34 24 1541 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/63ba18730d4c3a557cc841216fca763c.mp4 55508c54a7715e57ffff597ee9f7b2a8 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7c1ae2a5214c545dc870f273e387a35a.pdf 50becc1997217504bcfcd58ce2b91a50 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Meldon Pitt (01:57:51) (00:22) Background Information • • • • • • • Mel was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 23, 1924 His mother died when he was 2 and his father left so he lived with his grandma He moved a lot during school Mel Graduated from Kelloggsville High School in 1942 During high school he loaded trucks for a bakery and played football In the summers he would work for his uncle on a pipeline The Air Corps would not let him join because of his color blindness so he enlisted in the Army (20:08) The Army • • • • • • • • Mel was sent to diesel mechanic school in Florida He was deployed to England in February of 1944 It was his job to fix and test broken equipment Mel made sergeant and was sent on a mission to teach other units how to waterproof a jeep On this mission he stopped for lunch at a British Wren Base that was all females and when he got back was knocked back down to private He was sent to Omaha Beach, France, 6 days after D-Day The beach was still a mess from the fighting Mel was with an ordinance company but then was reassigned to the 2nd division with the 23rd infantry regiment (37:04) Battle of the Bulge • • • • • • • He was put on the Siegfried line A 15 year old French boy started following them around and wanted to join them so they gave him a gun and some clothes When they sent him on a mission to transport two German prisoners, the boy shot them both because the Germans had killed his family Mel received a bronze star for fighting at the Bulge He got frostbite on his feet up to his ankles At one point he didn’t eat for three days Mel was split up from his unit and had to travel back towards the American side during a couple nights �• One night he hid in a kitchen and ate some hard bread with peanut butter and pineapple that he found (50:34) Ordinance Company • • • • • • • • • • • • Mel was sent back to an ordinance company to be a welder He was also the colonel’s body guard Mel was asked to bring a bus back from the front line He came up with a plan to tow the bus with a tank at night It was Mel’s job to steer the bus while the tank pulled it The bus ended up smashing into the tank, so they jumped into a ditch because they were sure the Germans had heard and would call an airstrike There was no airstrike so they got the bus out of there When he got back he was told to get parts and fix the bus so they could use it as a troop transport One morning a sergeant woke him up for breakfast and Mel shot a hole above his head, but he didn’t get into trouble because he had been in combat Mel got a flat tire on his jeep while in a convoy and had to wait an hour for a spare, so he went into a brewery and got a bunch of schnapps by shooting at the walls When he got back he was called in by the colonel and told that it was his fault that everyone was drunk and he almost got court marshaled for it The company moved up to the Russian border [border of Soviet Zone in Germany] and it was their job to make sure the Russians didn’t kill their German Prisoners (1:18:05) VE Day • • • • • They were still on the Russian border when the war in Europe ended His unit was sent to Le Havre and boarded a boat to New York On the way over to Europe he had to get on an anti-aircraft gun because of a German plane They got a ticker-tape parade when they got back Mel was sent to Camp Swift, TX and was discharged (1:28:38) Discharge • • • • • • He went home to Grand Rapids, MI by train Mel worked as a mechanic for his uncle He also bought repossessed cars from the bank to fix them up and sell them for profit Mel sold 36 cars in 30 days for the bank and they gave him a job He then went to work at banks in Traverse City, MI and Marquette, MI After that Mel started a national bank in Gaylord, MI and resigned �• • • • • Right after he was discharged he got married His wife died in 1985 Mel got married again to his former secretary He was injured during the war when a German bomb ruptured his ear drum Mel belongs to the Disabled American Veterans club � 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 PittM Title A name given to the resource Pitt, Meldon (Interview outline and video) 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pitt, Meldon Description An account of the resource Meldon Pitt was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 23, 1924. He graduated from Kelloggsville High School in 1942 and then went into the Army. Mel went through diesel mechanics school and then was sent to England. In England he taught people how to seal jeeps so they could go into the water when they were sent to France. Mel was transferred to an infantry company when he got to France and he fought at the Battle of the Bulge. After the Bulge he was sent back to the ordinance company and became a welder. Mel received a battle star for fighting at the Bulge and a purple heart. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Collins Sr., Charles E. (Interviewer) Collins, Carol (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-08-21 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/015170a426360d893154e3eae2ecfdca.mp4 d7531b3fc98fb55b2a1ff7db28081d57 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ce6fbb5a3f844f3305544f26b39367fc.pdf 303fb359963d77415da3552d9757c80e PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Vietnam War/ Germany Richard Pitsch Interview Length (42:02) (00:10) Family Background       Born December 4, 1952, Born and raised in Byron Center, Michigan where he lived the majority of his life (00:20). Father worked for General Motors on 36th street until his retirement at the age of 52 for medical reasons (00:42). He was aware of the Vietnam during grade school and remembered the era of military advisors. He did not think that the war would continue until his coming of age (00:58). He was eligible for the draft and his draft number was one. He withdrew from his first term at Grand Valley State University (01:35). He volunteered for the draft, which simply extended his actual enlistment for 3 months. He took the time to wrap his around what was about to happen to him (02:04). He became active duty in August 1972. He hoped that he would not go to Vietnam due to the troop draw down. However, he had some expectation that he would end up there (02:27). (03:08) Active Duty/Basic Training          He first went to processing at the induction center in Detroit, where he was given medical exams and some other testing (03:12). From there, he took a bus to Fort Knox, Kentucky near Louisville, for basic training (03:34). All different types of people were on the way to Fort Knox with him. There was no homogenous group (03:43). At the induction center, in Detroit, there were some people trying to ‘beat the draft’ by faking their hearing tests or trying to raise their heart rate or blood pressure (04:06). Less than 2% of the group did this (04:44). They arrived at Fort Knox at 4:00 AM and were told to get off the bus and line up by the drill sergeants (05:44). Footprints were on the pavement showing them where to stand. This began the indoctrination of ‘you will do what we say and when we say’ (06:00). Basic training mostly involved development of group mentality, relying on one another (06:20). He was in reasonably good shape due to his participation in athletics during high school (06:53). �   They ran everywhere when time would allow for it. The basic training had been reduced to 6 weeks from 8 weeks due to the need for troops. At times, they traveled in cattle trucks to their destination (07:13). He adjusted well to the military life and he attributes this to his experience with athletics. The loss of freedom was more difficult for him (08:20). Some men did have trouble with the lifestyle change. One guy left by hitchhiking. One man left for week and then returned. He was court martialled and sent to military prison for a time. He later returned boot camp and had to start over (08:54). (10:05) Advanced Individual Training (Fort Bliss, Texas)               After basic training, he took a plane to El Paso, Texas and trained for air defense artillery at Fort Bliss (10:21). He took a battery of test when he was at the reception center at Fort Knox, where they determined that he scored high enough on the intelligence exam to get assigned to air defense artillery [?] missiles (10:54). The systems he trained on were computer based (11:11). Advanced training at Fort Bliss was a 12-week program. There were moderate facilities, which had a 3-story barracks building (11:33). There were about 40 men in his company (11:50). The base was large and was utilized for training of various weapons systems [Hawk, Tow Missiles and Armor] (12:06). Physical training was integral to the program. He trained on the various equipment utilized for the tracking system (12:27). He was a fire control crewman. He tracked targets and designated them for attack (12:25). The system he worked on could track mid to high-level aircraft (13:27). There was no firing of missiles during training. Everything was simulated for expense reasons (14:00). Richard was happy about his assignment, because the missile system he trained on was not utilized in Vietnam. So, he knew he would not go to Vietnam and hoped for stateside orders (14:17). These missile systems were in Chicago, Detroit, New York City, San Francisco, etc. They have since been decommissioned (14:45). Advanced Individual training (AIT) allowed for more freedom. They spent time in Juarez, Mexico, which was a much different place then than it is now. The drug cartels did not have a major presence in the town. It was fun and entertaining, but they were warned that they were under the jurisdiction of the Mexican police (15:13). After AIT, he had a few weeks of leave and then reported in to Fort Dix, New Jersey in January of 1973 (17:16). (17:30) Active Duty/Germany �                         After leave, Richard took a plane from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Philadelphia. Pennsylvania, where he got a bus to Fort Dix, New Jersey. He then flew on a charter flight to Frankfurt, Germany (17:42). He knew the number of his unit, but nothing else (18:09). He realized that everyday army life was much less strict than training (18:26). His unit was Delta Battery 2nd Battalion 1st Air Defense Artillery (18:44). He was stationed near a small German town. He was given isolation pay, because they were basically in a rural area and away from almost everything. Most Nike Hercules units were in isolated areas (18:44). It was located in Central Western Germany, close to the Dutch border and a few miles from the Rhine (19:55). The job was to protect against air attacks versus being a front line of defense at the Eastern German border (19:33). They kept watch over the Eastern frontier looking for hostile aircraft that might enter airspace (19:42). There were approximately 100 men and 1 barracks building and a motor pool garage (19:59). At their arrival, they were greeted with ‘welcome to the end of the world’ (20:42). The fire control facility was located at the top of a hill (21:01). They reported and settled into the unit easily (21:36). Duties included operate computer, report to fire control, and run checks on equipment (21:52). They played a lot of basketball (22:28). One day a week they were hot battery, which meant that had to be within 15 minutes of the equipment. They were locked in (22:39). They had one significant scare when he was operating the radio. They received a call from headquarters telling them to man their battle stations, but the aircraft ended up being friendly (22:48). The Arab-Israeli wars affected their status for about week. They were on high alert (24:08). There was no anticipation of action from the Soviets, at the time (24:55). They trained for it though (25:05). The group of men consisted of all types of people, some educated and some not. Mix of races, too (25:14). Segregation existed, but it was voluntary. Not many people had been to Vietnam due to the type of training they had (26:06). They tried to travel when they were off duty and they met people from around the world (27:14). They were cautioned to not wear their uniforms off base due to the possibility of resentment of German nationals from WWII, but he did not encounter a lot of animosity. [Baader-Meinhof Gang] was around during this time (28:00) Richard eventually rented an apartment in town and had no issues with his landlord, who had been part of the Fascist party. He learned enough German to function (29:00). Morale of the unit was overall normal (30:13). �      The officers lacked leadership skills, except one who was ex-enlisted (31:09). They had a West Point cadet spend the summer with the unit and when he returned he left the institution (32:20). One major event that stands out to Richard is a shooting incident. A soldier on guard duty was joking with a friend and shot him in the head. They were not supposed to have live ammunition loaded in their weapons. (32:55). There was an investigation of the entire unit (33:55). In another battery a soldier opened fire and injured 2 (34:15). He left after 20 months in Germany, August 1974 (34:46). (35:00) Inactive Duty   He rotated back to the United States and was placed on inactive duty status for 2 years. If the U.S. needed him, he would be called back to active duty. These were the terms of his enlistment (35:04). He was discharged on August 9th, 1974. The day President Nixon resigned. His letter of appreciation bore Nixon’s signature (35:35). (35:50) More Information on Germany and Life after Service          While in Germany, they were aware of current events, such as Watergate (35:58). Some Germans thought Watergate would create destabilization and others were amused by it. Probably much the same way as the American public (36:45). Once Richard returned to the U.S. the economy was in poor condition (37:30). He found his first job through the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) (37:46). He was a janitor for Grandville Public Schools, first. Then he worked for RC Cola until he realized that factory work was not for him (38:01). He decided to return to school and get a trade. He received an electronics technology associates degree. Once he received his degree he began working for Lear Siegler Avionics (38:20). His training in the service brought him to this path. There is little to no comparison with the technology of the seventies and today (38:57). The computers he worked on could solve only one problem. They 12 ft. long, 2 1/2 ft. deep, and 5 ft. high. They utilized vacuum tubes and all information was fed into them from the radars (39:10). He did not want to be in the service. Most likely due to the anti-war sentiments of the 1960’s, but after he returned from the service he adopted the attitude that everyone should have to serve for a couple years. It was a positive learning experience for him (40:30). � 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 PitschR Title A name given to the resource Pitsch, Richard (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pitsch, Richard Description An account of the resource Richard Pitsch volunteered for the draft in the summer of 1972. He expected to go to Vietnam, but had hopes that he would not due to the troop draw down. He completed his basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and completed his advanced training at Fort Bliss, Texas. He was assigned to air defense artillery missile system and was a fire control crewman. He spent 20 months of active duty in central Germany, near the Dutch border. He returned to the United States in August, 1974, and was on inactive duty for the next two years. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-04-12 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/72203cdc65399a358fdfa4de81c854f8.mp4 808f419af71008cf2590238f974bd101 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0fd94cbf8731b4e2117225533738458d.pdf 6a36322fc380b9dbe9a7c25a1332e667 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Notes Length: 13:56 Randolph Elbert Phillips Jr. Vietnam Veteran United States Navy, February 1963 to August 1968 A-Branch (00:26) Pre-enlistment/Family: • Due to poor grades in college he joined the Navy • Joined Navy because it had better standards of living during the war • His Uncle’s Navy experience influenced his decision • His father had retired from the Army, and his uncle had retied from the Navy as an Admiral • He had another uncle who had been in the Korean War • His father had served in WWII (landed during D-day), the Korean War, and Vietnam before retiring • Father is buried at Arlington (1:43) Enlistment: • He was a communication technician (A branch) • Ended with the rank of Petty Officer 2nd class • Had a category 3 security clearance • His job was classified • He went to Yeoman A school, Instructor school, and Leadership school • Stationed in Hawaii for a year and 10 months • Stationed at US Naval Reserve Training Center in Jersey City for 3 years • Learned to instruct reservists during his time their (3:25) Free Time/Friends: • In Hawaii they would go to the beach to surf and pick up girls • He had multiple friends who were married, and when holidays came around he would visit them • In general people in the service did not celebrate holidays that much because they were away from their families • Made many good friends during his enlistment and is still close with buddy from the Reserve Center in Jersey City (5:50) After Enlistment: • Went back to same University he had been at before the war, and finished his degree • Went on to be a Sales Representative for a few different companies (6:37) Lessons Learned: • The main lesson he learned in the military was how to be disciplined �• Some were forced to go into the service just so they would learn some discipline • Learned that life was not all fun and games • When he went back to college (1968-71) his experience in the military helped him understand the importance of education (9:01) Vietnam Memorial: • Many veterans were affected by the war, and the wall brings back a lot of those memorizes • It make him remember the three classmates who lost their lives during Vietnam (10:23) Soldiers Coming Home (then and now): • When they came home they were spit on and called baby killers • The Veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq are treated with more respect • Veterans from Vietnam were impacted deeply by the way they were treated when they came home • Veterans, when asked about their combat experience, are very reluctant to talk about their experience in Vietnam • His veteran friends only talk about the humorous experiences, but not much else �HISTORY OF THE 1252ND ENGINEER COMBAT BATTALION APRIL 1944 TO SEPTEMBER 1945 BJ "JIM" MURRAY .' ./ �----------- ----- .~- / References: ~ Diary of Buford James Murray (Jimmy or Jim) "B" Company _ Travelogue of "C" Company CITATION - Attack of Siegfried Line Unit Awarded 3 Battle Stars Ardennes Rhineland Central Europe Traveled In: America England France Luxemburg Belgium Germany Austria Czech �HEADQUARTERS COMBAT COMMAND "A" 6th Armored Division APO 256, U S Army 26 February 1945 SUBJECT: Commendation 1252d Engineer Combat Battalion TO Commanding Officer, 1252d Engineer Combat Battalion 1. During the period 8 F2bruary to 24 February 1945, while serving as a part of Combat Command "A", 6th Armored Division, the 1252d Engineer Combat Battalion demonstrated in all its actions a high degree of efficiency and aggress­ ,ivness. Although much of its work consisted of other than engineering work, it acquitted itself with credit in all its activities. 2. Various tasks that it was called upon to perform during this period were as follows: a. Preparing defensive positions along the sky line drive in Luxembourg. b. Aggressive patroling against active enemy resistance. c. Participating in a feint by fire against the ::; iegfried Line. d. Repairing broken roads~and filling craters. e. Building a 100-foot foot bridge across the Our River. f. Attacking the pillboxes of the Siegfried Line in the role of infantry supported by tanks. 3. The spirit and basic training of this battalion enabled it to successfully perform all of these tasks. Its engineer work was efficiently and skillfully done. Its patroling was alert and aggressive and of great value in developing and clarifying an obscure situation. Its attack displayed energy and determination. As tangible evidence of this, its record shows participation in the capture of 73 pillboxes of the Siegfried Line. 4. It is desired to commend the officers and men of this battalion for its service while a part of this command. lsi John L. Hines Jr. It I JOHN L. HINES JR Col, Calv Cmg �1st Ind. HEADQUARTERS 6th ARMORED DIVISION, Office of the Commanding General, APO 256, U S Army, 6 March 1945. To: Commanding Officer, 1252d Engineer Combat Battalion. 1. I fully concur in this basic letter and add my appreciation for the cooperation extended by yourself, your officers and your men. lsI George J Read Jr It I GEORGE J READ JR Brigadier General Commanding 2nd Ind HQ, 1252d ENGR C BN, APO 403, U S ARMY, 11 March 1945. TO: All Companies, 1252d En~ineer Combat Battalion, APO 403 1. Basic letter and indorsement will be read to all men at the first formation. 2. The Battalion's firstldfficial commendation was received with gratification and pride. I want to thank each officer and man for the part they played in their assigned tasks lsI James E Linden It I JAMES E LINDEN Major Commanding CE ------------------------------------------ �I TRAVELOGUE OF 1252d ENGR C BN, CO "c" 21 Oct Oct Oct 3 Oct Nov 29 31 Dec Dec 1 10 Jan Jan 11 Jan 16 Jan 18 22 Jan' Jan 7 Fel) 8 Feb 9 Feb 10 Feb 13 Feb 2 16 Feb 20 Feb 22 Feb 23 Feb 24 Feb 27 Feb 7 Mar 10 Mar 14 Mar 24 Mar 1944 Left Camp SWift, Texas-Chauncey (the dog), stayed behind. 1944 Arrived at Camp Kilmer, N,J.-Overseas physical-short arm. 1944 Left Camp Kilmer for embarkation at New York-The right cadence in bo~ a train. 1944 Shipped from New York on Tamaroa-48-49-50 ••••• 1944 Disembarked at Avonmouth, F.ngland, arrived via rail at Torquay, Engla "Any gum chum?" "C4-II1P SI-J.IPL.f:Y II 1944 Embarked for France from Southharnpton on the Sobienski-Hit that PX Ii 1944 Disembarked at Le Havre, France-How to celebrate New Years Eve: full ­ hoof 10 miles uphill. pitch tents on the cold, cold ground. 1945 Arrived at Forges Des Eoux, Apple Orchard-Camp Cowmanure. 1945 Left Fc:-ges Dt's Eoux via ('onvoy and 40 & 8- "One minute to gol"-Staffc took a GI. 1945 Arrived at Enghien Les Bains, 8 kilometers from Paris-The Casino-What happened to the heat? ,1~45 Departed Enghien Les Bains for the front-More 40 & 8-"We' re going to b Patton's spearhead." (Remember) 1945 Arrived at Biwer, Luxembourg-Technic of building a stove from a cream , 1945 Left Biwer and arrived at Niederdoniven, Luxembourg (Infantry outpost duty)-lO,OOO gallons of wine-Snowghost-The cats ate the Heinies in Abn. 1945 Left Niederdoniven and arrived at Oberdoniven, Luxembourg, Patton came. Bowen shaved. 1945 Left Oberdoniven-The night was wet and stormy, the road was dark and dreary, and the l252d was lost again. 1945 Arrived at Eschweiler, Luxembourg-Straw on the school house floor, if y could find the straw. 1945 Left Eschweiler, arrived in Consthum, Luxembourg (Outpost duty and road­ work)-God and the Infantry ga~e Evans to the Radio Section. 1,45 Left Consthum and arr tved 1':1 Walhausen, Luxembourg (Outpost duty)-"The tank blew all to hell." 1945 Left Walhausen and returned to Consthum (Outpost duty and roadwork)-The messhall was in the dairy. 1945 '. Left Consthum and arrived in Marnach, Luxembourg (Preparation for breach ing Siegfried Line)-Newest frills in storming a pillbox-Willmore's head kaputted Gura1l's jeep. 1945 Took part in breaching operation against Siegfried Line, crossed Our River at Dasburg, Germany, advanced to Pruscheid, Germany-The Colonel commended Singer and Bowen on their looting ability. 1945 Advance reaches Sevnig, Germany (Third Platoon cleared the town)-You don' have a saddle when you ride a tank. 1945 Left Pruscheid, Germany, returned again to Consthum, Luxembourg-The duffle bags were all fouled up. 1945 Left Donsthum, arrived at Neundorf, Belgium, near St. Vith-(Cordurory roadwork)-Knee deep in mud and a manure pile before every door. 1945 Left Neundorf, arrived in Mutzenich, Germany, There's nothing like a Tell Mine to reduce the waistline. 1945 Left Mut~enich, arrived in Scheidt Germany (Roadwork),' Dragon's Teeth and the Siegfried Line-The machine guns still were loaded-Welch killed by AP mine. Left Scheid, arrived in Mullenbach, Germany (Roadwork) Ruskis, Polskis 1945 and French by the hundreds; PW's by the thousands-the first bathtub in Germany. 1945 Left Mullenbach, arrived in Budenbach. Germany (Preparations for Rhine crosslng)-Con~unications set up ten ton Heinie switchboard. �Mar 1945 Mar '1945 2 Apr 1945 10 Apr 1945 15 Apr 1945 17 Apr 1945 22 Apr 1945 23 Apr 1945 28 Apr 1945 1 May 1945 2 May 1945 6 May 1945 May 1945 • 19 6 June 1945 9 June 1945 10 June 1945 12 June 1945 Made assult boat crossing of Rhine River under concentrated fire at St. Goar, Germany-Now we knew that Sherman waR rlght-A 20mm sprays a lot of lead and a little wine helps it to go by-May and Martinez of Second Platoon killed. Left Budenbach and arrived at Auel, Germany (Roadwork)-We walked 3 kilo­ meters to visit a castle and found an "Off Limits" sign on the door­ Needles shot. Left Auel, arrived in Kamp, Germany, on East bank of Rhine River (Main­ tained ponton bridge)-We were demons with a motor boat-We laid a line across the Rhine. Left Kamp, arrived in Laubach, Germany (Roadwork)-Nazi baby factory and nix fraternizing, what a life! Left Laubach and arriv~d "t \leimer, Germany (prepared Luftwaffe camp for Patton's Headquarters-Rootin' tootin' lootin'-Buchenwald Concentra­ tion Camp. Left Weimer and arrived at Bad Blankenberg-5,OOO bottles of wine and somehow we built a bridge. Left Bad Blankenberg and arrived in Dietersdorf, Germany-The messhall was in the railroad station. Left Dietersdorf and arrived in Trebgast, Germany (Roadwork)-DeHart went visiting-the convoy pulled out too soon. Left Trebgast, arrived in Echenbach, Germany (Roadwork) The city hall boys found a home-the beer came in kegs. Left Echenbach, arrived in Wackersdorf, Germany-The things you'll find in a schoolhouse. Left Wackersdorf, arrived in Mangelhan, Germany (Hauled Bailey bridge equipment)-cobwebs on the ceiling and cowdung by the messha11 door­ Hitler reported kaput. Left Mangelhan and arrived in Regan, Germany (Erected timber bridge, repaired roads J-Hode ru apar i.menta , cognac by the barrel and the end of the War-Wine women and a pistol don't mix. Left Regan and arrived in Hebertsfelden (built 257 foot timber bridge in 'Eggensfelden) 85 points or the CBI-The Radio Section sets up in a trailer. Moved from Hebertsfelden to Wilding, near Frankenmarkt,Austria (Garr­ ison training begins)-"Hedy Lamarr honeymooned here"-The rains came and the duffle bags went. Left Wilding, and moved to Redl, Austria-We collect ourselves after the flood-a night in the theater. Left Redl, and arrived in Oberholswang, Germany-The Field Artillery helps us find billets-The Gesthaus wasn't big, but it was dry. Left Oberholswang, and arrived in Kricheiselfing, Germany-Garrison life gets underway in a baby factory-and Stars and Stripes says the Third Army will occupy Germany. �APRIL 1944 12th I left home, Taft, Texas, to go into the Army. We left from Sinton. I was in charge of the group that went up that day. It gave me a funny feeling not knowing what to expect. I reported to Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas. 13th I spent all morning filling out papers and was sworn in at 13:25. This afternoon-we received our G.I. Clothing. 14th We are still getting classified and receiving shots. 15th I went home. I reached Taft at about 2400. Some bus ride! I was glad to get home. 16th I left for Fort Sam to complete induction. Little did I know where I would go in a few days. 17th This is my first day in a Unit. I spent all day policing grounds and shoveling manure for flower beds at Fort Sam. Little did I know this is what I would also do the first day I reported for work with Sinclair Pipe Line Company after graduation from Texas A & M in 1950. '!:: I tested red and green color blind. This kept me out of the Marines. Most of the people inducted in this time frame were killed in the P T O. I lost some good friends out there. The person scheduling which unit we would go to had gone to the University of Texas. Since I had completed one semester at Texas A & M he gave me my choice. I took an opening for "C" Engineers. He said it was Combat or Construction duty. I thought it was better odds than the Infantry. I Met the highest ranking person I ever saw in the Army. He was an inductee with 3 days seniority over me at Fort Sam Houston. 21st I fooled around today getting more shots. I saw an old Aggie friend and a Stage Show. usa 22nd I left Fort Sam Houston by bus to go to Camp Swift near Bastrop and Austin, Texas. I was surprised to be stationed so close to home. 23rd I was assigned to "A" Company of the 1252ND Engineering Combat Battalion. Later they changed me to "B" Company. One of the recruits had the measles and we were put in Quarantine for two weeks. We had a good time. There were 60 Texans in one building - One Big Party. �The 1252 ENGINEER COMBAT BATTALION WAS A UNIQUE GROUP. The Cadre arrived at Camp Swift prior to the arrival of the personnel for the Battalion. Approximately 1/3rd of the men came from the East. They were trained Construction personnel and Truck Drivers. 1/3rd were younger troops from Texas to do the hard physical labor and 1/3rd were from an AAA training program being disbanded. The Battalion trained as a Unit, went into action as a Unit and for the most part returned home as a Unit. I want to commend the Cooks and Bakers we had. They always had coffee and cake on hand when we came in from hikes and training exercise. They also did an excellent job in the E T 0 under extreme hardships. I also want to commend the Jeep and Truck Drivers for taking us over unmarked roads, driving on both sides of the front lines and taking us on a lot of R & R short trips. We were lost a lot of the time but we always made it to our objective. Thanks a Lot! JUNE 1994 6th "B" Company was building a Double Double Bailey Bridge when we received word that American Troops had landed in France. Heavy fighting has been reported on the Beachheads. NOTE: In the latter part of the summer I witnessed one of the biggest mistakes I have ever heard of. The 10TH Mountain Division with thousands of mules were transferred in mass from the Rocky Mountains (Cold) to Camp Swift (Hot) with 110° F in the shade. The men made it but I don't think a single mule made it. So much for Army Planing. LEAVE CAMP SWIFT TO GO TO E T 0 OCTOBER 1944 6th Everything is packed and ready to go to the E T O. I had to stay in Camp tonight. 4 �7th I left for Taft on the Greyhound Bus. I missed connections in San Antonio and looked up some friends and caught a later bus. A lot of Troops are on the move. 8th Arrived home this morning and was sure glad to see the Folks. It was tough knowing I was leaving in a few days for the E T O. I will be glad when I see them again. Returned to Camp tonight. . . 9th I intended to go into Austin and see some friends at the University of Texas but No One was allowed to leave Camp. This was rough on the wives in town as well as on the husbands in Camp. 10th Checked all equipment and rested the rest of the day. 11th We got some replacements today. They have been in the ALEUTIAN Islands (S.W. of Alaska) for the past 18 to 20 months. From what I have heard this was rough duty. We were informed we would leave the next day for the E T O. 12th The 1252ND Engineer Combat Battalion left Camp Swift around 1300 by train. We went through Waco and Dallas. 13th We left Texarakana at 0012. I had been in the Army six (6) months to the day when we pulled out of Texas. 15th The Company arrived in Camp Kilmer, New Jersey late at night. approximately 2 miles to reach our quarters. 16th They really worked us getting all of our equipment ready and checked. 17th We got our physicals in the morning. What a laugh. No one was rejected. Several had ruptured ear drums. I had my picture taken to send home to the Folks. I hoped it was good. 18th The ones who lived around New York got passes to go horne and to see their families. The rest of us get to go on pass tomorrow. 19th We were restricted to our area. All of the bunch finally carne back from leave. We move out in the morning. Most of the Company got drunk tonight. 20th We left Camp Kilmer for embarkation at the Port of New York. We rode a ferry across the River and then boarded the H.M.S. TAMAROA. When we left Camp Kilmer we were placed under tight security. No names of Units or anything to indicate who we were. When it came time for us to load they announced over the Port loud speakers that Company "B" of the 1252ND Engineer Combat Battalion could start to load. (So much for security. Loose Lips Sink Ships - etc.) 5 We hiked �21st The rest of the troops loaded. We were cleared by 1600. However, we could not pull out until the next day. The brother of one of our group visited him on the boat. He would be on one of the escort ships in our convoy. He told us not worry. That's when we started to worry. Some of us threw several life preservers over board to see how much we could depend on them. All sank as soon as they hit the water. We were chewed out for destroying Government Property. At least we knew to head for a life boat fast if we had to abandon ship. 22nd In the morning the H.M.S. TAMAROA pulled out of Port. (48 -49 -50). I saw the Statute of Liberty and it gave me a funny feeling. I will be glad when i get to see America again. The Crossing Was Good - The Food "Vas Not NOVEMBER - 1994 2nd A play was put on by the SS of the Battalion and the Jr. Birdmen. It was good and well received. I was seasick. The ground swells got to me. The sea was calm and . boat wasn't rocking. 3rd We arrived in ENGLAND. Troops started disembarking at Avonsmouth this morning. "B" Company finally got off at 2000. We boarded a train and headed South to Torquay. We arrived about 23:55. Then we rode trucks to where we were to stay. "C" Company called it "Camp SHIPLEY". Had it not been for the WAR we would have had it made. Torquay was located Southwest of Plymouth and was a vacation resort. A Red Cross Mobile Canteen Unit was assigned to our site and handed out coffee and donuts. The Battalion went through additional training and stressed hikes. Everything was uphill. It rained a lot. I experienced heavy English fog for the first time. We had to feel our way back from town. The Battalion was well received by the English until the Officers decided to build a divided four (4) lane highway to train the equipment operators. The English didn't appreciate an American Interstate Highway across their Country Side. Their roads were narrow and it was hard for two vehicles to pass. I don't know if the land was ever reclaimed. 6 �We trained planting and taking up Anti-Personnel and tank mines. They were a few accidents. I am still partly deaf in my left ear from a booby trapped mine exploding next to me. DECEMBER· 1994 3rd An advance party from the Battalion came back and said we were slated to clear mines on the Peninsula so the Army could have more clear space to train. I am glad we didn't have to go as we have had intensive training in clearing mines. American, English and German. We still didn't know too much about taking them up. Another Battalion in our group received orders to clear a beach near Torquay of mines that the British had planted to repel a German invasion. The first day we heard they lost two (2) officers and several men. Due to this a few of them refused to continue taking up the mines. (I think I read about them later in the Readers Digest. It was kept quite) After this incident we suspended this type of training. I have found that mines are seldom laid as shown on drawings. Generally no one knows where the maps are. The War in Europe was going smoothly. The North flank had been holding firm, Allowing Patton to break through the hedge rows irrthe Middle and South of France. He was going like a Bat Out of Hell with hopes of a Victory by Christmas. Friction was building in the support Units because some though Patton was taking more than his share of the supplies for the 3RD Army. The fronts had stabilized and were being re-supplied when the bottom drooped out. BEGINNING OF THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE 15th On Saturday the 15th of December at 05:30 the Germans began the Battle of the Bulge with a force of 275,000 men, 1,900 heavy Artillery pieces, tanks and other related equipment. The weather was Cold with snow on the ground. They assaulted a 50 mile front held by six (6) .American Divisions made up of approximately 75,000 men. Later it was discovered that a large portion of the Americans were on R & R and Christmas leaves. The bulk of the troops were in a more or less holding position waiting to regroup. It was getting harder to supply them with food and gasoline. I believe at the time of the German attack that the Americans only had 10 to 20 men per mile on the front line point positions. Some of those were killed in their sleeping bags. In freezing weather it is normal to try to stay warm. (Note: I later stood guard in my sleeping bag with my rifle inside but never zipped it up. Even when I go camping now I remember this.) 7 �By December 20th the Germans had advanced 20 to 25 miles and only the areas around Bastogne and St. Vith were holding. I was told by a person that had been in the CIA that some of the crack German Units had been supplied with pills that kept them mentally alert and awake for several days at a stretch. However when the effect of the pills wear off you can go to sleep standing up. You don't awaken until your body says it is OK. This could have been one reason several of the German units seemed to hit a stone wall for no reason. The result of this battle action cost the Americans over 75,000 men killed, wounded, captured or missing in action. It was the final blow from the German Army and resulted in the speeding up of the down fall of the Germans. What A Loss To Both Sides WAR IS HELL TO BOTH SIDES BACK TO THE 1252ND 15th While the Battle of the Bulge was starting on the 15th a dance was held and the English and Red Cross girls attended. It was a nice dance. We hated to leave but some of us left at 2200 to go to London on a pass. The train was blacked out for the trip. 16th We arrived in London at 0430 and got some sleep. We started out at 0800 and completed our tour late that night. We saw some shows and plenty of damage due to the Tumbler and Glider V bombs. The usa group was excellent. They said that Rangers and Combat Engineers were the only ones to keep their caps on all the time. I don't know if this was good or bad. They wanted to know about the Cowboys and Indians back in America and about the Texas oil wells. I thought the British had a rough go at it. London is still a big city and is a good R & R spot. We hated to leave but caught the 1430 train back to Torquay. 18th For the first time we heard that the Germans had started an attack, later called the Battle of the Bulge. Everyone in the hospital where we were working that was able to walk and carry a weapon was put in a division replacement pool and sent to the front as replacements for the troops that had already fallen in the counter attack. At this time, from what I heard, I thought we might also be broken up and sent on as replacements rather than a Battalion. 8 �Everyone that could carry a rifle was being assembled in France and were sent to the front. Cooks, bakers, ordinance personnel, truck drivers, and walking wounded were included. This period of the action was later proven to be one of the biggest defeats of the American Army. 25th CHRISTMAS - Since we were in Torquay, we had a more or less normal Christmas. However, orders had come in for us to join Patton's forces as soon as possible. 26th Today all of the Battalion except for the guards (I was one) went to a rifle range- for a week to zero in their rifles. This afternoon we were alerted to go to France at once. Boy, did thing happen fast after that. 27th We worked hard all day packing and loading the equipment on flat cars and trucks. The Battalion worked all night but somehow I got out of the night work. 28th We finished packing all equipment tonight. They gave out everything in the mess hall. We had a big final meal and slung packs at 2345 to leave for France. 29th We rode on a train to South Hampton where we boarded the Polish ship MIS Sobleski, We still didn't know where we were going. 31st We arrived in Le Harve, France in the morning and got off in the afternoon. I stayed behind to load duffel bags and got out of an 8 to 10 mile hike with full field packs. We were still working at 2400. What a Way to celebrate New Years Eve. From the "C" Company report the hike was all uphill and they pitched tents on the cold, cold ground. What a welcome to France. While we were guarding the gear we were under sniper fire all the time but no one in our area was hit. Whoever was shooting at us were damn poor shots. 1st At least at midnight, they lit up the sky with anything that would make a noise or a light. The Americans had bombed Le Harve and the French resented it. We helped a Major drink his whisky ration to keep warm. It was extremely cold. There was know and ice on the ground. We rode in 6 X 6 trucks to where we would camp. We arrived at 0230 and got up at 0400 to move out. We boarded 6 X 6 trucks. We drove to an apple orchard near Forges-Les-Eaux. We were half frozen when we arrived. The apple orchard was full of cow manure covered with 6" of snow. Most of the day was spent gathering fire wood. We bedded down in 4 man pup tents. We went over to a farm house and liberated the thatched roof and placed the thatch under our tents. At night the tent would freeze over and seal the tent. No one wanted to be the first up but the fourth one got up fast. When you live in the open you get climitized fast and learn to build small fires. 9 �It snowed every night. Twice it rained. It was hellish weather. Only about 6 of the Company had to go to the hospital because they were sick. We gathered wood in a field. We found out later it was a mine field. A French man that lived close by traded us for cider (it was good). Some of the troops went in to town to eat. We found out German Para Troopers were near. The farmer was mad because we took the thatched roof for bedding. I think we gave him some lumber to re-roof his house. Needless to say he was still mad. War is Hell. 6th We spent today freezing in the apple orchard as usual. This was by 19th birthday, and one I will never forget. I got loaded on cider. 7th I took a shower and got clean clothes. We got our px rations. We paid for them. It was the last rations we paid for until after V.E. Day. 8th We heard we were going to Cherbroug to clear mines or attend a mine school. We were going to be Infantry Combat Engineers. However, the orders changed 3 times and in the end we were in the 3rd Army. We were to back up the Bulge and hold the line. What it meant we didn't know. 10th We left Forges-les-Eaux today by 6 X 6 truck to go to Rouen. Then we boarded the 40 X 8 (train box car) and left for Paris. There was a lot of snow and it was very cold. 11th We arrived in a suburb of Paris. Enghiem-Ies-Bains, located 8 kilometers from Paris to stay in a casino. The people thought we were from the front. We were cold, tired and black. We were in a building but it was hard to warm the building. I received a different view of the French. Most of the people preferred the Germans to the Americans and all the French in this area wore new and expensive clothes. It appeared a lot of them were German sympathizers. We knew it was to be bad when they had communion for the Catholics and Protestants and services for the Jews. This is when I realized how similar each is. We sat on bunks around the church area and watched. A bunch of us had a big party. All of us were drunk. We knew we were going up to the front so we really celebrated. What a night! We heard one of the cooks in the Battalion traded sugar for a large bottle of Calvodose. He drank the entire bottle. He was our first casualty. He was shipped back to the States. I never heard if he got out of the hospital. 10 �16th We left Paris this morning in a 40 and 8. We were going to be Pattons spearhead. The train passed through Sainte Menehould. We damn near froze during the 2 days we were on the train. Everyone lay down at one time on your side, on the floor facing in one direction. If one person turned, all turned. Those damn 40 and 8's were Hell to ride in. They are cold in the winter, no room for a fire or we would have had one. Thirty-two men and full equipment, I heard some had frost bite after this ride. (40 and 8 stands for 40 men or 8 horses.) 17th We passed through Verdun and arrived in Uc Krange this afternoon. We had to sleep another night in the damn 40 and 8. 18th We talked to a group of tankers this morning. The tankers came to regroup. They had been shot all to Hell. We left by 6 X 6 truck in the afternoon to go to Biwer in Luxembrough. Today we became a part of the forces in the 3rd Army under Patton. We are approximately 8 miles from the front. The weather was cold and snow was on the ground. We were at the southern anchor of the Bulge. We relieved the 7th Engineer Combat of the? Infantry Division. 19th We heard artillery firing all day, and saw flashes all night. We doubled the guard. A Jeep of Germans broke through. No damage was done to our units. 20th 18 of Company B traveled about 8 miles and put-up a double apron of barbed wire fence near Mantermach? . We built 500 yards in 5 hours in knee deep know. We were 1,500 yards from the Germans. It was cold. Too cold for us to even be worried. I still don't know if the fence was finished. I was too tired and cold to care. The Germans were a short way off and were not attacking at that time. So what the heck. We returned to Biwer that night. 22nd Patton gave orders for the troops to sleep in houses and we agreed. At the same time, he ordered us to wear neck ties at all times. Company B left Biwer to go up on the line today. It was snowing lightly and was cold. 2nd Platoon ~ "B" CO. - moved into 3 or 4 houses in Munschecker and set up camp. We were less than 1000 yards from the Germans. We spent the first night in the fox holes. The ground was frozen. There were 6 to 12 inches of snow on the ground. I was scared in this situation. From that night on we were within 5 miles either in front of or behind the Front Line. Everything was fluid and the drivers did not have road maps. They kept running off the maps or just got lost and found their way home some way. Very good drivers. We had some wild rides. At least we kept the Jerry cans full of liberated wine and schnapps and enjoyed our rides. We had no heat on these trips and it was cold. We had to keep moving. 11 �"C" Company left Biwer and moved south of us to Niedevdoniven. The first thing they did was to liberate 10,000 gallons of wine (Oh Boy)! At this time the 2nd Calvary Ghost Patrol defeated the Germans in Ahn in the "C" Company area. After this the snow Ghosts moved to the Munschecken area and installed their still in the church tower.. A few days later either the all copper still blew up or was hit by German Artillery and the church tower was destroyed. The Germans were shelling our outposts in the forest using tree bursts to expand their effective areas. They did not have the proximity first we had. After a few shellings we moved about 50 yards from the tree line and dug new fox holes. One group dug one they could not out of without help. We had to keep them narrow to keep the tanks out. We had moved too far and too fast with the Bulge Counter attack and out ran our food supplies. Everyone had dysentary and we ate cheese, chocolate, and wine. The cooks did the best they could. I lost 20 to 30 pounds while we were at Munschecken and I swore I would never go hungary again. "B" Company sent out several reconnaissance patrols to check the river area. No one was shot and the Germans played music every night and partied while we froze on out post duty. We were with the 2nd Calvary (Ghost Patrol) 2nd '"the 808 Tank Destroyers. Across the Mosel River was the 11th SS Panzer Division (we heard this later) one excellent hard fighting unit. They lived in an underground factoy or Siegfried Line Block House. 25th We test fired our 30 and 50 Caliber machine guns today. Unknowingly we shot at the house where the 1st Platoon had their left flank. They thought it was the Germans. They left out fast. It was really cold here. Everyone had frozen hands and feet. It is too cold to get close to a fireplace when we get off outside duty. We have to wait at least 10 to 20 minutes to thaw out so we can get close to warm up. The 2nd Calvary shared their still's production with us. That made it possible to survive. 