Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Prescott Guard deployed in 1940 reunites

Theres nothing like family, and the men who served in the 22nd Company C say they are  in every sense of the word  family. The men have made a practice of gathering annually to renew their connection.

The company was located in Prescott in 1940 as the nation became involved in World War II. Those who were part of that company had various reasons for spending their time with the military. Some say that times were hard and the $1 pay for participating in drills made the National Guard an attractive possibility. Millard McBride said it was his cousin, Wallace McBride, who convinced him that joining up was a good idea.

Though reasons for joining may differ, the six men who gathered for a reunion of the company on June 3 in Prescott say they all came away with a bond that time cant break.

The men took a few minutes during that visit to reminisce about their days in the service.

Their December deployment date is referred to as their Christmas present. The short trip they were scheduled to take turned into years-long deployment for some.

Connie Frizzell of Vivian, La., is laughingly called the old man of the outfit. It seems that Frizzell was one of the more experienced members of the company upon deployment. He was the platoon sergeant and called out the drill orders. According to some, Frizzells orders simply made the men eager to step lively.

He was the next thing to Sgt. York, said Wallace McBride.

Frizzell spent some time in a prison camp. Upon his return to the states, he was assigned to a different unit but said he would occasionally slip over to visit his old friends.

Wallace McBride became responsible for the operation of a patrol boat.

I went to school for two weeks and they made me a skipper, he recalled.

Together, these men witnessed some historic events of that wartime. It created the lasting bond exhibited during the recent reunion.

As they put it, We lived together. We loved together. We fought together. Were family.