James Coker will never forget his years serving in Europe during World War II. When he dusts off his boxes of pristinely kept photos, tickets, cards and other mementoes, the memories come rushing back.
“It was scary, but it was happy times,” he said.
One of his most treasured keepsakes is a collection of photos that he framed when he returned to Plant City, his hometown, after the war.
“That is the story of the 75th division right there,” Coker said, gazing upon the photos that depict some of the defining moments of his and his fellow soldiers’ lives. “That, to me, is everything that ever happened.”
Called Up
Coker and his wife, Ada, married as teenagers in December 1942. Just three months later, Coker’s draft notice arrived.
The Cokers’ first son was born while James was away at training. In November 1944, when the baby was about a year old, James set sail for Europe with the 75th Infantry Division — also known as the “Diaper Division,” because it had some of the United States’ youngest soldiers, with an average age of 18.
By mid-December, the division had landed in southern France.
“When we landed … it was at night, and the Germans were sending buzz bombs over. We could hear them coming,” Coker said.
Throughout its time in Europe, the division earned three Battle Stars: The Colmar Pocket Battle, Battle in the Ardennes (known as Battle of the Bulge) and Battle for the Ruhr.
The Colmar Pocket Battle was particularly treacherous.
“It was in the mountains,” Coker said. “We went across the mountains with ice on the roads, and the tanks would slide off the road. But we went in and fought with the French.”
About a month later, at the Battle of the Bulge, the winter weather was still taking its toll on the division.
“It was so cold in the Bulge, you couldn’t just hang around,” Coker said. “You had to keep moving, because you’d freeze. But the Bulge to me was the one that really, we broke Hitler’s back.”
To commemorate that victory, Coker has kept a Nazi flag among his mementoes all these years. But he won’t say how it ended up in his hands.
“Let’s just say, I got it,” he said with a sly smile. “That’s a swastika if you’ve ever seen one. That is real.”
From there, most of the division’s remaining time in Europe was spent cleaning up used weapons, ammunition and other items. Coker and his unit drove along the Audobon and collected the equipment that had been piled up on the sides of the road.
But they also had the opportunity to see some unique sights, such as the Eiffel Tower. Coker had learned about it in school but never expected to see for himself.
Coming Home
The 75th division was camped in France for more than three months, trying to get home.
“You could get up on top of the hill there and look into the harbor, and you could see the boats coming in and picking up people and going back to America,” Coker said. “But they kept holding us back, I reckon because we were the youngest division over there at the time.”
A lieutenant promised Coker he would be home in time for Christmas. After returning to U.S. soil, the soldiers were told to wait for a train that would take them home.
But Coker and a few of his southern friends were getting impatient. They pooled their money, hired a man with a touring car and hit the road for Florida.
The lieutenant’s promise barely came true. Ada met James at the Plant City train station on Christmas Eve, 1945.
“It was a country boy that was put on a ride that he didn’t ask for, but I’m glad I survived it. And at this time, I’m 91 years old and still going,” Coker said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Hometown Heroes is a recurring feature in the Plant City Times & Observer in which we profile veterans from Plant City. If you have a loved one currently serving or who has served in the past, please contact Managing Editor Amber Jurgensen by email at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com or by phone at (813) 704-6850.
Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.