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Serving in the Chiricahuas: Early decision kept Danny Danielson close to home
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| Sgt. Odin "Danny" Danielson was chief cook for the El Coronado Ranch, in Turkey Creek in the Chiricahua Mountains. The ranch was an R&R stop for overworked fighter pilots during WWII. (AINSLEE S. WITTIG/ARN) |
By Ainslee S. Wittig/Arizona Range News
During World War II, not everyone traveled the world when they enlisted in the military. Not everyone saw battles and campaigns. But Odin "Danny" Danielson, of Willcox, considers himself quite lucky for that.
Danielson, now 90, wanted to join the military back in the spring of 1942 in Minnesota, despite the fact that he was an only son and had a deferment.
"I wanted to go in - all my friends and peers were going. I didn't want to be left behind," he said from his Willcox home with his visiting son, Dan.
He joined the Army and worked as a truck driver for short stint while stationed in California.
"There was this deal on the bulletin board asking if anyone was interested in being a cook to sign here. I signed. And a week later, I left for Wyoming to Cooks and Bakers School. I guess I did it because it paid $25 a month more," he laughed.
He said the cooks in training cooked for pilots training there.
However while at cooking school, a bulk of those at Fort Warren, Wyo., came down with scarlet fever.
"They took us on a bivouac, where we were outdoors and got caught in a snowstorm with our pup tents. A lot of us got sick. I had the flu, too. It was bad," he said.
They were all sent down to recover where the climate was warm - in Douglas Field, Arizona.
"Scarlet fever slowed me down," he said. "It had an effect on my feet, so I'd be in my unlaced shoes. The captain would come in, 'Lace your shoes, Soldier!'"
The pilots in the training outfit that came down to Douglas with him "kept me in their outfit after that because I guess they like what I did," Danielson said.
From Douglas, the Army Air Force sent him less than an hour away to El Coronado Ranch, in Turkey Creek in the Chiricahua Mountains. The ranch was essentially for fighter pilots and officers when they were able to take R&R (rest an relaxation) time.
"They would come for weekends, some would bring their families, and they would eat, play pool, play slots, go horseback riding and hiking. I guess it would help their frayed nerves," he said.
Danielson said he was the chief cook, dishwasher, bartender, etc.
"Weekends were busy, but during the weeks we didn't have too much to do," he said. "We used to go from El Coronado to a dance hall in Willcox (on Business 10 which used to be the Silver Bullet Bar, as well as everything from a charter school to a church). We'd drive in an Army truck without permission. We'd have no pass to come to town, so we'd have to park about three miles away and walk. I don't know how we knew where we were going - we weren't from here. All of us guys had a toddy or two - it was a long walk back!"
It was at that dance hall, which they called "Mexico Way", that he "met Joyce Ebsen from San Simon one late night, and I married her on Sept. 1, 1944."
He'd pass some of the time with El Coronado rancher Poke Shote. Once they found a stray "trick burro" while riding through the Chiricahuas.
"This burro would lay down, roll over and he'd tell you how old he was. He'd count with his front foot - but he was always nine!" Danielson said.
After the guests would ride the horses, he noticed a couple of them were sore-footed. Being a farm boy, he picked up some horseshoes on a trip to Douglas and brought them back to shoe the horses.
"I went to the stalls to put them on. While working with the hoof in one hand and shoe in the other, I realized there was someone standing there watching me. I turned and it was the captain. I didn't know what to do. Finally, I dropped everything and saluted him. 'Aren't you Danielson?' the Captain asked. And I said 'yes.' 'What the hell are you doing down here?' he asked me."
"When I replied that the horses needed some shoes, he said, 'Well that beats all. I never realized we had a cook in the Army who'd shoe a horse.'"
"He could be pretty tough, and I was scared. But he was a nice guy," Danielson said.
"After (El Coronado) I shipped overseas to the south Pacific," he said, to Hickam Air Field (next to Pearl Harbor) and Bellows Field in Hawaii in 1944.
"I stayed with the same officers again - I guess they were the bosses and they kept me. I made points with the fighter pilots. They'd come in at 3 a.m. after flying and they knew where my barracks was, and I'd get up and fix 'em something to eat."
"You'd get acquainted with a lot of these guys. I went for a ride in a fighter plane - a P39 and P38 while in the South Pacific - that was enough for me!" he said, adding that pilot "Billy Gaskill (of Willcox) was one of my old buddies. We were in the same outfit, 545th Squadron of the Army Air Force."
From Hawaii, "we were fixin' to go further. They had us going to some South Pacific islands, but they were not named on the orders. I know they were Guam and Okinawa. Then, boom! It was over, and I didn't get to go," Danielson said, somewhat disappointed. He separated from the Army Air Force as a sergeant on Dec. 18, 1945.
He came home to Arizona and his wife, ran the "Danny Dairy" farm in San Simon for five or six years, delivering milk to the schools and other local spots.
