Sheplives


Last Record Update: 02-10-2016
Army Shep's Army Career

Army

Shepherd, J.P. (Serial Number - 16 098 946)

(July 20, 1942 to December 16, 1944)

Aside from 'kid' stories, Shep used to tell a lot of stories about being in the Army. He would often kid about being in the mess kit repair battalion, but he was really in the signal corps which was the basis for most of the stories. He was in the service from July 20, 1942 to December 16, 1944 achieving the grade of T-5. In the 'official' Army photo he is seen wearing the Signal Corps brass lapel pin, a Marksman medal (Rifle?), the Army Service Forces arm patch and what appears to be a Good Conduct Ribbon. Very little is known about his actual service, however, between his stories as told on the radio and in print, and what records are available it appears that he never went overseas spending a large amount of time in Florida at Camp Murphy after completing Signal Corps training at Camp Crowder. He tells a story about Roswell T. Edwards at his Limelight show of April 14, 1965. During the show a man in the audience stands up and it is Edwards who was now living in Manhattan. Edwards was stationed at Camp Murphy according to an April 27, 1943 article announcing his enrollment in a special course at the signal corps school at Camp Murphy. There appears to be a link to his being at Drew Field in Tampa, Florida for some period. Drew Field was used to activate many of the Signal Air Warning radar units such as the one Shep served in and was just Northwest of Camp Murphy. As pointed out in "Shep's Army" by Eugene Bergmann, in the chapter "Swamp Radar," Shep says (as transcribed from the June 20, 1964 Limelight Show), "We were assigned to the 3162nd Signal Air Warning Radar Unit, which at one point was posted deep into the heart of the Florida Everglades, and we were putting together our little unit for the trip down there." So it appears that he may have been stationed at Drew Field and went 'down there' to Camp Murphy to the South at some point. Further evidence has been uncovered by Steve Glazer in the form of a hospital admission record for Shep's service number (16098946) indicating he was admitted to the hospital at Drew Field in April 1944. It lists "First Diagnosis (code 7429) Diarrhea, cause not specified." At Camp Murphy he worked with a radar unit, probably the 801st Signal Training Regiment. In several of his Army related Playboy short stories he claims to have worked with the SCR268 Radar unit. When Camp Murphy was deactivated, in early to mid 1944 he still had time left and quite possibly was transferred to Ft Monmouth, another source of many stories. During that period he even discusses going to Ft Dix for assignment. (Laying Wire - June 27, 1964 Limelight show) On his January 31, 1978 Episode of Shepherd's Pie ("The Reunion") he tours Fort Monmouth and sits on the steps of barracks 704 which he claims to have been his barracks when he was there, and reminices. According to his 'Service Record' and 'Final Payment Roll', (see below), he was discharged through Camp Atterbury, Indiana on December 16, 1944. In later years, Shep made claims that he was in the Korean War. (Shepherd's Pie - January 31, 1978 - "The Reunion" and Weird NJ magazine Issue #3.) These claims were not true and were the product of Shep's tendency to 'bend the facts.' On October 19, 1949 Shep was approved for a monthly disability payment of $13.80 for a knee injury. What caused the injury and how long the payments were made is not known.

People Shep spoke of: Army

	Name
•	Troop Train Ernie
•	Cletus
•	Parsons
•	Lt. Col. Abercrombie
•	Abernathie
•	Birnbaum
•	Ira Bodkins
•	Lt. Cherry
•	Homer Croft
•	Dye
•	Roswell T Edwards
•	Elkins
•	Gasser
•	Goldberg
•	Goldwater
•	Goldworm
•	Sgt. Kowalski
•	Chris Metropolis
•	Nash
•	Captain Robinson
•	Private Sanderson
•	Szymanski
•	Watkins
•	Wilson
•	Zinsmeister

Related Plots / Story Lines and Other References Used

Time	Category	Date	Title	Comments
	Army		Lister Bags
	Television		The Reunion
	Army		Camp Atterbury
	Army		Camp Crowder
	Army		Camp Murphy
	Army		Company K
	Army		Lister Bags
	Army		Radar
	Army		Signal Corps
	Army		3162nd Mess Kit Repair Battalion - Handle Platoon

Where Shep Makes References To This Subject:

Time	Date	Category	Title
•	November 11, 1971	Article	"Shepherd's America" Recycled
• 01:43:18	December 27, 1959	Radio	Last Sunday Show of the Year
•	September 4, 1961	Radio	It's All Part of Life - Square Eggs - Army Bangalor Story
•	February 5, 1962	Radio	Camp Crowder Record
•	April 11, 1963	Radio	Army Room Mate
•	July 3, 1964	Radio	4th of July in the Army
•	August 1963	Radio	Army Induction
•	May 3, 1963	Radio	Italian POWs
•	December 19, 1963	Radio	Sportsman For All Occasions
•	1963	Radio	Long John Nebel Show
•	June 20, 1964	Radio	Summer Solstice - Rader in the Florida Swamps, Red Garter Dixieland Band / Summer Job, Toledo Mudhens Play-by-Play
•	June 27, 1964	Radio	Laying Wire; Red Garter Dixieland Band / Personal Radio Hell - Hillbilly Hit Parade
•	June 12, 1964	Radio	Aggressive Nature of Man
•	July 11, 1964	Radio	Covering Political Conventions; Red Garter Dixieland Band / More on Elections, Rain God, Smoky Joe
•	July 25, 1964	Radio	Church Remote, Female Cretins on a Bus / Shep's birthday, Army - Climbing Poles, Air Show
•	August 29, 1964	Radio	First Day in High School / Theme for Signal Corps; Girls Swimming Class
•	September 5, 1964	Radio	Labor Day Weekend - Army Story: Shermie the Wormie / More Army Stories
•	November 7, 1964	Radio	British Trip - On Tour With The Beatles / More On Tour With The Beatles, Army Ping-Pong
•	November 17, 1964	Radio	Driving Captain Cherry on a Date
• 24:48	December 30, 1964	Radio	New Year's Eve at The Burly Cue
• 18:29	May 27, 1964	Radio	Shep's First Martini, Avoiding Responsibility
• 02:24	January 28, 1965	Radio	Company K: Captain Cherry Bugs Out
• 14:29	February 12, 1965	Radio	Rude Noises in Company K; Latrine Orderly
•	March 2, 1965	Radio	Worst Job in the Steel Mill
•	March 19, 1965	Radio	Embalmers, Getting Out Of Army, Electric Blue Suit
•	March 24, 1965	Radio	Great Generator Hunt
•	April 3, 1965	Radio	Used Cars, Driving Own Car to the Prom / The Great Generator Hunt
•	April 8, 1965	Radio	Love at the USO
• 10:27	April 13, 1965	Radio	Code School (and meeting Fred Allen)
• 24:39	April 14, 1965	Radio	The Return of Roswell T. Edwards
•	April 24, 1965	Radio	The Star and Garter. Pursuit of Sin / Cave Diggers, Drive in Date, Company K Eggs
•	June 5, 1965	Radio	Graduation, Junior Class President, Date with Jeanette Dombrowki, Army Payday
•	June 26, 1965	Radio	Graduation Day
•	July 3, 1965	Radio	The Dago Bomb
•	July 10, 1965	Radio	Be careful of the live wires! / VD Film, Trooptrain Ernie, Army Glasses
•	July 15, 1965	Radio	Moving Pianos
•	July 15, 1965	Radio	Moving Pianos
•	July 17, 1965	Radio	Baseball Stories, Great Ice Cream Riot / Moments of Fear, Weekend Pass Fistfight
•	August 7, 1965	Radio	Fantasy vs Reality, Shirt Commercial / Army Casual Company
•	August 9, 1965	Radio	Civil Rights Movement as Show Biz
•	August 11, 1965	Radio	Reading Listeners' Letters
•	August 28, 1965	Radio	Building first radio with the Old Man / The Lure of Defeat, The Mets, Enlisting
•	September 13, 1965	Radio	Lost Three Day Pass
•	September 25, 1965	Radio	Shep Buys a New Car / Cheer for Ted Mallie; Cave of Snakes; Og & Charlie; Army Grease Trap
•	October 23, 1965	Radio	Bolting Burgers; Nudity in Frisco; Army Life - Playing Footsie in the Library
•	November 6, 1965	Radio	Surprise! Another Army Story
•	November 30, 1965	Radio	Company K: Pole Climbing
•	December 13, 1965	Radio	Christmas is Coming
•	April 1964	Radio	Tatoos
•	February 19, 1966	Radio	2nd Anniversary at the Limelight - Washington's Birthday, Army Sports; Visit to Grandma
