My
Father - John Boyd
He was born and raised at 306 Spencer Street, in Marion, Ohio. He attended George Washington Elementary School. At Marion Harding High School he was a part of the cooperative education program and worked as a machinist at the Marion Power Shovel Company. He graduated in 1945, and enlisted
in the army in August of 1945 "to avoid the draft."
He married Betty Mosher, Jan 15th, 1947 and was very soon
after sent to Augsburg, Germany assigned to the US
Constabulary. He was assigned to the motor pool for the
Headquarters company for the 5th Regiment.
Once he was promoted to Sergeant, my mother was
allowed to come over to Germany and they lived off base.
About a year after his arrival, the 5th Regiment
was redesigned the 2nd Constabulary Regiment. Dad remembers
it as the 2nd Cavalry Regiment as do others on the Constabulary
Association Web site.
In the Spring of 1949, in order to fly home (rather
than take a ship), he was attached to the US Air Force. He
flew back to the States on "a four engine plane"
(no doubt a C54
Skymaster), landing at Westover Field in MA. His three years
of service would not end until August of '49 and with no real
assignment at Westover, he asked to be transferred to Wright
Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. That was soon done
and he spent the rest of his few months of service at Wright
Patterson.
Once discharged, and back in Marion, he went to work
for McDaniel Pontiac and soon decided to attend the State
Veterans Vocational School in Troy, NY. Mom & Dad
purchased a trailer and pulled it to Troy the week before
school stared, hopping to find a place to stay. They did find
an elderly couple in Watervliet, NY who allowed veterans to
park their trailers on their property while attending
college.
Dad graduated after two years as
the valedictorian. They moved back to Marion and dad got a
job as a maintenance mechanic with BF Goodrich in Green Camp.
Shortly, they purchased a small block home at 990
Woodrow Ave. in Marion. The house is still there today
although it has been enlarged dramatically.
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