He later worked for the San Simon Port of Entry, then was a Cochise County Sheriff's Deputy in Willcox until another sheriff was elected. He went back to the San Simon Port of Entry until his retirement. Son Dan, (WHS 1975 graduate) lives in Nashville, Tenn., and works with the state agriculture department; and daughter Gladys Olsen owns Salsa Fiesta Restaurant in Willcox.
"I don't know why I got involved with being a cook, but it was fun!" he said, smiling.
Danielson, now 90, wanted to join the military back in the spring of 1942 in Minnesota, despite the fact that he was an only son and had a deferment.
"I wanted to go in - all my friends and peers were going. I didn't want to be left behind," he said from his Willcox home with his visiting son, Dan.
He joined the Army and worked as a truck driver for short stint while stationed in California.
"There was this deal on the bulletin board asking if anyone was interested in being a cook to sign here. I signed. And a week later, I left for Wyoming to Cooks and Bakers School. I guess I did it because it paid $25 a month more," he laughed.
He said the cooks in training cooked for pilots training there.
However while at cooking school, a bulk of those at Fort Warren, Wyo., came down with scarlet fever.
"They took us on a bivouac, where we were outdoors and got caught in a snowstorm with our pup tents. A lot of us got sick. I had the flu, too. It was bad," he said.
They were all sent down to recover where the climate was warm - in Douglas Field, Arizona.
"Scarlet fever slowed me down," he said. "It had an effect on my feet, so I'd be in my unlaced shoes. The captain would come in, 'Lace your shoes, Soldier!'"
The pilots in the training outfit that came down to Douglas with him "kept me in their outfit after that because I guess they like what I did," Danielson said.
From Douglas, the Army Air Force sent him less than an hour away to El Coronado Ranch, in Turkey Creek in the Chiricahua Mountains. The ranch was essentially for fighter pilots and officers when they were able to take R&R (rest an relaxation) time.
"They would come for weekends, some would bring their families, and they would eat, play pool, play slots, go horseback riding and hiking. I guess it would help their frayed nerves," he said.
Danielson said he was the chief cook, dishwasher, bartender, etc.
"Weekends were busy, but during the weeks we didn't have too much to do," he said. "We used to go from El Coronado to a dance hall in Willcox (on Business 10 which used to be the Silver Bullet Bar, as well as everything from a charter school to a church). We'd drive in an Army truck without permission. We'd have no pass to come to town, so we'd have to park about three miles away and walk. I don't know how we knew where we were going - we weren't from here. All of us guys had a toddy or two - it was a long walk back!"
It was at that dance hall, which they called "Mexico Way", that he "met Joyce Ebsen from San Simon one late night, and I married her on Sept. 1, 1944."
He'd pass some of the time with El Coronado rancher Poke Shote. Once they found a stray "trick burro" while riding through the Chiricahuas.
"This burro would lay down, roll over and he'd tell you how old he was. He'd count with his front foot - but he was always nine!" Danielson said.
After the guests would ride the horses, he noticed a couple of them were sore-footed. Being a farm boy, he picked up some horseshoes on a trip to Douglas and brought them back to shoe the horses.
"I went to the stalls to put them on. While working with the hoof in one hand and shoe in the other, I realized there was someone standing there watching me. I turned and it was the captain. I didn't know what to do. Finally, I dropped everything and saluted him. 'Aren't you Danielson?' the Captain asked. And I said 'yes.' 'What the hell are you doing down here?' he asked me."
"When I replied that the horses needed some shoes, he said, 'Well that beats all. I never realized we had a cook in the Army who'd shoe a horse.'"
"He could be pretty tough, and I was scared. But he was a nice guy," Danielson said.
"After (El Coronado) I shipped overseas to the south Pacific," he said, to Hickam Air Field (next to Pearl Harbor) and Bellows Field in Hawaii in 1944.
"I stayed with the same officers again - I guess they were the bosses and they kept me. I made points with the fighter pilots. They'd come in at 3 a.m. after flying and they knew where my barracks was, and I'd get up and fix 'em something to eat."
"You'd get acquainted with a lot of these guys. I went for a ride in a fighter plane - a P39 and P38 while in the South Pacific - that was enough for me!" he said, adding that pilot "Billy Gaskill (of Willcox) was one of my old buddies. We were in the same outfit, 545th Squadron of the Army Air Force."
From Hawaii, "we were fixin' to go further. They had us going to some South Pacific islands, but they were not named on the orders. I know they were Guam and Okinawa. Then, boom! It was over, and I didn't get to go," Danielson said, somewhat disappointed. He separated from the Army Air Force as a sergeant on Dec. 18, 1945.
He came home to Arizona and his wife, ran the "Danny Dairy" farm in San Simon for five or six years, delivering milk to the schools and other local spots.
He later worked for the San Simon Port of Entry, then was a Cochise County Sheriff's Deputy in Willcox until another sheriff was elected. He went back to the San Simon Port of Entry until his retirement. Son Dan, (WHS 1975 graduate) lives in Nashville, Tenn., and works with the state agriculture department; and daughter Gladys Olsen owns Salsa Fiesta Restaurant in Willcox.
"I don't know why I got involved with being a cook, but it was fun!" he said, smiling.
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