•	April 2, 1966	Radio	Steel Mill; Model A Mill Car;Army Induction Physical
•	April 30, 1966	Radio	Sex Education; Top Secret Radar; $20 in Library Book
•	May 5, 1966	Radio	Go See the Chaplain / Emde's Folly
•	June 2, 1966	Radio	Great Plains of Kansas
•	June 4, 1966	Radio	Broken window / Company K: Firing Range
•	June 17, 1966	Radio	USO Show - The Darling of Company K
•	June 28, 1966	Radio	23 Skiddoo - Computer Charisma, Primaries Reporting
•	June 1966	Radio	Army Stories - "Digging A Ditch" and "In The Negev" A Limelight show rebroadcast in Boston, according to the audience station break chant.
•	July 11, 1966	Radio	Archy Declares War, Army Cockroaches
•	July 23, 1966	Radio	Forced March Through the Ozarks with Gasser & Goldberg
•	August 6, 1966	Radio	Polish Wedding, VD Movie
•	August 30, 1966	Radio	The Inchoate Cry; Signal Corps Training - Tying Knots
•	September 8, 1966	Radio	Army - Company "K" and Separation Blues
•	September 10, 1966	Radio	Butter vs. margarine; Noises in Basement
•	September 28, 1966	Radio	Almost in the Slam - Three Day Pass
•	August 26, 1967	Radio	Minor League Baseball, Amusement Park Rides, Leave at the Boardwalk.
•	October 7, 1967	Radio	Concrete Mexicans / Shep, the Colonel, and Sweetheart Pillows
•	October 21, 1967	Radio	Marching Bands and Dead Chickens
•	November 4, 1967	Radio	Jobs / 2nd Lieutenant Shepherd
•	November 11, 1967	Radio	Hobbies, Radar, Beer and Tonsils
•	November 18, 1967	Radio	Army Movies / Chow in the Mess Hall
•	November 25, 1967	Radio	Boredom in the Army / USO Pass / Thanksgiving
•	December 9, 1967	Radio	Sunrise Semester / The New York Woman / Gas Masks
• 06:34	November 23, 1972	Radio	Thanksgiving in the Army
•	November 22, 1968	Radio	Shooting Craps in Company K
•	August 11, 1969	Radio	Toilet Tax, Army Story
•	August 12, 1969	Radio	Snakes, Army Snake Story
•	October 2, 1970	Radio	Army Induction Physical
• 39:45	October 10, 1970	Radio	Story of Company K and Spanish Fly
•	December 5, 1970	Radio	Army Pranks / War Over / Falling Off Stage
•	December 24, 1970	Radio	Army Guard Duty on Xmas Day
•	December 30, 1970	Radio	Army Guard Duty During New Years Eve
•	January 6, 1971	Radio	General Inspects Company K
•	January 13, 1971	Radio	Private Sanderson (Army Yardbirds)
•	January 18, 1971	Radio	New Action Army/Fishing in Italian Village
•	January 21, 1971	Radio	Practical Jokes, Army Signal Corps Oscillator Buzzbomb
• 20:48	January 29, 1971	Radio	Gasser & Shep Almost Tattood Long Branch, NJ
•	January 30, 1971	Radio	Army Story of Making PFC
• 22:07	April 10, 1971	Radio	Army Glasses
•	October 25,1971	Radio	Army Rifle Range
•	August 26, 1971	Radio	Trivia, God's Top 40, Payday
•	March 31, 1972	Radio	Co. K Change Of Command
•	April 12, 1972	Radio	Trivia, Chaplain in Army - Unusual Caskets, Seeing The Chaplain For A Pass
• 34:00	May 11, 1972	Radio	Cockroaches
•	June 23, 1972	Radio	Witchcraft
•	November 2, 1972	Radio	Army Chickens - Marijuana Soup, Chicken Plucking, Motor Pool
•	March 12, 1973	Radio	First And Last Performance Of The Signal Corps Song
•	July 18, 1973	Radio	Army Revenge
•	August 13, 1973	Radio	Real Life, Aunt Teresa, Witty Sayings, Shep The Druid
• 22:12	December 24, 1973	Radio	Christmas Service Poem, The 3 Day Pass
• 26:35	January 9, 1974	Radio	Real Mysteries, Awakening Sleeping Animals
• 37:36	February 4, 1974	Radio	Unexpected Undersudies - Zoo Opera, Lt Fixes Radar Unit
•	November 18, 1974	Radio	The Poetic GI
• 31:07	November 27, 1974	Radio	Thanksgiving in the Army
• 03:29	December 6, 1974	Radio	The Perfect Christmas Gift - Salami
• 09:12	January 24, 1975	Radio	Signal Corps - Special Order