27th One squad dug 3 more fox holes. All of them froze (6 hours of digging.) I heard some War guard dogs barking. It took me about 10 years to not think of this when dogs started to bark 28th We stood guard duty every 2 out of 3 nights in a nearby group of woods. It was so dark the 4 of us stayed about 5 feet apart. The U.S. Infantry faked a river crossing one mile away. We sure saw a lot of fire worked. 12 �29th Heard our second 88's (11th Panzer Tanks). The shells fell 43 paces from our dug out and set fire to a house in town. The Americans moved in a 155 long tom, (artillery field pierce) 100 yards in back of us today and kept us awake while the Germans threw machine guns and Burp guns at us tonight from their side of the river. I helped on a mortar. I started to go on a reconnaissance patrol but was ordered to stand fast. FEBRUARY, 1945 1ST Everything ok. Still Cold! Dietz, Lt. Condron and I cleared mines out of the road. It was the first job like that so we could use the road on the west side of town. Someone had installed the mines at the edge of town. It was in a slight cut. I still do not like to mess with frozen explosives. 2nd The snow melted. It was a mess. Mud everywhere. It rained so hard you could not see your hand in front of your face. 3rd It snowed and rained. The fox holes ran over with water. We stood post outside the holes. We shot at a German Patrol. They left. no one was hurt. At this point no one cared too much. War is Hell. Troops under fire became accustomed to the danger. Example: during training we could not build small fires to keep warm. On the MLR (Main Line Resistance) we built fires or anything else we wanted to do. 4th A new outfit came in to relieve "B" Company. Five of us had to stay to show them the ropes. They were more scared than we were when we moved in, if that was possible. 5th Company "B" left Munschecker today. THANK GOD! All of us will feel the effects of this place for the rest of our lives. We moved to Flaxweiler for 14 days of R & R. Some laugh. 6th Two of the men that relieved us, the 2nd Platoon, were killed by booby traps. I will say we were well trained during our training England. I talked with a bunch of the Ghost Patrol of the 2nd Calvary. As I remembered we were with the 6th Armor and 2nd Calvary. Both were excellent units. The group at Echternach were having a hard time getting a bridge in and Patton came to determine what was the matter. Four of us stopped Patton at a cross road outside of Echternach and questioned him. At this time English and American speaking Germans were around. Four of us held him with rifles until he proved who he was. He was nice about it. 13 �The line was fluid and we had just shot at several half tracks that ran our road blocks with AP shells. They sure picked up speed after we shot them. i would have shot Patton but my rifle jammed when he drove up. There were no friends except the ones we knew or checked out. Otherwise we would have shot them. This type action was taking place in other areas. I heard Patton gathered a group together in town to give them a pep talk. One of our bunch made a wisecrack about the other Engineers for the Division could not build a bridge under fire across the Our River. (It could have been "A" Company?) Patton told the group we had better rest and pray for them to get the bridge in that afternoon or we would build it that night. He wanted to cross the Our River and open up the front. The river was flooding and proved to be a difficult crossing. Thank God they built the bridge in time and the tanks crossed the river on time. We played soldier on a hill and took in a 7th usa stage Show and a movie tonight. About this time, "C" Company moved to Oberdoniven. Patton came by to inspect the area. "B" Company stood by all day as reserve for the river crossing at Echterhach. Something's up. "B" Company took off fasf'fbis afternoon. Tonight we reached Eschweiler. We had an open truck. We rode in the rain, sleet, hail, and cold. It was windy. 8th "B" Company pulled in at 0025 this morning. ~We were really tired and flopped on the floor and slept. I had guard. I pulled it with Clemmons. "C" Company left Oberdoniven in a stormy night, got lost and found Esehweiler and on the 10th moved to Consthum for outpost duty and roadwork. 9th I wondered over the town (Esehweiler) looking to see what I could find. An American tank was destroyed. We took the 30 caliber ammo out and zeroed in our rifles. 10th "C" Company left Eschweiler on 10th and moved to Consthum for out post duty and road work. "B" Company left Eschweiler to go up on the line at Walhausen. Relieved 7th Air Division. We rode a way in trucks but hiked with full field packs the last 5 miles and the last 2 under German observation. Our battalion again replaced what had been a full division. Fighting had been heavy and we again used our R & R duty to serve as infantry. 14 �11th It had been quite for "B" Company for a few days. The night before when we were on duty all Hell broke loose. Screaming minis (mortars) and 88's with machine guns and burp guns. Quite a racket. P.S. The Counter attack was broken. Things got sticky at times. 12th I had tonight off. It sure came in handy.. All was quite except when our guards came in. The Germans threw a lot of Screaming Minis. No casualties. 13th "C" Company moved to Walhausen and said a tank blew all to Hell. "B" Company spotted for Artillery lOS's fire on 'the Germans. All morning we had a lot of fun until a Cub (airplane) came over. The Germans really got up and took off. We caught Hell tonight. They paid us back. 14th Company "B'' was eating dinner when the Germans threw a lot of Screaming Mini's at the church. They hit it, too. Three of us left the church and crawled behind a stone wall back to our home (approx. 30 yards distance). I didn't spill a drop of my coffee. 15th "C" Company left Walhausen and returned to. Consthum to do out post and road duty. "B" Company left Walhausen after going through Hell. God was with us all the way. We sent back to take up the MLR at Consthum. 16th Most of the troops in "B" Company had lost 3 to 4 inches in the waist and were touchy. That night the German patrols were active. We went out to the MLR (Mainline of Resistance). No sleep that night. We had dug in the main line of resistance under fire. I had a machine gun in by fox hole with another person. We told everyone when we settled in that anyone who came up the draw to think twice. We had a mine field in our rear and I was not going to attempt to go through it at night. No Germans came up our draw. But there were several Americans and German combat patrols in the area that night. 17th "B" Company went back up to the line at Walhausen. When we got there, the Germans welcomed us with 12 SM. One of our group liked to play the piano and when he did the Germans laid in motor fire on us. The Sm's landed 20 to 30 feet from us in the 2nd ph. Four men were wounded. Laine, Frank Straight, John Fundyea, and Johnson. Several of the Sm's hit the street in front of our building on top of the cobble stone road. the others landed just off the west side of the road where the ground sloped 15 �down. We had heard the incoming shells and hit the road gutters. The shrapnel whet over us. One foot elevation make a lot of difference. 18th God was sure with me. 1 was on a 10 man reconnaissance patrol and we 'moved into the village. The Germans threw hand grenades and the first one hit Capt. Gunion. About this time we decided to pull out. through a gap in a stone wall and climb up the hill behind. Several machine guns were aimed on the gate. 8 of the 10 received Purple Hearts. Seven of us in one group were pinned down on the side of a hill 3 1/2 hours with no cover. We were exposed to Sm's, MG and Bump guns. Every time someone moved, they cut loose. Several of us prayed for a cloud to come up the valley and one did. That gave us some cov~r. Willie Clemmons fell off the path. Webber and Murray went back down the hill to pick him up and carry him out. Then we carried each other back to the base. That was one Hell of a day. Everyone except me went to the hospital. Brown and Hendrick were hit. (I do not remember the name of the other 4 men on patrol). When 1 returned to base I was scheduled to go back to the same place on the 19th. Sgt. Scioli and the squad leaders said no. I then volunteered to set up a 50 col. MG on the hill looking down into town to smoke out the Germans when another patrol was schedules to look into town again. 19th Last night the Germans did a lot of firing. 1 thought 1 would have to go out on patrol but it proved unnecessary. Boy was Cglad. I was dead tired. the Germans came up to the 3rd Squad's position last night. (No casualties - 1 think). 20th "C" Company left Consthuim and arrived in Marmach for preparation for breaking the Siegfried Line. I had a day off scheduled but went out at 1800 and dug in solid rock till 0600 to make a shell hole 5' x 2' x 4' for a 50 cal. mg. We were to draw fire so a bridge could be blown up. 21st "A" Company had a reconnaissance patrol pinned down in the same place "B" Company was pinned down. 1 heard 2 men were killed in "A" Company. 1 was placed on the 50 Cal. MG with a man from Florida. We fired all day to cover the patrol actions. I knew where the German fire was coming from and kept their fire to a minimum by shooting into the windows where the Germans were set up. We were on top of a hill and shot into the valley and town. The ground and grass in front of my MG was burned black. 1 was chewed out because 1 had used a months ammo in one day. (I would do the same thing if a similar situation came up again.) 16 �To support our group, we called in artillery fire on the Germans but made sure we didn't hit them. We just ran them from the edge of town to the other edge of town and provided cover for our patrol. The shells were clearing our hill by 10 to 20 feet. That is the only way we could get help. After several hours a forward observer (a captain) came up and wanted to know what in the Hell we were shooting and the size of the enemy force. After we told him what we were doing he played with us a while and at dusk he shut down the shelling and left. They were getting low on Ammo. Everything was in short supply. Patton had set up a Red Ball Express from the sea ports to the front line. They did a good job and kept the supplies coming. It saved our necks. When I got in tonight, I volunteered for a 30 man combat patrol but it was called off. 22nd "C" Company took part in breaching operations against the Siegfried Line. They crossed the Our River as Dasburg, Germany, advanced to Pruscheid, Germany. The colonel commended Singer and Bowen on their looting ability. "B" Company left Walhausen at 0230, then left Consthrum at 0600, and arrived under fire on the Our River at Dasbourgh. My squad gathered in side a room of a stone house until the shelling slacked off. Then at 1000 we went across the Our River on a foot bridge to attack the Siegfried Line. We moved to the edge of town in a valley. After regrouping "B" Company started receiving shell fire. I didn't know if this fire was German or American only that if we stayed there no one would be left alive. I made up a squad consisting of myself and 7 others. Three had first arrived as replacements a few days ago. They had served in the Aleutian Islands and were in trouble in England for picking up a cook stone and hand carrying it to town and selling it. The MP's were unhappy. The eight of us moved out as a squad (I believe Clemmons was with us) during the confusion and ran up the hill toward the Siegfried line .pill boxes. We started clearing them of Germans. After the grenades ran out we used our other weapons. We had a successful day. Thanks to everyone working together, none of the 8 were wounded. I still don't believe it. I took a cat nap in the headquarters bunker. I was starting to hear Germans using the field phone to talk to the bunkers. I rolled over with my rifle stopping just short of shooting. It was a bunch of "B" Company speaking in German. (They were /'vl·-/ r, G'/?7d/il J 'r ft'../ ; ' -7', lucky) •. '-j)'-r L:J/.)1,7IG Lv("!"-- "-Y"'il1f-_ /'_";'''''_ !L I -e'l i I .. I -~. f·']I/,09­ I stood guard for 4 hours that night. The Germans were 100 yards away. They knew the end of the war was near. 17 �The 1252 BN did an excellent job and were given a copy of a citation by the commander of the Read Task Force Castallo Combat team "A" for Action under fire, for making the assault crossing, capturing our 73 fortified Siegfried Line concrete bunkers with minimum losses. We also drove the last Germans out of Luxemburg with this action. It was rumored that we would be awarded the Presidential Unit Citation but we hadn't suffered enough casualties on this assault. We also should have been awarded the Combat Infantryman's Badge. We had in enough time but Headquarters said we were Engineers. 23rd "C" Company advance reaches Sevenig, Germany (Third Platoon cleared the town). You didn't need a saddle when you ride a tank: "B" Company carried demolitions but left them. We understood that "A" Company rode tanks into 2 towns. "C" Company rode tanks into 3 towns. "B" Company took the 75 pill boxes and cleaned out the bridge head. 24th "C" Company left Preischeid, Germany and returned again to Consthum, Luxembourg. The duffle bags were all fouled up. I had the day off. I sat in front of pill boxes and ate all day. The Germans (75 of them) were 300 yards off taking life easy in the woods. They were POWS by night. '<c 25th I helped sweep 12 miles of road. Tanks passed us both ways. It took all day. That night we pulled out and went back to Consthum. We took 1 POW. The trucks came up through towns that were not yet taken by the Americans and went back the same way. The front was fluid. We were lucky. 26th "B" Company left Consthum to go to Petit Thier (west of St. Vith) to do road work but it was the wrong town. We rested. The break was good. We had been on the go. 27th "C" Company left Donsthum, arrived at Neundorf, Belguim, near St. Vith. (Corduroy roadwork) Knee deep in mud. A manure pile before every door. "B" Company left Petit Thier and went up to Schonverg through St Vith. We moved into a town that was occupied by the 89th division. I didn't see any building in St. Vith that was over 6 inches high. We used the rocks, rubble, and logs to repair the road. 28th "B" Company worked fixing roads and approaches to the D.D. Bailey Bridge that goes over the rail road in St. Vith. It was some job. The rocks kept sinking into the mud. 18 �29th "B" Company worked in St. Vith building and repairing a Corduroy road. They are hard to make. It rained a little. The officer in charge of group head quarters couldn't find anyone. He was mad. It was too cold to work. We finished our job but he wanted it finished a lot sooner. MARCH 1945 1st "B" Company left Schonverg and moved to Espeler. We lived in a school house. It was a nice warm place about 30 miles from work. 2nd "B" Company had a stretch of road across the Our River in Germany. there was a Red Cross unit with the hospital and we stopped in for coffee and doughnuts. It snowed that afternoon. Our Infantry was taking heavy casualties in this area. Patton needed the road to supply the front north and east of St. Vith. The fighting was heavy and ambulances were going both ways. We heard that any noncom in the 1252 that wanted a Battlefield Commission to 2nd Lt. could have it. After what we had seen there were no takers. 3rd It snowed and rained all day. We were repairing the roads, A Red Cross van drove past several times without stopping. I was fed up and stopped then with my rifle and requested them to give us some coffee and doughnuts. They said they only served the fighting troops. (How they got to 'the Front Line they couldn't explain.) I told them although we were Engineers we had just come off the line after serving as Infantry for several weeks. I also told them to cut the B.S. and give us something to eat. She gave us coffee and doughnuts and reported us to their headquarters. It was cold. My throat hurt all day. 4th I was on road patrol last night. We didn't do much. Today I was off. The rest helped a lot. The strain has been hard on me. 5th I was sick. My throat hurt. I stayed in and repaired my equipment. It is still morning. 6th We heard that we were leaving but the orders were changed to leave the next day. It rained all day and the roads were in fair shape. 7th "C" Company left Nuendorf, arrived in Mutzenich, Germany. There's nothing like a Teller Mine to reduce the waist line. We left Espeler and moved to Winterscheid. We worked all day in the rain. We were disgusted. We found a house but it wasn't very good. 19 �8th We moved into a better house when we came in. While we were working we found a couple of dead Gl's and a dozen Germans. One of the boys went through infantry basic training with one of the dead Gl's. A German youth (10 to 12 years old) shot at us all day. When we got ready to leave one of the group went to his house and gave him a spanking and broke his rifle. He told him to learn how to shoot. None of our bunch was hit. 9th "B" Company left Wintersheid. We passed through Prum and stayed in Gonnersdorf. 10th "C" Company left Mutzenich, arrived in Scheid, Germany (Roadwork), Dragon's Teeth and the Siegfriend Line. The machine guns still were loaded. Welch killed by AP mine. ' "B" Company rested up waiting for orders to come in on what road we were to fix. The Americans had just passed through the area. 11th "B" Company's orders came in today. Kolbert, Grening, and Murray cleared mines on the approaches to the craters in the road. 12th "B" Company checked two scout cars for booby traps. We finished clearing the roadway. The Germans really believed in mining this area. 13th I had sinus trouble today. It was also my day oft. I stayed in. This was the only time I had sinus trouble overseas. I might have been killed had I not been sick. Lt. Condron took out a party to clear mines. Hart was killed and Dietz was badly wounded. His leg was blown off by a shoe mine. Bill was hurt when his bulldozer hit a mine. 14th "C" Company left Scheid, and arrived in Mullenbach, Germany (Roadwork) Ruskis, Polskis and French by the hundreds; PW's by the thousands. The first bathtub in Germany. "B" Company moved from Gonnersdorf to Zermullen. We moved in and straightened our things up. We rested up that day. We are making a pincher movement-firing on three sides. It sure seemed funny to see the stuff going both ways. 15th The Battalion gave "B" Company the worst strip of road but we fixed it in 2 days time. We made a swell road. Had a good day. We found good loot and 2 cases of 10 in 1 extra rations came in. 16th Repaired roads outside of Kelberg with hot patch. It was a good job for our first job with hot topping. A farmer was sure mad we used 3/4 of his wood. 20 �\\ \, '\, . '\ " 0' Today we finished the wood pile." Walked 5 miles checking the road and shooting ' 17th my M1 and M3. We also tried out the pistols. 18th We drove 50 miles looking for fine rock. We found one load and came in. We had a good time this afternoon. 19th Some of the group found a car and a motorcycle for the 3rd squad. The owner had hidden the wheels and part of the electrical system. It will go 30 mph and will climb the hill. The motorcycle will go 50 mph and 30 mph up the hill. 20th "B" Company was notified to form assault boat crews and get ready for a major river crossing, 21th We picked up a case of oranges from a QM truck. The other squad took one case also. They were good "while they lasted. 22nd I had today off. We were told one of the officers wanted the car and motorcycle for themselves. We hid the car as we found it and gave the keys to the owner. He was happy. We are now in the 1107 Engineer Combat Group. It is a damn good outfit. The best I have heard of. All West Point officers, 23rd We went on a 100 mile round trip to get a load of rock and then we didn't use it. Something is up we are to move out tomorrow. . '<­ 24th "C" Company left Mullenbach, and arrived in Budenbach, Germany (Preparations for Rhine crossing) Communications set up ten ton Heinie switchboard. "B" Company moved from Zermullen to Ebschied. I knew something was up by the stock piles of river crossing equipment. We have been told the Rhine had been crossed at that point. 25th We went to church for communion. (Someone thinks we will have heavy losses.) After that we had a gas class. It broke up. Then the 2nd platoon went to get Bailey Bridge Equipment and put up a 40 foot S.S. (Single Single) Bailey Bridge. It was the first in the Battalion and we got it. Thank God. It kept us busy. 26th "C" Company made assault boat crossing of the Rhine River under concentrated fire at St. Goar, Germany. Now we knew that Sherman was right. A 20mm sprays a lot of lead and a little wine helps it to go by. May and Martinez of Second Platoon were killed. We prepared to make the Rhine river crossing. I believe it was Good Friday. We relieved the 168th that was almost wiped out this morning. "C" Company was alerted at 0001 last night and "B" Company at 0600 this morning. We waited all day in the woods. At 1700 we carried 5 truck loads of assault boats to the Rhine River. (Boy was I scared.) We came back and ate supper. We again went 21 �down to the river at 2000 to make the 4th wave of assault boats. (Note: the first wave was at 0400 this morning.) I made 3 trips by 0230. We moved the 84th Division across at St. Goar. The outboard motors still had grease on them and had not been test run prior to our need to use them. Damn poor planning. The casualties on the 1st attack wave was approximately 100 killed. Over 300 casualties occurred at this location. I went to school in 1st grade, Seminole, Oklahoma, with one of the men in my boat. Hope be makes it through the war. The boats were loaded with I" freeboard. The infantry had on full gear. We rowed straight across the river. After unloading we ditched the boats and loaded into one and rowed back across. We ended up 1/4 to 1/2 mile down stream. We walked back and crossed again. The army had a lot of plywood to repair the boats. I don't think it ws ever used for this purpose. It was a good thing they had a lot of boats. (Someone put in the pontoon bridge at the site in the next few days.) After we secured the East Bank we gathered up to go home and gathered on the West bank of the river. Snipers shot all night but didn't hit anyone. They were lousy shots. The German with a 20mm gun in a castle on the east bank really tore us up. He was killed that night. On one of my trips across the Rhine a search light crew threw their light on a raft next to us. It was loaded with wounded and Germans. When the shelling started, most of them jumped off the raft and went down river or drowned. It was a stupid loss. We got away from the raft as fast as we could. We were about to sink as it was. We quit at 0230 to go in to rest, but we had to go back out to haul j gravel for a bridge. Only one truck load of assault boats were left but the landing I beach head is secure at this time. I got to bed at noon. Since I had been up for 72 hours, (I didn't want to miss anything), we drank our meal and went to bed at noon. M/e had a champagne and wine party. Excellent SS stuff. Everyone got drunk to release the strain. Only the German people and 2 or 3 of our Company guarded us. We wanted to sleep 24 hours. Thank God we made it through this action. ~ 28th "C" Company left Budenbach and arrived at Auel, Germany (Roadwork). We walked 3 kilometers to visit a castle and found an "Off Limits" sign on the door. Needles shot it. ·"B" Company left Ebschied and moved to St. Goarhausen, the town across the river. '1 f All of us got lit. The building we stayed in was headquarters for the Youth movement. We got lost on the move and took the wrong road. It was lucky for us. A 20mm cannon was firing on the correct road and knocked out several trucks when we would have been there if we had been on time. 29th Yesterday all the 20mm cannons in the area were wiped out. The night before one squad was fired on with 20mm but no one was hurt. We rested up. Hitler had his yacht stored here but we were not allowed to use it. There were too many booby traps. 22 �Note: Several days ago, "B" Company was going in a convoy and stopped for a rest stop. Someone saw a big Buck Deer and they all lined up to shoot the deer at approximately 100 yards. Everyone emptied one clip and the deer watched them then turned around and walked into the woods. The officers were mad and said no one knew how to shoot. A few days later in St. Goarhausen one of the men shot a \ deer from the mess line at over 100 yards and the shot was up hill. Then several j people had to brin.g the deer in for Dennis. 1Rat% . as the h»rd part. The deer was//" good. l- k-~·#1~~cdt' '7 . )ffM 30th We had part of the stretch of road "A" Company also had so we stayed in the afternoon. We looked all over town. There was not much left. The civilians had hidden everything. 31st "B" Company went out and tore up road blocks alongside the Main Supply Route. We sighted 4 men. We formed a patrol and went to see if they were snipers in some caves along the road. It was a good spot for a 20mm. No action. We guarded the Treadway bridge at St. Goar for 4 days. APRIL 1945 1st We took care of a treadway. 1010 Engr. constructed. We were given the job of building a 1500 foot Bailey Bridge (floating) across the Rhine River. We replaced another Engineer Battalion. 2nd "C" Company left Auel, and arrived in Kamp, Germany, on East bank of Rhine River (Maintained pontoon bridge). We were demons with a motor boat. we laid a line across the Rhine. The Rhine River had torn out the bridge 3 times when we arrived. On our first day we sank 4 utility boats and tore up one LCVP (US Navy) and that afternoon the bridge was torn loose by a buoy out of control in the middle of the main current. It drifted down stream and every AAA gun on the River was going to cut loose but we saved it by pushing it up to the bank. This tore up the Kingspan raft. 4th Today we got the bridge back to the same place (at night) and a bay did the same thing only this time we sank the bay with M1's and M3's. We lost the rest of the night getting things straightened out. 6th The next night we completed all the bays and were taking it easy then orders came through that we were to stop work on the bridge. We were going to go on into Germany. 7th The Germans said there was a bad current under the surface caused by the bend of the river. They were right. This was the only bridge not constructed as planned by 23 �Patton for the Rhine. After we lost it 3 or 4 times we secured and moved out. I was afraid that it would tear out some of the Bridges down stream. We even had some navy boats on hand to help. 8th SHAEF HQ was mad since they had planned on the bridge for five months. But they didn't count on the Rhine River cross current. 9th I got off at 2400 last night. We went out this morning and took up a road block. We went out at 2000. We were called in at 2300. Boy are we tired. It rained tonight. We left the Rhine river area and cleared mines from shoulders of roads. After that we never could get one of our truck drivers off the road surface on to the shoulder. I was chewed out by one German sapper for being 2 days behind his schedule. He had placed the mines on a bridge and he didn't blow it up as scheduled. He wanted to make sure he took up the mines so we didn't destroy the bridge. This cost us some c-rations but it was worth it. He lived in the area and it was an important bridge. 10th "C" Company left Kamp, and arrived in Laubach, Germany (Roadwork). nazi baby factory and nix fraternizing, what a life! "B" Company left St. Goarhousen and moved to Kottingen. Fooled around the rest of the day getting settled. We sent about 60 miles out of the way. Scenic Drive. 11th We rested up. There is one squad out looking for material. They found it. The other squad went for it tonight. 12th This morning we started changing a bridge to a 70 and widened it 4 feet. Some job. We manhandled 17" beams. It was hard work but it had to be done. 13th Last night the lumber yard we had taken the materials from was strafed. Today I have been in the Army 1 year. We moved from Kottingen to Hersfeld to finish a bridge. 14th At 0230 we left and moved to Gospenrodos. Some of the squads were strafed this morning. We started building a 400 foot Bailey Bridge but was called off. 15th II "C" Company left laubach and arrived at Weimer, Germany. We prepared Leftwaffe camp for Patton's Headquarters. Rootin' tootin' lootin'. Buchenwald Concentraction Camp. "B" Company went to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp. One Hell of a mess. The people had scattered all over the city and into the woods. Bodies were stacked on the ground and on trailers. The ovens had ashes in them. i didn't go into a 24 �barrack. One of my bunch went in the door and came out feeling sick. He recommended I should stay out. Too many faces and bodies in the beds. We arrived in Herrondof at 0400. I pulled guard and the German planes were still flying around. We finally left in the afternoon for Weimar. 16th Today "B" Company cleaned out the. Air Force and Flack officers schools of Germany at Weimer for Patton's Headquarters. Things changes so fast the 1st Army took the place over. We went through a warehouse and picked up a bunch of fur coats. Later army headquarters paced the area off limits..After the war I ate dinner with one of the officers and he told how they had tried to strip the place after they had kept the GI's out of it. The officers wanted the furs. I told him we already had all we wanted and had first choice at that. He never liked me after that. 17th "C" Company left Weimer and arrived at Bad Blankenberg. Five thousand bottles of wine and somehow we built a bridge. "B" Company left Weimer in daylight and passed through Efurt and Gothe and moved into Molsdorf. One mile from the Super Highway. We are to build a bridge on one lane of the Super Highway. 18th One lane was already repaired. We went after lumber and it took us 1/2 hour to get there and 3 hours to return. The German Air Force is sure a lot of trouble. They let fly at anything. They hit something and fired a few rounds at "A" Company 'r­ somewhere close by. They flew in pairs. 20th One was about 500 yards behind the other. The first plane dropped flares and the next one would cut loose with everything he had. What a feeling. Note: In this time frame sometime after we left Weimer we moved at night with our lights on and were stopped two separate times. The civilians turned on lights at the head and tail end of our convoy. The planes knew the area and strafed the road. Both times they missed our truck by 2 to 3 feet for the entire length of the convoy. Somehow they thought we were going the other way. On the first strafing I had my fur coat on and ran through a 5 strand barbed wire fence (light weight wire) on the side of the road. The rest of the men followed me. The second time a bunch of us stayed on a hill a short distance off until we thought it was safe to load and start the trip again. We were again very lucky. 21st We carried the lumber to "C" Company, instead of working at night on the bridge. It was lucky we did. There were a dozen German planes out and they gave the convoys Hell on the Super Highway where we were working. 25 �2nd "C" Company left Bad Blankenberg and arrived in Dietersdorf, Germany. The mess hall was in the railroad station. "B" Company left Molsdorf through Colburg to Scheverfeld. There were a lot of holes in the bridge sites and in the other bridge where we were working. 23rd . "C" Company left Dietersdorf and arrived in Trebgast, Germany (Roadwork). DeHart went visiting and the convoy pulled out too soon. "B" Company moved from Scheverfeld to ????????? We fooled around the rest of the day. We traded everything for eggs. We were hungary and had a nice house. 24th We started building a fixed bridge to take the place of a 125 foot Bailey Bridge. We got in lumber and we fixed one bay today. 25th We worked and by night had the structure completed, including supports. worked until 2400. We 26th We removed the BB today and floored the bridge by 2300. We also had most of the rails up on the side. 27th We rested up today. Battalion used the trucks to haul treadway. They sure tore up our trucks. They loaded 4 treadway sections on each 6 x 6 truck. 28th "C" Company left Trebgast, and arrived in Echenbach, Germany (Roadwork). The city hall boys found a home. The beer came in kegs. "B" Company left and moved to Goldmuhl. 29th "B" Company had a dry run to tear down a Bailey Bridge. For the past 3 days there has been a big gasoline shortage. Not enough to bring the Infantry and tanks up for our assault crossing so it has been put off 3 nights in a row. (We found this out later.) 30th I had guard this morning. "B" Company used 3000 gallons of gas when we left at 1900. We went through Bayreuth. We traveled 100 miles to carry BB material. We slept for 2 hours and then ate the 5 in one rations. MAY 1945 1st "C" Company left Echenbach, and arrived in Wackersdorf, Germany. The things you'll find in a schoolhouse. 26 �"B" Company carried BB equipment to Cham. It rained and we got to the houses at noon. At 1700 we were alerted for an assault across the Danube river at 2400. It was called off. I went to sleep at 2000 and found out later the assaul t was called off. I think I was the only one that got any sleep that night. The 71st Infantry had driven past the assault crossing point so we moved to Gmund close to Passua. The crossing was to be a combined air and ground operation including glider treops and Airborne Infantry. It was to be a big crossing to show the Germans and Europe that America still had plenty of power at the end of the war. I later found out that the German side of the river had a large number of 20mm standing wheel to wheel. We would have never survived the crossing. I think the Lord was good to us again. 2nd "C" Company left Wackersdorf, and arrived in Mangelhan, Germany (Hauled Bailey Bridge equipment). Cobwebs were on the ceiling and cowdung by the messhall door. Hi tler reported kaput. 3rd What a hole. Dirty as Hell. It was the first place I saw that dirty. We had to ride 40 miles to work and it is very cold. Everyone wanted to pull guard duty. 4th Company left Gmund to go to Patersdf to live in a better and cleaner house. Tonight the SS Germans made an attack around Gmund. All the SS troops were killed. '~ 5th We worked in the rain all day to keep the MSR (Main Supply Route) open and went in at 2000. All of us were tired and went to bed at 2400. 6th "C" Company left Mangelhan and arrived in Regan, Germany (Erected timber bridge, repaired roads). Modern apartments, cognac by the barrel and the end of the War. Wine, women, and a pistol don't mix. "B" Company woke up at 0230 to go out to work on a road. We loaded gravel by hand. We hauled 6 truck loads. After breakfast we fixed up a field hospital and completed the job at 2300. Plenty of rain all day long. 7th We got up at 0530 to drain roads. It was still raining but we finished the hospital road at 1200. We were on the road at 1530 when the MP's told us the war was over. We had a party that night. 8th Today was the official VE Day. I sure am glad the fighting has stopped. Now we have to wait until the Army says what is next. 27 �9th We left Patersdf to move to the Eger Airfield in Cheb, Chechoslovakia. We were to replace a double double Bailey Bridge across a railroad. The Russians would be given this area and the Army wanted the Bailey Bridge moved to the area we would keep. It was some ride in the 6 x 6 trucks and the Battalion scattered over 150 mile radius. We are working with the 1st Division. 10th Several of us went to see the German Army Airport at Egar. It reminded me of Barksdale Airfield. I have the flag that flew over the airfield. They had jet planes and light bombers. OUf Air Corps really did an excellent job. I saw my first jet plane at Eger Air Field. I was told that Army headquarters had them moved back to our side. 11th Our bridge replace a DDBB over the railroad. We first had to clear away wreckage of the original bridge. 12th the Company has worked in 3-8hr shifts. Ours was 2400 to 0800. The sun came up at 0430. We had to do a lot of digging in the rock. 13th We used air drills and TNT to reach bed rock. We had our main meal at 0400. The cooks did an excellent job. 14th The 1st Infantry Division and a Radar Outfit each had a picture show and we went every night. Saw 2 USO stage shows while we were there. 15th The family that lived in our house brought us their liquor ration. They wanted us to take care of their stuff and not let the other Germans and troops into their place. 16th Anything that is loose is stolen. I was told later the RR cut where we built the bridge was crossed through the courtesy gave 200 dead troops who had 85 + points (Enough to go home) from the 1st Infantry Division. They were low on motar ammo and M1 and M3 ammo. Later on several Germans were hurt by shoe mines planted along the side of the cliff close to where we were working. They only lost a leg a piece. Lucky. 18th (James Rice of Portland, Texas, 1st Division was in the assault. He made it with our a scratch. We worked together a few summers ago.) 19th "C" Company left Regan and arrived in Herbertsfelden (built 257 foot timber bridge in Eggensfelden) 85 points or the CBI. The Radio Section sets up in a trailer. This area was to be given to the Russians and I heard that some of our group went through the area with trucks and stripped anything that was useful. Some of the people were also leaving. The area east of us is under Russian Army control. All Hell was breaking loose in the next town. 28 �20th No American was allowed to enter the Russian side of the line. 21st We were still moving Equipment and working on the bridge. 22nd Another bridge was built across a near by river for the same reason. We finished the bridge this afternoon. I sure was glad .. I got off that night. 23rd LtB" Company had a big party to celebrate the finishing of our bridge. Everyone was drunk as we could get. We really had a night. We were under orders not to tell the people the Russian would take over when we left. 24th We left Eger at 0700. We went through Regensburg to Staudach. 25th We worked on the roads on the Main Supply Route and hauled 2 loads of gravel. We traded for some eggs. Good Trade, I pack of cig. for two dozen eggs, salt, and fire wood. 26th I stayed in today. I had guard duty last night. 27th "B" Company had a rough time. Five of us were out working on filling 2 holes. We traded a farmer out of 50 eggs. We took this afternoon off to eat them. 28th We stayed in to prepare to move the next day. 29th "B" Company left Staudach to move to Grieskirchen. straightened out. We are living in a castle with a moat. Spent the day getting I pulled guard duty on the approach road. I stood at a spot where a big German war dog watched me. His master kept him under control. A German staff car with 3 officers sped past me. I yelled halt 3 times. On the third halt, they slammed on the brakes. A MG in the castle tower was trained on them. He did not have to shoot. I don't know what happened to the 3 Germans. 30th We were not supposed to get out of the castle. However, few were left inside. We had an inspection of M1 and M3's. Everyone passed. Nothing had been cleaned in 3 weeks. 31st We went on road work today. What a farce. We stood on the side of the road all day long. 29 �JUNE 1945 1st "B" Company worked on roads today. We hauled hotmix 3 miles. We are having a rough time. They are doing anything to keep us out on the roads. 2nd We used a bunch of POWs to work. We worked them 2 hours and had to return them. We had a round trip drive over 100 miles. Boy do we burn gasoline. 3rd "B" Company is leaving tomorrow so we have to get things ready. We went swimming. We were chewed out for it. The water was very cold. 4th We left Grieskircher and moved to Neukirchen. Boy were we lucky. We only went 50 miles out of the way. We can get a good view of the Alps from here. We went swimming today. The water was very cold. Everyone tried it only once. 6th "C" Company moved from Hebertsfelden to Wilding, near Frankenmarkt, Austria (Garrison training begins). Hedy Lamarr honeymooned here. The rains came and the duffle bags went. "B" Company rode all over the country looking for a POW camp. We went to a show tonight and swam this afternoon. It was a swell pool. 7th We worked a group of SS troups today. We straightened up our equipment on the trailers. It was some job. Glad they had to do it for-us. They did a good job. They wanted to come with us because we had food. The Germans for the most part were out of food. 8th We sent to Berchtesgaden and saw Hitler's home at Obersalzberg. The place is really torn up. There is a nice lake there. The buildings were still smoldering. 9th "C" Company left Wilding, and moved to Redl, Austria. We collect ourselves after the flood, a night in the theater. /~" Company left Neukirchen and moved to Amerang. We are living in a guest '\house. All of us have feather beds. (Really living it up.) ~, ' 10th "C" Company left Redl, and arrived in Oberholswang, Germany. The Field Artillery helps us find bullets. The Gesthaus was big, but it was dry. "B" Company straightened up. They told us this was our last move before the big move. I sent out my washing. 30 �11th We heard there where 160+ Purple Hearts given out in the Battalion and 8 Bronze Stars in the "B" Company. The last 4 Bronze Stars were to give 4 fellows 85 point to get out now and not have to go to the PTO. They deserved it. 12th "C" Company left Oberholswang, and arrived in Kricheiselfing, Germany. Garrison life gets underway in a baby factory, and .Stars and Stripes says the Third Army will occupy Germany. 14th We had an outboard motor from the Rhine River assault and found a SS Storm Trooper assault boat. We took them to a lake near Obing. We saw a blown bridge 240 feet high. They told us it was the highest bridge in Germany. 15th We made a surf board for the boat to have more fun with. I learned how to ride the board. 16th We sent to the lake and rode the surf board again. 17th Returned to Obing lake for rest. 18th A soldier was killed on guard at Wassenburg at the bridge over the Inn River. Approximately 12 KM from Amerang. We doubled the guards at 0200. 19th We doubled the guard tonight. A Jeep and 2 of our men were fired on. I broke out and gave ammo to myself, Pemn, Scargrough, 'Menker, Wagner, and a couple of others. We were not allowed to have ammo at this time, orders. We went out on patrol to take care of the snipers. No action. The Germans called themselves the werewolfs. When they found we had been active front line infantry they cut out the horse play and we never had any trouble with the Germans again. The word spread fast. Others were not so lucky. 20th Two guards were killed on the Super Highway about 20 KL from here early this morning. 21st Things have quieted down around here and it appears as though it is safe in this area. 22nd ? 23rd "B" Company was ordered to build on air strip near Munchen for L-5's and 2 motor planes. We checked the area and found a camouflaged air strip with off ramps to store the planes. The Germans did an excellent job of hiding this base. We got out of a lot of work. We went to a show. 31 �24th ,~e spent the ~g Ludwigs day in Prien. We went swimming in the afternoon. We sent to see castle on an island in the Chremsee. It's really beautiful. 25th "B" Company received 2 Battalion of German volunteer workers today. They built their own shelters fast. This was a surprise. 25th All of the Germans were SS Troops. They were special at some jobs. Their food came from Germany QM. No trouble at all to guard. 27th I cleaned my MG tonight. We guarded 2 battalion approximately 1500 men with 12 men and 4 MG's located on the corner of the camp. We would have more prisoners in the morning that we had the night before. The Germans went out and found their friends. They would wake us up then they left the compound and when they returned. Food was short for all the Germans. It is strange when you can guard 1500 plus troops with 12 men. The only food was in the compound. 28th It is rumored that we were alerted. I went to the show tonight. It was a good show. 29th Official alert of the 1252nd Engr Combat Battalion, destination unknown. It hope it is the States first. God help us out. 30th//We finished packing equipment, and saw Jack Benny usa show this afternoon. Sure ,\( was good. I got a shot for typhus. Eighty new replacements are corning into the Battalion to bring it up to full strength. '". .JULY 1945 1st This morning the ones with over 85 points left. Some of them were very good friends of mine. I sure hated to leave them. But they have served their time. 2nd Didn't do much today. It rained all day. The lG's came around today. Little did we know we would beat the 85ers home. The bunch really put up a howl. 3rd Rained all day. This morning all weapons were checked by the ordnance and vehicles were checked to replace all shortages. Also, replacement clothes carne in. 4th It rained all day. We went to the Red Cross and the show tonight. Finished packing our equipment and stored it. It looks like it is direct shipment to the CBl or PTa. 5th Received all shortages of equipment. The lG said it was T.S. but we were going direct to the CBl or PTa. I had guard tonight. 6th I got my other 2 battle stars today and good conduct ribbon. Just fooled around the rest of the day. "B" Company finally beat "A" Company in softball. This was the first 32 �time this happened. 7th I rested up. We went to the show that night. 8th I slept all morning, fooled around all day and went to the show at night. I thought it was a usa show bu t it wasn't. 9th "B" Company went on the range this morning to zero in our Ml's. "Old Betsy" is in perfect working order. Scored 51 out of 60. I was in top 5 of Company and went to the show tonight. 10th I fooled around all day. I had to clean "Betsy" tonight also my m.g. 11th It looks like we are going directly to the CHI. We ordered all necessary equipment for the CHI. Went to the show tonight. Checked my Service record. 12th I got a vaccination for small pox. Slept all morning. They completed a two day round up of SS men today. Even found one of Benito Mussolini's cabinet members in the raids at Amerang. An American Captain (Airborne Division) had been in town for several days getting things lined up. We heard they flew in his personal plane to pick him up. 13th I had my teeth checked today, all were ok. We went to the Red Cross and then a show. 14 - 15th ???????? 16th I had guard duty tonight. // 17th_/ Pimm made Sgt, Geisler Cpl. We loaded trucks with equipment. All men who have , over 75 service points left this afternoon. Hughs and Jones left. Hated to see them " go. Foxhole buddies. They have served their time. 18th "B" Company left Amerang this morning at 0900. The Civilians came out and waved to us. We rode all day and stopped at 1700 outside of ???????????? "B" Company played ball tonight. 19th We left at 0700. Recrossed the Rhine River a lot easier than crossing it the first time. We saw the Erney Pyle Monument at the rail road bridge at ???????????? We stopped outside ?????????????? at 1730 and went swimming. 20th We left at 0700. We stopped at a GI Joe rest stop for coffee and sandwich. We arrived in Nancy at 1430. I had a 6 hour pass. We really had a good time. 33 �21st We left at 0700. We rode all day to another Gi Joe. We arrived at Dijon at 1530. I took a shower, saw a show, made $40 tonight with the cubes. 22nd We left at 0630. We rode all day to another GI Joe stop. There were no passes tonight. We went swimming in the Rhone River. We arrived at 1630 in ?????????? 23rd . Reveille was at 0430. We left at 0600. We arrived at Calas Marshaling area at 1700. It was rocky, rolling, sandy ground. There were 14 men tents with cots and showers. Mountains were in back ground. \Ve will just have to wait. 24th We went to the show tonight. 25th I took the Cholera shot today. We turned in our Engr. Equipment today. I had a 6 hour pass to Marseille tonight. It is really some time. 26th We went through the gas chamber this morning. Saw a tonight. 27th We got all the trucks ready to turn in today. We saw a 28th We packed all guns in the company. The Battalion sure caught Hell for it. The Staff Sgt. was there. The Platoon had 10 gallons of ice cream. I saw a stage show in French. It sure is good to be in a rear area command. 29th We banded 3/4 of the equipment and marked it. It won't be long now. PTO. We went to the 20th Corps band concert, then saw a usa show. usa stage show and one usa Show. 30-31 ????????????? AUGUST 1945 1st We were told straight that we were going to the PTO direct. We are supposed to go to the ???????????? from all indications. 2nd I took the 2nd Cholera shot today and it is making my arm sore. It knocked a couple of men flat in the tent. They were sick tonight. 3rd Had an 8 hour pass to Marseille. We really got drunk. Had my picture taken. 4th I heard today that our equipment will start to be loaded. We are to sail before the last of the month, straight through to the PTO. 5th We were paid today. 34 �6th We had 10 gallons of ice cream for the platoon. 7th I saw the Betty Hutton usa stage show last night, It was good. She really puts on an act. Later she had a nervous breakdown from the show. 8th Today we got rid of the organizational equipment. We are getting lectures from men back from the PTO. We are training to put in at Foot Bridges.. We heard about the atom bomb today. 