Tobin started early, stayed late

By NATHAN LAMB | Milton Independent Staff Writer
miltonreporter@yahoo.com

William Tobin never made it to Korea, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.

Having signed-on with the Army National Guard in 1946 while still a sophomore at Winooski High School, Tobin was all for a trip overseas when the Korean War broke out in 1950. Circumstances back in 1951 got in the way, though.

“They asked if I wanted to go on the slow boat to China and I said ‘yes,” said Tobin.

“They said sorry, we can’t send you; we found out your brother…is already over there,” he said.

The fact Tobin was married was another strike against him. While he was disappointed with the news, his wife of 56 years, Katherine, had a slightly different perspective.

“I didn’t (want him to go), but I knew he wanted to, so I supported him,” she said.

It turned out that things worked out well in the end: Tobin’s brother made it home safe, he and Katherine are still together, and Tobin’s career with the military ended up spanning almost four decades.

A native of Jericho who moved to Winooski at a young age, Tobin said he always wanted to be in the military. He made good on that ambition at age 17, which was earlier than the rules allowed, but Tobin said there weren’t any fibs on his part involved with that.

“I didn’t lie about my age, I just showed up and that was that,” he said.

The issue never came up until mobilization, where the Guards were more particular about not shipping out anyone underage.

William Tobin wanted to go overseas during the Korean War, but circumstances intervened and he was briefly deployed to camp A.P. Hill in Virginia instead (photo above). (Photo right) Tobin in 1951 while on active duty with the U. S. Army's 43rd Division.

“When activated, they asked if I knew I was underage when signed up,” he said. I said ‘no’ and they said that since there were no records against me, that they would forget about it.”

While most of his comrades in the 43rd Infantry Divison were shipped overseas, Tobin was sent for a headquarters job in Fort Pickett, Virginia for three months before getting discharged.

He didn’t stay away long, though. He got a call six months later from Camp Johnson asking if he were interested in being a small arms specialist. As a gun enthusiast (both hunting and marksman), Johnson took the job, and rose all the way to armaments foreman (basically “the boss”), before retiring in 1990.

The couple settled in Milton back in 1980 and, though Tobin’s job had long hours—sometimes seven days a week—it also offered the opportunity to travel around the state and participate in training exercises on the weekends.

Asked about his favorite part of the job, Tobin shrugged and indicated that being part of something larger than himself was the best part of having a career in the military,

“I guess it’s all the teamwork,” he said.