story by NATHAN STEELE
“ Do something every day . I don ’ t care what it is , but do something .”
This is the advice given to Albert St . Germain by his father . It ’ s advice he has lived by for nearly 95 years and passed on to his own children too . St . Germain has certainly led a busy life — from serving with the 11th Airborne Division in WWII to raising Appaloosa horses in Nevada and from working for himself in construction to making wooden toys for children in need .
St . Germain was raised in northeast Montana in a small town called Wolf Point . From there , his military service started to take him across the country and around the world . “ Army life is not that exciting ,” said St . Germain . His stories of the time he spent serving suggest otherwise , however .
From 1946-50 , he served in the Army ’ s 11th Airborne Division as a gunner . After completing his basic training in Fort Knox , Tenn ., he was shipped off to the Philippines for a few days , and then off to Japan , where he was with one of the very first troops to occupy Japan following the drop of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima . He was in Japan for two years , 11 months and 18 days — not that he was counting .
“ It was something I wouldn ’ t want to do again ,” said St . Germain .
He described the devastation , comparing it to the recent fires in Hawaii — totally eliminating the landscape . “ Hiroshima was just flat ,” he said . In those four years , he also made a total of 52 jumps . Once a month , he said , they would do a paid jump and earn $ 50 . Most of the jumps , though , were to show visiting generals or senators . On one of those occasions , he recalls a startling incident .
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