9th Russia declared war on Japan today. The war should be over soon and another atom bomb was dropped. 10th I was in a Japanese mine class today when we heard that Japan had thrown in the towel. I sure hope so. I don't like their mines. 11-12-13 ????????????? 14th Today the Texas Aggies had a big get together but I couldn't get off guard. I couldn't go. Lt. Condron said he signed for me. I expect the war to end soon. Guards were doubled. 15th I heard the war was over at 0330. I' was sure glad. Most of the troops went to church today. All Hell broke loose tonight. 30 wese killed and a lot were wounded. Friendly fire in the camp. 16th I had a pass to Marseille today. All shipments to the CBI and PTO stopped. Boy am I glad. Now we can go home. I hope. 17th GI's inspection this morning. I had a pass to go to the beach. It reminds me of Corpus. We are heading for the states. 18th Clothing inspection this morning. 19th Another clothing inspection 20th We found out what camps we go to in the USA. I go to Ft. Sam. Part of the TAT was loaded out tonight. It wont be long now. 21st Turned in our gas masks today and some other equipment. We were restricted to the company area today. We should board a ship soon. ~nd each platoon received 10 gallons of ice cream. 35 �22nd The 1252nd BN is in charge of the ship. Today we finished loading the TAT (To Accompany Troops). We got everything ready to go all packed up. We are really sweating it out. 23rd We boarded the ship Bienville at 1630, .It is a nice ship. I pulled KP for supper. Good chow. For the record I was always the top ranked non com that pulled KP duty. The 1252 BN keeps its bunks the rest double up on 12 hour shifts. 24th We left the dock at Marseille at 1520. We were out of site of land at 1800. Gentle sea. The ship is rolling a little. There are 2300 men on board, all ready to go home. It was rumored that the ship carrying our equipment went on to the PTO. 25th Smooth sea. Last night 12 were sick due to the waves. Weather is warm. Passed the ?????????? Islands from 1200 to 1600. 26th I had KP for supper. We fed 2500 men in 3 hours and 45 minutes. Still warm. Passed Rock of Gibraltar at 1230 today. It is some rock. We also saw Spain and North Africa. 27th This morning it is colder and a little rougher. I went to a show tonight. We are really traveling now to get away from 'a storm. 28th Rough sea, white caps, a little rain. It is rough as hell this afternoon. The ship is really rolling. I was sea sick for awhile, but was OK afterwards. 29th The sea has calmed down but the winds are really blowing up. It is w armer today. I was on KP duty for supper. We sure ate well. 30th Smooth sea. I started taking penicillin shots for a cyst infection un der my ear. Passed the Azores Islands this morning. 31st Smooth at sea. Spent last night in sick bay taking shots. We had an excellent breakfast. I went to a show tonight. SEPTEMBER 1945 1st I pulled KP duty for breakfast. It rained most of the day but we are making good time. The ship is riding smooth. 2nd Today was VJ day. I sure am glad. Now maybe the world can settle down and work for a United Peace. 36 �3rd I took a GI physical and was told to get out the OD's to land in. We filled out custom slips. We heard the ship came across on auxiliary engines to speed the crossing. 4th The skipper of another ship carrying rear area support troops turned up his speed and reached port during the night. Ws:.. had all combat troops on our ship. The troops on the other ship marched in the victory parade in Boston. We went straight to Camp Myles Standish. It is a nice camp. I had KP duty for breakfast. Sighted land at 0800. Boston and the Fire Boats gave us a royal welcome. I set foot on-US soil at 1700. What a supper tonight. 5th I fooled around all morning. I ate ice cream all afternoon. Camp Myles Standish is a nice camp. Went to usa Stage Show tonight. 6th I fooled around today. I went to a 7th The Company started leaving out at 0500. We leave for Texas at 1610. It took us all night to leave New York State. 8-9 On a slow train across America. usa Stage Show. 10th Went through Enid, Oklahoma, and then crossed the Red River. We went through Temple, and Austin. '". 11th We arrived in San Antonio, Texas this morning. We left Ft. Sam Houston on a 30 day pass. Mickner, Deaton, Hanks, Dele Farse?, and Murray had a party. I saw some friends in San Antonio and left for home. 12th I arrived home, Taft, Texas, at 0645. I sure am glad to be home. The place looks like it used to look. Note: In November 1945, I heard that the HMS Tamaroa was sunk in December 1944. Also, that 2 ships were sunk in our crossing to England on board the HMS Tamaroa. That was a narro~ escape. 37 �:-~• II!R J:'. ....ILili:~· . ,. ...::n : ~ : ~ SPOt, r \. Wieseneggen von allen Grossen, j ~. 11 • ~' '. lA' • " " �~. '.~' . ' . .,· }:EiserneFeldeaoen, I\J lJlllIgor u. dn.uorlmfLoi l ankweiler . , a L~lIolzeggen; . ?ffolzlhllm Ganz eiserne Viehkessel, Halbe Heilmaterial-Ersparniss. . Eis cnac]: o o L � 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 PimmJ Title A name given to the resource Pimm, John (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pimm, John Description An account of the resource John Pimm was born in Connecticut in 1924 and graduated from a small country school in 1941. John then went on to a military college in Northfield, Vermont. The entire college enlisted in the service on September 14, 1942. John went through the Army Specialized Training Program in Nebraska and then Combat Engineer Training in Texas. He shipped over to England at the end of 1944, and then served at the end of the Bulge campaign and the advance through Germany to Czechoslovakia. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource McCauslin, Kelly (Interviewer) Spring Lake District Library (Spring Lake, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-10-25 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5ab45aa172661ac9205705e4c9dde530.mp4 f6c561463d83ccb7c4342b7240196141 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4a51629d8e306dc5488747218eaf6985.pdf 9cce238a8f78ef49cf6e39768bbb1725 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of Interviewee: Lavont Pickens Name of War: World War II Length of Interview: (00:52:58) (00:35) Background Information • Lavont was born in Mosley, Michigan • His father owned a creamery and his mother was a telephone operator • Lavont went to high school in Hart, Michigan • After graduating from high school Lavont worked as an operator at a power plant, which helped defer him from being drafted for a while • Lavont felt bad about being deferred while all of his friends were being drafted (4:05) Europe • Lavont had enlisted in the Army and became part of the 94th Infantry Division as a rifleman • It took them 14 days to cross the Atlantic and they had a few U Boat scares • The ship landed in La Havre and they then traveled into Metz to serve as replacements • The men moved into Germany near the Mosel River under the direction of General Patton • Lavont was hit in the lag with shrapnel while in Germany by a nearby land mine • Some other men were also hurt by the land mine and they all had to help each other make it back to headquarters • They were later brought to a hospital in Luxembourg in an ambulance (12:30) North Germany • Lavont was sent back to the same outfit when his leg had healed • He worked with L Company trading shifts with I Company • Many of the men had to leave for the hospital because they had frostbite in both feet • They traveled through Belgium and then back into North Germany �• They found some slave labor camps in North Germany that were mostly filled with Russians • Lavont was in charge of about 50 Russians from the old camp, making sure they received enough food each day • They later had to located where the Russians were from through an interpreter and send them all home (23:05) Czechoslovakia • Lavont traveled from Germany into Czechoslovakia • Their squad set up camp in a small farming community once they had passed a few larger cities • There was guard detail on the outskirts of the community 24/7 to keep the Russians from entering • They never saw any Russians, but knew they were hiding out in the woods • Even when the war was over they could still hear the Russians firing off their guns in the woods • Most of the Czechoslovakians would not eat any of the food the American men gave them because they thought they were trying to poison them • At one point a German soldier had broken into a woman’s house and demanded she feed him, pointing an unloaded gun at her • They took the German into custody and he seemed happy to surrender; he was starving • Lavont remained in Czechoslovakia after the war during the Army of Occupation • After the war the Germans in Czechoslovakia were called werewolves; they hid in underground tunnels and only came out at night (28:20) Battle of the Bulge • The men had been moved and stationed in a small town to get a week’s worth of rest before moving onto the Battle • Lavont had a friend that had suffered some mental problems after being shot in the head • The man broke into an abandoned house and found an old German uniform • He put it on and began parading around through the streets �• Lavont was very lucky and did not get hurt at all while fighting in the Battle of the Bulge • They moved on from Belgium to Germany and fought on the front lines • All the German artillery were 88mm, even their anti-aircraft (38:15)Belgium • In Belgium the German soldiers would take the uniforms off of British soldiers • Most of the Germans spoke English and there would be whole companies of them posing of British soldiers (41:10) After the War • Lavont had gotten married before enlisting and his wife had worked in a grocery store while he was gone • They also had a young daughter that his wife took care of while working • Lavont continued to write letters to many of his friends in the service after the war • He is now retired and living in the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans � 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 PickensL Title A name given to the resource Pickens, Lavont A. (Interview outline and video), 2003 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pickens, Lavont A. Description An account of the resource Robert Perrin was born on September 11, 1923 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and drafted into the Army in 1943. He went to Camp McCoy in Wisconsin for basic training, which he thought was terrible. Robert then began training for the Military Police and was later stationed in Louisiana to help with flooding. Robert was transferred into the Army Air Force and then became part of the 42nd Rainbow Division. Near the end of his service Robert was instructing the Military Police how to repair radios in Colorado. Robert was discharged on November 26, 1945 and moved back to Michigan. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Collins Sr., Charles E. (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-07-26 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/39d8242df9f54f725f87e3bcacaeb94f.m4v 648f66c1341a93774361fd43c2942c18 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6432d7377aa08e6b3b5dcd3bad8c1ded.pdf 7fe7568bb3425ea35045a2c69666111e PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview William Phillips Length: 57:45 (00:15) Background Information     William was born in Flint, Michigan and graduated from high school in 1936 His father was an insurance agent and able to keep his job during the Depression William stopped by a recruiting station and was told he was likely going to be drafted in the future so he should enlist now so that he would have a say in what he would be doing William enlisted in the Army Air Corps in April of 1941 (5:35) Training  William was sent to Chanute Air Field in Illinois  He worked on KP for a week and then began taking airplane mechanics classes  William never went through any actual physical training, but only took classes  William graduated from airplane mechanic school and was then sent to a hotel near the beach in Miami  They did not yet have any planes to work on so William worked in the mess hall for 6 months  He was cooking for men in Officer Candidate School  William was finally sent to Miami Airport to work on single engine trainers (11:45) Advanced Training  William was then sent to Kessler Air Field in Mississippi for crew training with B-24s  They were not actually doing any hands on work, but just taking classes learning the systems of the schools  William spent 6 months at the Field and had some time off on the weekends to go to the bar  He was later sent to Santa Ana, California for Air Corps Cadet basic training  William also went to Arizona for primary flight training, working with B-22s  William did very well in training and enjoyed flying  He also went through basic training with Stearmans, but washed out  He thinks that probably saved his life because he would have been in class 43G, which had a +70% mortality rate over Germany (19:25) Gunnery School  William later went to a gunnery school and after passing the classes volunteered for permanent party to help run the base �  He was in Utah working with shot guns, hand guns, rifles, skeet, and machine guns They first started on the less complicated guns and later began working with moving targets (22:50) Idaho  William was transferred to a field in Idaho for crew training  He became an instructor and was training gunners with B-24s  William was in Idaho for about 7 months in 1944 and like living there; he made many good friends  While working there he helped build an underground gunnery range (27:00) Training for Overseas  William was sent back to Kessler field for crew training with B-17s  They began flying as a crew and William was assigned as a gunner  They trained for 4 months and were then sent to Savannah, Georgia to receive their own plane  Then they were sent back to California, flew to Hawaii, Christmas Island, and then Biak (31:05) Biak  They stayed in Biak for one month just waiting around because a general needed to use their plane  It was a rustic camp on a very large base with many people  They finally got their plane back and then moved to Puerto Princesa Bay where they began working with the 2nd Emergency Rescue Squadron  William figured that he would be going home after the bombs were dropped on Japan  Everyone was very happy and not really expecting to be part of the Japanese invasion (38:00) Sent back to the US  William took a ship back to the US instead of flying and the trip took 25 days  He would have rather flown; there were very rough seas and it felt like the ship was falling apart  There were about 3,000 men on the ship, while most of them were sick below deck  The weather got better as they got closer to the United States and they landed in San Francisco  William took a train to Chicago to be discharged and then took another train back to Flint (40:25) After Service  William began working at his old job with AC Spark Plug, but did not enjoy his job  He then began working with his father’s insurance business � William and his brother bought their father’s business in 1955 and William continued working there until 1990 � 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 PhillipsW Title A name given to the resource Phillips, William (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Phillips, William Description An account of the resource William Phillips was born in Flint, Michigan and graduated from high school in 1936. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in April of 1941 and was sent to Chanute Air Field in Illinois for airplane mechanic school. William also went through crew training and gunnery school, later becoming an instructor training men to work as gunners with B-24s. He later got his orders to work overseas and was sent to Puerto Princesa Bay where he began working with the 2nd Emergency Rescue Squadron. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Air Corps Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-09-19 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e145b8c5f831a8517b8d166e7383f5d8.mp4 9561650b17eb0472acad7071e682a912 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a9bccb9efbf15492ef2cde4f788263da.pdf db581cce414b277ce22f9c1e0f61b6fa PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Notes Length: 13:56 Randolph Elbert Phillips Jr. Vietnam Veteran United States Navy, February 1963 to August 1968 A-Branch (00:26) Pre-enlistment/Family: • Due to poor grades in college he joined the Navy • Joined Navy because it had better standards of living during the war • His Uncle’s Navy experience influenced his decision • His father had retired from the Army, and his uncle had retied from the Navy as an Admiral • He had another uncle who had been in the Korean War • His father had served in WWII (landed during D-day), the Korean War, and Vietnam before retiring • Father is buried at Arlington (1:43) Enlistment: • He was a communication technician (A branch) • Ended with the rank of Petty Officer 2nd class • Had a category 3 security clearance • His job was classified • He went to Yeoman A school, Instructor school, and Leadership school • Stationed in Hawaii for a year and 10 months • Stationed at US Naval Reserve Training Center in Jersey City for 3 years • Learned to instruct reservists during his time their (3:25) Free Time/Friends: • In Hawaii they would go to the beach to surf and pick up girls • He had multiple friends who were married, and when holidays came around he would visit them • In general people in the service did not celebrate holidays that much because they were away from their families • Made many good friends during his enlistment and is still close with buddy from the Reserve Center in Jersey City (5:50) After Enlistment: • Went back to same University he had been at before the war, and finished his degree • Went on to be a Sales Representative for a few different companies (6:37) Lessons Learned: • The main lesson he learned in the military was how to be disciplined �• Some were forced to go into the service just so they would learn some discipline • Learned that life was not all fun and games • When he went back to college (1968-71) his experience in the military helped him understand the importance of education (9:01) Vietnam Memorial: • Many veterans were affected by the war, and the wall brings back a lot of those memorizes • It make him remember the three classmates who lost their lives during Vietnam (10:23) Soldiers Coming Home (then and now): • When they came home they were spit on and called baby killers • The Veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq are treated with more respect • Veterans from Vietnam were impacted deeply by the way they were treated when they came home • Veterans, when asked about their combat experience, are very reluctant to talk about their experience in Vietnam • His veteran friends only talk about the humorous experiences, but not much else � 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 PhillipsR Title A name given to the resource Phillips, Randolph Elbert (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Phillips, Randolph Elbert Description An account of the resource Randolph Phillips served in the US Navy as a communication technician from 1963-68 during the Vietnam War, training reservists for service in Vietnam. He joined the Navy because his grades were too poor to keep him in college. For part of his service he was in Hawaii, and for a longer period he was in Jersey City at the US Naval Reserve Training Center. He talks about what he learned by being in the military and how it applied to life after service. He talks about the Vietnam memorial and its affect on him and other veterans of Vietnam. He also talks about how the Vietnam veterans were treated when they came home, and how it differs from how veterans are treated today. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Przybysz, Molly (Interviewer) Horn, Alison (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-06-01 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2ae5b3bd41609ec9c409fe473f3d31b6.mp4 e32fe9742515850c80d56a1ecb69c3a5 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bccce766ad5d73a9615c36e58ccde02f.pdf 8d63de79c6cc16efbba402e806143caf PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Dan Pfeiffer (01:12:48) (1:30) Background Information • Dan was born in Byron Township on December 18, 1931 • He spent his childhood on a farm during the depression • They had nothing extra, but food • Dan spent lots of time hunting and fishing • He went to a one room school with seven other grades • He had to walk 8 miles everyday to high school • His father had wanted him to take over the farm when he got older, but he was only interested in cars • Dan started driving when he was 12 years old (10:30) The Korean War • The media had been calling it the Korean Conflict at the time • Dan planned on enlisting in the Air Force, but had been drafted before he had time • He was drafted into the Army on May 10 • Dan went to Battle Creek for his induction into the Army • He then went to Fort Riley in Kansas for 16 weeks in basic training • Dan then spent two months in leadership school • Dan felt than training was boring and nothing new to him (18:00) Training • None of the men knew where they would be assigned after training • Dan was training with an infantry outfit • They trained with live bullets, crawling on the ground and someone got injured (25:00) Japan • Dan was shipped out from Washington on Christmas Eve • There was horrible stormy weather and everyone got sick • Japan smelled horrible because they used human feces as fertilizer • Dan and others were training to replace infantry in combat (30:30) Korea • The Chinese and North Koreans had pushed the Americans back into South Korea • Dan took a position on the main line of resistance • Korea was very cold, snowy, and miserable • More people were removed from the front lines for frost bite than those that had been wounded • The men had to wear the same clothes for months and eat cold food �(36:00) Dan’s First Time on the Line: February 1953 • Dan was petrified and said that anyone who says they were not scared is lying • There were rats everywhere • The fighting had started in June 1950 and everything had been blown to pieces with trees shot down everywhere • There were patrols at night to size up the enemy • War is like survival of the fittest • The trenches were 9 feet deep and 20 inches wide • Dan became very negative and thought that he would never go home because he would die in Korea • They slept in shifts during the day and always went on patrol at night • Dan never understood the reasons for his orders and felt like nothing was ever being accomplished • The Americans had superior firepower, but were outnumbered (47:15) Reconnaissance Missions • The men would figure out their path with a map during the day • They tried to figure out how many mortars or machine guns the enemy had and where they were located • The next day they would fire mortars on the enemy positions (50:50) Fire Fights • All their larger guns from the rear would bombard the enemy and then they would attack with mortars and artillery • They attempted to blow the enemy from their positions so they would scramble about and be easy targets • The Chinese would play popular American music to try to make the troops homesick and they would also announce propaganda to try to make them surrender (53:40) Supplies • Someone would stand guard while others took turns going down the mountains • They had to carry all their supplies on their backs and travel by foot (56:35) Sandbag Castle • Dan spent the last 8 weeks of the war at the castle • They had always been hearing rumors about a cease fire occurring soon • It took place July 27, 1953 • The Americans and Koreas both had to pull back 1000 yards and abandon their fortifications • Dan then learned they were outnumbered 20 to 1, when they thought they were only outnumbered 3 to 1 • They had been worried that the enemy would not honor the cease fire �(1:00:45) Chauffer for the Commanding General • Many people interviewed for this position, but Dan was lucky enough to land the job • He was then able to sleep in a tent, take showers, wear clean clothes, and eat good and hot food • He had been driving for reconnaissance missions • He met Vice President Nixon several times and also while he was president • Afterwards, Dan thought the war was a waste because we still have troops in Korea • Also Vietnam was a waste along with the current war in Iraq �'CHAItA\;TEIl 01' SUAllATlOII 1(, BDliOBA3IZ /1. .......,-: _. - - ,·~o~~~ ~:~--~ ,,- I OiPAaTJIPfT AD~ REPOIT OF SUA..mo~ FIOM THE ALlIED FOltES OFTIlE. 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SENUITS PREVIOUSLY APPLIED FOR IS"o.ily ,...., COMI'EUATION, PENSION, IIISURANCE SENEFtTS, ETC. < ' :lV. SIGNATURE.o' IlI"FICER JUTNORllED TO SloaN Rel fr act mil STO and t:-f"d to U'SAR to complete E:ight (B) yrs liTe und.er mtr~ Svc Act ;1 <, >­ /,. , . .:.'\~l- ..'; . INDIYIDUAL'S (OIY ITO !E DfLlVUfD 10 rHE 'NOIV/DUAL BEING SEfARAh,n 59·-$.3ro ,".'"+t / / 1 j ,.1.// /I~_- ._.-c.­ , � 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 PfeifferD Title A name given to the resource Pfeiffer, Dan (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pfeiffer, Dan Description An account of the resource Dan Pfeiffer served in the US Army between 1952 and 1954. He served in an infantry unit in Korea during the last months of the Korean War in 1953. He provides detailed descriptions of combat patrols and fighting in the trench lines against the North Koreans and Chinese. Later on, he was assigned to be the chauffeur for a general. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-12-14 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cf7a9c230e0813034ceb8471c934093b.mp4 77aaf574ec9a640d7070308dd95b5ee9 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6931fe8cc8b75a894e42ba8219004efa.pdf e553467418af37b17039e4d0165723c7 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Leo Pfaller (00:29:35) (00:00) Early Years: • Grew up in a lower middle class family • Graduated from Lowell High School • Father was an immigrant from Germany and married his mother in 1927 • His parents moved Lowell from South Dakota • Close family ties • Has older brother, good relationship • He broke his brother’s nose with a hammer when he was eight • His brother now lives in Toledo (02:43) School: • Graduated close to the top ten in the class • Small person, 5’1” and 98 lbs • Participated in tennis, class officer, and had a good time in school (03:17) Married Life: • Marriage is fine, married July 10, 1954 • Joined the service in February 1954, wife stayed home and he visited her every weekend • Stationed in Fort Knox, not allowed to go on leave outside fifty miles until he completed his training • After training, his wife lived with her parents and he was transferred to Texas where he stayed his entire military career • Had three boys • The first son John died at 12 years old from medical problems • Second son Robert born in 1957 and the third son James was born in 1959 • Robert is a salesman and James is employed by Sysco (04:41) Experiences with the Draft: • He was drafted while he was in college in 1953 • He was told he would get college deferment • Checked with his draft board and told he was due to join in October 1953 • He didn’t get a call later and he checked back with them and someone had advanced their draft, so he didn’t have to join until after December �• • Received notice to report in December and he became engaged to his wife December 21 Reported for active duty in February 1954 (05:36) Beginning of his Military Career/Training: • He was in Armor • He was able to give his preference on position • His first choice was to be the Seabees and his second choice was to be in engineering or construction • His third choice was stamped in by the military and it was Armor • He was drafted into the Army • Had 10 weeks of Armor training • Selected as a tank commander to stay and train the next group for their tank training • Spent the next 10 weeks for training and then was shipped out to Fort Hood • In training, he just did as he was ordered to • Training was physically and mentally challenging but it wasn’t a problem (07:15) Training Stories: • When he was a tank commander in charge of his crew, they went on a driving expedition • Kentucky is notorious for its clay soil and it was raining • Drove 48 ton tanks across a length of about five football fields on wet, flat clay soil • It was fun to put the tank in neutral and spin the tank around • They also took the tanks out to the 90mm range and completed their firing exercise • On the way back to base from the range to clean up the tanks, the tank about ten in front of his had a hatch break and it decapitated the tank commander when it went down • He didn’t feel training was too stressful, just another job (08:40) Entertainment: • In basic training, the military kept them busy with exercises • At Fort Hood the training was less stringent so they had more leisure time • The men would play poker and write letters • He didn’t leave base that much especially since he was married but some went to Juárez and other Mexican towns for entertainment • Movies were fairly close by and he went occasionally (09:41) Family Life during Service: • His wife didn’t visit him on base • She became pregnant on one of the last weekends of training and was due June 5, 1955 • He was home on leave for that occasion and he lost his first baby �• Scheduled to go to Germany but he didn’t have enough time left so he stayed at Fort Hood (10:33) Food: • The food was good, they had C-rations • Being non-wartime, they were fed well with good cooks • His last three or four months of service, he was a cook • Food was shipped in and they had a schedule of what they were supposed to eat • 200 men in the company would have an hour to eat, most ate fast because they didn’t want to eat cold food (11:43) End of his Service: • On leave he would go home and spend time with his family • After being done with the service, he got a job with a tile company in Grand Rapids, MI on his third day back • He went back to college and got his GI Bill to pay $135 per semester • He had to maintain 12 credit hours to receive it • He took courses in college that applied to construction • Worked the summers locally to pay his way through school • Couldn’t wait until 4 p.m. to get his discharge papers and leave • Right after he got off base he changed into civilian clothes • Four people were discharged that day, one of them from Kalamazoo procured a car to drive home with and prepared it for driving from Texas to Michigan • When it was his turn to drive he found that the car was pulling towards the left, the guy had put about 175 lbs of air in one of the tires • He was in the service exactly two years (14:34) Unable to Receive Compensation for Hearing Lost During Service: • During his service, he lost most of his hearing in his left ear and 40% in his right when a tank next to him fired a 90mm round during inspection • He tried to get a hearing aid through Veterans’ Administration in Grand Rapids but was denied • His brother was also in the service in rocket training and lost some hearing and was able to receive a hearing aid in New York (15:52) Benefits of Service and Experiences with Racial Problems • Proud to serve his country but also glad to leave • Didn’t really appreciate it until 20 years after when he joined the Legion �• • • • • • The Legion marches in parades, have Veterans’ Day dinners and get-togethers in remembrance The service gave him a chance to mature and improve racial relations At the time, segregation was very popular and there were some African-Americans in his outfit that served with distinction Some of the members of his unit, especially a sergeant that participated in very racial activities One night that sergeant was the sergeant of the guard and three men snuck into his private room and nailed his table, chairs and bed into the ceiling That sergeant died during maneuvers: it was cold and he laid on the back of the tank and the combination of the auxiliary engine (used for communication and batteries) and the blanket cause him to asphyxiate (18:27) Friendships: • He had a good friend in the service that he joined up with and left with • Had other good friends that he played poker with • That was the main entertainment: being together, a bond between soldiers • His fondest memory is getting out, but it was a good experience • He enjoyed the comradeship (19:38) Experiences with a Court-Martial: • He was on guard duty in May and they had to wear their winter uniforms until Memorial Day • His job was to bar the gate and check tickets to make sure any cars passing were authorized • He was very sick and he was sitting on a rock by the other company’s guard shack • A jeep came up and he got up and asked for the paperwork • The man in the jeep was the officer of the day checking on the guards and told him he should not be sitting down during guard duty • He replied to the officer that he was very sick and told him where he threw up • The officer set him up with a court-martial and he went back to the barracks • About a week later they were on maneuvers in a field and he was called out of the tank to an Armored Personnel Carrier and had his court-martial • The officers quizzed him and the prosecuting officer was there • Given a 30 day restriction and a $30 fine • One of his friends in Battalion HQ notified him that it never got on his record • Advice to future servicemen: “Do what you’re told and do the best job you can.” (22:23) Pictures of his Time in the Service: �• • • • • • • • • • • • • Basic Training picture with his friend Tank firing 90mm in Fort Knox, Sept ‘54 Didn’t like paying a $1 of his wages out of $90 per month for haircuts Picture of him cutting his friends hair with barber equipment that his mother gave him Charged $0.50 for a haircut and made more money that way than being in the service Wedding pictures Picture of him lying in a tank tread He was in Able Company and his tank got stuck in a muddy creek An African-American came by and built a fire to help dry their clothes and sold a bottle of wine to them for a dollar He received a sharpshooter award when he was in Basic Training Used a 30 caliber carbine and their personal weapon was a 45mm pistol Left the service as a specialist in the 4th Armored Division Graduated from Michigan State University � 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 PfallerL Title A name given to the resource Pfaller, Leo J. (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pfaller, Leo J. Description An account of the resource Leo Pfaller served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956 in the 4th Armored Division. He had several duties in the Army including tank commander, guard and cook. He discusses his training, dealing with the draft, family life in the military, experience with a court-martial, racial tensions in his outfit and stories about his time in the Army. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Ruegsegger, Maranda (Interviewer) Lowell Area Historical Museum (Lowell, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) Video recordings United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng 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.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-31 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4cced27224d8a5a0755960d335da0920.mp4 c372f8e7b50f5f904b751382fba582df https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/844140292fe125603347387b02d12275.pdf c6405abbbeb3ee0390406ee44239022e PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project John Peterson World War II (45:50) Back ground Information (00:55)         Born July 26th 1919 in Wichita Falls, Texas. (1:00) He was an only child. (2:04) He was raised by his grandmother. His mother passed away and his father left him. (2:25) His grandmother lived in Warren, Pennsylvania. This is where John was raised. (2:55) He graduated from high school 1937. (3:32) After high school he began working full time at a paper company In Middletown Ohio. Here he worked on the trimming machines. (4:00) After Pearl Harbor John enlisted in the spring of 1942. (4:45) At the time of his enlistment he was building aircraft engines in Dayton, Ohio. (5:14) Basic Training (5:40)           For basic training he was sent to Camp Wheeler, Georgia. (5:50) Basic lasted 7 weeks and was very difficult. The drill instructors were tough. (6:05) There were approx. 200 men in his company. (6:30) After basic he attended 8 weeks of jump school at Fort Benning, Georgia. (6:47) He volunteered for jump school. (7:05) During jump school the men often began with a run at 4 AM. The men had to jump 5 times in order to earn their wings. (7:44) The men first jumped from 200 foot towers than from 1,200 feet out of a plane. (8:10) The trainers in jump school were just as tough on the soldiers as in basic. (8:55) After jump training he remained at Fort Benning and was assigned to the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. (9:46) He joined F company while in Hungerford, England. (11:00) Service in Europe (11:15)         He sailed to Europe aboard the Queen Mary. (late spring of 1944) (11:18) His unit was then placed in Hungerford England on the coast. (11:56) He was moved out of Hungerford in June of 1944 several weeks after arriving (12:18) John was transported via C24 transport with about 18 other soldiers. (12:58) His company was dropped in Normandy in the D-Day parachute landings on the night of June 5/6, 1944. (13:46) He had difficulty reuniting with his company after landing. (14:58) There were no German soldiers he immediately encountered. (15:20) After being on the ground in Normandy, he was taken back to England by boat for approx. 1 month during the summer of 1944. (16:00) � The 101st was then sent back to Normandy and were readying to go to Paris for the winter of 1944. {Note: The 101st did not return to Normandy. They dropped into the Netherlands in September in the Market Garden operation, and remained there until they were moved to Mourmelon, France, late in the fall.] This plan was interrupted however by the Battle of the Bulge. (18:16) Combat in Europe (The Battle of the Bulge) (19:00)               Te men were then sent by truck to Bastogne France. (19:40) While in Bastogne, the men fought in a forested area. This terrain gave the German tanks difficulty. (20:24) He was in a 2 man foxhole while in combat. (21:44) His foxhole buddy, Pedersen, was his friend during the war. However he last contact with him after his service. (22:10) While in his fox hole he was almost bayoneted by a German soldier. (23:34) He did come face to face with a German soldier whom he fired upon. (24:10) General Patton was the one who relived his unit at the bulge. (25:11) When his unit moved into battle they were undersupplied. This worsened after the unit was surrounded later in the Battle of the Bulge. (25:30) Some supplies were parachuted in while the division was surrounded. (26:29) He only knew of one casualty during the Battle of the Bulge but he is unsure of the total number taken from the company. (27:22) During his service he was an infantryman. (29:15) While in the field, John shot a chicken in hopes of cooking it later. (28:40) While digging is foxhole on one occasion he accidentally dug up German head. (29:25) After The Battle of the Bulge, he and his company continued east into Germany. (30:00) Late Service in Europe (30:58)      His company liberated prisoner camps and concentration camps. He recalled the awful smell of both. He also recalls the poor state, particularly in the concentration camp, that the prisoners were in. (31:00) His unit eventually ended up at the Eagle’s Nest in Berchtesgaden Germany in 1945. When he reached the Eagle’s Nest there were no men there. (31:48) After Berchtesgaden, John and his company where sent south to Austria in the summer of 1945. (33:18) Initially he felt that the men were in Austria to prepare to aid in the invasion of Japan. He and the other men were issued new equipment. (33:40) The men left from a port in France on the Queen Mary to return to the U.S. (35:05) Experiences in Europe (35:20)     John was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and 39 medals and ribbons including the Purple Heart. Several of the medals were rewarded in 2011. (35:40) At the end of the war John held the rank of Staff Sergeant. (36:52) He contacted his wife when in Europe via mail. (37:47) He was married and had 2 children before enlisting in the service. (38:40) �   While in the Battle of the Bulge the men in his unit ate K rations. They were not able to light fires during this battle. K rations remained the primary food source for most of his time in Europe while in the field. (40:16) For entertainment the men often would play cards. He did experience some USO shows. (42:57) While based in England he had a 10 day leave in Scotland. (43:58) � 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 PetersonJ1294V Title A name given to the resource Peterson, John (Interview outline and video), 2011 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Peterson, John Description An account of the resource John Peterson, born in 1919 in Wichita Falls Texas, and was raised by his grandmother in Pennsylvania. When Pearl Harbor happened, he was married and working in an aircraft engine factory in Dayton, Ohio, but went ahead and enlisted in the Army. He trained at Fort Benning, Georgia, and qualified as a paratrooper there. He was sent to England in the spring of 1944 and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. He jumped into Normandy with them, and later fought at Bastogne and into Germany. Once in Germany, he helped to liberate several POW and concentration camps, and went to Hitler's retreat at Berchtesgaden. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Erichsen, Wallace (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-09-01 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/880b42eacda8b53d8d7b5cd93735708e.mp4 e27ef9afa796f4e92ce7ec5151cf725c https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9af61450ce49b33cf357a03c6545fb85.pdf d39e38176ddf13a2478c540892a5aae3 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project George Peterson Jr. (01:02:47) (00:25) Enlistment • • • • • George enlisted in the Navy when he was 17 years old He was sent to Newport, RI for training George made a good friend from Detroit while training and both of them decided to sign up for the submarine service They were sent to submarine school in the New England area [New London, CT] about two weeks later After nearly a year of training George graduated from submarine school and was assigned to work on the USS Pilotfish submarine in NH (04:55) Submarine School • • • • • George had been to two different schools; there was one for getting acquainted with submarines and mechanics and the other school was for construction They were working on newly commissioned subs that weighed about 1500 tons, were 310 feet long, and 27 feet wide The subs could reach a depth of 425 feet and had 186 crew members Each student was allowed one year to pass the classes and would be washed out if they could not pass within one year George felt that those working on submarines got better pay and better food than men working on surface craft (14:30) Submarine Attacks • • • • The Pilotfish was hit by many depth charges on its fourth patrol; it was the scariest time ever in George’s life The sub was also hit often with aerial bombs The sub would carry 120,000 gallons of diesel fuel when it left port After they used the fuel they would empty the fuel tanks and convert them to driving tanks at shore (17:40) Submarine Life 1943-47 • • • • • • Every day was very routine; there were 4 sections on the sub with 25 people working in each section Each man would work 4 hours on in their section and then have 8 hours off They were usually at sea for about 60 days at a time There were only two showers on the sub and very little fresh water They used evaporators to convert the ocean water George and others often relaxed on their off period when they were at port �• • • • • There was always lots of beer, but not much whiskey After a patrol they usually had about 2 weeks off and a relief crew would fix anything wrong on the sub and restock it George went on 6 war patrols altogether on the Pilotfish George had been in port at Panama, Hawaii, Guam, Midway, and the Marshall Islands They often played baseball with other sub crews and then would all drink together after the game (31:25) Duties on Board • George had the duty of wheel watching on the sub while near Japan during the surrender • He often stood watch on the surface and worked on radar while submerged • The radar would help them locate enemy subs and surface craft • The periscope stuck out of the ocean by about 65 feet • The sub stored electricity in large batteries and there were thousands of cells on the sub • They often had an exchange of duties and did not spend long working in one area • Every man was trained to be able to work every job on the submarine • (40:15) End of the War • • • • • • • • The sub had been stationed in Nagoya, Japan in August of 1945 They received a radio message that told them to cease hostilities George was assigned to an occupation force that went into Japan After the surrender on September 2, the officers were able to go ashore Most of the reserves on the sub were sent home after the war, but enlisted men still had time to make up About 10% of the crew was usually pulled off the sub after each patrol George had extended his service time while in Guam The Pilotfish sank in 1946 during a bomb testing and George was then assigned to the Catfish (50:10) Working on Port • • • • George had been assigned to work with the Naval police force on shore and worked patrolling their base in Hawaii He had been promoted to First Class Gunner’s Mate George was offered to commission a new ship in San Diego and work on as First Class Gunner’s Mate He would have been in charge of the repair force on the ship, but he decided not to extend his service and was discharged in 1952 �1---­ I~ - o IN a a co o C <C iil en s:: o - ::J Q) <C ::J Q) I Q) C ::J o z ::J <C - 8, zr CD C (J) (J) ::!2 I' ~ ." enI I:J <C �c (J) (J) -0 -, 51 -10 :!!I (J) I -0 <0 BIKINI (AP):- THESUBMA~INE Pl101FISH WAS MOVED SUNDAY 'INTO.1HElO­ ~:rl Ol'lJVlt-tERE THE ,.ATOMIC BOMS VHlL PROBABLY BE EXPLOIED .ry _ ; .\ -".," 'HEAVY-HULliED SUB\4ARIE YfAS! MOORED BETWEEN t.'·'· . - ..'. A. i;fii,RFtlR ./h -.O_::,'{ ,,: \" J~L'( .?5TH. THE ,t ". "•.': . ,: .-' { """::" eAMI fRSAAATOOA AND . . ~~. \f:~/i' ",~., :' .' '--/',l' & -0 III <0 CD � 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 PetersonG Title A name given to the resource Peterson, George (Interview outline, video, and papers), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Peterson, George Description An account of the resource George Peterson enlisted in the Navy when he was just 17 years old and was then sent to Rhode Island for training in 1942. During training George and a friend volunteered for submarine service and were transferred shortly after. George spent nearly a year training for submarine service and was finally on his first war patrol in 1943. He spent two years making six war patrols throughout the Pacific, with port breaks at Panama, Hawaii, Guam, the Marshall Islands, and Midway. After the war George was part of the police force in Hawaii, where he helped to patrol the base. George had made it to the position of First Class Gunner's mate when he was discharged in 1952. Photographs are appended to interview outline. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Montagna, Douglas (Interviewer) Great Lakes Naval Memorial & Museum (Muskegon, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Navy World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-10-30 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/de4e5a12a4d85f8d06c4418d51ff81c1.m4v fb6764be4621326a3ee90d2d631f827d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b274c5ada15387279b9473df22d31010.pdf b861331bd0f221859ee88dd5fcbcab1e PDF Text Text ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW JAMES C. PERSO Born: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Resides: Interviewed by: Richard Massa, GVSU Veterans History Project Transcribed by: Joan Raymer, March 1, 2014 Interviewer: Today is December 3rd, 2009 and we are at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Our interviewee in Jim Perso, and Jim was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Our camera operator today is Hank Richmond, and the interviewer is Richard Massa. We are performing this interview as part of the Veterans History Project, being conducted by Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. Jim, can you tell us a little of your early background, where born and grew up. I was born in Milwaukee and we moved to Minneapolis on my sisters second birthday, so I‟ll tell you precisely, it was August 2nd, 1945. My first vivid recollection of Minneapolis was riding with my dad in downtown and everybody was blowing their horns. I said, “Daddy, why are people blowing their horns?” He says, “The war is over”, and I said, “Well, blow your horn”. 