North High School Wall of Honor
Wiliam Albert VanDerHorst
Class of January, 1943
Research done by Claradell Shedd, Class of 1953. PAGE IN PROGRESS

William Albert VanDerHorst

Bill was a member of North High's class of January, 1943. His next of kin were listed as Mr. Bryan VanDerHorst, 1909 Seventh Street, Des Moines, IA. Bill's service number was ___________.
William Albert VanDerHorst
Year   Rank   Status
January, 1943   Graduated   Graduated from North High, Des Moines, IA
September 21, 1943 x Drafted;
US Army/PVT
x Drafted at Camp Dodge, IA. Infantry.
date x US Army x Basic Training at *Camp Roberts, CA (near Bakersfield, CA); Initially in 86th Infantry Training Tank Batallion; 37mm
1943-1946 x Stationed/
Sgt.Mjr.
x Stationed at Batallion Headquarters, Camp Roberts, CA (near Bakersfield, CA). 89th Batallion; 18th Regiment.
February 19, 1946 x US Army/
Sgt.Mjr.
x Discharged at Camp Roberts; February 10, 1946
date x Civilian x Employed where and when?
date x Retired x Where and when?
*Camp Roberts, CA
The 42,784 acres which comprise Camp Roberts have long held the encampments of soldiers. The early Indian tribes of California hunted and lived on this land, and exploration detachments of the colonial Spanish Army mounted scouting parties throughout the area.

Camp Roberts is located on U.S. Highway 101, which follows the old Mission Trail. This is a highly recommended scenic drive for history buffs. The road is still referred to as "El Camino Real", which broadly translates from Spanish as "The Royal Road" or "The King's Highway". Camp Roberts is located north of the historic Mission San Miguel, which in its heyday was one of the best managed of the 21 missions established in Alta California by the Franciscans. It was one of the most productive in grain and livestock. The land which comprises Camp Roberts was, in fact, part of the original holdings of the mission that was founded in 1797.

Camp Roberts officially began it mission as a replacement training center in March 1941. At that time it ranked with the world's largest military training facilities. It may still be so in terms of training capacity, and so far as it is known features the largest parade ground (the length of fourteen football fields) on any military facility.
The main Garrison was constructed to accommodate 23,000 officers and troops. The East Garrison, across the Salinas River, could accommodate 6,000 troops. The 26th Field Artillery Brigade was the first unit to occupy the East Garrison.


436,000 World War II Infantry and Field Artillery troops passed through an intensive seventeen week training cycle. Both the Infantry and Field Artillery Replacement Training Centers achieved enviable proficiency records where it counted, in the combat zones around the world to which their graduates were sent. A peak population was reached in 1945 when 45,000 troops were quartered in large tent cities located at the fringes of the Main Garrison

Besides the two Training Centers, Camp Roberts also had a 750-bed hospital complex (also supplemented with tent cities), and internment compounds for Italian and German prisoners of war. Many of the Italian POWs joined a special Army Service Unit after the surrender of Italy, and spent the remainder of the war as workers at Camp Roberts.

Camp Roberts, CA

US Army Seal



89th Infantry Division

William Albert VanDerHorst
Sergeant Major
89th Batallion; 18th Regiment
US Army



1944

Infantry Insignia




Sergeant Major
WWII Victory; American Theater; Bronze Star; good Conduct; European African Middle Eastern Theater w/bronze battle star; Asiatic Pacific Theater

Examples of medals and/or citations: WWII Victory; American Theater; Bronze Star; Good Conduct;
European African Middle Eastern Theater w/battle star (Rhineland); Asiatic Pacific Theater
References
(1) The World War II Army Enlistment Records contain information on more than nine million indivdual enlistments. These records can be found online at http://www.archives.gov/.

(2) The comprehensive list of names from North High's 1893-2018 graduation classes are from Claradell Shedd's North Des Moines High School website. The names of North High School graduates can be found online at: http://www.ndmhs.com/. William Albert VanDerHorst's 1943 class page is: http://www.ndmhs.com/pages/yearclass1943(2008.65).html.
11/14/10. Living in FL.
Music: "Wind Beneath My Wings"
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