George Geno
Bio
Growing up during the Great Depression, George Geno was accustomed to hard work. After being drafted, he completed basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood and leadership training at Fort Bliss’s Officers’ Candidate School. He was then assigned as a battery commander, responsible for training soldiers as marksmen, a role he held throughout the Korean War. After his discharge in 1953, Geno married and worked as a campus police officer, eventually rising to the rank of Captain, while earning his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He later worked for Boeing in aerospace and the Department of Defense, continuing his career after military service.
Video Clips
Stringing Popcorn on Christmas During the Depression
Living in the country, George Geno notes he missed the soup lines and city struggles but still witnessed poverty on the farms. People worked in the fields or painted barns just to earn food, unaware of anything better. Families decorated Christmas trees with popcorn, kept drinks cool in drainage ditches, and crafted their own toys, including bows and arrows for hunting pheasants, squirrels, and ducks.
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We Fished In the Basement Of Our House During the Depression
George Geno’s childhood home had a dirt basement that flooded every spring. To make the best of it, he remembers his dad would take them to Reese's to buy nets, and they would catch fish in the basement. Not many people can say they went fishing in their own basement during the Great Depression!
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Drafted
In November 1950, George Geno recalls receiving his draft card during a cold spell and working hard to get the car running before leaving. After taking a train to Fort Wayne and Detroit for basic training, he discovered his hometown dentist had been drafted as well. Following basic training, Geno trained as a combat construction engineer specialist and was selected for Officer Candidate Training.
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George Geno: One Happy and Safe Soldier!
George Geno was selected for Officer Candidate Training, where a demanding lieutenant, eager to make a name for himself, pushed the men hard. He was targeted as "heavy" by the lieutenant, he was made to run an extra two miles every night. After his discharge on July 2, 1952, he chose to re-enlist and was unexpectedly assigned to Fort Bliss, where he became a lieutenant, training soldiers in accurate trench shooting
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