1:04 Tap, and I said, “Blow it hard”, and he said, “I don‟t think my battery has enough juice in it”. I didn‟t know about--recapping a tire was a big deal and nobody had two batteries, you know. We never replaced a battery during the war. Later on somebody had arranged for my dad and I to ride in the cab of a diesel locomotive from St. Paul to Minneapolis and the engineer said to me, “Pull the horn”, and I said, “Does your battery have enough juice in it?” He gave me this funny look and my dad explained it and they laughed hysterically for about seven intersections between 1 �St. Paul and Minneapolis. My next door neighbor came back from the 2nd WW and he became a regimental commander 409th Infantry Regiment, 130th [103rd?] Infantry Division, part of the Minnesota reserve. 2:06 His name was Earl Nelson, Colonel, Infantry, United States Army Reserve, and he wore a Combat Infantrymen‟s Badge, Silver Star, Bronze Star, and he was one of the adults that was a role model for me growing up. We played war games around, the kids played war games and I set up this ambush this one time, and I knew that I was right, and I got a lot of argument from the folks that I thought I‟d killed, so I went to the Colonel as a referee and I told him what I did, and he said, “Know, you were right”. He invited me to read his library and he let me read an abbreviated version of Vom Krieg. 3:00 Colonel Von Clausewitz wrote Vom Krieg, but then he wrote an abbreviated version for the Crown Prince of Russia. Hermann Goering was so impressed with that little book that he had every Luftwaffe officer read it. The preface of this was really interesting, because it‟s got Hermann Goering writing in there. This was a translation, but I did read it, and I enjoyed it. Interviewer: How old were you when you already had this interest in military activities? I guess I reading Clausewitz when I was ten, or twelve. I knew lots of folks that were veterans of the 2nd WW and I thought they were patriots and were being emulated and I was always interested in the military. Interviewer: Were there any close family member who had been in the military? 4:00 No—well, my dad had a deferment in the 2nd WW, so he did not serve in the 2nd WW. I had one uncle that was in Europe and I think he was the only one who served in active 2 �duty in the 2nd WW. But, there was another neighbor across the street and he had two interesting scars on his shoulder from a MG-42 that he picked up in Germany. He was an infantry officer, I think, or artillery, but he was forward and zipped while he was sitting in a Jeep, when he picked up two rounds. Which—I looked at that and thought it was a very interesting scar. There were a lot of people I knew that were officers, and I was really interest. My parents would never have picked a career in the military for me. 5:02 that‟s what I wanted to do and Colonel Nelson said, “Well, go in the Navy. They always have food to eat and a place to sleep”, and somehow that sort of appealed to me and so, I did end up going in the navy in sort of a roundabout way. I wanted to get an appointment to the Naval Academy, but my father, being a good Republican--Hubert Humphrey got me a third alternate in the primary. I took it, but I didn‟t get there, but he wanted to get me into the Merchant Marine Academy and I wanted no part of that, but I did—my high school advisor, or councilor, got me an interview with the navy ROTC program. Colonel Nelson wrote me a letter of recommendation and so on, and I got an appointment to the navy ROTC regular program, which would get you a regular commission. 6:06 It paid you fifty bucks a month, paid your tuition, fees and books, for four years, and I was in mechanical engineering, which was a five year program at the time, so my dad said, “You save your fifty bucks and you pay for your fifth year of school, and you can stay at home, drive over to the U, and I‟ll give you the use of the car and pocket money”, and he was pleased, because it was a good deal for him and it was a good deal for me. Interviewer: Did you get to finish school before you went on active duty? You had to have a degree to get commissioned, so when I graduated, I was commissioned. Captain Morgan was CO of the navy ROTC unit and he was a good guy. 3 �He flew seaplanes in the 2nd WW and I enjoyed him. 7:00 We were in his office and he said, “Colonel Sullivan, Lieutenant Colonel Sullivan was the XO of the unit and he said, “The Marines Day, Colonel, will you do the honors?” He said, “Gladly sir”. Colonel Sullivan commissioned me. Captain Morgan was an interesting guy, because they had a little war room where the chiefs and the rest of the staff would have coffee, and he invited the seniors to become part of the coffee mess, so we had the opportunity for one on one interaction, or one and a few interactions with the senior midshipmen and the staff of the navy ROTC unit, which was very interesting and it was fun. Captain Morgan talked about--they dropped flares out of his amphib that he flew in the Caribbean. 8:00 They stuck in the chute, caught the aluminum on fire and burned this big hole in the tail of the airplane, so he managed to land it, keep it afloat and he--keep a very high speed taxi right up the ramp and lower the gear and taxi up, and they all—he shut the engines down and they all walked out of the hole in the tail of the airplane. It was a good war story from him. Interviewer: Once you graduated and were commissioned, what was your first duty? My first duty was the basic school at Quantico, Virginia. The Marine Corps use to have the basic school for new Lieutenants, and then they had junior school for junior grade officers, senior school and command, which was command and staff, I think. So, Lieutenants went to the basic school and amphibious warfare school was junior school, and that was senior Captains and Majors and then command and staff was senior school. 9:02 I think they dropped junior and senior, yeah, junior and senior are gone, I think. Basic school is still there and better known as TBS. 4 �Interviewer: Any specific memories of good, or bad, from basic training? TBS, oh I have one. We had seventy five M-60‟s on line and we were shooting the M60‟s across this ravine and into a hill. The muzzle blast was so intense I could feel it moving my cheeks, and no hearing protection, that‟s why I‟m wearing hearing aids these days, that and other things too, but anyway, they had a whole bunch of blue pillars stuck in the hillside, diagonally. 10:00 The M-60 was on a tripod and I realized that if I grabbed onto the elevating and traversing mechanism that I could move the elevating mechanism with my middle finger and I could move the traversing mechanism with my thumb. I tried it a couple times and watched and thought,”Yeah this works”, so I made it walk up the dummies. “Cease fire, who is shooting at those blue Pyramids over there?” I raised my hand and he said, “Lieutenant, do that again”, so I performed for my whole basic school class. I walked them up and he said, “Now bring it back down”, and that was a lot of work to get my hand work backwards, but I did, so I remember that. I was always good with weapons and Master Sergeant Johnson would take me into the armory at the University of Minnesota and I would take apart an M-1 sub machine guns and M1‟s. 11:01 The 1919 A-4 Browning machine guns, BARs and I was taking them all apart, because I was always interested in ordinance, so all the stuff that had to do with ordinance, I would do very well at. There were a couple of us that really knew something about firearms. Interviewer: Now, did you express your interest in flying prior to going to the basic school, or was that something that you chose after basic? My interest in flying was, and I always thought it was kind of interesting, but my junior cruise as a midshipman was four week in Corpus Christi for aviation and four weeks in 5 �Coronado for amphibious warfare, and that cemented the fact that I wanted to be a pilot and I wanted to be a Marine. After that cruise is when I went to see the Major and said, “I want to be a Marine”. 12:00 He said, “We‟ve been waiting for you to come in”, and during that cruise—I remember one time the “Blue Angels” demonstrated and practiced and then they all sat around and allowed the midshipmen to come over and talk to them, so I was talking to the “Blue Angels” when I was a junior in college, about aviation, of course Interviewer: A successful recruiting tool, having the “Blue Angels” talk to you. Oh yeah, absolutely, absolutely, so after I completed basic school, I went to flight training and I went to Pensacola and went through ground school. Mechanical Engineering, that was duck soup, nothing to it, and I had to take some kind of nontechnical elective and I don‟t know how I ever got away with taking Physiology as a nontechnical elective and I hated it, because they talk about nothing but sodium and potassium balances and it was not fun for me. 13:03 I did learn something, because when we went through aviation physiology, I got every question right and I scored off the rank and aeronautics was easy, engines was duck soup, I took every engine course I could at the University of Minnesota, except jet engines—I waited for grad school. After I was done with pre-flight and was waiting to go to Safley Field, I drafted. Everybody else got to go to the beach for a couple of weeks while they waited for the pool to drain down. I was put in with the people that taught engines and I had to work on making tests, which was very interesting, because on good multiple choice tests you have to have answers that seemed reasonable. One correct and some that seemed reasonable and they all have to be the same length of words, more or less, and it was hard to make these tests and I really 6 �worked at that. 14:08 It was a lot of fun doing that, actually, so then I went to Saufley Field , went through primary and went to Meridian, Mississippi to McCain Field. John McCain was an instructor in VT-7 when I was a student in VT-9, so I knew who he was. I went through all basic there except gunnery and caraqual, so then we had to go back to Pensacola, main side for taking the T-2 aboard the boat and doing gunnery. Having completed that I went to Corpus Christi was in a pool for a couple of weeks then went to Beeville, Texas, the married student went to Kingsville and I went to Beeville. 15:05 Kingsville is in the middle of the King Ranch, which is just huge. Anyway, I went to Beeville and I went through advanced there flying the F-9 Cougar, and that was the first time I ever flew a single seat aircraft. We flew the two seated F-9, but when we got to advanced formation and gunnery and that kind of thing. They had single seat F-9‟s there, so we thought we were pretty hot when we flew the single seat F-9‟s. We would taxi, open up the canopy and put our elbows on the canopy rail, pull our mask off and let the wind blow in our face and think, ”I‟m hot stuff”. Interviewer: What year was it when you finally finished all of your training and were shipped out to Vietnam? I was designated a naval aviator in March, I think, of 1967 and my orders took me to Cherry Point, North Carolina. 16:05 I went to the Marine Corps air station, Cherry Point, and I checked in. I wanted to fly F-8‟s and I went down and talked to the people down there and they said, “We aren‟t sending anybody to fly F-8‟s anymore. You‟ve got your choice between F-4‟s and A-6‟s”, and I tangled with a bunch of A-6 guys that were going to go overseas and they said, “ F-4‟s, they‟re okay, but you ought to see what see what the A-6 is and what it can do”. They took me down to the squadron and they 7 �showed be the airplane, and they had me sit in it. They showed me all these massive arrays of switches and buttons, knobs and dials and I said, “Maybe this is kind of cool”, so I chose the A-6. I went to Arial Attack Squadron 224, I walked in and they said, “Oh boy, a Captain coming in”. 17:01 Because just after I got my wings, I had a promotion to Captain. I was a permanent 2nd lieutenant, a temporary 1st Lieutenant; you know that‟s the way we did things like that and had a promotion to a temporary Captain, permanent 2nd Lieutenant, and I walked into the squadron with my railroad tracks on and the said, “Oh boy, we got an experienced leader”, not. So, anyway—but, so I was so senior I ended up being the assistant maintenance officer for a while and working for a Major. Later on we had an LDO that became the assistant maintenance officer and I became the maintenance control officer. But, we had a lot of fun in that squadron. 18:04 We went through four CO‟s there and one of them was JK Davis and JK Davis was the first Marine, Marine aviator, to get a fourth star. He was the assistant commandant if the Marine Corps and the first time they had four stars for the assistant commandant. But, he was a lieutenant colonel at this time, and they formed a new squadron, a training squadron, for A-6 transition pilots, bombardiers and navigators, and he left 224 and went over to take over that squadron. When I was in there---one of our kids had sent off to Charles Schulz‟s and asked, “Can we put “Snoopy” on the tail of our airplane?” Charles Schulz wrote back this really nice note saying, “I‟d be very honored to have “Snoopy” on the rudder of your airplane”. 19:00 I was assigned the duty to cut the stencil of the dog house and “Snoopy” in the scarf and we had “Snoopy” on the tail of the airplane. I cut another stencil and I came in one evening in civilian clothes, and said, “Do you guys have some coveralls?” They said, “Yes sir we got coveralls”, and I said, “You got red paint?” 8 �They said, “No sir”, and I said, “Well, go over to 225 and borrow some red spray paint”. They said “Aye sir”, and I said, “Where‟s my stencil?” They said, “There”, and I said, “You got a stepladder?” They said, “Yes sir‟, so two “Snuffies” and I in my coveralls—I held the paint, befitting my rank. One of the “Snuffies” had a stepladder and the other one carried the stencil. So, we walked past the armed guard to get in the 225‟s hanger where the 202‟s were in there. 20:05 We opened up the stepladder and I climbed up and stood on the tail of the plane, one of the planes, they only had two at the time, and they handed me up the stencil and they climbed up there and held the stencil while I used red spray paint to paint the fireplug on the rudder, on both sides. Nobody said anything about it until the next morning when JK Davis came into work and he looked at that. Our then skipper was Paul German, a Lieutenant Colonel also, and he called Colonel Davis and he said, “John, what are you doing?”, and he said, “What‟s the matter Paul?”, and Paul said, “Why did you spray paint a fireplug on my airplane?” 21:00 He said, “I don‟t know what you‟re talking about”, and he had no idea what was going on. He was absolutely innocent of this. It was just me having a good time, and the troops too. We got away with that and when I left 224, before I went overseas, I told that story at my going away party, and Paul German said to me, “Good job, Jim, well done”, as a matter of fact, it was “Well done”, is what he said. You know, in the naval service, that‟s the highest praise you can get is “Well done”, those two words. Interviewer: Now, when you left to go overseas to Vietnam, did you leave from North Carolina, or did you leave from California? Did you go by carrier? Well, I went home on leave and went to San Francisco and flew from San Francisco to Okinawa, I think. 22:00 There was a very brief introductory—I think we got a chance 9 �to fire the M-16-- they had introduced the M-16 and they really had very disastrous results with that, because they used—they recycled artillery ammunition for the propellant in the M-16 projectiles, the cartridges, and in order to take the acid out of the old propellants, because as it ages it liberates a little bit of acid, so they put some sort of stuff in it like baking soda, it‟s not baking soda, but it‟s something like that, and it sort of neutralizes the acid. The problem with that is that the byproduct of it was very dirty. 23:00 The M-16 taps gas off and runs it through a tube, which runs into the bolt carrier and makes it operate. Well, shooting dirty ammunition would plug up that that tube and that was not part of the thing to be cleaned and there were no instructions on how to clean it, no way to clean it. So, there was a very bad situation where a Marine outfit got over run by the VC and a lot of Marines died. When they retook the hill, they found—not only did they find the Marines' bodies, but they found all these M-16‟s and every one of them was broken open and nonfunctioning. They wanted us to know and everybody to know, how far a M-16—so that was part of my pre combat training, and that was down in Okinawa. Then I flew from Okinawa down to Da Nang and i went into a processing center. 24:00 A-6 pilots either stayed in Da Nang with VNA 242 or went to Chu Lai with 513. Interviewer: What was your first impression as you entered Vietnam? My Vietnam Service Medal I wore with great pride, because that was my medal for the bravest thing I ever did, because I didn‟t know what was going to happen to me and I was really apprehensive that I would do something stupid and embarrass myself and my colleagues, and get people killed. So, standing up and walking off that airplane, going 10 �down the steps and going into that processing center was the bravest thing I‟ve ever done in my life without showing any emotion, maybe I did, but trying not to anyway. 25:03 Interviewer: Now, at this time you were still single, or were you married? I was still single. I ended up going to 242 and that was okay, it was right there and my first quarters were a Southeast Asia hut, which is basically, a frame of wood and the lower half of the wall has got slats, overlapping slats on a forty-five degree angle, so the air can move through it and screen on the inside of the building, then screen on the top part of it. Any breath of air will serve to cool you off a little bit. Later on, air crews got Quonset huts, and they put a Quonset hut and they quartered it and put an air conditioner on each end, a room air conditioner. 26:02 You had eight officers—eight air crew were in the Quonset hut, two in each quarter. Ultimately, I ended up with my bombardier and navigator and I being together and that was really—that was good, because I flew at night and lots of times I would fly and we would come back late at night and we wouldn‟t wake up anybody coming in, getting ready and going to bed. If you stumble around in the dark, you could wake up your roommates and that‟s not very, not a very good thing to do. My first flight was in May of 1968, I think, yeah, May of 1968, just during the monsoons. 27:00 I came back to Da Nang and we landed going north on runway 119. We landed on runway 1, with the wind and a thunderstorm on the north end of the field, and as we rolled out the line of the thunderstorm and the rain came halfway on the runway, and I went IFR on rollout. It was just a—I‟d never seen rain like that and I got the airplane stopped without an incident and we turned off the runway and refueled and all that good stuff. But, that was my introduction to Vietnam and I thought, “Boy this weather sucks”. 11 �Interviewer: Now, was there a lot of air and bombing action during the monsoon season? Oh sure Interviewer: For some reason I was thinking, because of the weather that it kind of slowed down during those periods. 28:01 The A-6—basically we flew at night, eighty percent of my flying was at night. A hundred and sixty missions at night and only forty three in the daytime, and we would hunt trucks, and whatever, at night, so the weather didn‟t stop us. I can‟t tell a story about that, remind me about that in a minute. I flew a few missions around South Vietnam at night and then shortly after that I went to North Vietnam. I remember this vividly, because we were told to buy Seiko watches because Sunday always came up red and Sunday was pill day. 29:03 That‟s when we took our Chloroquine, our anti- malaria pill. The problem with that is they tend to give you diarrhea, so Monday night, or Sunday night, one or the other, I‟d taken my pill and I‟m flying over North Vietnam and I‟m looking at the bombardier and navigator and I said, “For God sake find a target will you?” I had to go to the bathroom and sitting on an ejection seat you‟ve got no options. Eventually we found a target and we made it back and I was okay, but that was the hardest part about my first mission to North Vietnam, not embarrassing myself beyond hope, all measure. Interviewer: You could have said you were just scared blank. Yeah, yeah, not true Interviewer: You mentioned hunting trucks, what type of identification equipment did you use to find them in the jungle, in the dark and rain? 30:04 12 �The A-6 was a very sophisticated aircraft that the design was frozen in 1958. The system had an acronym of “Diane”, digital, integrated attack navigation equipment. We had search radar for target acquisition; we had track radar for locking onto it and getting range, precise range, depression and azimuth from the element, the edam line [?] of the aircraft. We had a digital computer that memorized the ballistics of all the weapons and they were stored on a rotating drum, a great big thing. It would take five marines to pick up the system and carry it and when the A-6A came out you could put it all in a briefcase, but it was old technology. Then we had an air data computer and we had Doppler radar to get wind shift and so on. 31:01 We could lock onto—bombardier and navigator could enable AMTI, airborne moving target indicator, If you looked at weather radar and you see all the ground return and then they do the MTI where they cancel out the ground return where nothing is moving, that‟s MTI. We could cancel out, that‟s working backwards from MTI, if something was going at very slow speed it would pop out on the scope and the bombardier and navigator could lock onto it and if we were in North Vietnam, or Laos--well that‟s a free fire zone for anything moving and that‟s fair game. We would go hunt trucks in North Vietnam and Laos and even the A Shau Valley. There wasn‟t ever a truck in the A Shau Valley that I ever heard of. 32:02 That‟s what we did, we used—early on they were using CBU‟s, but the bomblets would go off, they would pierce gas tanks, they would puncture the tires, but they would go out and recover the vehicles, repair it and put it back in service. We started using, and when I was there we were using five hundred pounders, Mark 82‟s with eighteen inch daisy cutters, I gave you a picture of that, and there are pictures in there. Anyway, a daisy cutter is an eighteen inch pipe full of high explosives, threaded on each end, one set of threads 13 �screws into the bomb and the bomb fuse well and then yo put the fuse in the other end and that gives you standoff when the bomb hits the ground it‟s now eighteen inches above the ground and at ground level. 33:03 It tends to get the shrapnel higher up, so you can destroy trucks better. They also come in a thirty inch, thirty, or thirty six inch daisy cutter. We put those on two thousand pounders and they‟re good for landing zone prep, but anyway, we‟d hunt trucks with eighteen inch daisy cutters and five hundred pounders, drop a stick on them and we could—we‟d typically carry twenty-eight five hundred pounders and they‟d put daisy cutters on the wing stations, not on the center line. The bombardier and navigator had a switch by his right knee and we called it the “dial a bomb” and you could put two, three, four , five, six, nine, twelve, fifteen, eighteen, twenty-four, thirty, pulses, I think, on there. 34:00 You could dial how many bombs you wanted to dial, you‟d turn on the stations and it would only drop until that one was satisfied, so you‟d make a run and you‟d drop enough bombs to try to take out a truck. What I typically did was, if we weren‟t taking fire, or much, I would do thirty degrees of angle a bank, thirty degrees of turn, then sixty degrees of angle a bank for quite a ways. The bombardier and navigator would just look to his right and he‟s be looking down the leading edge of the wing and that little left turn and right turn would time it so the bombs were just impacting the ground as I got into the sixty degree of angle a bank and started to turn. He‟d look out there, so we‟d do our own bomb damage assessment and you could—sometimes when you got some really spectacular results. 35:00 I remember Don looking at me and saying, “Oh, look at that” and I remember, his head turned and he went to the attitude gyro on the instruments and he was looking at the instruments to 14 �make sure I didn‟t do anything silly, and when I looked over there to see the secondary explosion and stuff coming off from that one and we were a good team. Interviewer: Now, were those free fall, or ballistic bombs, or were they guided, powered? Ballistic free fall, free fall Interviewer: You said you flew over two hundred missions? Yes Interviewer: Did you receive a medal, or citations? I got one Distinguished Flying Cross and fifteen strike flight air medals and when you accumulated twenty points, you got an air medal. The points were assigned for every mission that you flew, combat mission, you got a point. Every mission that you flew that was a combat mission and you took fire, or you were in a high threat environment, like North Vietnam, or Laos, you got two points. 36:08 when you accumulated twenty points you got an air medal. When we received an air medal, then they had a formation, and we got the air medal pinned on us. Then you just accumulated points after that, so I ended up with fifteen air medals, three hundred points, yeah. Out of two hundred missions, half of them were fire incidents and probably more than that were, but that I know were fire incidents, or high threat areas. We use to taxi out at night and watch some poor soul run down the runway ahead of us, rotate, get airborne and some guy would be sitting out there, some VC would be sitting out there with an AK-47 and you‟d see the tracers coming up at this airplane. 37:04 I said to one of my colleagues on time, I said, “Why don‟t they get a patrol and go out and get that son of a bitch?” He said, “Jim, you damn fool, they‟ll replace him with somebody who can shoot straight”. That‟s 15 �“Catch 22”, and I had read “Catch 22” when I was in the states before I went over there and I didn‟t like it and I didn‟t understand it, but I reread it when I was in Vietnam and then I understood what “Catch 22” really meant. Going out and getting a guy that‟s shooting at you off the end of the runway, and not doing it, that‟s “Catch 22”. Interviewer: You mentioned that many of the missions you were on you were taking fire, what was your sense of vulnerability at that point, or is it like, “Wow, they’re shooting, but everything is always going by”? Was there a real sense of anxiety and need to get out of there, or was it like, “Well, we’re in an airplane going real fast and chances on being hit are real slim”? 38:05 I‟ll tell you the first time I got shot at and I knew I was being shot at, was over in North Vietnam. My bombardier and navigator was Jim Wagner and he‟d flown “Rolling Thunder” missions to Hanoi and Haiphong, so was an old hand and he had extended his tour. He was a little myopic, and he wore glasses when he had his head in the boot, and I‟m looking out there and this sting of orange balls goes over the right wing, and I thought they were going right over the wing, I thought it was really close. I went, “Uh, I just got shot at”, and here came another one, a string of fire, and I said, “Jim, they‟re shooting at us”, and he comes out of boot and I have this vision of him looking out there and trying to focus his eyes and he said, “Aw hell, that‟s not close”, so we just motored down the road looking for trucks. 39:00 I thought, “If this old hand can face enemy fire that way, I guess I‟ll face enemy fire the same way”. Interviewer: Now, did yo always fly in the same plane? No, no, I didn‟t have my name on the airplane at all, and we flew whatever was up. If we were going to hunt trucks we needed a system. If you‟re going to go out and do other 16 �kinds of missions where you didn‟t need the system to be functional, you‟re only going to be an iron bomber; we‟d take anything they had. Back to the fire, if the fire was close, you would jink, and jinking is just making the airplane dance a little bit back and forth and up and down and just disrupting aim. Interviewer: Was your plane ever hit? Never hit, never had a hole in the airplane, knock on wood—close? Yeah 40:04 I remember looking in the rear view mirrors and seeing the fire explode behind me and over the top of me, and I had the—you could see it underneath and on the sides of us and we‟re right in the middle of this stuff and what are you going to do? You go straight ahead and you„re through it as fast as you can be. Interviewer: Now, were any of the other crews that you were close with, either in your Quonset hut, or whatever, were they ever hit, or shot down? A very good friend, Jim Fickler, was the flight line officer and his troops really liked him. I came back from a mission one night and pulled into the revetment and this corporal unlatched the ladder and he climbed up the ladder. 41:00 As I was opening up the canopy, and lifting my visor and taking off my oxygen mask, and he said, “Captain, do you know anything about Captain Fickler?” I said, “Know what? Why?” He said, “He‟s overdue and we‟re really worried about him. I‟m glad you‟re back, but we‟re really worried about him”, and Jim never did come back. He and his bombardier and navigator were on a mission to the A Shau Valley and they never found the wreckage, or anything. They presumed a killed in action now, because it‟s been so many years later, but he never came back. 17 �Interviewer: Did that incident affect how you went about your missions in the days following it, either being more cautious, or aggressive, or anything? No—I was sitting in an airport one time and I looked down and there was a young lady two seats across from me and down and she had a bracelet on, a MIA/POW bracelet. 42:05 I said, “Whose name have you got?” She showed me and it was Jim Fickler. I said, “Do you know anything about this, about him?” She said, “Not really”. He was from Kewaskum, Wisconsin, not too far from Rhinelander and so, I started telling her, I told about the corporal yelling in my face when I took the mask off and how much his troops really liked him. When they called her flight the tears were running down her face. I walked her up to the gate and the stewardess who was taking the tickets was looking at this and wondering, “I wonder what the hell that‟s all about?” We said goodbye and I said, “Are you flying on this flight?” She said “Yeah”, and I said, “Well, she‟s wearing a MIA bracelet and a friend of mine‟s name is on her MIA bracelet”. 43:06 I pulled out a five dollar bill, or whatever and I said, “Tell her I‟m buying her a drink”, and I don‟t know if she was twenty-one or not, but she got a coke, or a drink out of me anyway, because I made her cry. Interviewer: You made me cry. Well, it makes—and I can get emotional telling that story too. Interviewer: Now, when you were in Vietnam, in-between all your missions, were you able to get out, any relaxation time, and any entertainment? Yeah, they sent me up to Iwakuni to go to nuclear weapons delivery school. Now, that was kind of fun and they sent me to Okinawa to go to a—later on when I was group staff I got up to Okinawa to go to a career—what do you call it—a career placement office? 18 �Interviewer: Assignment? Yeah 44:03 Anyway, I went to Okinawa for a short week and Iwakuni for a week. Interviewer: Did you have any interactions with the local Vietnamese population? No, some of the folks had house mamasans to take care of their hooches, and I didn‟t trust the Vietnamese particularly, so I never hired a house mouse, and that was okay with my roommates and that was fine with them too. I think I was in Da Nang once, but never went to a restaurant, or bar, or anything. When the air force decided to do something a couple of times and that was my time out of Da Nang. We had a road that went right by our area and on the other side was what we called “Dogpatch”. 45:02 It was a Vietnamese village and I‟m sure there were VC in Dogpatch. One time when I had the group duty officer position I went out with the sergeant of the guard and I looked up and here‟s this young green Marine and he had a significant and emotional experience that I‟m sure he will relate to this day. When I was in basic school, one of our instructors talked about going to jungle warfare school in Malaysia and they had Gurkhas for the school's demonstration troop and they said, “We‟re going to put you out in a foxhole and let you watch and see how the shadows change how the terrain looks while all you‟re doing is looking over the edge of a foxhole as the sun goes down, and we‟re going to send a gerk out and you‟ll never see him”. 46:00 This Marine military officer, he said to himself, “Baloney”, and this guy told us this story. He‟s out there and he‟s looking and looking, and looking and looking, and the next thing he knows is this Gurkha is breathing on the back of his neck and that got his attention. So he did understand something about that. Well anyway, the sergeant of the guard and I went out and here‟s this young green Marine that didn‟t know nothing from nothin'. I guess he slept through 19 �infantry training regiment, or something or other, because he‟s walking the wire, marching the wire, right shoulder arms, he marches down to the end, does a halt, port arms, about face, left shoulder arms, and he marches back. I said, “God damn sarge, look at this”, “Yeah, I‟ll take it, hang on. If I yell, you identify me”, “Aye, aye, sir”. 47:00 So, as the kid walked towards me, I just put my head down and I hooded my eyes with my helmet and when he walked away from me, I took giant steps towards him and did the same thing when he came back this way, and eventually I‟m walking step for step with him right behind him and I breathed on the back of his neck. He just sort of froze for a moment and then I saw the butt of the rifle coming around and I said, “Report your post” and he said, “A,ba,ba,ba,ba,ba” and I‟m sure I scared the snot out of this kid that night. I said, “Look, if an aviator Captain can sneak up on you like I did, think about what the VC can do”. I said, “I don‟t care if you lean on that bunk over there and pick you r nose, or whatever, but I want you looking around and I want you to be alert and I don‟t want anybody to sneak up on you”. 48:00 I‟m sure I just scared him no end that time, because when the sergeant of the guard and I left, his head was like a swivel and he was looking around every which way. That was an interesting experience, something I learned in basic school and I applied in combat. Interviewer: Now, when you went on your missions, was there interaction between the air force pilots, the carrier based pilots, and your ground based marine pilots? Were they coordinated efforts, or were they pretty much individual? All of the night missions were fragged out of Saigon by the 7th Air force. I never did cooperative missions with either navy or air force, or other marine outfits either. We had—when we were going to North Vietnam we had a target time. 49:01 20 We were �free to roam up and down the roads where---our rules of engagements set that we could only attack what was on the roads, or if you had a forward air controller, you could get handed off to a forward air controller and he could specify your target for you. We had a target time and I‟ve forgotten if it was twenty minutes, or something like that, in North Vietnam. The whole idea was to keep pressure on the Vietnamese and don‟t run into unfriendly airplanes. I did tell the story in class about one point target we had where we were given the coordinates, map coordinates, of a cave and an attack access, basically running south, so my bombardier and navigator and I looked at the map and he figured out what he thought would be a radar significant point. 50:04 We hit the latitude and longitude of the cave we went up and he identified his radar significant check point, up point, to update the computer and we put the coordinates of the cave in and we set up the attack running in on that one. There was an Air Force flight, call sign Cadillac, it was working on the coast and we ran in and I think I dropped three two thousand pounders and I have a vision of at least one of those bombs going down the mouth of the cave. There must have been ammunition in it, or something, because we dropped the bombs and it went off and I looked in the rearview mirror and the whole sky behind me is yellow. I scared Cadillac and he said, “Cadillac check, four, three, two”. 51:04 Cadillac lead says, “What was that?” Cadillac lead was afraid one of his birds had gone into the ground, so I said, “Cadillac, Manual 4013, I‟m over to the west of you playing around”, and he said, “What did you hit?” I said, “I don‟t know, but it must have been spectacular”, and he said, “It was”, so that was my interaction with, you know— Interviewer: While you were in Vietnam, were you able to communicate back with your family, back in Minnesota? 21 �Well, we wrote letters all the time and the interesting thing about that was we just put free where the stamp is. Letters went back and forth. Interviewer: Regularly, good service as far as you could tell? Oh absolutely, because since I never left Da Nang, I always got my mail on a VMA 242, even when I was on group staff I always had a mailbox there, yeah. 52:05 Interviewer: Did you recount, as you look back on it now, did you give a fair and balanced report of what your activities really were, or did you color them to make it seem not quite as hazzardess? To my mother? For my mother, no, it was not a full and complete disclosure. I think I said—the first time I got shot at I think I put that in and said, “I got shot at tonight, no big deal”, or something like that. Because, my mother, I‟m sure was wringing a hanky in her hands and destroying it and she must have gone through a whole box full while I was overseas. 53:00 My dad recounted about his mother and my grandmother who had passed away by that time, and he said, “Good thing she‟s dead, because she would have spent the whole time you were in Vietnam on her knees praying with the rosary”. I was well aware that my parents, and particularly my mom, she was really apprehensive. My dad wanted me to get a portrait taken before I went overseas and I knew exactly what he was doing and I said, “Okay”, so I did that. Interviewer: Since you—you were in Vietnam how long, just over a year did you say? Thirteen months, three hundred—I think the average tour was supposed to be three hundred and eighty-eight days, and I think I early with three hundred and eighty-five. 22 �Interviewer: And you said you flew two hundred missions and about every day and a half you were in the air on a mission? Yeah 54:00 Interviewer: What did yo do to relax, or decompress? Go to the bar and drink, no, write letters and we did have movies and sometimes, if I was flying at night, we‟d go to the “O Club” and they had a movie on the patio and you‟d get yourself a soda and watch the movie, and then head down to the hanger at midnight, or whenever it was, and fly your mission. A lot of times we‟d come back from a mission and we‟d go to the mess hall and the enlisted mess hall had mid-rats, so if we met the right time we could go in there and get midnight rations, mid-rats, and the food in Vietnam was excellent. 55:00 We had a big area that had a kitchen, we had staff NCO serving over here, they had the enlisted people here, they had an NCO area in the enlisted mess and then the officers‟ mess over here, but we all had the same food, and it was good. It was the best food I had out of any mess and it was the food in Vietnam. Interviewer: Another question back on you missions. You would go--how many hours would you spend in the air and what was the—when you’d come back and you were probably limited by the amount of fuel you could carry, were you ever concerned about not having enough fuel to make it back to base? I was never concerned about having enough fuel, about not having enough fuel to get home. 56:00 I remember starting a penetration, a backhand penetration at night, and the Da Nang tower comes up on guard, “Da Nang‟s under attack, all aircraft depart the area”, and I looked up and yo could see the explosions of the rockets coming in, the flashes around the airfield, so we just went out and we came back and they opened it back 23 �up and we came in. One time we did that and I looked at the gas and I said, “I‟m just about “bingo” fuel”, which then I had enough fuel to go from where I was to Oban Thailand, to go over to the air force base at Oban, so I called Da Nang approach control, who I was talking with, and said, “I‟m going to Oban channel forty-five “. 57:00 Say it was channel forty-five, it was the tack on channel, and I said, “I‟m going to channel forty-five”, “Roger sir”, so I turned southeast and went to Thailand. They called me up later and either the base was under attack, or it was below minimums for weather, and they called me up and they said, “We‟re above minimums, or the attack ceased and you can come back”. I said, “Negative, I don‟t have enough fuel to come back in and then make it back, I‟m “bingo” already” and they said, “Roger sir, you‟re pigeons for your “hotsie bath” are”, and pigeons are the bearing and direction, radio terminology, and the “hotsie bath”, of course, is a bath. Interviewer: How long was a typical period in the air, two or three hours? No, no, I‟ve flown missions as short as forty minutes and not very many longer than an hour. 58:05 I think when I departed—when I diverted to Oban, that was probably an hour, or an hour and five minutes, or something like that. Interviewer: So really, engagement time, that doesn’t give you long to hunt trucks, or whatever, once you get to the area where you’re going to do your hunting. We had an area of operation and if we couldn‟t find a moving target we had alternate targets, which were typically fords across the river, because traffic would stack up on the northern side of the river crossing, so we just go bomb the north side, you know, that ford, and sometimes with pretty good success. 59:00 I was up in North Vietnam one night and the AMTI didn‟t work, so we went to our alternate target and dropped 24 �ordinance and I did my thirty degrees, thirty degree angle and bank, and sixty degrees angle and bank and Don says, “Wow, look at that”, and that‟s when he turned and looked at the gauges and looked out and I could see all this stuff going and it was really spectacular that night. So, we had--contingency plans were always around in one form, or another, so we had alternate targets. Interviewer: As your time came to when you were going to be going home, did your actions change, did you become more conservative or aggressive again, as you knew it was almost time to go home? Not really 00:01 I think I got a little more careful. I told the story for the class where I went in Haiphong, which was a nasty area and heavily defended with triple A. Don picked up a truck moving along Route 19 and we preceded to attack, and I saw ground fire and I started jinking and he came out of the boot to see what was going on and he looked out and here comes this string of orange balls at his nose. Lots of firing and he said, “Break left” and we were short at this time, we were within a month of going home. So, I broke left and I stood it on wing tip and bent it up, and I ended up going around back towards Da Nang. Well, we both decided, mutually, that this is nonsense, and we‟re going to go and get that guy. 1:00 The truck had—of course the truck is moving down the road and we moved back around and re-acquired him and commenced the attack, took a little more fire, jinked a little bit, but not much, and this is one of the few times I used “Rock eyes”. I selected two of them, they were very expensive and I‟ve heard various figures of thirteen thousand, or nineteen thousand for each weapon, so we were told to use them, but prudently. We selected two, we dropped two and Don saw lots of secondaries. He was looking over his shoulder as we left the area and lots, and lots, and 25 �lots of secondaries. We got back and debriefed of the hop that night and he had to fill out a form, because we dropped “Rock eyes”, justifying the expenditure. 2:02 Don was so emphatic about secondaries—yeah, they fragged an F-4 to go take photographs the next day and they found the burned out truck, but we also had taken out a re-supply point too, serendipitously, didn‟t know it was there. But the rock I opened up—I think there are four hundred and fifty two bomblets in one “Rock-eye” or something like that. They‟re like a bazooka round , anyway, a lot of them, it‟s an area weapon, an anti-tank weapon, good for trucks and also, re-supply points. There were still fires and stuff was burning and lots of distraction there, so sometimes you get lucky. Interviewer: You mentioned a while ago about rules of engagement and when you were in North Vietnam it was free fire? 3:00 Not exactly, rules of engagement were very restrictive, because we could free fire anything on the road, but I think we were limited to within fifty meters of the center line of the road, or something like that, was the only place we could hit. Interviewer: My real question was going to be, what do you think about rules of engagement like that, where it constricts your ability to do a job and win a battle, or a war? Catch twenty-two, but, you know orders are orders, so you follow the orders, you don‟t have to like it, didn‟t like being in combat, but you follow the orders. Interviewer: We got up to near the time to go home and do you remember the day you actually left and the route you took to get back to the states? 4:00 The previous night we had potato salad in the officers‟ mess and it was really good. At lunchtime they had it again and what I didn‟t know was they let it sit out all night and 26 �boy was I sick. I was in the head all day long and trying to go find the flight surgeons were all in bed and the corpsman wouldn‟t give me any—what‟s the medicine that locks you up? I can‟t remember what you call it, but anyway, it‟s like cork. A little tiny pill like this and it expands to miles, and miles, and miles of cork, and it stops the diarrhea for sure. Anyway, I got on the airplane feeling lousy, but I was glad to get on the airplane. 5:02 We went to Okinawa, deplaned, and a lot of these guys were so aggravated they had to stay in Okinawa for three, or four, or five days in order to get the next flight back home. I said, “Guys, relax, you‟re out of harms way, go to the PX and buy presents for your family, don‟t worry about it, it‟s free time”, but some folks didn‟t see it that way, but I did. Interviewer: What was your point of return, back in the states? El Toro as a matter of fact--we flew into El Toro and they rolled out the red carpet and I didn‟t want to walk on the red carpet, because I didn‟t think I deserved to walk on a red carpet, but anyway I had to do that. I went through customs and immigration and I had an enlarger I‟d bought, because I started doing photography when I was in Vietnam. 6:04 I remember they had a corporal going through all of my stuff, you know, to see if there was any contraband in there. I was so infuriated, I‟m a commissioned officer, and my word is my bond except when I‟m coming back home, and they‟re searching my gear for contraband and I was madder than a wet hen. Interviewer: What were they looking for; drugs or what was the primary thing of contraband that they were looking for? I have no idea what they were looking for, drugs I—certainly, any kind of contraband, weapons, drugs, I have no idea. 27 �Interviewer: But it was a “welcome home” at the base anyway, when you arrived back. Well, there was a red carpet, then there was—then I remember—I found out that there was a red light, is that what you call an all-night flight? 7:03 Interviewer: “Red eye” “Red eye” flight, yeah, “red eye” flight from Los Angeles LAX to MSP, Minneapolis and that‟s where I was going—nonstop, and I got on it and I called my folks from Los Angeles and said I was in Los Angeles and I was on this “red eye” flight and I would be at the airport at five o‟clock in the morning, or whatever it was and they said, “Good”. Then we went out and got in a cab and we‟re going down the freeways, Los Angeles at eighty fine and ninety miles an hour and I‟m thinking, “Jesus Christ, I survived two hundred and three missions, combat missions, and I‟m going to get wiped out in a taxi cab on a freeway”. Anyway, we got to the airport, I got on the airplane, but I was so excited I couldn‟t go to sleep. 8:00 Eventually, the stewardess sat down and she and I chatted across the western part of the United States, me drinking coffee and she‟s serving me coffee and it was enjoyable. My folks were ecstatic when I got off the airplane. Interviewer: So, there was no re-indoctrination to civilian life holdover in El Toro for a period of time before you were released to the public? No Interviewer: Once you arrived back in Minneapolis, do you recall the atmosphere, or the—with which you were greeted? Not by your family, necessarily, but by the population at large. 