Vernon "Tom" L Caine
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
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CAINE Thomas Lee "Tom"
Military Service of Sergeant Vernon Lee “Tom” Caine
Vernon Lee “Tom” Caine turned 18 on January 17, 1942, one month after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II. He graduated from Duluth Central High School in June 1942. For Central’s “Senior Dress Up Day,” just prior to graduation, he wore his father’s, Thomas Caine’s, World War I uniform. He was issued his own army uniform just months later (photo 1).
Days after graduating Tom registered for the draft (photo 2). On October 30, 1942, he enlisted in the WWII Army Air Corps at Fort Snelling - just twelve days before congress approved lowering the draft age to 18 years old.
In early November he was sent to basic training at the AAFBFS in Coffeyville, Kansas. The base had just recently opened and was not completed until January of 1943. There was no running water or water fit to drink. The sewage system wasn’t complete. They had to haul water from Coffeyville. It rained from October until January and was reported to be a sea of mud. (In the first edition of the base news, “Post Newspaper” Vol. 1, No.1, November 7, 1942, troops were arriving regularly, buildings were being opened, and they started a contest to name the paper - $5 to the winner). After 12 weeks of boot camp, he was Private Caine (photo 3).
Private Caine was assigned to the Air Corps Technical School at Lowry Field in Denver, CO (photo 4) immediately after basic training. He had 12 weeks of photography training. According to his notes, his subjects included Chemistry, Aerial Mathematics, Line Map Drawing, the Army’s Photographic Numbering and Filing System, Photographic Developers and Trimetrogon Printing (photo 5). He graduated in March - Class “29” (photo 6 - front row, third from the left).
Following his training, Private First Class Caine was assigned to the Army Air Base at Moses Lake, Washington, a temporary training facility for Army Air Corps fighter pilots. The Moses Lake base trained pilots and crews for the P-38 Lightning fighter and the B-17 Flying Fortress and was chosen for its ideal flying weather. PFC Caine was assigned as a Photo Lab Technician (photo 7) and later worked as an Aerial Photographer (photo 8) documenting training missions. Shortly after arriving at MLAAB, he was promoted to Corporal and then he was promoted to Sergeant several months later. He was assigned to Moses Lake AAB for approximately 7 months.
On leave back in Duluth in October of 1943, Tom was engaged to his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Jean Morrison. On November 15 he received special transfer orders to report no later than 30 Nov 1943 to Camp Kearns, Utah to the B-57 Prov Unit. Once flight crews were trained, it was time for action.
Camp Kearns, also known as Kearns Army Air Base, was a World War II training facility that served as a basic training center for Air Corps personnel. At its peak, the base had a population of 40,000 soldiers and 1,200 civilian employees. Sgt. Caine was trained to be a dispatcher that would assist in provisioning planes flying overseas missions.
On completing his training at KAAB, he was stationed overseas in Iceland. His arrival date is not known, but he sent home a post newspaper, “The White Falcon” dated March 11, 1944. His official duties and actions in Iceland are not recorded. The D Day Invasion took place on June 6th, 1944.
Sgt. Caine remained in Iceland for about one year. Under special orders he was transferred to Kelly Field, Texas on February 12, 1945 – specifically to the 4051st AAF Base Unit (Replacement Depot) in Normoyle, Texas. Kelly Field, also known as Port San Antonio, played a significant role in World War II as a major aircraft maintenance and supply facility. In 1945, the military annexed the Normoyle Ordnance Depot to store supplies and process discharged soldiers.
Germany surrendered on May 7th, 1945. Sgt. Caine was married to Dorothy in December 1945 in Duluth. He was officially discharged from the U.S. Army at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin in 1946, he was 23 years old (photo 9).
Sgt. Caine’s decorations included (photo 10): the Army Presidential Unit Citation with Oak Leaf, the World War II Victory Medal Ribbon, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal Ribbon, and the European – African – Middle Eastern Campaign Medal Ribbon.
Following the war, Tom raised a family of five children with Dorothy in Duluth, Minnesota. Tom died on September 8, 1985, at the age of 61 and is interred at Sunrise Memorial Cemetery in Duluth (photo 11).
