1
12
1
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/64f7d5fcda5679a8b82c019be876e641.mp4
025c954aff07cfac348c0e34c5841fef
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c2f5ea5430cf9a2b1f191bbde79aa144.pdf
fc547e43c29d4d26923eb21eb37632e2
PDF Text
Text
Grand Valley State University
Veterans’ History Project
Edgar Lamm
World War II
50 minutes
(00:00:22) Early Life
-Born in Chicago, Illinois on October 14, 1925
-Specifically on the South Side in Beverly neighborhood
-His father was from Chicago
-His mother was from Fulton, Illinois
-She went to a business college in Dixon, Illinois
-Wanted to move to a big city, so she moved to Chicago and worked in a bank
-Met Edgar’s father in Chicago
-His father was a coffee salesman
-He was his mother and father’s first child
-He had a step brother from his mother’s previous marriage
-Didn’t learn about that until he was twenty two though
-He had a biological sister
-He attended Morgan Park High School in Chicago
-Almost graduated, but that was interrupted by getting drafted
(00:03:27) Getting Drafted
-He was drafted in 1944 four months before he graduated
-He was excited to go into the service
-His high school diploma was eventually mailed to him
-Drafted in February 1944
(00:05:00) Basic Training and Military Police Training
-First stop was at Fort Sheridan, Illinois for a couple weeks for processing
-From Fort Sheridan he took a train to Fort Custer near Battle Creek, Michigan for basic training
-Received basic training and Military Police training while at Fort Custer
-Lasted sixteen weeks
-Days started at 5AM with getting dressed and having breakfast
-Went on hikes around August and Galesburg, Michigan
-Had no trouble adjusting to the physical demands of the Army due to being eighteen
-Remembers that some of the older men had more trouble and would pass out
-Had no trouble adjusting psychologically to the Army
-There was a train that ran from Fort Custer to Chicago every Saturday morning
-Meant that he was able to visit his parents almost every weekend while at Fort Custer
-Men that couldn’t adjust to the Army were discharged
-He was assigned to the Military Police
-Did not take a test, or request it, the position was just randomly assigned to him
-There was nothing too unusual about Military Police training
-Sent to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for further training
(00:10:17) Transfer to the Infantry
-When he got overseas he requested a transfer out of the Military Police
�-He served with the Military Police in England and didn’t enjoy the duty
-Remembers having to arrest soldiers that didn’t salute officers
-Didn’t feel like he was doing anything of great importance
-His request to be transferred was accepted and he was transferred to the infantry
(00:11:13) Deployment and Arrival in England
-From Fort Jackson he was sent up to Camp Shanks, New York
-Boarded a troopship, the SS Ile de France
-It took nine days to sail from New York to Greenock, Scotland
-In Greenock they boarded a train and were taken to Hereford, England
-By the time he got to England D-Day had already happened
(00:12:34) Arrival in France
-Sailed from Portsmouth, England to Le Havre, France at the end of January 1945
-When he got to France he had already been transferred to the infantry
(00:13:16) Stationed in England
-They lived in Quonset huts in Hereford
-He was still in the Military Police while he was in Hereford
-Carrying out patrols and arresting anyone who violated military protocol
-They were considered to be a reserve unit
-Just waiting to be assigned a destination in Europe
-They were allowed to go to pubs at night and have a few beers
-Just had to be back by midnight
-There were a couple times that he was out late and had to sneak back to camp
-Hereford was a small town and a nice town, but there wasn’t much to do
-Had gotten to Scotland on November 9, 1944
-So he was stationed in England for the fall and winter of 1944
(00:15:55) Advancing into Germany
-From Le Havre, France the moved into Germany
-As they advanced into Germany they had some small skirmishes
-Remembers one particular skirmish in Saarlautern (now Saarlouis), Germany
-He was camped out in the basement of a destroyed home
-Would stand guard in the bombed out living room for three hours at a time
-It was usually quiet, but one night Germans began to bombard their position
-Got down on his knees and prayed
-Bombardment lasted roughly four or five hours
-The day after the attack about a dozen German soldiers came and surrendered
-Remembers that the town was completely destroyed
-German soldiers would hide in the sewers and take shots at GIs trying to get water
-Also remembers that the Germans would booby trap their dead
-The Germans that surrendered in Saarlautern were just a distraction
-Allowed for the larger group of Germans to escape
-Skirmish in Saarlautern was most likely sometime in March 1945
-Travelled from France to Germany in trucks and in “40 and 8” box cars
-40 and 8 box car: capable of carrying forty men or eight horses
-Had made it to Linz, Austria by time the war ended on May 8, 1945
-As the Allies advanced across Europe they mopped up any remaining German forces
-Remembers an encounter in Germany while walking along a road
�-Heard some shots and everyone found cover
-One man was hit and the medic that went to help was shot too
-The captain called up a tank to root out the German forces in the woods
-The German soldiers surrendered and came out, but were not wearing uniforms
-They were all executed site on scene for killing the medic in cold blood
-He was part of E Company 2nd Battalion 260th Infantry Regiment 65th Infantry Division
(00:25:47) End of the War in Europe
-The war ended on May 8, 1945 when they were in Linz, Austria
-Remembers when the surrender of Germany was announced
-Remembers General Patton and a Soviet general coming to inspect them
-Remembers Patton having a high pitched voice
-Had respect for Patton because he was a man that took action
-Didn’t learn about character flaws until later
(00:28:50) Post-War Duties
-Stayed in Austria after the war ended and moved into the countryside
-A lot of civilians had been displaced and were trying to make their way back home
-Soviets were on one side of the railroad tracks and the Americans were on the other side
-Americans slept in barns so as not to kick any civilians out of their homes
-The Soviets would take over houses even if they were still occupied
-He did befriend some Soviet soldiers and got along well with them
