How WWII shaped Barrington resident’s life
In 1942, Jack Roche graduated from high school at 16 and started work at a factory that made rifle triggers. Living with his parents in Dorchester, Mass., he enlisted in the Army on his 18th birthday.
“I was sent to an induction center in Rockford, Ill., where I received basic medical training, and then arrived in Georgia for advanced training as a surgical technician. I crossed the ocean on a British troop ship, landing in France three months after D-Day.”
Units from the 165th General Hospital embarked overseas on Sept. 11, 1944, and landed in Cherbourg, France, on Sept. 24. It is believed it was the first U.S. Army General Hospital to arrive directly in France from the United States. The field hospital was housed in tents.
“In Cherbourg, the 165th General Hospital was just opening. Assigned to the operating room, I assisted in operations and supervised 10 German POWs to clean the rooms and sterilize equipment.”
Roche escorted the POWs to their camp each night; some spoke English and had relatives in the United States. Small at age 18 and weighing only 117 pounds, the prisoners kidded him, saying the U.S. must be in trouble drafting young teenagers like him. He boasted of Allied victories to shut them up, but he never mentioned bombing Germany to them because their families were there.
This simple act of humanity is reflected in a memoir he is writing, which recounts vivid images of war.
“During the Battle of the Bulge, truckloads of wounded came in bandaged from the front. I washed and shaved the incision site in preparation for surgery. Bullets have no respect. It was then I realized the futility of war. Working with doctors and nurses made me want to be a doctor. Back home, I applied to medical schools but was not accepted.”
At the age of 20, Roche bought a house and went to college on the G.I. Bill. He ran for and won two terms as post commander in the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Later, he became a vice president of sales at a large corporation in the chemical industry.
When he was 34 he married Rita, a nurse. They have two children and two grandchildren. A member of the Barrington Writers Workshop, Jack continues working on his memoir.