President John F.) Kennedy's assassination.”
Shaw, who was gay, was accused by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison in 1967 of conspiring to kill President Kennedy. He was the only person to be tried in the president's assassination. Two years later, a jury, deliberating for less than an hour, returned a not guilty verdict.
Historic accounts presume the charges were trumped-up by Garrison.
Haver said Shaw, who'd been working with the brigadier general for for quite a while, helped teach him the ropes of the job.
“He helped me find my way,” Haver said.
Stationed at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force in the Oise Base Section of Reims, France, Haver traveled with the likes of Gen. Dwight Eisenhower.
“I was very impressed. He was very interested in the troops,” Haver said.
Haver recalled a particularly memorable moment during his time with Eisenhower.“He called a lieutenant colonel in to his train car. The guy came out crying. He pinned the eagles on his shoulders and made him a full bird colonel.”
Early on the morning of May 7, 1945 in Reims, Gen. Eisenhower received the unconditional surrender of Germany.
General Alfred Jodl, German chief of staff, signed the surrender papers at the supreme headquarters.
“The night of the armistice, I went to pick up the correspondents from the airport in Reims,” Haver said.
Haver relishes his years in the Army, especially the time spent with his regiment.
“We had good leadership and a great outfit. Everybody was proud.”
Haver, who joined the Army when he was 19 and was leading a company of men in France by the time he was 22, said the military gave him the opportunity to explore his potential.
“The responsibility they gave you,” he said. “You could swing (for the fences) you could rise to the level of your abilities.”
Haver, who is resident president at The Fountains at the Carlotta in Palm Desert, earned his engineering degree at University of California, Berkeley.
For 10 years, he owned and operated Charles Haver & Associates, an engineering firm based in Palm Desert.