28 �It varied—there was a segment of the population that thought that I was a foul and evil thing that didn‟t belong in the public and probably should have been terminated before I came home. 9:00 There were some ex-servicemen who were very gracious about doing a difficult job under difficult circumstances. I remember, I had a date and I wanted to go to a really nice restaurant and I called up and made a reservation for two as Captain Perso. I picked my date up and we went to the restaurant and let the valet park the car and we went in. I went up to the maître d‟ and said, “I‟m Captain Perso and I have a reservation for two”, and the son of a bitch addressed me, when I said, “I‟m captain Perso and I have a reservation for two”, he said, “Mr. Perso, you table will be ready in a little while”, and he wouldn‟t address me by my rank and it just irked me beyond belief. 10:00 We were seated, had a cocktail, and a family came in with a young man and a younger sister, and eventually the young man got up and he came over and he stood in front of our table, right there, so I got up and introduced myself—he told me his name, I introduced my date and I looked at the waiter and I said, “Can you get a chair for this young gentleman?” They got him a chair and he sat down and joined us, and I said, “Do you want a drink?” The waiter said, “I can‟t give him alcohol”, and I said, “No, a “Hop Along Cassidy”, or a “Shirley Temple”, and I thought a “Shirley Temple” was a girls drink, but anyway, we got him a glass of soda pop and we talked, and my date said that his younger sister had wanted to come over, but her parents stopped her and just let the boy be with us. 11:00 When there food came, or our food came, he went back to his family, and then they stopped and spoke briefly on their way out. So, what turned out to be a major irritation, turned into a really delightful evening and that was kind of the way it went. Later on when I was in grad school, I went to the university and there was a cop 29 �standing on the corner because there were riots in progress, and I said, “What‟s going on?” He told me what was going on and it was sort of a dicey situation, so I turned around and I walked home. I saw my professors the next day, the next time I was in class and I told them what I‟d done and they said, “Well, you probably did the right thing”. That was after I was out of the Marine Corps--that was 1971. Interviewer: You certainly have a good recollection of all these things. Did you keep a diary while you were in Vietnam? 12:03 No, you prohibited from having a diary. Well, if it got captured, no, but I‟ve stayed very close with some of my colleagues ad I‟ve checked all my war stories with my bombardier and navigator, and others, and they said, “Yeah, I remember it exactly the same way”, so two of us have the same recollection. Interviewer: Do you feel that your time in the service prepared you well for your later career, and what was your later career? A good point and don‟t let me forget to address that. I came—when I came back to Cherry Point the second time there were no quarters available for Captains, the list was kind of long and I was in the officers transient quarters and that was not all that great, but it wasn‟t bad, sort of like camping out. 13:09 One of my squadron mates said, “You know there are furnished apartments up in the apartment complex that I live in, in New Buen”, which was twenty miles north of Cherry Point. So, I went and saw the housing officer and he said, “Yeah, if you want to get quarters allowance we‟ll give it to you, because the list is really long”, and I said, “Okay”, so I went up and I found a furnished apartment and got quarters allowance. One day I watched this sort of pick-up volleyball game adjacent to the parking lot and there was a girl there, and I went over and 30 �introduced myself and ended up marrying her. 14:00 We were married in the memorial chapel on the base and I applied for grad school at the University of Minnesota and was accepted, so I resigned my commission and went to grad school, and got a masters degree in mechanical engineering. I interviewed with Whirlpool and I was hired and I came here to St. Joseph in research and engineering, and back and forth, and eventually I was in the whirl washer group. We started--we had three plants that we built from a Greenfield, one in India, one in Brazil and one in Mexico and I was involved in all of that. 15:01 We had some difficulties in India, well I had lots of difficulties in India, which you might expect, but they sent me to Pondicherry to get some things squared away and I had three retirees, Whirlpool retirees, that I took over there and I led the team. It was interesting—I would go in and see the chef in the kitchen and find out what was fresh and we would all eat the same thing. I would do the meal planning—I was the scout master and took care of everybody. We had three retirees from this area and then we had one guy from Europe, also, so I took care of everybody. I was there for eight weeks, I guess, leading this team. 16:00 I said, “Probably thirteen months of combat in Vietnam was maybe an adequate preparation for two months in India”, because that was very difficult, that was very difficult. Every day we would drive by Pondicherry engineering college in the University of Pondicherry and I talked to the senior people in the company there, so we got a tour of the engineering school and the university. In the afternoon we were on the university and of course we‟re “vela carinas” and that means white man. It‟s not derogatory, it‟s descriptive, but we obviously stand out, and the students came over and congregated around us and wanted to talk to us. 17:02 the standard question you get was, “What do you think of India?” Some “vela carinas” are 31 �so gosh that they say, “This place sucks and why would anybody stay here?” I didn‟t agree with that and I‟d had enough cross cultural training, that I handled it a lot better than that. I told them the most honest thing I could say, “India is the most difficult place I‟ve ever traveled, but I like working with the people, some of the food, if it‟s not too spicy, I can handle, the scenery is interesting”, and all that stuff I could say with—I said with honesty and the students understood that I was being straight forward and honest with them. My Marine Corps experience and my experience in the south, you know, coming from Minnesota and all my training in the southern United States. 18:03 That was my beginning of my cross cultural training and then I ended up marrying this southern Baptist rebel Baptist girl and I‟m a Yankee Catholic Republican and we‟re still married, so I can be multi-cultural and I ended up my career at Whirlpool doing that kind of thing, and enjoying it. Between the Marine Corps and Whirlpool, I‟ve been to six continents and twenty-nine countries and thoroughly enjoyed it. Interviewer: Is there anything else you would like to add that we haven’t covered? No, did you get a chance to read any of the stories I wrote? Interviewer: I have not, no 19:00 Okay, let me give you just a brief background on that. One of the guys that was in 242 wanted to bring up a website and talk about the Marine 86‟s in Vietnam, so he did that and he solicited the air crews to write stories, which I did. I used a lot of that material when I did the presentation for the “Lest We Forget” group and I enjoyed doing that and that was the background of those stories, so that‟s what you‟ve got there. That‟s the reason that we did that. Interviewer: Okay, thank you 32 �One other story—when I was in Vietnam they said, “Jim, go down to group headquarters and at 14:30, and they‟ve got something for you”. 20:00 So I went there and here‟s this sergeant from headquarters Marine Corps, doing oral history and I had no idea what he was doing, so I looked at him and I said, “What‟s going on?” I didn‟t get any adequate preparation, I didn‟t think about what I should say, I didn‟t know—so my first attempt at oral history was a disaster and I said, “I‟m not doing this”, so here I am today so, “Sarge, wherever you are today, I apologize for not being ready for you then, but in the intervening forty years I‟ve become better prepared, and that‟s my motivation for agreeing to participate in the oral history program. 20:47 33 �34 � 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 PersoJ Title A name given to the resource Perso, James (Interview transcript and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Perso, James Description An account of the resource James Perso was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and later moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota where he grew up. After graduating from high school he took classes at the University of Minnesota in mechanical engineering and also went through an ROTC program. After graduating from college he was commissioned and sent to Quantico, Virginia for training in the Marine Corps. James continued after basic training with pre-flight, primary, and advanced flight training before he was stationed in Da Nang, Vietnam. While in Vietnam James flew a total of 203 missions with the 242nd Attack Squadron and was in country for 13 months. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Merle, Richard (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American United States. Marine Corps Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-12-03 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1997ddf7e61d99fc9a9a23d0acfa53a7.mp4 3411ec93095041b84dd89ea5ef3fc624 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2ba07efbeca202b562133c4726d3a0b9.pdf cf5a2499255ea60745588c3df58f5b9f PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Lyle Perschke (1:21:23) (00:15) Background Information • • • • Lyle was born in Wisconsin in 1922 His father worked for the American Seating Company and was transferred to Grand Rapids in 1925 He graduated from Union High School and had been a captain in the ROTC and a drum major in band After graduation Lyle worked for the American Seating Company (1:20) Navy Enlistment • • • • • Lyle did not want to join the Army because of the similar training he experienced in the ROTC Lyle went to Great Lakes boot camp in Chicago The men got their physicals and were then assigned to a battalion Everyone was in a much better condition after boot camp They then reported to San Francisco where he became bugler in the Navy because he had played the trumpet in high school (6:20) Pacific Islands • Lyle traveled to many different islands in the Pacific on USS Honolulu • He was only twenty years and everything was very new to him and interesting • Their ship was being attacked by torpedoes • They sunk a cruiser, several airplanes, and Lyle and other men received many battle stars • Their ship had been attacked by torpedoes and flooded with water (10:05) Battle on the Ship • The captain was very calm and cool • The Japanese started attacking from ten miles away • It was a scary experience and they had to go back to the port afterwards to reload and repair the ship (18:01) California �• While in California Lyle got punched in the face at a bar; he lost four teeth and could no longer serve as the bugler • He then became third class quartermaster • He took care of the ship log while they were traveling and worked with navigation charts • Eventually he made second class quartermaster (23:00) Home for Christmas • After being transferred Lyle was able to take some time off to visit his family • Lyle had a lot of fun when he came home to visit • His parents helped him pay to get his four teeth replaced • Then they took the USS Colbert to Oregon and then Seattle (26:35) Storms on the Ship • Lyle spent a lot of time on the upper part of the ship because he could keep from getting sick up there • There was less action on the bottom of the ship, but at the top you can see everything that is going on down below (27:00) The USS Colbert • On this ship they brought back Japanese prisoners to the US and Okinawa (28:40) Manchuria • On the way to Manchuria they hit 4-5 floating mines • They stopped at Korea to look at the ship damage • When they got to Manchuria they picked up POWs from the prison camps • There were some Russians there that had taken over some near town and they were heavily armed • The war was over, but there were floating mines everywhere that you could spot on the radar • The ship hit a mine and it blew up their whole engine room (35:50) The Train Ride Home • Everyone on the ride was very happy, drinking, and playing instruments • Lyle was discharged on December 16th, 1945 �• Lyle then went back to working for the American Seeding Company • He got married and had a son • Lyle retired after working for 47 years • He enjoys driving antique trucks in parades and restoring old cars (39:40) Prisoners in Manchuria • They prisoners were on the death march • The prisoners had been stabbed by Japanese commanders and they were fed horrible food • The caught escapees were shot in front of all the other prisoners • The Japanese treated US prisoners very poorly • Lyle never actually traveled to Japan, just many nearby islands • They sailed through the Sea of Japan (43:45) The Atomic Bombs • Lyle could not believe it when the bombs were dropped • He kept many newspaper clippings from the war • He always had thought that he would be sent to Japan for an invasion • They thought it would be terrible and with many losses (46:15) The Effect of the War • He became very jumpy and nervous after the war experience • He got better after a year, but began drinking too much until his wife made him stop • Lyle eventually adjusted to civilian life • The service required him to grow up in a big hurry; he had been very immature • Lyle believes that every boy and girl should spend a year or two in the service after graduation (50:02) The Navy • ROTC training was similar to that of the Army • Lyle did not want to tramp through mud and forests and would rather die at sea if it was to happen during his time in the service �  • Lyle had more experience than all the other new men in training • When Lyle first enlisted he only weighed 112 pounds ��Photo U' • • " ..... f 80-G-_-94 6 's lIonolulu lind rway with temporary fal c bow. August 1943 ��Photo # 80- J-_5944 ~ ··L ""'" U. . HOJ1( lulu rrive: at Tulaai aft er heine torpe 0 d in the BULLIe or Kolo I �k · . .. �H· . . . .. � 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 PerschkeL Title A name given to the resource Perschke, Lyle (Interview outline, video, and papers), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Perschke, Lyle Description An account of the resource Lyle Perschke was born in Wisconsin in 1922 and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1925 when his father's job was transferred. Lyle played the trumpet and drums in high school and so he became a bugler when he joined the Navy. During a fight he got his four front teeth knocked out and was no longer to serve in the position of bugler. He became second class quartermaster on his ship. Lyle traveled to many different islands throughout the Pacific, as well as Korea and Manchuria, serving first on the USS Honolulu and later on the USS Colbert. Lyle has many experiences where his ship was attacked by Japanese kamikazes and also problems with running into floating mines in the ocean. Photographs of the USS Honolulu and a clipping are appended to this interview outline. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Navy World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-10-11 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3950c12c265164f291dc9665b5e7fc00.mp4 0fa15556a009223fb71ee38b219e3362 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f5bc560401d038498e43d4ce00ab195b.pdf 1433b288ec4264e3ab9d4103bc4be27a PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of Interviewee: Robert Perrin Name of War: World War II Length of Interview: (00:38:26) (00:20) Background Information • Robert was born on September 11, 1923 in Grand Rapids, Michigan • He grew up in Grand Rapids and his father worked on refinishing autos • Robert did not do well in school and dropped out when he was 16 to work in tool and dye • Robert was drafted into the Army a few years after he was done with school and classified as “semi-skilled” (5:55) The Army 1943 • Robert took a train to Camp McCoy in Wisconsin for basic training • The camp was in the middle of the woods and there were tons of pine trees • There were permanent barracks and they had to march all the time in the freezing weather; it was terrible • The men got up every day at 5:30 am and started with calisthenics, and then a 2.5 mile hike (11:30) Camp Ellis, Illinois • After basic training Robert was sent to Camp Ellis in the Spring of 1943 and began working with the Military Police • He worked on guard duty and helped with the flooding of the Illinois River • During the flood he guarded the gas station, which was a terminal point for a radio car and they also spent time checking the levies flood breaks (13:10) Military Police • Robert had been sent to Fort Custer to work with the Military Police and be an escort guard • They picked up POWs at a point on the East Coast and brought them to the prison camps around the country • They never had any incidents with the POWs and they actually got along well with the Germans, even though they did not speak any English �• Robert eventually volunteered to work in the infantry because he did not like working in the Military Police (16:10) Air Force • Robert was then sent to Camp Gruber in Oklahoma where he became part of the 42nd Rainbow Division • This training was much more difficult, but he was eventually transferred out of the Air Force and working in the Military Police again • Robert was sent to Arkansas for training and then to Marshall Field in Louisiana • The barracks in Louisiana were new and very large; it was like paradise • Robert was once again transferred to an Air Force base in Colorado where he became an instructor teaching men how to repair radios during their training in the Military Police • Robert was discharged on November 26, 1945 (22:40) End of Service • Robert took a train to Chicago and then another to Michigan; it was a very long ride with many stops on the way • He arrived home on Thanksgiving Day • Robert had gotten married in 1943 and his wife had traveled with him a bit while he was in the service • He began working again in tool and dye (28:45) Grand Rapids Home for Veterans • Robert was separated from his wife in 1950 and later remarried • They thought Michigan was too cold and moved to Florida • Robert lived with his wife in Florida for about 20 years, but then his wife began suffering from Alzheimer’s • His children came from Michigan to help him pack and move and Robert and his wife both began living in the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans • His wife recently passed away and they had been married for 55 years • Robert has 16 grandchildren and enjoys where he is staying, but sometimes thinks it feels like a barracks � 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 PerrinR Title A name given to the resource Perrin, Robert B. (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Perrin, Robert B. Description An account of the resource Robert Perrin was born on September 11, 1923 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and drafted into the Army in 1943. He went to Camp McCoy in Wisconsin for basic training, which he thought was terrible. Robert then began training for the Military Police and was later stationed in Louisiana to help with flooding. Robert was transferred into the Army Air Force and then became part of the 42nd Rainbow Division. Near the end of his service Robert was instructing the Military Police how to repair radios in Colorado. Robert was discharged on November 26, 1945 and moved back to Michigan. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Collins Sr., Charles E. (Interviewer) Collins, Carol (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-11-24 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/026f25b085b154332521139f2a9d12df.mp4 1cf1bcdaaca761f867fb7f1d249d7e1e https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d915ddd1f9e67bebdd344183e4c59d8f.pdf abae82477801722c35ccc2188e2f4065 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: World War II Interviewee name: Paul Penno Length of Interview: 51 minutes 59 seconds Pre-Enlistment (00:37)  Childhood (00:40) o Penno was born in Watkins County, Montana on July 19, 1918. (00:54) o Originally, his parents were from St. Louis, Missouri and had heard about some homesteading property in Montana and decided to try it out. (01:23) Penno’s mother couldn’t handle the hardships of Montana life and so returned with him to St. Louis where he grew up. (02:05) o While he was growing up, his dad worked as a Federal barge line operator on the Missouri River, (03:21) while his mother was a stay-at-home mom and taught piano lessons. (03:43)  Education (04:11) o Penno, while attending church and public school, attempted to find himself. (04:41) o Remembers the Great Depression and relates how it was embarrassing to say that his mother had to wait in a welfare line. (05:36) o Meanwhile with his schooling, he did not make it through the 8th Grade because he dropped out. (06:10)  His Jobs (06:37) o Worked as a teenager doing wire-fan making for 25 cents a day in St. Louis. (07:01) o While news circulated widely about the war he did not think much of the war. (08:20) He was a conscious objector, someone who refused to bear arms. (08:43) Eventually he worked with an Army chaplain to put pressure on the Army to let him join the Medical Corps and not have to bear arms. (09:11) Enlistment/Training (09:39)  Background (09:40) �o Made it clear to the army that he wanted to join the medical teams and would do so without taking the suggested rifle training because he was a conscientious objector. (09:21) He volunteered to do other things such as wash dishes. (09:50) o On Saturdays he attended church (10:05) and would work with his commander to work out a workable schedule to make up for his missed duty despite the inconvenience it presented to his commander. (10:49) o Penno mentions that he was the only one in the 302nd Inf. Reg. of the 94th Division to do this. (11:23) o Before being drafted, Penno discusses a trip he took from St. Louis to Kansas City with his newlywed in their ‘39 Ford car. (12:13) Remembers hearing the voice of President Roosevelt over the radio as he announced the attack on Pearl Harbor. (12:40) The news of the attack shook him up but knew that it would take much more to take the U.S. down. (13:15) o Was able to spend a year with his wife before being drafted. (14:27) o Briefly outlines the various places he trained throughout the U.S. (15:19)  Where he trained and what company he served with (15:56) o Penno mentions that he was drafted and inducted in Jackson, Missouri. (15:57) From there he was sent to Salina, Kansas; McCain, Mississippi, and finally to New York where he boarded the Queen Elizabeth. (15:12) o Briefly mentions that he had some medical training. (16:30) Basic training for him was between 6 to 9 months. (17:17) o After basic training, he was shipped aboard the Queen Elizabeth with 15,000 others from around the U.S. to Europe. (17:48)  Voyage over the Atlantic (18:03) o Briefly mentions that it took a week and switching course every 7 minutes to avoid submarine detection to finally arrive at their destination. (18:23) o Landing at Glasgow, Scotland (19:22) and then they were transported to Southampton, England and from there across the channel to Normandy at about 90 days after D-Day (20:07) Active Duty (20:17)  Normandy (20:26) �o Penno mentions that German resistance was limited to heavy fighting in various pockets. At about this time, the Germans were manning coastal guns and fighting in pockets. (20:40) o Upon landing, his unit was assigned to an apple orchard where there was heavy fighting. (21:20) As a medical aid man his duties included transporting wounded to the dispensary where medical supplies were fairly basic. (21:58) o Penno mentions that he stayed in France for only a few weeks and encountering heavy German resistance in the way of the Germans firing their 88-mm guns and in one instance killing a messenger boy. (23:43) o Much of the time, Penno would hear men calling out to the aid men for help. Being an aid man he would have to scramble out of his fox hole and get the wounded out of the danger zone as fast as possible (24:26) o At one point he was recommended for the Silver Star which he did not feel he was qualified to receive because he was just doing his duty. (24:52)  In response to his award, one Medical-detachment major said he should be killed because he was sick of Penno making up his Saturdays on Sundays instead. (26:10) o Penno describes his time under the jurisdiction of General Patton and his push towards Germany. (28:30)  Czechoslovakia – occupational duty (29:06) o Before long he was doing occupational duty with many Soviet soldiers. Penno relates seeing German prisoners-of-war. His contact with Soviet soldiers was nothing out of the ordinary. (29:39) o For him, occupational duty was nothing more than waiting to go home. (30:15) He mentions that he never had to enter combat that he was close enough to see artillery shells going off. (30:32) o He mentions that the sound of artillery shells exploding affected him greatly years later. Mentions that he could relate with Vietnam veteran’s experiences. (31:37)  Other facts (31:55) o Mentions that following World War II he suffered from nightmares and reliving his war years for a long time. (32:11) o Briefly describes what the local Czech women were like after the war. (33:23) �o In Dusseldorf, Penno describes how there was not much left of the city except a few houses when they were there. (35:03) o Further mentions that he did not follow much news from the Pacific except for the dropping of the Atomic bomb. (35:25) From this experience, he could not help but feel sad but at the same time relief about the end of the war. (35:51)  Returning home (37:03) o Penno mentions that he returned home on December 7th, 1945. (37:09) He was honorably discharged at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri. (37:44) o Describes his journey from Czechoslovakia back to the U.S. aboard a Liberty ship and the ocean voyage home. (39:37) o Briefly shares his thoughts upon entering New York Harbor. (40:10) After the Service (40:20) o Adjusting to Home (40:30) o Mentions that he maintained a continual correspondence with his wife while he was in Europe. (40:31) o Upon returning to St. Louis, and spending less than a week at home (41:06), he decided to go back and finish school. He went to Lincoln, Nebraska where a school of his own denomination was located. (41:45) o Attended Union College where he took general courses. (43:04) He relates how back in those days how people took piety on returning uneducated veterans. Spent 5 years: summer and the full year going to school. (43:25) o While doing this, he describes his extracurricular activities. (44:13) o Graduated from Union College in 1951 and afterwards got a job working with a denominational conference in a musical capacity. (44:48) o Life after school (44:55) o Briefly describes the various places he moved too around the U.S. and then finally to Michigan. He discusses his ministerial involvement in these places briefly. (46:40) o Retired in March 1984 and today is still involved in a limited capacity in the ministry. (48:05) �o Reflection (48:27) o Penno discusses how his Army experience impacted him and how he prayed to God that if he survived that he would go back and prepare for whatever. (49:12) o Briefly discusses his opinion on the current Iraq war, and what he thought of World War II movies. (51:59) � 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 PennoP Title A name given to the resource Penno, Paul (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Penno, Paul Description An account of the resource Paul Penno was a World War II veteran who served in the Army as a medical aid from 1942 to December 1945. In this account, Penno discusses his pre-enlistment and his enlistment and training years in the U.S. He further discusses his part as a medical aid in France and occupational officer in Czechoslovakia. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource McCauslin, Kelly (Interviewer) Spring Lake District Library (Spring Lake, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-12-17 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bc2e59ebccb05f4324a08ba6d9273593.mp4 a2b49dfdf8e485ba79a475f7f770687b https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/160f109ffb3d6a1376a67e14744f91d8.pdf 5f213de80ce39e0c42e890bc2f59e4b9 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of War: Civilian, Airline Dispatcher Interviewee: John Penning Length of Interview: 01:03:01 Background      Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on August 8th, 1921. He was born in his home on Sheridan Ave. His dad had a hardware store, and his mother would help out there. He learned a lot about different hardware and a lot about interaction between people. It would serve him well later on. His parents would have loved it if he had taken over the store, but he wanted to go to college. He went to Calvin College for 2 years after Catholic High School. He started out thinking he would be pre-med, but that wasn’t for him. After he went to college, in 1941, he went with his friend Valparaiso Tech to learn about radio technician. Training (2:55)             When the war started, he had many thoughts about what to do. He knew he could be a ship radio officer for the cargo ships headed to England. American Airlines would approach him looking for a radio operator. He would go to Chicago to pass a couple of tests to get his license and then applied to American. They would accept his application in 1942. They assigned him to Fort Worth for a temporary basis as there were no openings for him in the military at the time. He would instead be used for commercial use. He was in Fort Worth a bit and then he would go to El Paso. Both good experiences for him. He job would be to communicate with the plane for the dispatcher. The technology was not as good as it is today and they would often have trouble hearing the plane crew if there were storms interfering He would do this job for about a year. Despite his work, he was still subject to the draft. He was living in Valparaiso at the time the war was declared and signed up for it there. He would work for American Airlines waiting for the draft. They would give him a training program while waiting. There was no direct relationship between American and the Military. But they got the idea from the British experience with their airlines. Eventually American Airlines said that they did not need him for a radio operator, so he contacted other airlines to see if he could go there. 3 said they did not need him, 3 ignored him. And while he was in Grand Rapids, he was contacted by an airline there. � From there he had a choice to go to Alaska, or go into the military. Alaska (13:50)                    When he got to Alaska, the based him Anchorage. Although he would be paid almost one-third more than his other job, the cost of living in Alaska would be higher as well. Nothing was home grown and everything had to be shipped. But he did not mind, he felt the pay was adequate. They were in the process of gathering more radio operators and other such people who were looking for such certification. They would help run commercial airlines at first and did a lot of bush flying. He would often arrange flights for people. Some situations would be hazardous. While he was in Alaska, the war was going on. There was especially fighting in the Aleutians. This would be strategically beneficial for the United States Military. He would be part of a back-up plan that the military would have when fighting in the Aleutians. They would use the airlines to move troops and supplies if the Japanese got too close. At first they stayed in an apartment building, but they were struggling with money. So they looked at another apartment building where his wife could do some work that would help pay the rent. Eventually he ended up in a shack just above the mud at the edge of the city. It was really bad, so they found a different house to live in eventually. The city itself was nice, but not much civilization there. There was one traffic light in the whole city and about five blocks of paved roads. It was basically primitive. The people there were very friendly and always willing to help each other. He felt that Februarys in Anchorage were sometimes better than the ones in Grand Rapids. The coldest he could recall when living in Anchorage was -20 degrees. Storms there were not significantly bad most of the time. There was no shortage of snow. He relished it, especially as he was a young man. At first his wife looked forward to moving to Alaska, but when they got there she was extremely lonely. Mail came once a day, at most. His wife would often go to the post office 3 or 4 times a day and the lady at the post office was kind enough to give her a job, to keep her mind busy. Her working ultimately helped in his becoming a dispatcher. When she was gone to work, he would study in his free time. She did make friends while she was there, and even made friends with a sort of mother up in Alaska. He was grateful for that. His job would entail being driven by a company vehicle to and from the office to the airport. The office was a rather humble shack. It contained a radio and a desk for people to work as a dispatcher. There were two machines that would give him the hourly weather. Rarely did they see past 10 miles, but when they saw Mount McKinley, the visibility was at 100 miles. It was a unique experience for him. There would be a US weather bureau office was there too. When they needed a report on the weather they would call the military and they would cooperate quite well. They catered to them. Never said they were too busy for him. �      At the time, there were weather maps available. It would be good old fashioned forecasting done by the weathermen. It would be forecasters from all around, not just Alaska in order to predict the weather. When the military personnel took leave, they would often go to Anchorage. He would see them there and it would bother him because he was a civilian and they were military people. He rationalized and felt better about it. There was a man who had worked in the military, who had combated the Japanese hand to hand, who had become the operations manager. He does not know if he was still in the military or not. He would ask the colonel if he did wrong by not joining the military. The guy told him that at the beginning of the war in 1941, yes, he would have been more useful in the military as they needed all the manpower they could get. Now, however, he would not be in the wrong. It was more beneficial for him to be serving as a civilian radio operator. While he was working at the airline, there was no visible benefit that he was doing for the government. He was merely one cog in a big wheel. Pan American World Airways (29:45)        After the war, he would move around a lot. He would eventually get a job at the Pan American World Airways. For now though, he would remain on the Alaskan Airlines. He would write to a professor with the predicament that he was in: should he stay in the airline business, or go to radio school? If he went to school, he saw bills just mounting and a lot more problems showing up. The professor would answer with a 3 page typed letter. The professor told him that he might as well stay where he was and not go to school. So he did. On one of his days off, he would go to Pan American Airlines and put in an application for a position. He would be accepted and then work there instead. He chose them because they were a fully scheduled and accredited airline. He would later find that many of their aircrafts would be used in the Pacific. He was ultimately assigned to Fairbanks, his first assignment. He would have a 40 year career in the airline business, 36 of them would be with Pan Am. Fairbanks and others (32:05)     Fairbanks seemed like a bigger city to him. There may have been a few more blocks of pavement, but still only one traffic signal. It did get colder there. The average temperature was between -30 and -40, but for one winter there were six weeks when it was below -40 and he remembers the coldest day being -64 degrees. Flying as a passenger in a plane, he saw a lot of Alaska, but not all of it. It’s a big place. Back then, Alaska was known as the “Last Frontier” He would stay for 2 sessions. The first was two years. �         He would then find no permanent positions and would spend 6 months in San Francisco, 3 months in Hong Kong, 3 months in Bangkok. He would then take the second tour in Fairbanks for another 3 years. His experience in Hong Kong was just as scary as Anchorage when the war was going on. The communists had taken Canton and were headed toward Hong Kong, but they were stopped. He said living there was a wonderful experience. His wife would join him on all of his permanent assignments, which Hong Kong was his only temporary assignment. She would join him in Bangkok for his 2 years there. He would have 2 daughters born in Fairbanks and had a son born in Bangkok. He had a daughter born in Honolulu. He would then transfer from Honolulu to San Francisco and then to New York. There he would keep the airline operational when there was a problem, he would solve it. He would have a daughter there as well. His wife would actually be the one to encourage him to change jobs. When he was on temporary assignment, she went back to Grand Rapids. She liked Bangkok, although it took a bit to get used to, especially the servants. From New York, he would go to Africa, Liberia to be specific, for two years. His wife was also behind that decision. Liberia (38:55)       He would handle running the whole airport while he was there, not just Pan Am. That was the most unique assignment. It was a relatively stable time in the country. As long as they lived by their rules, you were ok. He was somewhat like the government in a way. When he needed something it was given to him, no questions asked. He would live in Liberia for 2 years. His kids would go to school there. Two teachers would teach up to 6th grade. He would homeschool them too. When they got back to the states, they were not behind academically at all. After Liberia, he was sent to Hilo, Hawaii to open up a station there. He had to find a building, find staff, and really build a station up from nothing. He would be there for about two years. Pakistan (49:30)     His wife decided it was time to find a place in the US, but it did not work out. From Hilo, he spent 10 years in Karachi, Pakistan. While there, the common thought of the American was ok, politically speaking, it was not so calm. His car was stolen, his office was stoned, and there were many problems that he had to deal with. If you said anything derogatory about their religion, or were rude to them in any way, you would be subject to their punishment. This would be his last major assignment. �Back to America (54:40)         He still had one daughter who lived with him, and he wanted her to live in the American culture the last few years of high school. He would then open a station in Tennessee and closed one in Georgia. He would retire, technically in 1982, physically in 1981. At that point he moved back to Michigan, and here he remains. He worries about his kids and how they moved around their whole life, but they all indicated that they were happy to experience the different cultures. While he was back in college, he had no clue about what he was going to be doing. Looking back, he was happy it turned out the way it did. He remembers that when he was in Anchorage, his wife was in the hospital. While she was there, he would go exploring to Rainy Pass. The weather would keep him a couple of days. When she got out, he wasn’t back. The community would come together to help her until he got back. � 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 PenningJ Title A name given to the resource Penning, John (Interview outline and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Penning, John Description An account of the resource John Penning was a civilian who had a career in the airline business. He contributed to military operations from WWII to Vietnam by helping to traffic and guide commercial planes that were used for military use. His job took all around the world, from North American, to Asia, and even to Africa. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-05-25 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7a2e0154089ee437ef49c5ddb6d0f2a9.mp4 83a3452e886c9780e53cfef93cbf339f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/762ffaa7411bfa830e2fb171f82f54f8.pdf d32206f30698a72a3c303c4ec08a520e PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Scott Pellerito (24:59) Background Information (00:11)  Joined the U.S. Air Force in February of 1995. (00:14)  He had some college and work experience prior to entering the military. (00:22)  The prospects of having different experiences, learning a new trade, attracted Scott to the military. (00:40) Training (1:19)  Scott attended basic training in San Antonio, Texas.  He was next sent to Goodfellow Air Force Base for imagery analysis school. Here the men trained to be imagery interpreters. This training took 6 months. (1:32)  Next Scott was sent to California to deploy to Travis Air Force Base and the 13th Intelligence Squadron. (2:20) Overview of Service  At the time when Scott was assigned to the 13th intelligence Squadron (approx. 1995) the Bosnian Conflict was occuring. The men were assigned to do date verification for the peace accords (2:40)  Scott worked in California for 1 year. (3:16)  There were a lot of younger men in the 13th Intelligence Squadron. Scott made some very good friends in this unit who is still in contact with. (4:40)  The men Scott is still in contact with are very successful at what they do whether it is in a civilian job or a military job. (5:26)  He was ten sent to MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. Here Scott worked with over head pictures that were of higher quality and easier to read than on his previous missions. (6:30)  During this new placement at MacDill, Scott was able to work with men from all branches of the military. He was also able to work with weapons inspectors.(7:04)  Scott and his team had to identify targets to attack using the intelligence and also weigh the coasts such as the risk of civilian targets. (9:00)  Scott liked being able to take part in active missions without ever leaving state side. (10:16)  While working in Florida, Scott met his future wife in the service. (11:28)  He returned to Michigan after his service as a result of a job offer. He currently works in IT. (12:23)  Scott served for 4 years. He moved very often. (14:08) Thoughts on Service (14:23)  He very much appreciates the value of the discipline he received in the military, even if he did not like it at the time. (14:25)  His fondest memories were supporting Desert Fox in 1998 while working intelligence in Florida. (15:08)  Unless the men were called in for special cases, men worked 30 days on the night shift and 30 days on the day shift. (16:30) � When analyzing photographs, Scott often looked for building large enough to house weapons he also looked for strategic threats such as radar or activated S.A.M.s. (17:20) Discharge (19:21)  He was asked to stay in the Military. He declined. (19:30)  Scott thought that any more time in the military may have been counterproductive for him. (20:00)  The military is a good avenue to take if the person is meant for it. The military isn’t for everyone. (20:40)  Scott considered going back into the military. (22:45)  Scott does some work for the VFW but he is not an official member of any veterans' organizations. (24:03) � 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 PelleritoS1363V Title A name given to the resource Pellerito, Scott (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pellerito, Scott Description An account of the resource Scott Pellerito served in the US Air Force between 1995 and 1999. Scott was trained at Goodfellow Air Force Base to become an imagery interpreter. Upon his graduation, Scott was placed in the 13th Intelligent Squadron where he worked on images relating to the Bosnian Conflict. In approx. 1996 Scott began his work in Florida. Here he assisted in Operation Desert Fox in 1998. After his discharge he began IT work in Michigan. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Tobias, Corwin (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Air Force Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-02-14 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/90a29cb65d5ceab0602bf5c0b2da99ec.mp4 c5cd4545b9aac42c397fac66a5a1fb36 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e6ae7e9f184c6d29ef52f91a7d961abc.pdf 5d5f44c987bb621d1244847e4ea95242 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Justin Pelham Length: 52:09 (00:20) Background Information • • • • Justin was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 23, 1983 His father worked in manufacturing in Byron Center, Michigan and his mother stayed at home Justin went to Baker Elementary and then Lakewood High School He grew up on a farm, rode horses often, got involved in rodeos, and played football (7:00) Enlistment • Justin had been not sure what to do with his life after high school and worked on a lot of odd jobs • He was in the Army from February 2005-May 2008 • Justin went through basic training in Fort Sill, Oklahoma for 7 weeks • When he first arrived at the fort, it was not at all what he had expected • The men had to get up every day at 4:00 a.m. and work on exercises for 3 hours before they could have breakfast • They then spent time in classrooms until lunch around noon (14:15) Advanced Individual Training • Justin went through AIT in Texas • He was not sure what to choose for his occupation, but eventually chose truck driving because he would receive a larger bonus • Justin spent 6 weeks in AIT and then was allowed to return to Michigan because he had been in the National Guard • About 10 months later he was called up to go to Iraq in May 2006 (18:40) Truck Driving • Justin drove a HET, heavy equipment transporter and hauled tanks, trucks, and trailers • The HET was so large and heavy, it could not go faster than 25 miles per hour • He drove at night from one base to another • He had before seen only a few road side bombs go off, but no one ever got hurt • Justin was driving a HET with his officer in the passenger side when a bomb went off under them • The HET caught on fire and his door would not open • He had to crawl across the truck and jump out of the passenger door �• Medics worked on Justin in a Humvee; he had shrapnel in his leg and hand (29:00) Hospitals • Justin was brought in a medivac to Mosul in Northern Iraq where he stayed for 24 hours while they performed surgery on him • He was visited from other men in his unit and his commanding officer • Justin received a purple heart and was told that he would soon be going back to the US • He was sent to a hospital in Germany for 4 days and then flown to Walter Reed • Justin spent one month in Walter Reed and then 5 months in out-patient, where he stayed in a hotel • Justin then moved back to Michigan and began working in the armory • He was flown to Illinois about once a month for more physical therapy (43:30) After Service • In February 2008 Justin began going through medical exams to determine whether he could be discharged • He retired with 70% disability and his last day was on May 2, 2008 • Justin got married on May 4, 2007 and now has a 14 month old son • His wife is a stay at home mom, but they both want to go to college when their son is a little older � 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 PelhamJ Title A name given to the resource Pelham, Justin (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pelham, Justin Description An account of the resource Justin Pelham was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 23, 1983. After high school he was not really sure as to what he wanted to do with his life, so he decided to join the Army National Guard in February of 2005. Justin was allowed to return home after training, but called up to serve in Iraq in May 2006. In Iraq, Justin drove Heavy Equipment Transporters, but was injured by a road side bomb. After his injury Justin went through a few different hospitals in Iraq and eventually ended up at Walter Reed. