Charles S. Laubly

U.S. Army
Pacific Theater

“My fear was that the war was never going to end.”

Charles Laubly, Sr. served in the Malaria and Clinical Laboratory with the U.S. Army. He helped locate mosquitoes’ breeding grounds in order to stem the spread of malaria in New Guinea and the Philippines. During World War II, there were 60,000 malaria-related American deaths in Asia and Africa.

“Every Bit a Soldier” Charles Laubly, Sr. as a young soldier.

I was 25 years old when the war started. I knew that I was going to be drafted so I volunteered myself instead. For the first days in service I was in a reception center in Atlanta, Georgia. I went from there to Camp Lee Virginia. From Camp Lee, I went to Maxwell Field in Alabama, I then went to Panama City Florida, and from there to New Orleans—then from New Orleans to New Guinea. I moved around so much because that’s the way I was assigned. I wanted to get as much training as possible because I wanted to go into the public health field. I was trying to get as much out of the service as I could. During my time in New Guinea and the Philippines I looked for possible places where mosquitoes would be bred so we could control them if possible. I did not fight in the war.

Laubly, the scientist, at work. Charles Laubly served in the Malaria and Clinical Laboratory with the U.S. Army.

Malaria is a disease caused by a mosquito. When a mosquito with the parasite bites you, the parasite is the transferred into the blood so you are the one that is carrying the parasite. When I was in New Guinea we went to see a bunch of Japanese in a prison camp. We drew blood from them and then studied it under microscopes to see if the parasite was there. There must have been at least 100 people there and we checked every one of them. When people got malaria, they weren’t sent home, they would stay because we had medications for them. We had to take malaria medication every day to prevent us from getting it. We all turned a sort of yellow-green color because of the medication.

Laubly, the scientist, at work. Charles Laubly served in the Malaria and Clinical Laboratory with the U.S. Army.

The worst part of my job was not being able to go where I wanted to go. We of course made the most of our time when we could get out. We liked looking for various parts of the world that we would never see if we hadn’t been there.

During the war I never kept a diary but regret not doing so. I think that if I had kept a diary it would have just been the day-to-day relationships that you had with your fellow service men. A few years ago I wrote a sort of history of my time in the service. I sent it to the people that I was in the service with—11 enlisted men and two officers. With the book, I sent a letter telling them where I was and that it would be nice to see them again. I think that I saw all but one. I wanted my children to know what I did in this period of my life. I sent a copy of this to all of the men who were in the service with me.

If there was one thing that I could tell teenagers about the war it would be that it took five years out of my life. If you go in that’s what it’s going to do, it’s going to take that much time out of your life—if you are a whole person and come back. If you are wounded, that’s another thing to consider. My oldest son went into the service. He spent ten years in there. At that time it was the thing to do, the jobs weren’t very available, so a lot of people went in. When I was going into the service, there was a group of young men in the school who wanted to form their own squadron, which could never really be because once you get in there, you go where they tell you to go. One of the leading aces from WWII was a classmate of mine; he shot down over thirty Japanese and he didn’t live to wear his Congressional Medal of Honor. Maguire Air Force base in New Jersey is named after him. If teenagers wanted to go in the war, I would say go in and make the most of it, a lot of it you are going to have to make yourself.

Laubly was fascinated by the Philippine culture and was thrilled when he was able to observe and photograph an authentic ritual.

After the war I had three choices, really. One was the insurance company. One was go back in the service, and I knew a man on the selection board who wanted me to come back. The other one was when the Navy research team wanted me to go with them to Africa. I felt that I had been away from home long enough and didn’t want to go back in the service.

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Dear Rachel,

I would like to thank you, your staff and students for inviting my father to participate in the Voices World War 2 writing project. It meant a lot for my father to be able to share his World War 2 experiences with others.

Unfortunately, my father Charles S. Laubly,Sr. lost his battle with Parkinson’s Disease and passed away on April 8, 2006.

Thank You again.

Sincerely,

Laura Laubly Coleman