-The civilians would follow the Americans as territories changed hands after the war
-Didn’t want to get stuck in an area that was controlled by the Soviets
-Fear of reprisals from the Soviet soldiers
-Remembers a lot of people were just trying to find a stable place to live
(00:31:17) Living Conditions
-Slept in sleeping bags on the ground or in abandoned houses if they were available
-Lived off of rations
-When they got more rations they were also given fresh underwear and fresh socks
-He always made sure to keep an extra pair of socks in his pants pocket
-The rations weren’t bad, especially when you were hungry
(00:33:38) Morale, Downtime, and Discipline Problems
-Morale was pretty good in his unit
-One man had a nervous breakdown, but everyone else calmly accepted the situation
-Doesn’t remember his unit taking any other casualties besides the soldier and the medic
-He would write letters home to his parents when he got a chance
-Letters were censored
-Received mail every two or three weeks
-Pretty much everyone smoked cigarettes during the war
-Something to do to unwind
-Men could go into abandoned shops and get bottles of alcohol
-Never became a problem in his unit though
(00:36:45) Interactions with Civilians
-Remembers befriending an Austrian farmer
-Traded American white bread for Austrian brown bread
-Enjoyed the brown bread more because it was more filling
-The farmer enjoyed the white bread because it was a luxury
�-The civilians that he encountered were friendly towards American soldiers
-Majority of civilians that he encountered were farmers
(00:38:56) Coming Home
-When they got back to Le Havre Bob Hope was performing nearby
-He wasn’t able to go see him though due to a lack of transportation
-They occasionally got to see movies when he was back in Le Havre
-Had to wait in Le Havre for six months before a ship came to take them home
-While in Le Havre he would drive a truck to the docks to collect mail
-Did it just to keep himself occupied since there was nothing to do
-He was able to take a few trips to Paris
-Got to take an Army organized trip to Switzerland
-Got to go skiing
-Treated to chocolate and ice cream
-Trip lasted two weeks
-Came home aboard the SS Ernie Pyle
-Arrived in the United States and was taken to Fort Dix, New Jersey for a few days
-Allowed to eat whatever he wanted
-Sent to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin and was discharged from there in June 1946
-Took a train back to Chicago and then took a streetcar to his home
-It was a quiet homecoming, but he was just glad to be back home
(00:43:18) Reflections on Service Pt. 1
-Feels that it was a wonderful experience
-Gave him a chance to see the world and take part in the Second World War
-Believes that he has a positive outlook on it because he wasn’t wounded
-Proud to have been able to serve his country
-Afforded him the opportunity to go to college on the GI Bill
-Appreciates the fact that he got to serve
-Probably had some depression after the war
-Wasn’t severe and his parents were able to help him through it
(00:45:07) Life after the War
-He went to college for four years at Eureka College in Illinois
-Graduated from there in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology
-Wound up getting into sales
-Worked for United Airlines after graduating from college
-Worked all over the country:
-Rockford, Illinois
-Walla Walla, Washington
-Pendleton, Oregon
-Toledo, Ohio
-Worked for them for a year
-Loaded airplanes and collected tickets from passengers
-Quit United Airlines and got a job as a salesman for Mars Candy Company
-Worked as a salesman for them for thirty five years
(00:47:41) Reflections on Service Pt. 2
-Helped him to mature
-Taught him to accept things in life even if you don’t like them
�-Feels that he was treated fairly by his superiors
-Gave two years and four months of his life to the Army
-Readjusted well to being a civilian again
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Veterans History Project
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. History Department
Description
An account of the resource
The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1914-
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American
Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
Michigan--History, Military
Oral history
Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American
United States--History, Military
United States. Air Force
United States. Army
United States. Navy
Veterans
Video recordings
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Smither, James
Boring, Frank
Relation
A related resource
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RHC-27
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a>
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LammE1754V
Title
A name given to the resource
Lamm, Edgar (Interview outline and video), 2015
Description
An account of the resource
Edgar Lamm was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 14, 1925. He grew up in Chicago and was drafted into the Army in February 1944. He received basic training at Fort Custer, Michigan and then Military Police training at Fort Custer and Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He was sent to the European Theatre and arrived in Scotland on November 9, 1944. He was stationed in Hereford, England with the Military Police for the rest of 1944 and was sent to France in late January 1945 as an infantryman. He was assigned to E Company 2nd Battalion 260th Infantry Regiment 65th Infantry Division. He took part in the advance into Germany and was in Linz, Austria when the war ended on May 8, 1945. He was stationed in Austria until he was sent back to Le Havre, France waiting to be sent home. In the late spring of 1945 he was sent back to the United States and was discharged from Camp McCoy, Wisconsin in June 1946.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Lamm, Edgar
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Moore, Debra (Interviewer)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Veterans
Video recordings
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
United States. Army
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Michigan--History, Military
Veterans
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="http://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Moving Image
Text
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Relation
A related resource
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-05-04
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
video/mp4