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Collins Sr., Charles E. (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Army Iraq War, 2003-2011--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-09-08 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b391f145181636b11bd52c0b6128c099.mp4 7652c20df4defae8aa7081adf1b73444 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/dfe3054c6cb1b7ec6bd19cfcb985ed81.pdf 8e28d3a635eda19986054e19310c2e51 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Dr. Robert Pearson (1:43:48) (00:02) Introduction • Born in Toledo, Ohio. • His father was a CPA who traveled a lot. • Remembers being poor during the depression but not really noticing it. • Graduated from Northern High School in Detroit, Michigan. • Was able to graduate in January instead of June, in order to go into the service. • Feels that people generally felt the United States were going to war, however they felt it would be against Germany. • His first response when Pearl Harbor was attacked was to ask “Where is Pearl Harbor?” • He had about a year in the service when Pearl Harbor was attacked. • Most men got into the military before any conflict occurred to rise in rank so they would not be sent to war as just a G.I. • Although he was told by the physician at his physical that his colorblindness would prevent him from becoming both and officer and a pilot, he became both. (04:40) Enlistment Process • Pearson and his father went to the federal building to sign the papers guaranteeing he was both eighteen years old and wanted to be in the Army. • The next day he was send on a streetcar and was sat in a room with other men until they could memorize their serial number. • He was then sent to Fort Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan for two days where he received his uniform. • He was then sent to St. Louis, Missouri. • Pearson signed up for work with aerial photography, and was sent to Denver, Colorado to attend aerial photography instruction. • His main amount of basic training occurred in St. Louis. • Pearson was at the aerial photography school in Denver when Pearl Harbor happened. (07:43) Aerial Photography School • Learned basic camera work. • There was also a fair amount of academic work. • The men were then allowed to fly with aircraft that were leaving the area to practice their photography skills. • He was then sent to Montgomery, Alabama to work in the photo laboratory. • The cameras were mounted in the airplanes. • The photographs taken aerially would then be used to create maps, which was his work in Montgomery. (09:08) After Pearl Harbor �All of the Army training was sped up after the advent of war. A lot of men were shipped to the Philippines. Remembers helping stamp away the discharge dates of the men serving with a new stamp saying “Duration of hostilities plus six months.” • Men were being shipped to the Philippines before the attack on Pearl Harbor. (11:00) Montgomery, Alabama and Waco, Texas • He took a course in camera repair. • The army was in such a hurry to get men out of training, his final examination was to look at a piece of metal and describe it. When he did accurately, his commanding officer told him that it was “good enough” and he passed. • While in Montgomery, he heard there was an active recruitment for men to be glider pilots. • His first flight was with his father and Charles Lindbergh. • He wanted to become a glider pilot and passed the physical examination. • He was then sent from Montgomery to Waco, Texas for glider school. • The men flew a number of different small gliders, and each made two landings in the larger glider. • By the time he completed his training, the military had too many glider pilots to use and the men were sent to a camp. • While in camp, everyone but Master Sergeants and Technical Sergeants did the mundane tasks, such as KP and guard duty. • Pearson learned one day the artillery was looking for liaison pilots, and signed up. • He passed the physical for this duty and was sent to Fort Sill in Oklahoma. • His first time flying as a pilot was in Spencer, Iowa, during a ten week training before he attended glider school in Waco, Texas. (15:10) Fort Sill • He obtained additional flight training as well as artillery training at Fort Sill. • 65 horsepower Piper Cubs were used for flight training. • 500 feet was a long enough runway to land the Cubs. • The weather had to be relatively fair, because the Cubs did not have any instruments in order to navigate without seeing the ground. • In addition to flight training, he learned to tell where the actual shots fired by the artillery landed compared to where they were supposed to land. • He was taught to land on curved roads, and take off from fields that were too short to take off from (18:04) Mohave Desert and Camp Bullis • He was stationed just north of Needles, California. • Member of the 4th Armored Division, 22nd Armored Field Artillery Battalion. • He feels that serving with this group was one of the best things that happened to him while in the service. • Each battalion had two airplanes. • The entire division, except for tanks and heavy material, was moved to Camp Bullis, Texas. • They continued the training they had been doing while in the desert. • • • �He was the first pilot assigned to the division, and therefore was senior and chief of the air division. • The radios in the planes used for communication only had two channels. • He would communicate with the fire direction center, and rarely with the battalion commander. • Pearson got to know many of the men in the battalion very well. There were 35 officers including himself, and he knew them all. As far as he knows, there are three remaining. • He was the only officer without college education. At the time they were all Sergeants and at Camp Bullis they learned they could become officers by going through artillery officers basic school. • After becoming an officer, small tasks were taken care of by other people for them. (23:00) England • Shipped from Boston on the Oriente to Europe in January 1944. • He went home on leave for a few days before leaving for Europe. • None of the heavy equipment went with the men to Europe, when they arrived they had all new equipment. • There were no U-boat scares on the trip overseas. • He landed in Bath, England and took a train to Devizes England. • The battalion had its own conclave while in Devizes. • There were aircraft waiting for the men when they arrived. • The men were able to fly quite regularly despite the English weather. • There was very little interaction with the local civilians. • He took his plane to London on several occasions, including having a personal tour of Westminster Abbey. • He was one of the few men who knew when the invasion of Normandy was to happen, but he did not know until the night before. • He told a group of senior officers that he knew when the invasion was to be, none of them believed him and they all placed their bets. • He knew the invasion was going to happen when he was flying past an RAF airfield and saw the men painting invasion stripes on the gliders. • Very rarely did the Germans carry out air reconnaissance around his area. • His division did not go into Normandy early in the invasion. • They stayed in England for about a month after the invasion began, and carried out maneuvers daily. • Patton noted his division as a fine division, and they received the first unit citation for an entire division. • He would take the division commander with him in the aircraft to watch the artillery do their maneuvers. (33:33) France • He landed on Utah Beach. • He began flying in combat roles three or four days after landing in France. • The pilots would fly above their own lines and look ahead into enemy territory. Pearson remembers seeing all of the horses the Germans used in combat. • �As they got ready for Operation Cobra [breakout from Normandy], the entire division was only 1000 yards away from the enemy. (36:35) Memory of Patton • There was a division officers call while still in England. • The men were all gathered into an auditorium when Patton walked onto the stage. • Pearson notes that there was no large flag behind him like in the movie Patton. • Patton told the men he was going to command the Third Army. • He also spoke of his experiences in Africa, including making sure that an officer was in a jeep while in a convoy, so he can look around. A second lieutenant was in the jeep keeping watch, at one point he decided there were no enemies in the area so he did not continue his watch. His jeep was then hit by an 88 and blew up. • After hearing the story, the entire auditorium was silent. Patton then said “Gentlemen, I’m glad that son of a bitch is dead.” • Pearson felt that Patton was an impressive character and really the only famous commander the men had heard of at that point. (39:56) Break out of Normandy • He remembers watching numerous bombers leave to bomb the German troops. • This bombing is when General McNair was killed. • He felt that he had a lot of training and experience flying. • The danger for the Liaison pilots was the divisions would follow the roads, so any space between the roads were dangerous to fly over. • On the advent of breakout, the liaison planes were grounded until the division began to move. • The pilots went wherever the division went, on average using two different airfields a day. • The task of the chief mechanic was to look at fields and figure out which ones were suitable for the planes to land at night. • One night, while the planes were situated on the front, they came under heavy artillery fire and had to evacuate their vehicles and aircraft from the area to divert losing their equipment. • The divisional artillery was shooting from side to side to prevent attacks while moving. • There was a lot of German anti-aircraft fire aimed at the liaison pilots. • The pilots would fly around 500-600 feet and up to 1500 feet in the air. • A large number of the aircraft sustained damage, 7 out of 9 pilots were missing or killed during conflict. • Pearson compiled over 9000 hours combat hours. • They would fly around 1.5 hours at a time while on artillery patrol. • Describes the breakout period as chaos. • After the breakout, they crossed the Brittany peninsula and stopped in Vannes, France. • A lot of casualties occurred on route to Vannes. • There was a fight between General Wood, who wanted to turn left instead of crossing the Brittany Peninsula, and Patton, who wanted to go to Vannes. 51:10 Impression of France: • �Usually, the French people would come out to the troops and offer them wine and food. • When in Vannes, members of the Free French of the Interior met him at his plane and marched him to a church nearby. Where they had captured collaborators and killed them. Pearson describes this as the moment he lost his “moral virginity.” It was also the first time he vomited in France. • He believes they wanted to show the American military how helpful they were being to the cause. (54:36) France and Germany • They were sent Eastward. • They served on the southern flank of the gap. • He had no knowledge of the “big picture” of the war, they very rarely knew where they were heading. • He describes the movement across France as “racing across France” to the German frontier. • The most important mission of the 4th division was the relief of Bastogne, Belgium, in the Battle of the Bulge. (01:00:00) The German Front • While waiting on the German line, they pilots would still fly every day. • The men would stay in sleeping bags, usually in abandoned farmhouses and barns to sleep in. • The only time the planes were replaced was when they were shot down. Pearson was shot down three times. • The first time he was shot down, he had learned that once a German aircraft fires at you once, they will not come back because they will lure the ground fire at them. However, this time the German aircraft firing at Pearson did come back and shot his tail off. • They would burn the plane if it was too badly damaged to repair. • There was a unit with the division whose only job was to manufacture the planes needed for liaison purposes. (01:05:55) Battle of the Bulge and Germany • His division was to the south of the Bulge. • He was in the commander’s office when the orders were handed down to prepare to move that night. • Because he could not fly at night, he watched the division move until daylight. • He had no idea where his division was all day while he flew, until he found someone who had an inkling of their position. He finally found them. • He could see the unit’s markings and the shape of tank turrets while flying to meet with the division. • He flew every day around the time of the battle, despite the weather. • He was told to register each of the battalions and an 8-inch howitzer on a small town south of Bastogne, in order to TOT. So the shells will arrive on the town at the same time. • He was farther south of Bastogne, and never actually reached the town. • He then traveled east from the area. • �They crossed the Siegfried line east of the Bastogne area. He describes it as a rat chase, but no major battles with the Germans. Once inside Germany, they were not allowed to have any contact with any German civilians. • The United States military would be fined $65 for talking with a German citizen. • The men would sleep on the ground in the German countryside. • There was a lot of damage throughout the countryside. (01:19:45) Concentration Camp • Remembers the exact date, April 4th 1945. • He was flying over it back from a mission. • He couldn’t figure out what the enclosure was. • He landed on the road and walked up to the gate. It was camp Ohrdruf. • Pearson walked in. Other 4th division men were there, the Germans had abandoned it. • Several days later, Patton and Eisenhower arrived to see it. • Before landing at Ohrdruf, he had heard of the Death Camps, but most wrote them off as nonsense. • After the war, he learned the Russians had discovered a death camp but had never told the United States. • He was dropping leaflets to help refugees get away from the Soviets. (01:24:54) After Europe • The men had a party for Pearson and then he left. • The army was going to discharge him, but he did not feel comfortable leaving the military until the war was over. • He went to Fort Sill to be a flight instructor. • He told the men in charge of Fort Sill that he felt he should be a captain. • However, when someone returned from Washington DC he found out that there were no promotions to be given. (1:28:00) After the Service • He attended Wayne State University and attended medical school there. • He spent 13 years as a general practitioner. • He then moved to Traverse City and became the director of Adult Services as a psychiatrist. • After he retired, the hospital closed. (01:30:30) Other memories of the service • He had a friend who lived in Houston and was speaking about the war with him. Who said one day that there is no bond that is stronger between two people other than serving in a war together. • He also served as a member of the board for the Holocaust Museum in Houston, Texas. • While in Houston serving as a psychotherapist, he met a woman who was a prisoner in a concentration camp during the war. • A lot of survivors said they would not speak of their experiences in the war until they met the people on the board. • • • �One man he spoke with frequently was in a concentration camp for over six months until his wife bribed his way out. (01:35:35) How the Military affected him • He began writing about how his experiences affected him after his wife asked him about it. • He is not a pacifist, and is proud of his time in the service. • He also believes that Germans hate World War II, not because they lost, but because it was such a horrific time for everyone. • � 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 PearsonR Title A name given to the resource Pearson, Dr. Robert (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pearson, Dr. Robert Description An account of the resource Robert Pearson served as an artillery liaison pilot with the 4th Armored Division in WW II. He describes his reasons for enlisting prior to the start of the war, his training first in gliders and then in observation planes, and his service in France, Belgium and Germany. His experiences include action in the breakout from Normandy, the relief of Bastogne and the invasion of Germany. He also discusses an encounter with the French Resistance and his spotting of the Ohrdruf death camp in Germany. After the war, he became a physician and a psychiatrist, and helped to found the Holocaust museum in Houston, Texas. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-02-12 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/20e7eb36a54ebfb66933b8cd774e7977.mp4 3bd73a931e01964604fd3757029067d6 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/803ee41969ef76f93b35a98bf9eaee87.pdf a6e03fde6a4f7848815e25ff1dd29761 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview World War II, Women’s Army Corp Irene Paxson Length of Interview: 54:02 (00:00:10) JS: We’re talking today with Irene Paxson, of St. Joseph, Michigan. The interviewer is James Smither, of the Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project. Now Mrs, Paxson, can you start by giving us some background on yourself. To begin with where and when were you born? IP: Well, I was born July 15, 1917. And my mother said it was just as the sun came up on Sunday morning. Christ child. And I was born in Illinois. In Mount Vernon, in a rural area of Mount Vernon. JS: And were your family farmers? Or did they just live out there? IP: They were…my family were farmers. Doctor. Teacher. Hunt. JS: What did your father do for a living at that time? IP: My dad was farming. And teaching country school, at that time. JS: And how many acres did he have? (01:04) IP: A hundred acres. JS: And what kinds of things did he grow there? IP: Well, I don’t remember anything about that because he left when I was three years old. So I assume wheat and corn. That’s what people grew in that area. JS: All right. And so then, did you stay in that area? IP: Well, I didn’t stay because my father’s crops were destroyed by the weather. It didn’t rain for about seven weeks and they dried up, and then my father had to find something else to do. JS: Okay. And so where did you go after that? (01:43) IP: After that, he went to St. Louis and took a civil service examination. He went to work for the Post Office in St. Louis. Where he worked until he retired. �JS: So did you grow up in St. Louis then? IP: I grew up in St. Louis. JS: Did you live in the city of St. Louis, or… IP: I lived in the city until I was 11 years old and then we moved to a suburb. A suburb called [Aveton]. JS: did you go to public schools? IP: I went to public schools. JS: And did you graduate from high school? IP: I graduated from high school. JS: And what year was that? IP: That was 1935. (02:27) JS: And then what did you do after you graduated? IP: After that, I went to business school. And then I went to work. JS: Okay. Now business school, was that for… IP: Bookkeeping, shorthand, and typing. JS: Okay, so kind of a secretarial…what we might call a secretarial school. IP: Yes. Yes. JS: Now how long was that program? IP: About six months. JS: And, then what kind of job did you get? IP: Well, the first job I got was at [Warsaw] Company, in St. Louis. It was a low paying job. I was very very shy. Afraid of going on interviews. But fortunately when I went to this school, I did well enough that, the lady who ran the school, um, suggested me for a state job, working for the Missouri Public Service Commission. And that’s where I worked after that. A very high paying job. (laughs) �(03:31) JS: Now, you’re doing this, this is the late 1930s… IP: Yeah. JS: This was the middle of the Depression. IP: It was. Jobs were hard to get. So, you went…you had to make sure that you were good at what you did, or you’d end up working in a dime store or something like that, so… JS: Okay. IP: So, I was fortunate enough to have…going from a low paying job to probably one of the better paying jobs at the time. Any state job pays well. JS: Now at this time were you still living with your parents, or are you out on your own? IP: Yes. I was still living with my parents. (04:08) JS: Okay. And then how long did you stay in that position? IP: Oh, several years. JS: And were you still doing that when World War II started? IP: No. After a few years, my father had accumulated time working for the government. A couple of months vacation and he wanted the whole family to go on a trip out west. And I was a little reluctant to go and, but it was important to my father. The war had started in Europe in 1939, and I had a brother two years my junior and another one a few years younger. But I think he saw the hand-writing on the wall. And he wanted the family to take a trip out west. So he rented a trailer, and we went traveling out west to a lot of historic places. My dad had always been interested in history. And we went to San Francisco, to the Fair. In San Francisco. And then I stayed out there for a while. In Long Beach, California. And got a job, because I wanted to just see what it was like, make a life of my own, on my own. So I did. Got a good job. And then, I received an invitation from the Treasury in Washington, to go to work there. In the Accounting department. (05:44) JS: Now when was that? IP: That was in, I think it was 1940. JS: Okay. So you weren’t really in California all that long then? �IP: No. I was only there about seven months. And so I got the invitation to go to Washington, so… It just so happened that the aunt I was staying with, her only daughter lived in Washington D.C. And her son-in-law was head of the legal department for the Veterans Administration. And I had several other nice contacts when I went to Washington, so, it worked out very well for me. (06:19) JS: Tell me a little bit about what you remember about living in California, though, for that time. What kind of work… IP: You know what I remember most of all? I worked in an accounting department. And, um, I’m trying to think. Southern California Gas. And what I remember most about it, I had a friend that was a librarian. And she used to bring home books to me. And she brought a book home, it would be “The History of the Hapsburg Dynasty.” Which started a lifelong interest in biographical history. JS: Well, the Hapsburg’s would give you a lot to choose from. (07:05) IP: Well, I was fascinated with the contacts of the royal family. And how they secured their alliances with other countries, through marriage and family. Yes, that I remember most of all. I did a lot of reading, because I didn’t know anybody. I didn’t have any dates or anything. But I had a friend who was a librarian so I did a lot of reading. JS: Okay. Now at the same time, were you following events in the world carefully? With the war in Europe, and that kind of thing? IP: Oh, yes. Yes. JS: And were you worried that your brothers might get drafted? Or some else like that? IP: Well, my oldest brother was in. Tommy’s was one of the first groups to go to England. And sure, I was worried about my brother. I was worried about my friends. I was worried about my country. Cause we had Germany heading toward Britain. And then we had the Japanese attack. And fighting a two front war…and I think I was just part of a great movement in our country that we hadn’t had before. Or since. Because we were attacked and people everywhere tried to do what they could, for the war effort. Society women went to work in factories. Farm girls were gone, went to work in factories. People were doing whatever they could. Kind of like the best of time, the worst of times. (08:45) JS: You know if we can kind of follow your story. You go to Washington before America’s gotten into the war. IP: Yes. �JS: You worked in the Treasury Department, did you say? IP: I worked in the Treasury Department. JS: What kind of work did you do for them at that time? IP: I worked in the Accounting department of the Treasury. JS: And, then, were you doing that job when Pearl Harbor happened? (09:10) IP: I was doing that job right up until Pearl Harbor. And I had decided to leave Washington. An affair of the heart, I guess I would say. (laughs) And I decided to leave. And I went to San Francisco. I fell in love with San Francisco when we were there before. But my cousin who was very close to me had married a big name ball player. And he was out there. And she wanted me to go out there, so I did. And I got a job working for the U.S. Army Engineers out there. JS: Now was that still before Pearl Harbor or was that right after? IP: No, that was after. I felt kind of guilty about leaving Washington. My boss tried to persuade me to stay. But I didn’t. (10:08) JS: Okay. Yet, you wind up back with the government pretty soon anyway. IP: Um hmm. JS: Cause eventually you decide to enlist in the Women’s Army Corp, known as WAC. How did you come to that decision? IP: Well. When I was in Washington, I stayed at a place where there were quite a few Canadians. One young man was a downed pilot. RCAF pilot. And another young man that stayed where I did was with the Canadian Legation in Washington. And he had three young women from, Canadian women that were service women, that came to work at the Legation, that he wanted to find a place for these three girls, that he thought were typical American girls. And I happened to be one of them. And so I was acquainted with this service woman from Canada. She was in uniform all the time. Got a lot of attention when she was walking on the streets. All the magazines, like Cosmopolitan and unique ladies magazines…and they were…I had these people around me that had been in the war for a long time. English people and the Canadian people. And I was following the war pretty closely. But it was a difficult decision to make up my mind to go in the service. You know, that regimented life is not all that easy. And of course as a woman, you were volunteer. The men were often drafted. Well, that’s the way it was, when you went in the service. (12:10) �JS: All right. Now, what the actual process when you decided you wanted to enter the service and then what did you do? IP: I just went down. I was in St. Louis. I went back to stay with my folks for a while. I just went down and registered. JS: So an Army Recruiting Office, basically? IP: Yeah, I went to the recruiting office. WAC Recruiting Office. JS: Now at this time was the government making much of an effort to publicize the women’s branches of the service, to encourage women to joining? (12:43) IP: Well, actually women were getting a lot of attention, because this was the first time we had women in the service. And, um…so I just chose the WAC. I went to basic training. Then Des Moines, in Iowa. JS: All right. What kind of facility did they have there? What kind of place did you train at? Were you training at an Army base, or… IP: Are you talking about training for what I eventually did… JS: Basic training, first. IP: Basic training was at Fort Des Moines. And I think I was there about six weeks. And at that time, you were tested to find out just what you might be going to do. You go through, get all the shots, the whole routine. And then I was sent to Kansas City to be trained for radio school. (13:43) JS: I want to go back a minute to the basic training part again. The men’s basic training, there are certain standards that happen. One of the things was there was a very strong emphasis on discipline and following orders. IP: Indeed. JS: So you got the same thing? IP: Oh sure. JS: And did most of the women adjust to that pretty well, or… IP: I would say most of them did. Most of them. (14:09) �JS: And did they have anything by the way of physical training? Exercises, and that kind of thing. IP: Oh, yes. Of course, one of the best exercises in scrubbing floors, after we took showers. JS: So you had a kind of version of the same thing the men got? IP: I think so. Probably not as tough. I can’t imagine going into the service now, where women do things they never would have thought of doing before then. (14:40) JS: Did they give you any weapons training, for instance? IP: Oh, no. No. JS: Cause that would be standard now, for women. IP: Sure. JS: So they send you to Kansas City next. What are they training you for there? IP: A general training. A basic training is just, um, getting all the shots and just getting adjusted to regimented life. JS: And now I was asking about the next step. You go to Kansas City next? (15:09) IP: I went to Kansas city. For radio school. For five months of radio training, there. And I was stationed in a hotel, and they were very strict. I do know we were called very unprepared for war. And everything was rush rush rush. We didn’t even make our beds there. We had room service. Cause very minute counted. You had to work hard to train. And so, um, and so I spent five months there, and from there I went… JS: Wait, wait. I’d like you to describe a little bit the actual training itself. And so you’re in radio school. What does that mean? What were you actually doing? IP: I was in radio school, I was actually learning international morse code, all this time. For five months. JS: How did they teach that to you? What kind of exercises did you have to do? (16:13) IP: Well, you started first with the letters. Letters of the alphabet. Done in code. Dot dot dot, I made up a song like that. And that was tough for some of the girls who washed out there. JS: Did you have to get to a certain speed, that you could either decode or type? �IP: Yes. You had to. And some of us were better than others. JS: Now, did you get any language training at this point? IP: No. No language training. JS: This was just the code itself. Did they have you doing anything besides that? Was it just learning the code or did you do other things? (17:03) IP: We did other things. And now, right now it’s kind of difficult for me to recall. There were other things that we did learn. But it was chiefly being able to intercept code messages. JS: so you were listening to something and you had to be able to copy it to… IP: Oh, yes. JS: And so, you survive that five months. And during that time, you said they were very strict. You were living in a hotel. Someone made the beds for you. Did they feed you right there in the hotel? IP: No. We had to go several blocks to a place where they fed all of us. JS: So you weren’t just going someplace, to a restaurant. It was some place… IP: No, it was for just the service women. (17:56) JS: Okay. And what kind of women were you working with? Like how old were they, what kind of backgrounds did they have? IP: Oh, I think they had all kinds of backgrounds. But a lot of them had dome secretarial work before. In offices. There were teachers. Quite a few teachers. One of my particular friends was a teacher. And then there were girls that did various things. But mostly I would say office work and teaching. JS: Well, that’s part of what you have to do, is type quickly. I guess that makes sense. IP: You had to type sixty words a minute. I never considered myself a typist but that was required in order to be a part of the program. JS: Now did you get any free time? Or time off? Did you go anywhere or do anything? IP: Not really. I got married. (laughs) To a young man I knew before I went into the service. And we were married in Kansas City. �(18:59) JS: Okay. So you had seen him again, when you came back to St. Louis, before you were… IP: Oh, yes. I saw him. Cause he was stationed in the country and so was I. So we went to places like Chillicothe, Ohio. And Altoona, Pennsylvania, him and I. JS: Once you finish your training program, then, where do they send you? IP: Well, I went to Camp Crowder for more training. A couple months of training. And then we went to, let’s see. We were sent to [ ], where we had more training. I would say, all together, we had about eight months of training. (19:44) JS: Now, do you remember anything about this additional training? Were you… IP: I can’t remember exactly where it was. But I didn’t do anything but what I just told you. JS: Okay. IP: But I read a book that my doctor gave to me, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, you’re probably familiar with her. [unable to hear recording] It made me realize that we were so woefully unprepared for war. Because Roosevelt knew that we had to help Britain, an, but he knew the country did not want to go to war. There were secret meetings arranged between Franklin and Churchill. Meeting off the coast of Newfoundland. And reading that book helped me realize again how fortunate we were that Hitler didn’t invade England. Because he decided to go change directs and go to Russia. That would have changed everything for all of the free world. But that was a very wonderful book to read. (21:17) JS: I want to kind of get back to what it was that you sort of saw and did and experienced, a little bit. So, what year was it actually then that you get out to [Bent Hills?], do you remember when that was? IP: I think that was, it must have been 1944. JS: Yes. Do you remember where you were sort of Christmas of ’43? Were you still in Kansas City, or St. Louis? IP: In Christmas of ’43, I had to be in Kansas City. JS: Okay, so probably not too long after that you get out to Washington. All right. Now when you move to Washington, what kind of living accommodations, now Vint Hills, did that, where is that relative to Washington? IP: Well, I lived near Dupont Circle. �(22:03) JS: Okay. So you lived in Washington? IP: I lived in Washington, and my dad had a cousin that was there during World War I, and she had this dear friend that stayed in Washington and she met me, and she helped me find a place to live. It was very expensive, as most capitals. And I was so discouraged, looking at rooms. And maybe a blanket would cover the wall. And the blanket would have a hole in it. [can’t hear recording] Finally, we found a place that had just been newly opened about six weeks before. A nice big place with a big friendly front porch. And it was right near Dupont Circle. And I found a place to stay there. And it was just before Christmas. And the people that were there were mostly home for Christmas. So I said I would like to have a roommate. It would be more affordable for me. And so this lady that owned the place said, well there’s a nice young lady that I think you’ll get along with. And share the room with her. So I moved into a room with a young woman I didn’t even know. I was looking at her shoes and her dresses to see, you know, how she was, find out something about her. And Christmas night she came in, with a great big grin and brown eyes. And she brought fruit cake and brandy and we sat down and got acquainted and became fast friends. Her name was also Irene. (24:03) JS: All right. So now would that be Christmas ’44, then? Or Christmas, ’43? IP: It was Christmas, ’43. JS: I try to figure out, as best we can, the time line. IP: Yes. Well, anyhow, that’s when it was. And then the next morning we went down to breakfast and I got acquainted with the other people that were there. A gal from California. Her father was a college professor and she had gone around the world on a tramp steamer. Wow. (laughs) Margaret Strong. And then there was another girl from Pennsylvania. Another one from Escanaba, Michigan. One young man, he was a lawyer. And I think we all sat a long table. A very inviting room. A fireplace, it was chilly at that time. And we got acquainted and became fast friends. (25:09) JS: All right. Now you had mentioned this place called Vint Hills. Is that where you started working, or did you…? IP: Yeah. I started working there. JS: Now how far is that from Washington, itself? IP: It was about forty miles south. Near Warrenton, Virginia. JS: So how did you get out there, then? IP: Well, we went out, they took us by bus. �JS: Okay. IP: And the barracks were temporary barracks. We had a little potbellied stove we had to stoke every day. We had to put coal in. And the snow in the winter time would come right through the cracks in the floor. To keep warm we had to bring all the covers we had, that they’d provide for us. And flannel pajamas. Was it cold in Virginia, in the winter time. (26:12) JS: So you would have, you said you had a place back in Dupont Circle then, in town. Were you keeping that room? IP: Oh, no no no. That’s before I went into the service. JS: Oh, okay. I was trying to piece together the story there. So that would explain that. This Christmas there, with these people, that was a little bit earlier in your story. But now you’ve come out and you’re staying out at the Vint Hills facility, and so you’re living in these improvised barracks IP: Um hmm. (26:40) JS: Can you detail what you were doing there? IP: Yes. Monitoring our own troops in North Africa. To see what kind of information they were giving away. Of course the enemy is doing the same thing we are, listening in. And then I was transferred to Special [unable to hear] Network, which was operated by a legendary figure in the � 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 PaxsonI0616V Title A name given to the resource Paxson, Irene (Interview transcript and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Paxson, Irene Description An account of the resource Irene Paxson, born July 19th 1917 near Mount Vernon, Illinois, was working for the U.S. Treasury when Pearl Harbor happened. Not long afterward, she enlisted in the Women's Army Corps and trained as a radio operator and cryptographer. She was assigned to a special base outside of Washington, where she intercepted German radio messages, and also monitored American traffic to watch for security breaches. A little older than most of the other women in her unit, she soon became a leader, but left in 1944 after she became pregnant. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army. Women's Army Corps Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-08-12 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/76d9216aceac2f863a5a82146a4539ac.mp4 76c4016a13e0418294ff56ec691f9505 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8934fd73d3a1c3857293e0ed75f9b401.pdf eafb5aa89f93a2cc74e1c808c63f540d PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of Interviewee: William Patrick Name of War: Korean War Length of Interview: (00:38:35) (00:05) Background Information • • • • • • • • • William was born in Maywood, California on April 9, 1931 He grew up in CA, his father was a chiropractor and his mother was a teacher William’s family got along fine during the depression and he felt he was too young to notice problems with others William had a few family members that fought in Germany during WWII and his father had been a pilot during WWI William felt it was his duty to join the Air Force after the Korean War had broke out He graduated from Huntington Park High School in 1949 William then began going to college for pre med at Los Angeles City College He went for 2 years and it only cost $7.50 per semester William enlisted in the Air Force in August 1950 (5:05) Training • William was inducted in Los Angeles and then went to boot camp at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas • The men were always told that they were technicians and not soldiers • They went through calisthenics, marching and other physical work for about 13 weeks • After boot camp William was sent to Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, TX • After he graduated he was sent to Denver, Colorado for preliminary air training school in which he would train to be a gunner on a B-29 • During this time he had run into an old friend that was just coming back from Korea and his friend told him to get out of the program as soon as possible • He said that in Korea they were having as much as 90% losses with B-29 strikes • William then volunteered to go to advanced computer training, working on computers in B-29s that controlled the fire systems • After going through the computer training system William was transferred to Randolph Air Force Base in Texas • He lived off base with his wife, whom he married in April 1951 • William worked about 8 hours a day in Texas for the remaining 3.5 years of his service (12:20) Strategic Air Force Base • In early 1954 William went to work like any other day at Randolph Air Force Base �• • • • • But overnight a hangar had been completely surrounded with barbed wire and armed guards They were instructed not to go anywhere near the hangar or they would be shot dead Randolph Air Force Base had become a strategic base overnight They later found out that they had been storing atom bombs in the hangar because the Russians had flown bombers into Guatemala William had been ordered to prepare the atom bomb racks on a few B-29s even though he did not have security clearance (17:20) Maintenance • William became an inspector on weapons systems and navigational devices near the end of his service • He checked everything after it had gone through maintenance • William had once checked an airplane after maintenance and found 13 errors • His master sergeant decided to try his part in the inspections and looked over the same airplane, but only found 3 errors • Everyone had thought that William was trying to make the sergeant look bad and he received a few threats • The staff sergeant would not allow him to leave the base and go to the hospital when his wife was going through labor with their second child (21:30) Working • During William’s last year of service he got a job working part time off base at a gas station • He was not supposed to work in a civilian job off base, but his family was growing and he could not afford to support them with his service pay • Many of his friends he worked with knew that he was working off base and helped keep his secret • They would sign in his name sometimes on work sheets, even though he was not there • At one point a plane that he has “signed off” of had the door open during flight when a bombardier had stepped on it • The door had been malfunctioning, but William had not gotten in trouble because the bombardier had not been supposed to walk in that area of the plane (25:50) Crashes • One day a B-29 had been passing over a field on base and the entire engine fell out, with the crew coming out right afterwards • William had questioned the pilot when he caught him whistling the next day; the pilot told him that he was just so happy to be alive despite the crash the day before �• • Altogether 9 planes had crashed during the 3.5 years that William had worked on the base The most terrible crash was when he had seen a pilot crash and die and the man’s wife had been there watching (28:55) End of Service • William was discharged from the Air Force on August 24, 1954 • He had taken enough courses to be an equivalent of a college degree and they had offered to put him through Officer Candidate School • William declined the offer because that would have required him to stay for another 6 years • He moved back to California and got a job working as a draftsman at North American Aviation • William made his way up through the ranks working in engineering and his boss later asked him to move to Muskegon, Michigan with him and start a company • The company had failed and the men had lost all their money after one year • William moved to Texas with his family, but moved back to Michigan after 2.5 years (35:30) Retirement • William had been working in engineering in Michigan about 80 hours a week, but it was causing problems at home • He decided to do what was best for his family and got a job as an engineer consultant, where he worked for 11 years • William has now been retired for 16 years, living on a lake in Muskegon with 16 acres of land � 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 PatrickW Title A name given to the resource Patrick, William Mc Kee (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Patrick, William Mc Kee Description An account of the resource William Patrick was born in Maywood, California on April 9, 1931. William enlisted in the Air Force in August 1950 and went through basic training in Texas. He then went through preliminary air training school as well as advanced computer training in Texas. William then spent the rest of his 3.5 years stationed at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas where he inspected B-29s before they took off for Korea. He discusses several air crashes that he witnessed, along with more routine duties. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource McCauslin, Kelly (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American United States. Air Force Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-12-13 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/77e6e17a4c1c22841d957adfea729bf0.mp4 2dab610a96ab976f9e1f0d7bd5a51c87 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/34579cace399c4ee672b29d8674d5f3a.pdf 2cb53b7df861f1ed42cfd12333d08d55 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans’ History Project Robert Park World War II 56 minutes 12 seconds (00:18) Early Life -Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1925 -Grew up in Grand Rapids -Attended Alger Elementary School -Burton Junior High -South High School -Lived in Seymour Square/South High School area -Father worked for a Chrysler dealer -Test driver, put heaters and radios into cars, picked up cars from Detroit -Lost job during the Great Depression -Originally lived near the old Grand Rapids Airport near 32nd Street -Lost that house during the Depression -Rented after that -Only had a sister -Father began to find work during the late 1930s (02:15) Pre-Enlistment War Activity -Remembers hearing about Pearl Harbor on the radio -Did not think he would have to fight -School became active in the war effort -War bond drives, volunteerism -Did not know much about the German or Japanese expansion before Pearl Harbor -Several friends enlisted when they were old enough or were drafted (03:32) Getting Drafted -Had been born at the end of August -Held back a year before Kindergarten -This led to being drafted while still in school -Received a draft notice in summer of 1943 during senior year -Stayed in school until induction into the Reserve in November, 1943 -Called up for active duty December 18, 1943 (04:40) Basic Training Overview -Reported to Fort Sheridan, Illinois -Transferred via troop train to Camp Roberts, California -Train ride was enjoyable -Saw beautiful scenery -Considerably long trip -Camp Roberts -Large base -Crucial place for artillery training -Took a series of tests during training �-Had taken a lot of math courses in high school which led to his placement -Placed in the Instrument and Survey School involved with the artillery (07:00) Basic Training Specifics -Initial basic training -Strong emphasis on discipline -Recruits did not wash out -Diverse array of men that had been drafted -Vigorous gym courses had prepared him physically -Old men were not in shape -Drill sergeants were fairly rough with the trainees -Lasted seventeen weeks (09:05) Instrument and Survey School Training -Technical school involved learning about instruments and using math for artillery -Taught artillery procedure concerning actual loading and firing of the guns -Instruments -Aiming circle (reticle on a tripod) -Battery commander’s telescope (complex binoculars that could be split in two) -Range finder (calculated range) -Taught how to use slide rules and calculate angles involving geometry (11:21) Deployment-Pre Departure -After basic training was given a furlough home -Told to report to Camp Bowie, Texas -13th Armored Division was located there -Huge base -Attached units, support units were stationed there -Had a massive training reservation for artillery maneuvers -Assigned to firing battery of the 498th Armored Field Artillery Battalion of the 13th Armored -Consisted of: HQ battery, A, B, C battery, and a maintenance unit -Used M7 self-propelled 105mm howitzer -Made an observer -Traveled in a halftrack or a jeep -Part of a recon section -Attached to tanks and infantry near the frontline -13th Armored Division was a young division that had been formed in 1942 per Patton’s request (15:55) Deployment-Departure -Left Camp Bowie in January, 1945 via a troop train -Went to Fort Dix, New Jersey and boarded an Army transport ship -Heard naval escorts firing on U-Boats -German Luftwaffe (air force) was still a threat -Had three naval ships protecting them -Weather was cold, but not bad -No one got sick on the trip over -Took about seven to ten days to land in Europe �(19:04) Arrival in European Theatre -Landed in Southampton, England and stayed over night -Traveled to France next -Landed at Le Havre -Boarded another troop train -Rode in boxcars without heat -Taken to a farm in Normandy, France -Assembled division there (20:40) Saar River Action -Had to march into Northern France, specifically near the Saar River -Fired over the river into German territory -He was not considered “active” yet -German retaliation was weak -Stars and Stripes newspaper provided a little information about the war’s progress -Stayed in that area for a while (23:10) Ruhr Pocket Action -Moved to Belgian border area -Did not have to fight on the Siegfried Line -Montgomery and Patton had an allied rivalry on reaching Berlin -This led to the 13th Armored Division fighting in the Ruhr Pocket -The troops weren’t getting enough sleep; they were stressed, and freezing -Slept on the ground -Subject to German artillery harassment -Ruhr Pocket was heavily defended -Required multiple divisions to break through -Provided a straight shot to Berlin -Germans only fought as long as they had food -Took a lot of German prisoners of war -Defeated, hungry, and ready to quit -Saw children mixed in with their infantry -Had been armed with bazooka/RPG style weapon -Battery took some casualties from German retaliation -Germans knew the area extremely well and had trained in it (31:40) Details about Combat in the Ruhr Pocket -Did not see much in the way of German aircraft -Got strafed by a German fighter only once -Never saw one of their jet fighters -Germany’s running out of fuel led to a lack of air raids -Had American air support -Had to establish observation points -Looked for high ground or tall buildings -Carried 20x telescope along with binoculars -Used observation points to coordinate artillery fire -Tremendous firepower was provided by three artillery battalions -Used a Posit (proximity) Fuse (secret technology at the time) which allowed for shells to airburst �(34:31) Bavarian Territory during War -Didn’t see many civilians -Some were fleeing the warzone -Secured Ruhr Pocket and moved into Bavaria -Encountered some resistance moving into Austria -Very few Germans at this point -Random pockets of dug in German resistance -Was in Austria during VE Day (36:10) Bavarian Territory after War -After Potsdam Conference and Agreements zones of occupation were established -Set up outposts in the Bavarian Territory -Saw lots of German refugees fleeing the Soviet advance -Russian atrocities terrified the civilians -Large group tried to cross a freezing river -Not technically allowed to let them cross, but allowed it anyway -Heard “things” about the Russians, but never saw them -Heard about revenge against the German populace -Stayed in Bavarian Territory until being moved back to a staging area -Got a tour of Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest (mountaintop retreat) -Got a pass to Paris -Plan was to move the 13th Armored Division back to U.S. for Japanese invasion training (40:06) Coming Home for Training -Got home in late July/early August of 1945 -Return voyage was bad because of storms -Everyone, sailors included, got sick -Landed at Norfolk, Virginia -First sight was a Red Cross woman with a glass of milk -Got treated to a nice dinner -Got to go home for a furlough -Told to report back to Camp Roberts for amphibious training for invasion of Japan -Japan surrendered during furlough -Still had to report to California -Troops in training were ecstatic about the war’s end (43:40) Duty after the War -Stayed in California for some training -Given passes to Los Angeles and San Francisco th -13 Armored Division was deactivated -Transferred temporarily into the 20th Armored Division until their deactivation -Did not have enough points to be released -Got moved to the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas -Did more training there -Had to participate in the Army Day Parade in San Antonio in April, 1946 -Parade marshal was Jonathan Wainwright -Major general captured by the Japanese after the Fall of Bataan -After that was released from the military �(46:00) After the Army -Lost a bit of hearing and hair -Abrasive soap and helmets contributed to hair loss -Explosions were to blame for hearing loss -Filed for unemployment -Found a job a couple months later -Worked in a mill supply house -Packed up machines and light tools then shipped them around Grand Rapids -Enrolled in junior college (community college) -Business administration and literary arts -Met future wife at this time -Got engaged to her after one year -Took a factory job to support wife and prepare for coming baby -Went to Davenport College a few times -Got some college credit and some math credit from Army training -Regrets not finishing college -Did get high school diploma while in Germany (50:56) Reflections on Service -Believes that he was fortunate during his time in the Army and the war -Being young, fit, single, and well trained was instrumental in survival -Getting to avoid frontline fighting helped longevity -“Aged ten years” from being in combat -Division later formed its own organization for reunions -Was asked by a former teacher to write a story about the war for a student -Wrote about the humorous things that happened during his service -Pig falling into the latrine in France -Spiders and snakes in Texas � 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 ParkR1472V Title A name given to the resource Park, Robert (Interview outline and video), 2013 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Park, Robert Description An account of the resource Robert Park was born in 1925 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was drafted in 1943 and trained at Camp Roberts, California, and Camp Bowie, Texas, with the 13th Armored Division in a firing battery of the 498th Armored Field Artillery Battalion and was deployed to the European Theatre as an artillery observer in January, 1945. He saw action at the Saar River, in the Ruhr Pocket, and in Bavaria. After the war's end he served out his enlistment at Fort Hood, Texas, and was discharged in 1946. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-01-17 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/510f26999489c3a69b95a2a1307821a2.mp4 720a48abcc25714c7e051440dc462a8d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/be3bb564b9a9802d34ac5ed17b04817b.pdf b504a48b6b4a05154998fbc0e3d1ff77 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Elaine Panzone (00:23:32) The interview is of Elaine Panzone life starting when she was born, progressing through her experiences in World War II and also about some of her later life after World War II. The interview is conducted by Charles Collins. So what is your full name, Elaine? (00:51) Elaine Natceros (maiden name), married is Panzone. Panzone is Italian Where were you born? Kankakee, IL What was your birth date? 1916 Were you drafted Elaine? No, they didn’t draft nurses at that time. So you enlisted didn’t you? I sure did. Where did you enlist? In Kankakee, Il …no I didn’t either. No…no..up here in Grand Rapids, MI Okay, so you enlisted in Grand Rapids, and in what branch of the service were in. Army Nurse Corps. Where did you take your initial training? (01:54) Right there in Kankakee, IL, at St. Mary’s Hospital. After you were inducted and took your training, where were you stationed then? 1 �CampEllis. That is where I went first. The first part of it was training and then we worked there for a while. Where was Camp Ellis, what state? Illinois Where did you go after you left Camp Ellis? Overseas. During the time you were at Camp Ellis, did you have the opportunity to see any entertainment as for an example, Bob Hope, or any people that were going around during the war entertaining.? I don’t think I recall any of that because they kept us so busy with the basic training, because we had to do the exercises and we had to get uniforms and we had to …..you know what I mean and we had to have orientation to the hospital there and so forth. We were really quite busy.. What did your basic training consist of? (03:22) Oh it had to do with exercises like volleyball and other exercises. And your training during that period of time? It had to do with Army stuff, etiquette and that sort of stuff. Then hospital stuff, that came along later. Were you a nurse before you enlisted? Oh…yes. You see when I found out I wanted to go into the Army, I found out that I was one hundred pounds (100 lbs.) overweight. So I had to lose it. How long did it take you to do that? From about, I think, it was about February until September. Okay, so what was the date that you enlisted? I think it was September or something. Do you know if the year was 1941 or 1942? (04:38) Oh no, it was later than that. I think it was 1942. 2 �As you took your nurse’s training, you obviously knew much of the training as far as nursing was concerned because you was one already. So what new things did you train for as far as… Well, I recall that the first thing they found out about me was that I had not had any psychiatric nursing experience, so where did they assign me. Psychiatric ward I am sure…….(laughing) That is typical isn’t. But on the ward where I worked, I remember, how valuable the corpsmen were for being helpful. I was very grateful for that. Now while you were at Camp Ellis, you were stationed at the Psychiatric Ward and who were they treating in that ward, fellows that had been overseas? Yes. So they had some real problems as far as war was concerned? (05:56) Oh yeah. Do you remember any of those particular occasions in that ward? No. As I recall, it was a very short assignment. Do you remember anything humorous that occurred during that assignment? I wanted to tell you this because it happened just before we got to Camp Ellis. I was on a train going from Chicago down there to Camp Ellis and I went into the bathroom to wash my hands and I was in there and I looked in the mirror and there was a young lady next me and she said to me, just like this, “Are you a nurse?” I said, “Yeah, why?” She said I saw your watch. She then said, Are you going to Camp Ellis too. I said, “Yes.” Well, she was from Chicago and her name was Russian so we got to become good friends on the train and later we were assigned to the same unit. And she met a fellow later and he was an infantryman and she met him and later they decided to get married in the Philippines, and I was her maid-of-honor. She was a very good friend. Over there in the Philippines there were a bunch of nuns up in a place in the mountains called Balio. In the summer time that is where a lot of wealthy people went because it was a little cooler. And so, they got married up there in Balio, and the bunch of nuns up there helped them. Well, that was interesting. That was quite a pleasant experience then wasn’t it. Oh well, it was beautiful. It was really beautiful. So after leaving Camp Ellis, how did you get overseas? (07:59) 3 �On the train from there to California, and then we had some kind of a thing they had to do to get us ready to go overseas. I think there was something in the line of medications and stuff. Because there was a bunch of tropical diseases to be concerned about over there, so they oriented us in that kind of stuff. I was glad for that So that was after you got to California? Yup. So that before you went overseas in California, you had an orientation? Yes How long did that last? It seems to me that it was about a week. Then we boarded a big ship, I think at that time it was called West Point. West Point was the name of the ship. I think so. They had changed the name for military use. As you went overseas on the ship, do you remember anything particular that happened on the ship, what kind of food you had, how they treated you? Well, that was very nice, and the ship was very clean and of course it was very full. It carried a lot of people. How were you stationed there….where did you stay on the ship? (09:54) I think we had two to a room. So you had a pleasant trip over. How was the weather? The weather, of course, was warming up considerably. It was beautiful. The ship we were on had to zig zag of course. We were allowed to go up on deck some times. A few at a time to go up there and look around. At one point, I saw some kind of a ship, I didn’t know what it was, but this ship was going a crossed our path and I looked at the number on it, and I had a cousin on board that ship. Really? That is interesting isn’t it. So I was down here sitting on this step, and yelling…Well, right above us was the Captain and he was listening in on this, and it didn’t take very long, then he had this cousin of mine climbing aboard our ship. 4 �Really So he came over for a little visit. Was your cousin a lady or a man? (11:43) A man. That was some kind of a submarine. So he got to visit you while you were on the ship? Yeah. Isn’t that something? Yes. Now how was the weather as you went over there? Obviously…… It was hot. Was the ocean kind of smooth? Yes. There was nothing in line of turmoil. You didn’t get sea sick or anything like that huh? No..no. That’s lucky then…it is almost as good as a cruise ship isn’t it. Yeah…yeah..only we didn’t have to pay for it. So then when you arrived overseas, what area did you disembark or unload at? New Guinea. And they had tents set up for us. They had to show you about your cot and the mosquito netting and all that stuff and where is the showers and how many showers you can take in a week, you know. They had everything right down pat..didn’t they? (12:55) Oh, they sure did. Then they had this real big nurse, I don’t remember her name, but she was a big girl though. She stood up there in front of us in her slacks and stuff. Her suntan shirts and slacks and stood up there in front of us and said, “This is what you are going to be wearing.” I never was one for wearing slacks, and after I got out of the service, I was never one for wearing slacks either. This was strictly for PT. Well anyhow, she gave us all that sort of stuff and then we went to work, and got involved with the various doctors and the services we were offered there. 5 �So your tour of duty was mostly in New Guinea? No, about half and half. So while you were in New Guinea, did you have any particular experiences that you can recall. Well, there was one experience; I had dengue fever. I had never heard of it over here. It was a tropical disease like malaria. So they took care of that. I never had a recurrence. It was all okay. That was the only illness I had. During the time that you were there in New Guinea, who were you treating? Was it soldiers that were coming back from the Pacific? And then when we got over in the Philippines, they would bring us in especially at night some Japanese POWs. They weren’t ill, they weren’t to be taken care of. They were just to be confined until they could move them the next day. I think that was the way it was. Any how, they would bring like six (6) or eight (8) at a time, but then they would put a corpsman over there. It really wasn’t up to us. “Holy smokes!” we couldn’t handle the names. Did you learn any Japanese while you were there? Oh no….we didn’t come that close….(laughing) Do you recall any particular experiences with fellows that were coming back, that you treated that was unique? (15:17) Well, I remember one man was in bed and he was an American. I had been taking care of him something like three (3) or four (4) days in a row, and I don’t recall what his diagnosis was or anything like that, but eventually you get to the point where you start talking about where is your home town……so he asked me where my home town, and I told him Grand Rapids, and he said, “here!”, and he handed me a handful of Grand Rapids presses. I thought that was pretty nice. Of course I soaked them all up. I thought that was really marvelous. So he somehow had gotten the Grand Rapids Press? They had sent them to him because he was from there too. So I thought that was nice. A lot of people that I met, I thought were really marvelous. How about your commanders and the people that were above you…the doctors …do you recall anything particular about those people? 6 �I just remember that it was pointed out to us that the doctors were specialists in various fields, like orthopedists and plastic surgeons. And remember, way back then, these specialties were in their infancy and so they did their very very best. It was just early. So I assume the plastic surgeons and those fellows would have a real time in putting together and repairing the guys’ wounds and so on? (17:09) Oh yes…yeah. That must have been a really hard job for them. And after a certain period of healing, then they would be shipped to some other hospital. I don’t know if it was a general hospital later on or where it was, but they were shipped on to more formalized care. So you were really in one of the hospital that would be called like a front line hospital. That is why we were called a field hospital. The 43rd Field Hospital. And when we moved on into the Philippines, up there, it was a matter of setting up and the fellows had to precede us, so they set up the hospital and when they set up the hospital, they set up the stage, and then they set up a place for a lot of chairs. But when you went to the various programs, you took your own chair…a folding chair you know. I remember when they had Bob Hope there that day. I think we were one of the first at that time. You took your own chair. Another nurse and I were walking down the isle to get to our seats and he looked up and he said, “come on ladies, we are waiting for you……..” So we got down there and we got seated and I thought he was marvelous at the time, and I have been very interested in him ever since. So I saw his last few programs here, and now I am sorry he is gone. He sure did a great job. He was one of the great entertainers? Really. So you had the opportunity to see one of his programs. (19:15) Oh absolutely. Were they as good as they always said they were? Oh absolutely. I think you could always say that his programs were always clean. And he didn’t work them to death, you know. The people that he had with him like Francis Langford, Jerry (can’t remember) (short break) 7 �Now we were just talking about you going to the Philippines and you were mentioning some of the doctors and the specialties that they had there. Do you recall any other instances where maybe you got in some wounded that needed taking care of really bad or anything like that? I don’t remember that as much as I remember the part of that whole thing that had to do with tropical diseases….you know like Typhus. Now I had read about Typhus in a book, but I certainly had never seen it. Here I had a patient right here in the ward with Typhus. There were various kinds of that came up. Not very many of the nurses knew much about so we learned. (21:20) In a hurry, I’ll bet. Yes. Now how long were you in the Philippines? I think it was approximately a year. A year. And which year was that… do you remember? No I don’t….that bothers me. I wish I could tell you. That is okay…we’ll figure it out somehow. Okay. Now you saw Bob Hope in the Philippines? Yes. So obviously you got a chance to go to some entertainment. You were not married at the time, is that right? No…no… So you could go out with the boys and see what was going on or not? Yeah, but I didn’t do that …….we didn’t do that. We didn’t do that huh. We had a regulation that we didn’t leave the area without being two (2) or three (3) nurses, with two (2) or three (3) escorts. You did not do any of that “Johnson” around. That just wasn’t being done. 8 �I’ll be darn. That was to bad isn’t it. (22:27) You’re looking at it from today’s point of view. Yes….I know. As you was in the Philippines and you obviously worked very hard then, what kind of hours did you have? As I recalled we had about a six (6) hour shift, you know like 6 in the morning to twelve (12) noon, twelve (12) noon until six (6), and they a night shift. So you had one shift a day. One a day. So one six (6) hour shift a day. Well that was pretty good, wasn’t it. Yes is was, but due to the fact that you were trying to get used to the climate and the working and getting to understand all these various things, it was quite a deal, and especially when it came time to get over there to your quarters and get your mosquito netting down and all that stuff and cleaned up. You heard about and I saw cartoons about people who took a shower in a helmet full of water. We found out how that went. You learned how to do that did you? Absolutely. That must have been interesting. (23:58) Oh. Boy! While you were in the Philippines did you meet any of the generals like General MacArthur? No. You obviously saw him because you recognized his pictures. Can you remember any time that you may have remembered any of the high up officers. No As you left the Philippines, how did you get home? Well, we came back to California. 9 �On a ship? (24:40) Wait a minute…wait a minute….we went to New Guinea. We went back to New Guinea then. I think I led you crooked here. We went first New Guinea and then to the Philippines, and then home…..yeah. As you got home was the war over at that time? (25:10) Not quite. So had VE Day happened? No. After we got home and saw the news and all that stuff it happened after we got back here. Where did you go from then? We went back to California to Camp Stoneman. We went there and started up the process of discharge. Then we got back on another train to come back this way. Did you have any special experiences when you were at Camp Stoneman? Are you talking about romantic or anything? Have if you had some….(laughing). happened, you know. No..I was really talking about whatever No it was just a matter of getting this job done. So they still made you do things while you were at that camp? Oh yes…oh yes….by all means. Then from Camp Stoneman you traveled by train where were you discharged? (26:27) In Chicago. In Chicago. How did you get home from Chicago then? Well the train service worked pretty good so I came back on the train. 10 �After you got home do you remember what year that was? I assume that was around 1945. I think so. I probably have it written down in some of my books. I don’t have it in my new one. Well, there are a lot of stuff not in my noodle anymore either so I can understand that. Well, Elaine, I really thank you for your time. You have been just the sweetest lady to talk to. I have one other little incident that really pleased me. Please tell us. It was after I was out of the service and I went to Chicago shopping. Do you go to Chicago at all? Sure..sure. Do you know State Street and where Marshall Field’s is? Yes. Well, I am crossing the street. I got right in the middle of the street where all the trains were. And here is all the buses and stuff going by and I look at this fellow and I say, “Hello Mike!” and he said, “Do you know me?” and I said yes, you’re Mike Tierney. He said, “I don’t remember you.” Well, I had a change of clothing and stuff. I said, “Well, you were one of my patients.” So where was he one of your patients at? (28:32) Battle Creek, but I was only there for a short while. Over there at Battle Creek. He was real surprised too. But I was delighted to see him. Anyway he came back to Battle Creek because he was waiting to come out. That was a pretty big place at that time. This was out in the country. Not the one down town so we talked a little bit as we could right there and then we went on our way. And I got to thinking afterwards that I had wished I had a chance to talk to him because there wasn’t a chance, but I was really impressed. No when you were in Battle Creek, were you in the service then? No. That was afterwards. It is why I was in a change of clothing. How would he know me..he wouldn’t….just wouldn’t. Well, I don’t know, a nice looking woman like you were. 11 �Well, Elaine it has been a pleasure talking to you. And thank you very much. 12 � 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 PanzoneE Title A name given to the resource Panzone, Elaine (Interview transcript and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Panzone, Elaine Description An account of the resource Elaine Panzone served as an army nurse from 1942 to 1945. She had already trained as nurse in civilian life before enlisting. After training in Illinois, she went to the Pacific and served in hospitals on New Guinea and the Philippines. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Collins Sr., Charles E. (Interviewer) Collins, Carol (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Women Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-15 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ba8b67a7c006fde88b412890d473f46f.m4v 6d8661f34c740f1c88c15a495d5d1bda https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c1475fae1b23bf7710d0d680eff31ecc.pdf b588e5d723fe7b08d943884dcea7a462 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project World War II / Korean War John Pahl Interview Length: (02:23:12:00) Pre-enlistment / Training (00:00:18:00)  Born in Fennville, Michigan (00:00:18:00) o His family lived in Fennville for ten years then moved to Allegan, Michigan just in time for the Great Depression (00:00:23:00)  His father was a rural mail carrier, which was why Pahl’s family lived in Fennville (00:00:34:00) o His father had been gassed in World War I and his health gave out in 1930, so the family moved to Allegan, where Pahl’s father was trying to get other employment (00:00:38:00) o Pahl has lived in Allegan for the rest of his life (00:01:02:00)  Pahl has the equivalent of two years of college; at the time, someone could teach in rural schools with a special certificate that counted as one year of college (00:01:16:00) o They would have to renew the certificate every two years until they finally got a degree (00:01:31:00)  Pahl was just starting to teach when the war started in 1939 and he taught four years before he got in the war (00:01:50:00) o A rural school teacher taught everything and in class, Pahl would have a map on the blackboard and he and his class would follow the progress of the war as part of their schoolwork (00:02:13:00) o It was a good way to teach the students how to spell the names of all foreign locations (00:02:41:00)  He was not enthusiastic about the war but Pahl knew sooner or later that he would become involved in the war because, one time, he looked at himself in the mirror and told himself that he could not let other people fight his battles for him (00:03:02:00) o He was not disappointed when he was drafted (00:03:24:00)  He was immediately registered for the draft when the war started because he was twenty-one at the time (00:03:33:00) o In October 1942, he was declared 1A and ordered to report to duty January 13, 1943 (00:03:51:00)  From Allegan, Pahl went to Kalamazoo, Michigan then to Camp Grant in Rockford, Illinois, where all the draftees were sorted, screened and checked for shots (00:04:13:00) o He got a series of shots seven different times (00:04:32:00) o The military decided at Camp Grant where the draftees would go based on their skill set; they decided that Pahl should take infantry basic training and quartermaster schooling at Fort Warren in Cheyenne, Wyoming (00:04:40:00) o The wind blew all the time at Fort Warren and Pahl remembers walking guard duty at twenty-eight degrees below zero (00:05:03:00)  Basic training was three months and the men were trained with World War I equipment because World War II equipment was being rushed to the Allies (00:05:24:00) o The men did get proper uniforms and Pahl ended up becoming a “sharpshooter”, a fact he is proud of (00:05:59:00) o Pahl was a fisherman growing up but he occasionally went hunting with his father; however, they never used rifles, only shotguns (00:06:20:00) �The canteen that the Army issued Pahl was aluminum and had a name, address and date from 1917 scratched (00:06:45:00)  Still, the canteen still held water, which was what it was supposed to do (00:07:03:00) o Infantry basic was tougher than regular basic because the Army wanted the men to be strong; this was easier in the winter because it was way below zero and the men got strong fast (00:07:25:00) o The men did calisthenics, practiced close-order drills and marches and received a good thorough basic; Pahl was glad he got the training because the information came in handy later (00:07:47:00) o As part of their discipline, the men learned that they had to salute not only the general, but also the general’s horse if it ever got loose (00:08:12:00) Following basic training, Pahl was accepted for the quartermaster officer’s school at Camp Lee, Virginia (00:08:33:00) o This course also involved rigorous training; however, the quartermasters did not have to be as hardy as the infantry (00:08:49:00) o The quartermasters were the record-keepers for the Army; they kept the records on the supplies: where they went, how they got there, which railroad lines handled them, etc. (00:09:14:00) o They also had to keep the records of all the troops and they also had to learn how to do things such as: run a military cemetery and a mess hall (00:09:38:00) Pahl completed the quartermaster training and on the very last day before graduation, a representative from the War Department came down and said that he had a special opportunity that the men could volunteer for be given a direct commission in the Air Corps instead of the Quartermaster Corps (00:10:09:00) o The offer sounded rather tempting because Pahl had noticed that at all the social gatherings, the girls tended to like seeing the wings on a uniform much better than the quartermaster cart wheel (00:10:51:00) o Pahl still did not know what they wanted; but the volunteers had to be either a teacher, lawyer, or stockbroker in civilian live because they had to be able to do arithmetic quickly and accurately (00:11:08:00) o The offer was strictly volunteer and after Pahl thought about it, he decided that he would go down to the orderly room that day and volunteer (00:11:57:00)  He noticed on the bulletin board that day that there was a list of all the officers volunteering for the Air Corps and Pahl’s name was on it, although he had not yet volunteered (00:12:09:00) o The next day, the men who volunteered graduated with their class and were then immediately commissioned in the Air Force and ordered to radar school in Orlando, Florida (00:12:27:00) Whenever the men had to move from one location to another, they went by railroad; one good thing that Pahl learned in quartermaster school was all the different rail lines and which ones had the best trains (00:12:54:00) During radar training, the men had British instructors who had been sent over to teach the men how to be radar controllers (00:13:34:00) o Up until that time, the United States had only a few, isolated radar stations, mostly around larger cities like New York and Boston (00:13:46:00) o Radar was basically a British invention and they were not too cozy about letting the United States have it: eventually, they decided that they needed more radar controllers than they had (00:14:18:00) o     �The men studied both the capabilities of radars and the capabilities of all the Allied and Axis aircraft (00:14:17:00) o While they were training, the men had some airplanes that they could maneuver around; the pilots were airmen who had been involved in the Battle of Britain, which meant that they knew their stuff, but they were not gracious to the radar trainees (00:14:54:00)  The men maneuvered the planes around so that they could get used to giving orders and seeing them executed (00:15:25:00) o One time, while in training, Pahl ended up talking to the President by accident (00:15:34:00)  The pilots of the airplanes that the men used for maneuvering needed airtime as well, so they would go over bomber range in the Gulf of Mexico and would drop marker bombs (00:15:44:00)  Florida has a deadly fog at around four in the afternoon and all the pilots were supposed to be done by then; they could not land with the test bombs still attached (00:16:19:00)  One pilot was late getting up and had not dropped his bombs in the bombing range when the fog came in (00:16:44:00)  The men knew where the pilot was and when he was returning to the shore, the men’s instructor took over and tried to talk the pilot into going back out to unload his bombs (00:17:07:00)  The pilot ended up dropping his two bombs in the town square in Dunedin, Florida; one made a crater in the public square and the other hit a house that was on the square (00:17:47:00)  That particular afternoon, the man who owned the house, who normally sat on the porch at four and read the paper, got a call and went inside just before the bomb sheared off the porch (00:18:13:00)  Immediately, the phone at the radar center started ringing; they had a directly line to the White House and the President wanted to know what happened because they assumed that a German submarine had fired on the city (00:18:33:00)  Pahl learned many years later on television program that the only overt action that the Nazis took against the United States were the two shells that a submarine fired in Florida (00:19:21:00)  The men were asked if they had any records of the submarine and everyone was calling to find out where the submarine was; the men just told the truth, saying that they had no records of a submarine in the Gulf (00:19:52:00) o The incident taught the men that they had to be careful where they told planes to dump their ordinance (00:20:44:00) Pahl spent three months at the radar school; the men graduated in September 1943 and were immediately ordered to various radar centers that were being set up all around the East and West coastlines (00:20:57:00) o The men spent a month at these stations learning from more experienced radar operators (00:21:16:00) o Pahl was sent to Mitchell Field, which meant that he was stationed in the radar center on Manhattan Island for a month, which was interesting; if he had been there for more than a month, he would have faced bankruptcy (00:21:26:00)  The men called it the “land of palms” because everybody that did something for them had his palm stuck out and expected a generous tip (00:21:44:00) o The men did more training in New York and from Mitchell Field, they could spot submarines at night off of New York Harbor waiting for convoys to come out (00:22:00:00) o  �    The area was a happy hunting ground for the submarines and there was a ship sunk off the New Jersey coast practically every night (00:22:18:00)  Because the submarines had to come up at night to recharge it batteries, the men in the center could distinguish the submarines; they would call the Coast Guard on Long Island and report that they had spotted a submarine and about an hour later, the men would receive a call back saying that they had taken care of the problem (00:22:28:00) Whenever the men went from base to base, they had a week of leave time that they could use to go home (00:23:47:00) When the men left New York, the Army was creating units and once the men had their week of leave, they were told to report to Jefferson Barracks in Missouri (00:23:51:00) o Jefferson Barracks was interesting because the unit could be sent either east or west and the place was an old building where the units were formed (00:24:06:00) o This was the first time that Pahl’s unit, that would eventually go overseas together, met, although the men still had no idea where they were going or when (00:24:21:00)  While at Jefferson Barracks, the men had marching and other things to keep them busy while they waited (00:24:41:00) o While at the Barracks, Pahl learned that he had a weekend pass and if he left early on Friday, then he could be in Kalamazoo by Saturday morning; he only needed to be back by midnight Sunday, so he had a weekend home (00:24:57:00) Pahl got to St. Louis in the middle of October and his unit received its shipping orders on December 29th to go to Camp Patrick Henry in Newport News, Virginia (00:25:31:00) o The Air Force had tried to screen the men because the radar operators were given somewhat special treatment; they laid out a map of all the theaters where the operators were desperately needed and the operators listed where they wanted to go, first come, first serve (00:26:11:00) o Pahl knew that he did not want to go to North Africa because that theater was still active and he did not like the desert, he knew that he had no chance of getting to England because everyone wanted to go there, and he did not want the Southeast Asian theater because he did not like jungles (00:26:40:00)  None of the men had heard of India or the Tenth Air Force (00:27:06:00) o He ended up putting down Iceland because, although they had a radar station there, no one wanted to go there because it was cold (00:27:16:00) o Pahl had a friend at headquarters who assured Pahl that his station started with “I”, so he was safe for Iceland and suggested that he and his unit go and get warm clothes (00:27:39:00)  The men did that, although they still did not know where they were going; they never did know until they got to the location (00:28:18:00) o The men were at Camp Patrick Henry from January 1, 1944 until January 11, 1944 getting their overseas shots and papers in order (00:28:29:00) Deployment to India (00:29:01:00)  To get to their new assignment, the men sailed on a converted sea liner, the Empress of Scotland (00:29:01:00) o Pahl was stationed in a former card-room with thirty-two other officers; the bunks were stacked six high and the fellow on the top bunk, to save time in the morning, would fill his helmet with water (00:29:10:00)  However, if the sea was ever rough, then the water would slop out of the helmet and hit the men in the lower bunks (00:29:38:00) �The ship left January 11th and went to sea; the men expected the ship to zigzag because it was only sensible (00:30:10:00) o Pahl was adept at reading maps and geography and whenever the ship changed direction, he marked it down in a little notebook; the men did not know the distance and Pahl had to estimate that, was well as speed (00:30:28:00)  He kept a day by day account of the voyage and they never sighted land once they left Virginia (00:30:52:00)  Pahl eventually figured out that they were making more zigs to the south than zags to the north, so he assumed that they were headed south (00:31:03:00)  In his luggage, he had a little atlas and he charted where he thought the ship was (00:31:15:00) o The men were eventually told when they had passed but Cuba; they could not see the island, only a large smudge on the horizon (00:31:27:00) o Once they got into the Southern Atlantic, the ship had deck guns on it, manned by British soldiers from the Battle of Britain who decided to have gunnery practice (00:31:50:00)  Incidentally, because of his training, Pahl was qualified to fire everything up to the 75 mm cannon (00:32:03:00)  Eventually, the British told the men that they were passing the island of St. Helena, although the men could not see it (00:32:32:00) o The men passed the Equator on January 19th and were all inducted into the seaman’s union (00:33:05:00) o For gunnery practice, they dumped some empty oil drums in the sea; the ship had deck guns and rocket racks for use against aircraft and the men had direct hits on the very first shot, which was comforting for the other men on board (00:33:21:00)  On the same day, the men got to the point that they were ready to make a landing and they spotted a submarine periscope to the rear of the ship (00:34:03:00)  The periscope cut across the whitecaps, which was how the men could tell it was there; Pahl was on submarine watch that day and when he called the bridge, the “captain put his foot down on the gas” and the ship shuddered when it went full speed ahead (00:34:41:00)  The area that they were sailing through, off of Cape Town, South Africa, was a happy-hunting ground for the U-Boats because all of the supplies going to India had to go through there (00:35:14:00)  The submarine might have been out of torpedoes or the captain might have not wanted to get into a fight with the ship’s deck guns (00:35:38:00) The ship made land at Cape Town and the men had a three-day layover in the city (00:35:56:00) o The city was the most beautiful that Pahl had seen in his life; the people were cordial to the soldiers and they threw a party for all of the officers (00:36:02:00) o The civilians arranged for a party at the country club for all of the officers and arranged it so that all the officers had dates with young ladies from Cape Town (00:36:24:00)  Pahl’s date was an Irish lady poet; they were dancing and the band was trying American pop music when they finally hit a polka (00:36:39:00)  Pahl had never done a polka in his life; when his date asked if he wanted to try it; Pahl did and he ended up following her because she did know how (00:37:03:00)  The couple gave an exhibition and someone yelled “to clear the floor and let them go” (00:37:25:00)  That was the first and only time that he danced a polka up until his daughter married a Polish boy and Pahl had to learn more about them (00:37:33:00) o The ship stayed in Cape Town for three days to take on oil and water and by this time, the men had it figured out that they were not going to Iceland (00:37:50:00) o  �     The ship went up the Indian Ocean and the men did not know if they were going up to join the British forces in Egypt or where they were going; no one had heard of any other place to go (00:38:19:00) o Finally, on February 8th, the men found out where they were going, when they landed in Bombay, India and were ordered to the Air Defense Wing (00:38:51:00) o On the ship, apart from their men, there several hundred other men, including all the chaplains for the entire China-India-Burma theater (00:39:16:00) The Tenth Air Force had been formed in the later 1942 with remnants of the forces that had been kicked out of Burma; they had a few planes and some ground crews, but it was still a skeletal organization (00:40:03:00) o Pahl’s group had enough stuff to flesh the unit out, although they did not have pilots, who came later (00:40:25:00) Pahl’s unit was ordered into a British camp in Bombay, where they discovered that the ChinaIndia-Burma theater was a British theater and they would be under a British commander, Lord Mountbatten (00:40:43:00) o The British were holding their breath and hoping that the Japanese would not have sufficient strength to break through the mountain chain that separated them from Burma (00:41:16:00) o There were passes in the mountains, which was how Stilwell and the ground forces escaped into Burma; they simply walked out (00:41:28:00) Pahl’s unit stayed at the British camp for a month; what the men did not know was that the other units were not ready for them where the men needed to be (00:41:48:00) o Finally, they received orders to report to the Air Defense wing at Calcutta, which was organizing there (00:42:00:00) o The men went by rail, which was an interesting journey; the Indian railroads were the best that Pahl had ever seen because they were on time and ran correctly (00:42:18:00)  For the trip, they had a long train and it took them from February 26th until March 2nd to go across India, even with a top-notch railroad (00:42:39:00)  The train was not making good time at first, so the men tried to see what they could do to help; they cornered the conductor and asked what they could do to help (00:43:02:00)  The conductor said that the train was too long and that if they removed one car, then they would make better time; the men put their heads together and found out that they had loaded their musette bags wrong, with fresh produce instead of rations (00:43:23:00)  The men could get food from the mess car but they had no way to wash their mess kits, so they arranged that the engineer would give a shot of steam to sterilize the mess kits; however, the next thing they knew, the train did not have enough steam to get out of the siding (00:44:31:00)  The men discovered the next day that they were not going to be getting anymore hot rations because the car that the conductor had decided to remove was the mess car (00:45:16:00) o During the trip, they were going through a region that was under a severe famine; Pahl and his friend had been hoarding and a teacher asked Pahl to take her baby and give it to the orphanage and another time, Pahl gave a little girl an orange he had been saving (00:45:38:00) The train finally got to Calcutta on March 2nd, where the men stayed for ten days waiting for transportation to take them to their base in Siam (00:47:40:00) o The actually unit, the 5320th Air Defense wing, was headquartered in Calcutta but the men were told that they had to report to the actually base in Siam (00:48:08:00) �The men got on another railroad and went north; they stayed on the train for two days and reached the north part of India (00:48:30:00)  While they were waiting in camp, the men occupied themselves at the supply dump loading supplies onto railcars; even the officers had to go out and load supplies (00:48:46:00) o Eventually, the train came to a railroad with a different size gauge, meaning that it could not go any further, so the men had to unload all the supplies and put it onto another train (00:49:25:00) o Then, the men were on the new train for two days following the Brahmaputra river; they had crossed the Ganges river while on the previous train (00:49:43:00)  It turned out that they were on the wrong side of the river; they wanted to be on the north side (00:50:05:00) Finally, on March 13th they had to unload all the supplies from the train; apart from the regular supplies, there was also a number of jeeps, trucks, and ambulances which the men unloaded and placed the other supplies in (00:50:25:00) o They were then ferried across the river and formed a truck convoy (00:50:48:00) o On March 15th, the men arrived at the base, Chabwa, which was a huge air base; there were warehouses there that were miles long and filled with every kind of supply that they needed in China (00:50:58:00) o Chabwa was the last big air base for the planes; from there, they have to cross into Burma, which was hostile territory (00:51:24:00) Pahl’s unit left all the other supplies behind and went up to their main base camp at Kanjikoah, which was about five miles down the road from the main base (00:51:41:00) o Kanjikoah was built in Sir Thomas Lipton’s tea garden with the hopes that it would be disguised; the tea plants needed shade from taller trees and the military assumed that the tall trees would disguise the radar center from the Japanese (00:51:55:00) o The men were filthy when they got to Kanjikoah in the late afternoon, where they were still building the main radar center; they were using a temporary radar center in the planter’s bungalow (00:52:54:00) o The men were assigned temporary quarters and the next morning, the men had not been assigned any duties, so they went over and decided to take a shower (00:53:22:00)  The men were all naked and taking their showers when a Japanese air raid occurred (00:53:55:00)  The Japanese were actually raiding a air base about three miles away from Kanjikoah but the men discovered fairly early that a radar center is like a bull’seye on a target; it was the center of communication for the entire area and if it was knocked out, then the entire area was paralyzed (00:54:07:00)  The Japanese had hit the air base and come over; the men were all naked and no weapons except for their carbine rifles, which had no ammunition (00:54:56:00)  All the men ran over to the supply tent asking for ammo and were told that it had not arrived yet; the supply tent did have rifles and ammunition, but the rifles could not be assigned to the men because they were officers, who were not allowed to carry rifles (00:55:35:00)  The men waited the air raid out and then took appropriate methods to get ammunition (00:56:13:00) The primary job of Pahl’s unit at Kanjikoah was protecting the main supply base at Chabwa; there were millions of dollars worth of supplies at the base and Kanjikoah was the sole piece of protection (00:56:38:00) o    �       There were three other air fields around the radar center; the radar would work but it was spasmodic, which was when men with arithmetic came in handy, guessing whether a plane was in the air (00:56:58:00) o At the time, the Air Force only had P-40 Warhawks, which was the best that they had to offer; they were using the P-40s in China and Chennault had managed to save some (00:57:12:00) o The trouble was that at this point, the Japanese were using Zeros, which flew in at two thousand feet above the ground, meaning that the radar could not pick them up to engage them (00:57:34:00) o To solve the problem, the radar operators would vector their planes out and directly under the target; once under the target, the pilots would intentionally stall out and try to shoot the Zeros in the belly (00:57:51:00) A second duty of Pahl’s unit was protecting the air lift across Burma from Japanese interruptions (00:58:10:00) o The air lift went close enough to the main Japanese base that they could interrupt the air lift; finally, the Allies changed the route and took it up through northern Burma, which was in friendly hands (00:58:26:00) o However, the new route was several hundred miles longer and it took a longer time to complete the journey (00:58:40:00) o The men knew that sooner or later, if the air lift was going to be successful, then they had to capture the Japanese base at Myitkyina, which was heavily fortified (00:58:47:00) The radar controllers worked in eight hour shifts, with three controllers to a shift; there was the senior controller, who had supreme authority over the radar because he knew the instructions and the operations being conducted (00:59:25:00) o Sitting next to the senior controller was an air identification officer, whose job was to identify all the planes on the ops board; if it was green, it was friendly, if it was red, it was the enemy and if it was not identified, it was this officers job to do so (01:00:08:00) o Another officer was in charge of anti-aircraft fire and would send alerts to all the locations that needed alerting; however, this officer had to wait until a controller gave him the go-ahead (01:00:37:00) o There was also a civilian in the control room who would give the warning to the civilian population in the area (01:01:13:00) o At first, the three radar controllers were only necessary during the day (01:01:35:00) o Controllers were on duty twenty-four hours a day but only worked eight hour shifts and they got rest in between as best they could; during the day, the general would think up different jobs that needed doing, such as running the kitchen or working in the supply office (01:01:48:00) At one point, Pahl learned to speak Wakahindi for the unlike situation that if plane he was on was shot down in a region where the natives did not speak English, then he could explain that he was friendly (01:02:21:00) The men did the best they could with the P-40s, which they had for a while (01:03:02:00) o When the Middle East situation cleared up in mid-1943, then they were able to fly supplies across North Africa, which eliminated shipment time and allowed them to bring in new planes (01:03:09:00) When they first got to India, Tenth Air Force headquarters was in Calcutta but by May, the headquarters had moved and Pahl’s radar center was in full swing (01:04:11:00) Air Force personnel were not intended to be combat troops; however, in an air raid, the