• 37:48	February 3, 1975	Radio	First Timers, Army 2nd Lt, Dolt fixes radar set
•	June 30, 1975	Radio	Bad Nights (aka Tentacle)
•	July 22, 1975	Radio	Practical Jokes
•	December 24, 1975	Radio	Christmas in the Army, Pole Line Construction
•	January 23, 1976	Radio	Army Story, Someone Swipes His Wheaties, Post Cerial Plant Tour
•	March 7, 1969	Radio	AWOL / Locked in a Department Store
•	June 5, 1962	Radio	Raincoats, Helmet Liners & G.I. Shoes
•	June 20, 1962	Radio	Selling Yourself
•	August 21, 1962	Radio	Animals in Pants, Army for keeps
•	August 28, 1962	Radio	Work Abstraction
•	September 3, 1962	Radio	Signal Corps Song
•	September 13, 1962	Radio	BBQ Lawsuit
•	October 3, 1962	Radio	Army Pass in NY
•	October 19, 1962	Radio	Pushed to the Brink
•	November 12, 1962	Radio	Army KP
• 22:08	November 13, 1962	Radio	Army, Area Two
•	November 15, 1962	Radio	Creative Military Ads
•	November 16, 1962	Radio	Great Expectations
•	November 20, 1962	Radio	Christmas in the Army
•	November 23, 1962	Radio	Army Laurel and Hardy Moments
•	December 7, 1962	Radio	Never Admit To Anything
•	February 14, 1963	Radio	Troop Train Ernie
•	February 27, 1963	Radio	Army Shoes, Uncle Alby
• 11:28	March 1, 1963	Radio	Homer Croft - Bugler
•	March 25, 1963	Radio	Army Specialized Training Program
•	April 2, 1963	Radio	Troop Train, Jug Band
•	April 12, 1963	Radio	Army Induction
• 10:21	April 23, 1963	Radio	Date After Army
•	May 10, 1963	Radio	Army Secret Weapon
• 12:24	July 17, 1963	Radio	Day with Tallulah Bankhead
• 08:23	August 12, 1963	Radio	Blue Assed Buzzard Story
•	September 24, 1963	Radio	Army Taps, ASTP
•	October 17, 1963	Radio	Army Air Corp Flight - more Blue-assed Buzzard
•	January 30, 1964	Radio	Army Late Replacements
•	January 14, 1965	Radio	Army Life
•	1960or 1961	Radio	Dating Girl from Morristown
•	December 12, 1961	Radio	Evil of Boredom, Army Coke Bottle Game
•	1976	Radio	Army - War Games, Maneuvers, Company K
• 12:00	June 24, 1967	Radio	Army-Battalion Detail - How to Run KP Duty
• 02:12	March 17, 1975	Radio	The Perfect Christmas Gift - Salami
•	April 14, 1977	Radio	Gun Training
•	January 20, 1966	Radio	Salute to Millard Filmore, Army, Shep the Dentist
• 19:48	February 20, 1970	Radio	Gasser & Shep Almost Tattood Long Branch, NJ
•	March 15, 1968	Radio	Company K - Galloping Dominos
• 03:35 +	January 24, 1969	Radio	Signal Corps Pillow
•	January 25, 1969	Radio	Army Myths Vs real Life - Boozing
• 25:41	February 26, 1974	Radio	Army Bread Man
• 15:43	June 19, 1964	Radio	Guaranteed Forever
• 02:28	June 18, 1971	Radio	Pass to Asbury Park
•	April 24, 1971	Television	Trains
•	June 13, 1971	Television	Florida

Links to Further Information:

• Camp Murphy - Wikipedia

• Drew Field - Wikipedia

Photos:

Shep's Army Record

Courtesy: Ed Murphy

1943
Roswell T Edwards - army article

Courtesy: Steve Glazer

July 20, 1942
Additional Army Service Information

Courtesy: Steve Glazer

1943
Shep in the Army

Courtesy: Dorothey Anderson

April 1944
Hospital Admission Card - Drew Field

Courtesy: Steve Glazer

December 16, 1944
Shep's Army Discharge

Courtesy: Randall Shepherd

December 16, 1944
Army Final Payment Roll

Courtesy: Steve Glazer

September 1945
Popular Mechanics - Laying wire from a plane in the Army

Courtesy: John Edwards

Army Marksman medal

Army Service Forces patch

Army Signal Branch Insignia

Technician Fifth Grade

"Can you imagine 4,000 years passing, and you're not even a memory?
Think about it, friends. It's not just a possibility. It is a certainty." - Jean Shepherd - 1975