I took basic training in Camp Hood, Texas and then shipped overseas in January 1945. I attended cooks and bakers school in Hawaii and was then assigned to the 98th Division Officers' Mess. I arrived in Japan in September 1945 with the occupational force. Later, I was assigned to the 25th Division Officers' Mess and became a private cook for General Brown and Mullin. I was thrilled and honored when General Eisenhower ate in my dining room during his visit with the troops in Osaka, Japan in 1946.