control center had foxholes dug around it with machine guns and any personnel not actively engaged in the control center had to go out and use the machine guns for fifteen minutes (01:04:34:00) �As it happened, because it was a British theater, down the road from Kanjikoah was a regiment of Highland troops who wore kilts and played bagpipes (01:05:18:00) When they sent the warning out that a raid would be happening, a few things would happen (01:05:47:00) o The men found out that a lot of the native population tended to be pro-Japanese and six hours before a raid would happen, the phone lines went dead; however, what the natives did not realize that the men also had radio connections to all the bases, which the natives failed to knock out (01:06:01:00) o When the phones went dead, the men knew that within six hours that they would be raided; that was SOP (standard operating procedure) for the Japanese, as well as attacking around ten in the morning (01:06:42:00) o All of the labor at the camp was native people and before a raid, they would all go hide in the woods (01:07:03:00) o The men were concerned that the radios would not get to the Highlanders, who had to come up and man the guns at the base; they men always knew when their call got through because they could hear the highlanders playing their war pipe coming down the road (01:07:51:00) At the beginning, the Japanese raids were small; the first raid on the base was only ten planes, meant to recon the area (01:08:39:00) o Every morning a Japanese reconnaissance plane would fly over the area taking pictures; however, the Americans could not reach him and he would get down right nasty, he would get on the American wavelengths and laugh at them (01:08:53:00) o In terms of supplies, the Tenth Air Force was the lowest priority of all the theaters, but they eventually began to receive some P-47s, P-51s, and P-39s (01:09:49:00)  The pilots did not like the P-39s, which they called “widow-makers”; in actuality, the Tenth did not need them except for ground support (01:10:13:00)  The P-47s were very good; they were slow to gain altitude but once they gain the altitude, they were able to dive and attack, which meant putting bombs into pillboxes and things like that (01:10:33:00)  The P-51s were “the best thing that anyone ever invented”; the men only received a few at first but they received more in due time (01:10:52:00) o One day, the Japanese recon aircraft came over and was mocking the men and a P-51 shot him down; that was the last Japanese recon plane they had (01:11:13:00) The Japanese also interfered with their radio connections, which was serious because when there was a raid, the Americans could not afford radio jamming (01:11:43:00) o The men eventually found a way to stop the jamming; all they had to do was sing a few bars from the Mikado (the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta ) on the radio (01:11:55:00)  The Japanese could not listen to anything disrespectful of the Mikado, so they got right off the radio (01:12:26:00) o Pahl also bought some records in Calcutta and he managed to get a full opera of the Mikado operetta so that anyone could learn it (01:12:38:00) In May 1944, the headquarters of the Tenth Air Force moved up to Kanjikoah and took over a large number of the buildings (01:13:14:00) o The men had lived in tents until that time; the tents were the English variety that slept up to six men but soaked up water, which was a detriment during the rainy season (01:13:26:00) o When the Tenth Air Force came in, they got some buildings built for their staff and moved Pahl’s unit out of their tents and into native buildings made out of bamboo and mud (01:13:49:00) o     �    The only disadvantage to the native buildings was that they had thatched roofs; the roofs kept out water but when the rainy season started in April and ended in September, it rained steadily and animals climb into thatch, so that if a man was reading or listening to a record, something might fall on him (01:14:17:00)  If any of the snakes bit a man, then he had very little chance of survival; however, they had one man who was bitten by a sidewinder and instead of putting a tourniquet on the wound, he sat on it and survived (01:15:44:00)  There were also larger snakes, including cobras, which were extremely nasty; all the officers and some of the enlisted men carried a cane while in the area to fight back against the cobras, they would try to side step the cobra and hit it in the head with the cane to break its neck then shoot it with a gun (01:16:30:00) Living in India was not all peaches and cream; the climate was hot in the summer off-season and in the winter monsoon season, it was cool (01:18:06:00) o When the breeze came down from the mountains, it was cool and the men had to be fairly adept as controllers in weather; they ended up having to take a course in weather forecasting because they had to be aware of the weather (01:18:30:00) o Another facet of their work involved mounting raids of their own against the Japanese and they had to know the weather in order for the raid to be successful (01:18:53:00) In addition to the radar, they had something up in the mountains that was of great helpfulness (01:19:12:00) o Whenever the Japanese attacked, they came in a low altitude and the men could not pick them up on radar until they came over the mountain range, which was within thirty miles of the first American position (01:19:20:00) o The Americans had ground spotters up in the hills, some native, some American, and they could spot enemy planes coming and notify the radar controllers in plenty of time (01:19:40:00)  Some of the native ground spotters were actually set up by the Japanese Air Force (01:20:06:00) o When the Japanese planes were gaining altitude to attack, the Americans would turn the AA guns loose against them, which forced the Japanese to get higher than they want to be (01:20:56:00) Toward the end of the war, when the Japanese were getting forced back in Burma, they had what Pahl considers a banzai charge (01:21:26:00) o In the last months of the war, the Japanese planes continued to move south and the Americans continued to maintain air superiority (01:21:49:00) o During this time, the most planes that Pahl had in the air at one time was seventy-five American and the Japanese had about seventy-five coming in, which was an interesting day for several reasons (01:22:17:00)  The Japanese had everything that they had that could fly equipped to shoot (01:22:32:00)  Pahl had his three squadrons, which totaled seventy-five planes; it was usually twenty-planes from each squadron and five at each squadron being serviced, but when an air raid came in, the planes seemed to be serviced faster (01:22:43:00)  As well, there was a squadron from the Fourteenth Air Force in India that had come back to replace their planes with P-51s; they were all gassed up and waiting to take-off and go back to China (01:23:10:00)  The radar controllers did not want all seventy-five planes crashing at once, so they took a squadron at a time and sent them in (01:23:36:00)  Pahl sent his first squadron in and was on the radio getting ready to send the second squadron in when he heard a voice on his radio saying “Klondike, this is �     Tiger-1, can we come to your party please”; “Klondike” was Pahl’s radio callsign (01:23:49:00)  It was the Flying Tigers squadron and Pahl said that they surely could (01:24:20:00) Pahl ordered the Flying Tigers to orbit at a checkpoint and wait for his instructions, which they did (01:24:40:00) Pahl sent in his second wave and ended up entirely forgetting about the Flying Tigers; eventually, a voice cut through his radio saying “thank you, they are headed right for us, we’ll take it from here” (01:24:55:00) Pahl received credit for the attack but he never planned on it (01:25:33:00) By the end of the day and the next day, the Americans down every Japanese plane at the loss of only a few American planes (01:25:53:00)  By that time in the war, the Japanese pilots were lousy (01:26:06:00) The next day, before the Flying Tigers squadron went back to China, their commander came in and thanked Pahl for sending them in and for the entertainment; Pahl replied that they were very happy to have them (01:26:10:00)  Pahl can proudly say that he commanded a squadron of Flying Tigers, if only by accident (01:26:37:00) Merrill’s Marauders and the Advance Down Burma (01:27:07:00)  The American commando group “Merrill’s Marauders” ended up camping right next to Pahl’s location; by that time, they were awaiting orders to go into Burma (01:27:07:00) o The Japanese at that point were trying to break through the mountain chain, which they did, only further to the south and against General Slim’s British Eighteenth Army (01:27:20:00)  At times, the front lines were the size of a tennis court; some of the American soldiers took their leave time and went down and fought with the British soldiers (01:27:33:00) o Merrill’s Marauders came in and stayed in temporary tents while getting their shots because they were pretty well infected with malaria; at the time, they were not a top class unit and Pahl believes that they never should have been sent (01:27:50:00) o General Merrill was a perfect gentleman and he and Pahl ended up having lunch together; the General had to eat with Pahl because the officers all ate in one mess (01:28:17:00)  The Marauders knew what they were doing and General Stilwell needed combat troops but could not get any from the British, so he made a deal with Chiang Kai-Shek and borrowed two Chinese divisions trained by American officers (01:28:58:00) o Stilwell started going into Burma over mountain trails that American combat engineers had widened into a road (01:29:40:00)  Once they got the road finished, the troops were actually able to be moved in; this was when the Americans decided to attack, at the beginning of the rainy season (01:30:00:00)  Stilwell had figured the attack out and he would send in some Air Force men as well to set up a radar station (01:30:12:00) o The Marauders would go over the road with the Chinese divisions and the entire force came within sixty miles of Myitkyina but were blocked by retreating Japanese soldiers (01:30:34:00) o Myitkyina was not heavily guarded because the Japanese did not expect an attack, so the Marauders wanted to march down to attack, which they did (01:31:00:00) �The Marauders figured that it would take them three days to get over the mountains and into position to attack, but General Stilwell and the meteorologists figured it wrong; they figured that the rainy season was going to be late, making the attack possible on foot and as it turned out that the rainy season was not late (01:31:43:00) o On the first day, there was going to be a force that would go in partly by glider and partly by truck and land on the Myitkyina airport and secure it, where Stilwell intended the radar station to be (01:32:09:00) o They managed to secure the airport in a very short time and Pahl ended up going with that first group; however, he had jungle rot in his right foot and they only took half of his unit, the other half stayed behind and worked at Kanjikoah (01:32:34:00)  There was a temporary radar center put up but it did not do much at first because Japanese snipers shot out all of the equipment (01:33:01:00) o The Japanese were not expecting an attack, so the Americans were able to secure the airport and set up a perimeter; however, the Japanese mounted a counter-attack (01:33:13:00) o All in all, the rainy season started the next day, so the Americans were unable to land anymore supplies at the airport (01:33:26:00)  The engineers had filled in all the bomb craters so that the runways could be used when the weather cleared (01:33:36:00)  There were days when the monsoons were not heavy and the ground was not too muddy and they could bring in more supplies (01:33:48:00) o However, the Marauders who were walking over the mountains were rained on and it took them a day longer than they figured (01:34:02:00)  However, they still managed to push the Japanese back to the point that supplies could be parachuted in (01:34:25:00) o In due time, Stilwell got his two Chinese divisions in and broke the stalemate with the Japanese (01:34:36:00) The Tenth Air Force also supplied ground support, which was when their ground attack aircraft came in handy (01:35:17:00) o It took them three months to completely capture Myitkyina; they had to take it pillbox by pillbox because bombing would not hurt them (01:35:24:00) o The only way to hurt the pillboxes was to come in and skip bomb them because they needed a slot for their machine guns and if they slid a bomb through that slot, then the bombing run worked (01:35:37:00) o The ground forces also had bazookas but not artillery because the artillery was too heavy for the makeshift road over the mountains (01:35:54:00) o Pahl’s unit had its makeshift control center that helped steer the planes on the bombing runs and Pahl used to listen to the radio chatter between the pilots and the ground controllers (01:36:15:00) o All the way down Burma, the Tenth was backing up the ground forces, including Merrill’s Marauders, who they supplied with back-up and regular supplies (01:36:53:00) o Because there were no M*A*S*H units, only aid stations, they used flying boats to transport wounded back to the large hospital at Chabwa (01:37:23:00) They did all their fighting during the day; at night, the crew in the control room was reduced; however, they still kept positions of all the planes because of the air lift into China (01:37:59:00) o Pahl eventually discovered that planes were going into China, one every five minutes, twenty-four hours a day, rain or shine, filled to the brim (01:38:24:00) Pahl earned two Bronze Stars, something that he did not earn by just fighting in the radar center (01:39:20:00) o    �     Once Myitkyina was secure, the forces immediately started down the road to Maungmoo; if Maungmoo could be captured, then it was a short distance until they could link up with the old Burma Road at Lashio (01:39:31:00) o The Burma Road represented a land-link to China that would save six hundred miles on the journey to China (01:39:46:00) o Pahl ended up going down to Maungmoo directly, although he did receive a Bronze Star for his actions during the Myitkyina campaign (01:39:58:00) o However, he had to stay back in Kanjikoah with a detachment because they still had work to do in that area (01:40:15:00) o He ended up going down to Maungmoo for a few months where he received another Bronze Star; the men actually did have occasions to do some shooting to protect themselves (01:40:35:00)  The Japanese had snipers in the jungle and all sorts of things; the men never knew when something would happen (01:41:10:00)  The men were advancing in force along the roads but sometimes, they would still be attacked, even by air (01:41:19:00)  Pahl never actually went into the jungle and hunted for the Japanese; he was protecting the radar units (01:41:30:00) Pahl’s unit stayed at Myitkyina for three months and it took another couple of months to capture Maungmoo, after which the unit went down and installed a radar center there (01:41:47:00) o They had gotten a few extra radar controllers but the advance was still making it so that they only had three controllers at a base, although they could not run much of a base with only three controllers (01:42:01:00) Eventually, Pahl got over his jungle rot after about three months; as it turned out, Pahl’s roommate at Kanjikoah was the unit’s surgeon and he wanted to amputate the foot to save Pahl but Pahl said no (01:42:13:00) o He was born with two feet and he wanted to be buried with two feet (01:42:29:00) o To cure the jungle rot, Pahl had to bathe his foot twice a day for fifteen minutes in the strongest disinfectant he could find to kill the fungus (01:42:43:00) o Jungle rot was a serious disease and a lot of men ended up losing limbs because of it; Pahl had trimmed his toe nail to closely and cut himself, which gave him the fungus (01:42:57:00) The men on the base also had trouble with malaria; when the unit first got to India, their malaria rate was one hundred and fourteen percent (01:43:23:00) o Pahl never had malaria which meant that some unlike man got the disease twice (01:43:34:00) o The men developed several ways to combat the disease: before the engineers became too involved in rebuilding the roads, they went around and sprayed for mosquitoes and the malaria rate went down; if the men took their atabrine tablets everyday, it also helped (01:43:40:00) o Some of the men never recovered from the disease and they were sent back to the United States (01:44:24:00) When it got down to three controllers per shift, the men had eight hour shifts plus their extra duties; Pahl served as the supply officer, transportation officer and mess officer at different times (01:44:32:00) o As the mess officer, Pahl hade to make a menu that worked for Hindus, Muslims, and Christians and his quartermaster training came in at this point because he was able to squeeze out some extra items that were not on the menu (01:45:05:00) o They had a mess sergeant who was American but did not speak Hindi; the sergeant wrote out the menu, Pahl translated for the cooks and the Hindus follow it (01:45:48:00) �    Because he spoke Hindi, several other jobs opened up for Pahl (01:46:13:00) o One job involved going to get the rations every day at nine in the morning, including fresh fruits; while he was waiting, Pahl would listen to the conversations of the merchants (01:46:18:00) Pahl was also involved in counter-espionage and he would report to intelligence what the people in the market were saying (01:46:39:00) o For the counter-espionage, Pahl had one other man assigned to help him; he did not know any of the other men involved in counter-espionage in case he was captured (01:47:05:00) o Pahl did not know what the other men were doing until after the war; in any case, he was having fun doing the job (01:47:14:00)  On occasion, Pahl would drop a select piece of information deliberately to offset the enemy intelligence (01:47:33:00)  Saigon Sal and Tokyo Rose would broadcast everyday and tell the soldiers what they were going to do (01:47:46:00) o The mess sergeant that Pahl worked with could not cook but he could forge orders and pick locks and he would help Pahl in his counter-espionage (01:47:57:00)  On occasion, Pahl would remark that they had to get back to the base early to go bomb Mandalay; someone would pick up on the intelligence, take it to the Japanese and soon, the Americans would hear Saigon Sal talking about the mission, although the actual mission was not even near Mandalay (01:48:20:00) o Whatever information Pahl heard, he turned in; for example, the civilians would tip him off to troop movements happening in the area, especially once they got down into Burma (01:49:09:00) When the war ended, Pahl was at Myitkyina (01:49:47:00) o He had managed to get an impacted wisdom tooth which moved him back; once he finished up a Maungmoo, his CO decided that he should go back to Myitkyina where they had a dental unit, the only one in Burma (01:49:53:00) o When Pahl’s CO ordered him back to Myitkyina, there was a supply convoy leaving from Maungmoo to go to Myitkyina, so he order Pahl to lead the convoy (01:50:33:00)  The journey was not easy because it was only a two lane road; about half way to Myitkyina, Pahl’s convoy meet a Chinese convoy that had the side of the road towards the mountain and was playing chicken with Pahl’s convoy (01:50:58:00)  Pahl was in the front jeep and the Chinese were bumping the jeep with their trucks; luckily, Pahl’s driver was good and when he realized what they were doing, Pahl aimed his carbine at the Chinese driver and they did not bother him any more (01:51:34:00)  The Chinese driver did not know it, but the soldiers did not have any ammo with them when they were traveling (01:52:13:00) o Pahl eventually went back to Myitkyina for about six weeks to get his tooth fixed; he could not get the tooth fixed right away (01:52:45:00) Just after he got back to Myitkyina, his unit received orders to reassemble because another radar unit had come to relieve them (01:53:09:00) o They had a unit at Myitkyina, a unit at Maungmoo, and at unit at Kanjikoah (01:53:34:00) o The unit was supposed to get back together and go to China, although the men did not understand what was going on; they received the order to go to China at the end of July 1945 (01:53:43:00) o The men did not realize it, but the Air Force had been building airfields in India and Burma for B-29s that were doing heavy bombing in Burma and Siam (01:53:57:00) �They were equipped to handle the “A”-Bomb so that if the situation on Iwo Jima did not work out, then they could use the bases in Burma (01:54:25:00)  The men did not know about the “A”-bomb until after it had happened (01:54:46:00) Pahl’s unit returned to the United States by ship (01:55:00:00) o It initially took them a few weeks to get from Myitkyina to Kanjikoah to be signed out; all the supplies that the unit was issued had to be accounted for (01:55:04:00) o From Kanjikoah, they went to an airbase in India, where they stayed for a couple of weeks and managed to pick up dysentery (01:55:31:00) o The men eventually sailed on December 10, 1945 from Karachi on the General Ballou, a large hospital ship (01:56:05:00)  The ship had a couple thousand men on it and it went through the Suez Canal and a path that had been cleared through the mine fields (01:56:27:00) o It was a delightful ride back until they reached Gibraltar; once they reached Gibraltar, a massive storm kicked up on the Atlantic, so large that even the aircraft carriers were sent back to port (01:56:45:00)  However, the Scotch captain of the ship wanted to get home, so the ship kept going; they managed at one point to get a hole in the bow, so on one of the quieter days of the storm, they lowered some welders over the side to fix it (01:57:07:00) o The ship arrived in New York on the evening of December 31st and they had to lay on the outside of the harbor; at the time, there was a pilot strike and they could not bring the large ships in without a harbor pilot (01:57:43:00) o On January 1st, the captain steamed into the outer harbor and as part of a tradition, every boat signaled to it as part of the new year (01:58:07:00)  As a result of the signaling, the ship lost all of its steam before it reached the inner harbor, so it had to wait to build up steam; in the end, the captain brought the ship in and docked on Manhattan island by himself (01:58:37:00) o If they had to wait for the strike to end, then bodily harm might have come from the soldiers towards the striking harbor pilots (01:58:55:00) As soon as the men got off of the ship, they were sent to Camp Kilmer in New Jersey and from there, each man was sent to the camp nearest his home, which for Pahl meant Camp Atterbury in Indiana (01:59:25:00) o Pahl’s actual discharge is dated March 12, 1946 when in actuality, he was already home by January; he got home fairly early on, just three days after the ship had docked in New York (01:59:54:00) o When he got home, Pahl discovered that they had on-leave promotions, so he came home a captain, which was the rank he had when he went into the Korean War (02:00:22:00) o   The Korean War (02:00:45:00)  During the Korean War, Pahl was a senior controller and at the time, the military was very concerned that Russia would aid the North Koreans (02:00:45:00) o If Russia did help the North, then the military knew that the Russians had planes that could reach the United States (02:01:01:00) o Pahl was recalled immediately, he did not even have a two-week notice (02:01:14:00)  Because he was a senior controller and former teacher, Pahl was in the 752nd ACNW squadron and was sent to Empire, Michigan, which was twenty-two miles from Traverse City, Michigan (02:01:24:00) �At Empire, he was training radar controllers and units; the military sent them doublestrengthed units, which meant that they were giving both basic training and instruction for radar crews going to Korea (02:01:42:00) Pahl never actually went to Korea, he was just and instructor; during the war, he served a little over twelve months, from 1950 to 1951 (02:01:59:00) o Pahl’s wife was very angry at the time (02:02:18:00) Pahl and his wife married in 1948 and Pahl says that he got his license to fight twice on the same day, July 28th; that date was when he got his officers commission and when he got married (02:02:21:00) o Pahl’s wife disliked the phrase so she made a deal with him (02:02:42:00) o When he was originally recalled, Pahl reported to Selfridge Air Force Base because that was where his unit was formed; after that, the unit was ordered to Empire and they ended up helping to finish constructing the base (02:03:25:00) Pahl and his wife had an argument because Pahl had been in the reserves when he was recalled (02:03:37:00) o Pahl’s wife drank coffee and Pahl did not, he did not like it, so in the middle of August, she meet Pahl at the door with a yellow piece of paper in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other and she told Pahl to drink the coffee; Pahl had lost the bet (02:03:55:00) All the officers in the unit were reservists, except the colonel; all the other men were controllers from different parts of the world (02:04:23:00) For the training, Pahl and the other men had to give the trainees basic training; Pahl and the other instructors were all captains and apart from the basic training, they also had to calibrate the radar center (02:04:49:00) o At one point, Pahl was giving some of the enlisted men march orders on the lower level because most the men were not cleared to go to the top level (02:05:47:00) o Finally, Pahl decided he had to do something because he kept hearing some men behind him complaining, so he marched them to the base of a large dune and told them that they were going to run up the hill, he was going to time them, and he was going to lead them (02:06:11:00) o When they got to the top of the hill, Pahl looked at his watch and said that they could do five seconds faster and they were going to march down and do it again (02:06:53:00)  It was barely five years after he was discharged and Pahl was still in top physical shape (02:07:11:00) The communists were very active in trying to find out the capabilities of the radar stations; the Americans had great radar but the communists had no idea what its qualifications were nor how accurate it was (02:07:37:00) o The spies also wanted to learn about the size of the base and the range of the radar (02:08:05:00) o The FBI told the men which bars the spies hung out in and the men eventually found locations where the spies attempted to sneak into the base; the men eventually made daily walks around the perimeter looking for the locations but as far as they know, no one got in (02:08:17:00) o They thought one did because one night, one of the officers was walking home from his duties in winter and as he was walking home half-asleep, a man wearing a fur coat and hat was walking beside him (02:08:51:00)  The officer tried to talk to the man, but the man would not talk back and eventually the man walked into the woods; the officer reported the incident the next day to the colonel and the men went out and looked for tracks (02:09:34:00)  As it turned out, the man had been walking with a bear (02:09:53:00) o       �Post-Military Life (02:10:27:00)  When he got back after World War II, Pahl’s teaching certificate was still valid and he had signed a contract to teach, but at that time, teachers only worked for nine months out of the year and they did odd jobs in the summer (02:10:27:00) o In Pahl’s summer, he worked at a land-title business and at the court house in the register’s office, so he was familiar with land-title work (02:10:46:00)  After the war, Pahl had three months of terminal leave when he did not have to work but one day, the owner of the land-title office came and asked Pahl if he would come down and manage the officer (02:11:00:00) o Pahl originally said no, he was just resting and enjoying it; the owner said that everything was a mess because during the war, they could not get trained help and there was a large backlog (02:11:28:00) o The man said that Pahl had been a captain, which meant that he had some executive ability; Pahl wavered and said that it would be nice to earn a little extra money, but that he had a contract to teach the following September (02:11:57:00)  Pahl was supposed to teach history, which had been his major and was the job he wanted (02:12:25:00) o The man said that he understood but that September was seven months away and Pahl could at least get the office straightened around by then (02:12:51:00) o Pahl finally agreed but said that come September, he was going to leave; when September did come, Pahl’s nerves were in a jangle and he did not want to be in an enclosed classroom with kids because order had disappeared (02:13:06:00) o The man said that he would not hold it against Pahl if he left and maybe he could come down for the summers, but the man said that he would like Pahl to be there all the time and he would give Pahl an option to buy the office in the future (02:13:45:00)  Pahl said that he would give the job a try and he ended up working in the land-title business for sixty-seven years; he was the oldest land-title man still working when he retired in 2005 (02:14:24:00)  Occasionally, they still have to call Pahl because some pieces of information were not put into the computer (02:14:53:00) o At one point a while back, some men were planning to build a jail and they were discussing whether the county actually owned the title to a certain bog; they went to the register-of-deed’s office, which Pahl knew inside and out, and one of the girls called and asked if there was a recorded deed to the courthouse (02:15:03:00) o Pahl said that there was and the girl asked him where she could find it; Pahl told her exactly where to look for the deeds to both the village and the county (02:15:40:00)  The clock on Pahl’s only tells the time in military time (02:16:39:00)  There are certain things that Pahl does that are because of the military; for example, the only time Pahl struck his wife was one time (02:16:50:00) o There is a certain clap of thunder that when it goes off, it sounds exactly like a 109 gun; he and his wife were sleeping one night and the thunder clapped; Pahl sat right up in bed and asked who was shooting (02:17:11:00) o Pahl’s wife sat up, asked what he had said and Pahl hit her with the back of his hand and told her to get down because they were being shelled (02:17:41:00) o There were certain things that reminded Pahl of being in the service (02:17:55:00) o Another time, there was an alarm signal on the fire station that was the exact same as the air raid siren in India and every time they sounded the siren, Pahl would start count: one, �   two, three, four, five, six, “FIRE THE GUN”; after six seconds, they fired a minute gun to warn to civilian population (02:18:03:00) When he had time off, Pahl would go and work occasionally with the AA and it was then that he could hear artillery (02:18:59:00) Another one of his jobs while in India was acting as a liaison between the British Highland unit and Pahl’s unit (02:19:16:00) o At one point, Pahl’s commander, a general, called Pahl in and appointed him to be the American liaison to the British headquarters; Pahl and the British liaison become good friends (02:19:35:00) o The British unit was manning the AA and Pahl and the British liaison would go out and listen to the guns; Pahl got to the point that he could identify the caliber of the gun just by hearing it fire (02:20:35:00) o One time, the Highland unit had received some replacements from the British Military Academy at Sandhurst and one of the new officers was directing men who had been in India for three years on how the build a gun emplacement (02:20:50:00)  After a while, the officer came up to the British liaison and said that he wanted the liaison to court-marshal the gun crew; the liaison officer was skeptical and asked what the gun crew had done (02:21:33:00)  The officer said that he was explaining how to build the gun emplacement when the gun crew’s sergeant stood up and told him to go to hell, which was derogatory to the officer’s rank; the liaison officer thought for minute and told the officer to calm down, he did not have to go (02:22:03:00) Pahl tried to learn as much as he could because he knew that he could never afford to go to all the other locations or that he might not be asked to do certain things again (02:22:36:00) � 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 PahlJ Title A name given to the resource Pahl, John (Interview outline and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pahl, John Description An account of the resource John Pahl was born in Fennville, Michigan and grew up in Allegan, Michigan. As a teacher during the early parts of World War II, he and his class would follow the war on a map. When the Army drafted him, Pahl received training as a quartermaster. Following graduation, Pahl volunteered for the Air Force, where he received a commission and training as a radar controller. Following his deployment to India, Pahl served as a radar controller for the Tenth Air Force in India and Burma. After the war, Pahl returned to the United States, but the Air Force recalled him during the Korean War. During the Korean War, Pahl trained younger men in how to be radar controllers. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Air Forces Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-07-09 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c07332b18070b7ad794eca4b35e47c86.mp4 3ea80766586bfe99bc25708359e86f36 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/000e186c9565d08fd443b85125ca95d4.pdf 85f3e83b446319855fe4520a36b7a427 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Stuart Padnos (01:28:28) (00:10) Background Information • • • • • • • Stuart was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 22, 1922 He went to Lincoln Elementary school and was in the only Jewish family in Holland Stuart went to college after high school and had planned on later going to law school Stuart had been taking pre-law classes at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor He enlisted in the reserve, which was supposed to allow him to finish college After Pearl Harbor was attacked it was very hard to concentrate on classes Stuart had been training in the ROTC while in the reserve (5:30) Called to Service • Stuart received a letter that told him to report at Camp Grant in Illinois • They received their uniforms there and were sent to Kaiser Field in Mississippi • This was a classification center where they were testing to determine what school they would attend in the future • Stuart was then sent to Alabama (12:15) Army Specialized Training Program • He was sent to the University of Alabama for engineering school • Stuart was then sent to Boston University where he met his wife • The Army decided a year later that they needed infantry soldiers and not engineers • The ASTP was shut down and then everyone was sent into the infantry (15:10) Camp Pickett, Virginia • This area was a red clay zone and the general was more concerned about planting grass than infantry training • The men worked throughout the area laying down sod • They did have a bit of gunnery training, marching, and calisthenics • Stuart was working with three divisions, the 106th, 99th, and 78th (18:20) Camp Kilmer, New Jersey • Stuart was involved in many boxing matches; the winners would receive 3-day passes to New York City • They gathered near a shipping station, but no one was sure as to where they were going • They boarded a troop ship and Stuart had no problems with sea sickness �• • There was not much room on the ship and the extra men stayed in the hospital area Stuart stayed in the hospital area and was able to take fresh water showers and there was plenty of room (23:20) England • The men stayed in a resort buildings on a cliff; the buildings were all vacant • He felt that the outfit was very poorly trained and badly equipped because none of them had gone through basic training for the full extent • Because they were badly trained, Stuart was pretty sure they would not be fighting, but maybe working as the military police (25:10) Le Havre, France • They [he was assigned to the 78th Division by this time] were headed into France and DDay had already occurred • There was destruction everywhere in France, but the men felt relatively safe • Stuart thought that they would be policing the captured cities, but they continued towards the front lines without any ammunition • They were in a very dense forest [the Hurtgen Forest] near the front lines and it was late November • There was very deep snow and it was cold; the men did not have proper clothing for such cold weather • They went into a heavy combat zone and many men were hit • The Germans took many prisoners and there were not many in his company who survived (32:35) Defense • The men were being attacked constantly by tanks and machine guns • Stuart was very fearful; there were cut up bodies all over the place • He was told that most of the company had been wiped out and to get away from the front line • He headed to the rear to find more American troops, but eventually they ran into Germans and were captured • He was interrogated and they took his glasses and broke them so that he could barely see • He had been wounded with shrapnel and his feet were completely frozen • The Germans took him to a hospital • He was then put into a crowded box car with other men where they were sent to a prison camp (38:15) Prison Camp • The French were separated, while the Americans and British were put together in the same rooms �• • • • • The Germans really hated the Russians and they had the worst conditions in their rooms They ate a small cup of very watery soup every day and a few rotten potatoes They had that one meal per day The men had been near death when they arrived at the camp, starving, freezing, wounded, and most with dysentery They were allowed a change of clothes and to take a shower (45:50) Communication • There was a hidden radio that they used to hear BBC news • Every morning the men would get news of the progress in the war • No one even though of escaping because they were so far into Germany that it would be impossible • Stuart had gotten rid of his dog tags so that no one would know he was Jewish • The guards were pretty civil and never hurt anyone that he knew of • They would occasionally receive a Red Cross Parcel, but really each person was supposed to receive a parcel once a week (51:50) Russian Liberators • The Russians came to the camp in the middle of the night yelling for the Americans • They helped them escape, giving them extra clothes and food • The Russians did not like the British and were not nice to them • They were brought to a German OCS installation, which Stuart thought was even nicer than the dorms in the University of Michigan • The British were locked into horse stables outside of the building (59:30) Back to Good Health • Stuart had been eating better and was even allowed to have some milk • Some men died because they had eaten so much food so quickly • An American reconnaissance outfit of three trucks came to pick the men up, but the Russians insisted in a formal exchange later on • The troops rushed to take the Americans anyways; the Russians tried to stop them with tanks at the Alba River • When the Russians went through the prison camps, they had killed all the Germans • Stuart and others were brought to a Red Cross Area where they were stripped, cleaned, given new clothes, more food, and blankets (1:04:45) France • Stuart was sent to the Recovered Allied Military Personnel area in France • He was debriefed, interrogated, and issued a new uniform • They took a hospital train to a deportation camp in France �• • • • • • The former POWs were fed 6 meals a day, given milk shakes, and allowed to exercise and relax They had been there for ten days where it was announced that a ship was coming to pick them up Later they heard that the ship was having engine problems, so they were issued passes to Paris for another week There were no pay checks to give the men, so they were given cartons of cigarettes and bars of soap to barter with Stuart bought presents for his whole family and even left with extra money He had heard the news that the war was over while in prison camp (1:10:40) Back to the US • The men boarded a troop ship, which carried POWs from all areas of the service • The POWs decided that they would not pay attention to the “officers only” signs on the ships • They landed in Newport News and were sent to a large building where they were served large steak dinners by German prisoners • There was tons of milk, butter, and beef • After eating they were all allowed to call their friends and family �/ostn Tank Ps ttalion [attached 10 Dec 44-25 Jon 45) 736th Tank Battalion [attached 25 Jon 45-1 Feb 45) 774th Tank Battalion [attached 3 Feb 45-2"4 Feb 45) 628th Tank Destroyer Battalion [attached-19 Dec 44-23 Dec 44) 817th Tank Destroyer Battalion [attached 1 Dec 44-6 Dec 44) 893rd Tank Destroyer Battalion [attached 11 Dec 44-past 9 May 45) 552nd AAA Auto-Wpns Battalion [attached 20 Dec 44-past 9 May 45) Overseas \Nartime Assignments: XVIII (AlB) Corps - 3 Feb 45 III Corps -12 Feb 45 VII Corps - 16 Mar 45 A"'VIIl (AlB) Corps - 2 Apr 45 First Army - 1g A'Pr 45 Ninth Army - 9 Nov 44 XIX Corps - 28 Nov 44 V Corps - 5 Dec 44 VII Corps - 18 Dec 42 XIX Corps - 22 Dec 44 V Corps - 2 Feb 45 Commanders: MG Edwin P. Parker Jr: Aug 42 MG Ray W. Barker: Sep 45 Killed in Action: 1,427 Wounded in Action: 6,103 tit: Died of Wounds: 198 78th Infantry Division Combat Narrative The division landed in France on 22 Nov 44. moved to Tongr.es Belgium. and then to Roetgen Germany. It relieved the 1st Inf Div in line near Entenpfuhll-12 Dec 44. and detached the 311th lnf to fight under 8th lnf Div in the Battle of Huertgen Forest. The division attacked toward the Roer and Urft Dams on 12 Dec 44 and began the battle for Kester­ nich which finally fell to the 311th Inf on 31 TaL 45. Meanwhile. the division blocked the road junction near Monschau on 18 Dec 44 in response to the German Ardennes Counteroffensive. and cleared hill positions over' the Kall River by 11 Tan 45. It attacked on 30 jan 45 to contact the First Army at Widdau. After the division mopped up the Imgenbroich­ Kesternich area. the 311th lnf crossed the flooded Roer River on 3 Feb 45. The drive on Schwammenauel Dam with tnree regiments abreast was halted soon after initiation, and resumed after heavy artillery bombardment on 7 Feb45. Kommerscheidt fell to the 309th lnf, the 310th Inf cleared high-ground leading to Schmidt. and the 311th Inf battled into the outer par-ts of the city. The 309th and 311th lnf were attached to the 9th lnf Div which took Schmidt after heavy combat and seized the dam 8-9 Feb 45. • 79th Infi No Distinctive Insignia Authorized 15Ju,n42 try Divisi 3 Mar 43 Cp Ferre Center N Standish landed ir Germany 11 Dec 4: Campaig: Aug 45 Ll Typical Organization (1944/4! 313th Infantry Regiment 314th Infantry Regiment 315th Infantry Regiment HHB Division Artillery 310th Field Artillery Battalion (lC 311th Field Artillery Battalion (1< 312th Field Artillery Battalion (1: 904th Field Artillery Battalion (H 79th Reconnaissance Troop. 1\'1e 191st Tank Battalion (attached 1 717th Tank Battalion (attached 8 744th Tank Battalion (attached 1 749th Tank Battalion (attached 1 761st Tank Battalion (attached 2( 781st Tank Battalion [attached 2~ 605th Tank Destroyer Battalion [I i73rd Tank Destrover Battalion (I 809th Tank Destroyer Battalion (I ----;1:-:--- 613th Tank Destroyer Battalion (( 453rd AAA Auto-Wpns Battalion Overseas Wartime Assignmen The division entered BIens 13 Feb 45 and then consolidated and patrolled the west bank of the Roer. On 28 Feb 45 the 311th Inf crossed and drove south to Blens to join the rest of the division which crossed there 2 Mar 4.5 as the regiment took Heimbach in the bridgehead sector. The division then advanced to the Rhine and the 309th and 311 th Inf crossed the river at Remagan attached to the 9th lnf Div which had responsibility for the bridgehead. The 310th lnf forced a bridgehead across the Ahr at Loehndorf. The division regrouped and attacked toward the Cologne-Frankfurt Auto­ bahn on 11 Mar 45. and withstood counterattacks at Honnef the following day. The 309th Inf seized Hovel and cut the autobahn 16 Mar 45 as the 310th and 311th Inf took Konigswinter. The division regrouped again and drove along the east bank of the Rhine and secured the heights dominating the Konigswinter bridgesite on 18 Mar 45. The 311th Inf r,~ed the Sieg River at Meindorf 21 Mar 45 as the 310th Inf captured Menden and cleared strongpoints around it 24 Mar 45. The 309th Inf eliminated a strongpoint near Hennef the next day. and the division then relieved the 1st Inf Div along the Sieg River: \11 Corps- 18 Apr 44 Third Army - 29 May 44 VIII Corps - 1 Jul44 1.'V Corps - 3 Aug 44 XII Corps - 29 Aug 44 1:V Corps - 7 Sep 44 Third Army - 29 Sep 44 Commanders: MG Ira T. Wyche: J BG LeRoy H. Watsc Killed in Action: 2,476 Wounded �:1 ,I ~--.;! 'Ii IT ~ sDet isioD 147 he division was relieved along the south bank of the Sieg, and on 6 Apr 45 the 309th and 310th Inf attacked across it ket, The division battled through well-defended Waldbrol. Lichtenberg. and Freudenberg on o1 u e e u r 8 Apr 45. Advancing "With the 13th Arrnd Div it seized Wipperfuerth on 13 Apr 45 and overran both Elberfeld and Wuppertal 15 Apr 45. which conaluded its drive. The division was assigned the mission of guarding the rear of First Army and moved to Dillenburg 19 Apr 45. It was stationed 'lear Marburg when hostilities were declared ended on 7 May 45. nee C:oIT.. panv -79th Infantry ph~. . t· . ~. ""-'" 15 Ju.::. 42. activated at Cp Pickett Va as the 79th Division and redesignated ~t2re 2S 7"Sth infan­ ", try Eivision 1 Aug 42 and moved to Cp Blanding Fla 1 Sep 42: moved to Tenn :\faneuvers Area '3 :Vl2..:' 43 llihera participated in the Second Army No.1 Tennessee Maneuvers: transferred to Cp.F crrast Tenn 19 [ul 43 and moved to Cp Young Calif 17 Aug 43 :or the Desert Training Cent er No.3 California Maneuvers: arrivedCp Phillips Kans 4 Dec 43 and staged at Cp Myles Starxiish Mass 31 \lal' 44 until departed Boston PiE 7Apr 44: arrived England 16 Apr 44 and landed in.Fr ance ~4 [uri 44: crossed into Belgium 17 Feb 45 and into Eolla~d ~2. Feb 45: enter cd ~:=''?r=~=-::: ':?.,,\[2r -;3: ar:-:":=d ~~S·,N ~(or~( ?/;:: 10 Sec ~:: ~:;::c. ~l-:':~'=::~:""~-:'?~ 2~ I-:;J ~<~l.;:...?~ _")' Campaigns: Norrncndy. Northern France. RhirJeland. Ardennes-Alsnce, Central Europe Aug 45 Loe: NsheimGermany ;e,ID any. It relieved the Inf Div in the Battle of ~ n the ba ttle for Kester­ uncti on near Monschau s over the Kall River by Jed up the Imgenbroich­ warnrnenauel Dam with 1 rnbardment on 7 Feb 45. nd the 311th Inf battled hich took Schmidt after Typical Organization (1944/45): 304th Engineer Combat Battalion 313th Infantry Regiment 304th Medical Battalion 314th Infantry Regiment .79th Counter Intelligence Corps Det 315th Infantry Regiment Headquarters Special Troops HHB Division Artillery/' Hqs Company. 79th Infantry Division 310th Field Artillery Ba ttalionIl 05mm] Mili tary Police PIa toon 311th Field Artillery Battalion: (105mm] n9th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company 312th Field Artillery Battalion (155mm) 79th Quartermaster Company 904th Field Artillery Ba ttl3.lion (105mm) 79th Signal Company 79th Reconnaissance-Troop. Mecz 191st Tank Battalioztjnttccheri 1 Dec 44-22 Dec 44) 717th Tank Batt {on (attached 8 Mar 45-20 Apr 45J 744th Tank B calion (attached 17 Apr 45-18 Apr 45J 749th Tank attalion (attached 1 Ju144-24 Ju144J 761st Tank Ba ttalion (a ttached 20 Feb 45-1 Mar 45 J 781st Tank Ba ttaliori (attached 22 Dec 44-3 Jan 45J 605th Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached 22 Apr 45-30 Apr 45) 773rd Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached 9 Sep 44-12 Oct 44J . 809tb Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached 20 Mar 45-26 Mar 45) 813th Tank Destroyer Battalion (attached 1 Jul 44-9 Sep 44. 12 Oct 44-21 Apr 45) 463rd AAA Alltn-\\'nn<: P"tt" l;nn r~H,~~h~..l -r T.. J A' roo T .. ' ,-, � 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 PadnosS Title A name given to the resource Padnos, Stuart (Interview outline and video), 2008 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Padnos, Stuart Description An account of the resource Stuart Padnos was born in Michigan in 1922. He attended the University of Michigan and enlisted in the Army Reserve after Pearl Harbor. He was called to service a few months later where he took part in the Army Specialized Training Program. Padnos began taking engineering classes, but was later called up for infantry training due to a shortage of recruits. Stewart was later assigned to the 78th Division and sent to fight in the Hurtgen Forest, where he was captured and sent to a German prison camp. He remained there until he was liberated by the Russians, and eventually found his way back to the US. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army Reserve World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Video recordings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008-06-30 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives