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' ~ ~ i r ·. . ~ -~ . ~ ~- . ~ 60~ / ~- . . �,~~ ~? I Ji �.~~ ~? �. . . r r- r r- tr rr·rrr r f' r r rr Tr fr fr rrrrrt tr rt �I& i&b; ii "' sn• • v za • *4+AW• 41W'f!!l 1 , �ri I ...-"? •,f '-"::'<• ,..._, t j :\ ....,,-' -,...; ; ....._::,> ' r: ~ ....;..r_:, ...) •· ·1 d -') ___., f .:;: .......) \) -- \ [ \::'":"'- -:;) ..... ' ¢ '~ '~ ~ . '(' \ \: - ·, ,,.. .,j ,_ ''] ...,) '! '":;;\ ~ ' ,,., · ~) ·~ .,\ t- ~ --~ 12) ~ ,j ....... ) ~ .c:::- \ <::....-.) .. ... . "" ~- ::s .~ ~ Q~ . .- j ~(".. ~ - -m ·· · -J . -·~~ � 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 Leo Finkelstein Papers Description An account of the resource This collection contains materials relating to Leo Finkelstein, resident of Asheville, North Carolina, the Asheville Lions Club, and the Beth Ha-Tephila Cemetery in Asheville. It contains computer discs, notes, scrapbooks, book drafts, correspondence, photographs, programs, fliers, and other materials related Leo Finkelstein, his wife Sylvia, and the Lions Club, Elks Club, and Jewish Community in Asheville, North Carolina. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Finkelstein, Leo, 1905-1998 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 Leo Finkelstein's World War II Notes Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 107_01_02_SpiralNotebook_WWII_Notes_M Description An account of the resource Leo Finkelstein's handwritten diary providing an account of when he served in World War II. He gives lively, humorous, and detailed descriptions of his feelings and the places and people he met. His diary includes a lot of poetry as well as prose. Subject The topic of the resource Finkelstein, Leo, 1905-1998--Diaries World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a title=" In Copyright - Rights-holder(s) Unlocatable or Unidentifiable" href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-RUU/1.0//" target="_blank"> In Copyright - Rights-holder(s) Unlocatable or Unidentifiable </a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Diaries Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a title="AC.107 Leo Finkelstein Papers" href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/192" target="_blank"> AC.107 Leo Finkelstein Papers </a> Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. <a title=" Leo Finkelstein Papers" href="https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/collections/show/27" target="_blank"> Leo Finkelstein Papers </a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Extent The size or duration of the resource. 202 pages Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Asheville (N.C.) Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. https://www.geonames.org/4453066/asheville.html Air Force basic training comrades corporal diary foxhole furlough letters Miami Beach Phillipine Islands Pisgah poetry Tishomingo Tokyo Rose Uncle Sam World War II https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/10b094578caf2efde14d8577c2a5d8e8.pdf 2200fe825551b661b930a89f70a87fe0 PDF Text Text Lawrence Ryan Ziegler American Military History Dr. Judkin Browning March 13t 11 , 2010 Interview Transcript- Dean Williams, March 1Ot\ 2011 Ryan Ziegler- Alright, this is Ryan Ziegler here with Dean Williams on the 1Oth of March at about 10 past 2. We are in Special Collections of the Carol Grotnes Belk Library, on the 4th floor, and it is only Dean and I that are present here in the interview.( ... ) Mr. Williams, can you please state the branch of the military in which .... in which you served? Dean Williams- I was in the Air Force. RZ- OK. And what rank? DW- Sergeant. RZ- OK. How long where you in? DW- ( ... ) 4 years. RZ- OK. ( ... )Were( .... ) let's see( .... ) were you drafted, or did you enlist? DW- Both. I finished( ... ) My senior year in college I finished my last exam, went to check my mail , and there was my draft notice. And at that point (long pause) I decided( ... ) well some time after that, I decided to enlist in the Air Force rather than go into the Army. RZ- OK. Alright, where were you living at the time? DW- When I was drafted ... ? RZ- Yes. DW- I was in Erskine College in Due West, SC. And I had come up( ... ) I got caught in the first draft lottery, and because I was in college, I still had my deferment. But your deferment was good for one college, and for four years. And so my four years were up, and I had a very low draft number. I think, anything below 100 and you were, you were sure of being drafted, and I think, if I remember correctly, I think my number was 54. RZ- OK. What year was this? DW- 1971. 1 �RZ- 1971. OK.( ... ) Is there any reason that you chose the Air Force? DW- I had several friends who had gone into the Air Force, and( ... ) they felt like( ... ) after( ... ) after talking to them and some other people, that( ... ) the Air Force took better care of its troops than the Army did, out in the field( .... ) so( .... ). RZ- OK. That's a good reason.( ...) Can you say anything about your boot camp or training experiences? DW- It was Basic Training, it wasn't really a boot camp. I forget how long it was, it was supposed to be( ... ) they've( ... ) they have radically changed it, they've lengthened it, and the Air Force now has a combat component in basic training, we did not have that. ( .. .)See, I went in, in October( ... ) no, wait a minute( .. .) in Sep ( .... )first of September( ...) and, by the middle of November, I think I was out of Basic Training. So, it was a lot of time spent marching and drilling, a lot ofPT, a lot of time waiting in line, filling out forms . It was( .... ) a very quick and in-depth induction to military culture. RZ- Alright. OK, so what was your job in the Air Force? DW- I was a Linguist. After Basic Training, I was sent to( ...) the Presidio of Monterey, California, to the Defense Language Institute, where I studied Russian. RZ- OK. How long( ... ) How long where you in that process? DW- Just a little bit less than a year. RZ- OK. And( .. .) Let's see( ... ) How did you( .. .) How did you, I guess, utilize that training? DW- Well.. .. after language school, we went to Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas, for technical training, and then, I was sent to Turkey to serve as a Linguist ( ....) at a listening post, basically. RZ- OK. Can you say anything about, maybe a couple of your most memorable experiences? DW- Actually, it was pretty boring. The work was very boring, actually( ..... ) memorable experiences, I think the most memorable experience was trying to get used to the( ...) to the schedule. We worked four swing shifts, and then four graveyards in four days, and had three days off, and your body was constantly trying to adjust, and by the last graveyard, we were in pretty bad shape, cause we( ... ) it's hard to sleep during the day and there's always stuff going on. I think that the first set ofmids that I had to work were pretty painful( .... ) but as far as the work goes, it was pretty tedious and pretty boring, it wasn't much( ...) I'm sure some people had exciting things, but we didn't. RZ- (Laugh) Alright. OK( ... ) Let's see( ...) So( ... ) So you were basically listening to people talk in Russian? 2 �DW-Yes. RZ- OK. Well that's pretty cool. DW-Well, I guess it could have been, but( .. .) like I said, it was pretty dull stuff( ... ) I worked with some( ... ) some really good people, and( .. .) made some friends that I've kept up with since the 70' s. And then, probably the most memorable experience was actually living in Turkey. We lived on the economy; I didn't have enough rank at that time to live on base. We found a( ... ) a nice place at the end of one of the towns, and it was quiet and while there were Americans in the ( ...)in the little community, it was mostly Turks. And we found the Turks very hospitable, and the( ... ) where we were living there was( ... ) we were on the Bay oflzmit, so we spent ... we swam until we found out that the base had closed the swimming area( ...) because of contamination in the bay( ...) but then there were mountains and all behind us, so we did a lot of hiking and tracking around in the mountains( ...) we enjoyed that, plus( ... ) everywhere you go in Turkey, there's all this history there( ...) everybody passed through there, the Hittites, the Byzantines, the Romans( ... ) the Seljuk Turks, the Ottoman Turks, the Greeks, so it was( ... ) you know, there were a lot of ruins, but there were still, there were buildings that had incorporated ( ... )like there were Mosques that had Greek Columns in them, supporting the roof, so that was always interesting. Plus the( ...) the food was just( ... ) was just amazing, and for someone who hadn't travelled that much to suddenly be plopped down into such a rich culture was( ...) it was quite an experience. RZ- Alright. Sounds interesting, were you able to keep in touch with your family? DW- Oh, yes( ... ) I was over there 2 1/2 years, but we sent voice tapes, ( ...) this was, of course, pre-email days, so we sent cassette tapes back and forth, lots of pictures and( ... ) we wrote letters and my family were great letter writers, as were my wife's, so there was a lot of communication back and forth. RZ- OK. Let's see( ... ) you said something about- about how people entertain themselves, I guess, but( ... ) in Turkey, great place to travel around, I guess. DW- It was, and it was a fairly inexpensive place to live, and public transportation, while dangerous, was relatively cheap and you could get anywhere in the country. There were( ... ) of course, the big busses that ran between the cities, and then there were the small mini busses that ran to the villages, and then of course taxis. Some people bought cars and I didn't have enough nerve to really drive on( ... ) on Turkish roads, but it was( ... ) it was pretty easy to get around( ... ) and then there were( ... ) of course there were things on base, there was( ... ) there was a movie theater, where( ... ) we had, you know, a different movie every night it was just( ...) there was a base radio station, there was a base bookstore, there was a camera shop, there was an audiohobby shop and guys had a good bit of money and nowhere to spend it, so everybody had just top of the line audio systems, so( ... .) and then, every few months you could put in your what they call morale flights from Turkey to( .. .) I believe they went from( ... ) I don't know if they 3 �flew from our base, or you had to go to Istanbul, but they were flights to Europe, for guys on leave, so( .. .) the service members and the dependents could fly on that flight, so a lot of people went to Europe and travelled on leave. So, there was stuff to do, a lot of people were miserable. It was a hard place for( .... ) if you were single, because of the culture it was( ... ) it was hard there was no( ... ) very little interaction between( .. .) between like American men and Turkish women ( .. .)and, some people were very unhappy there, I think, a lot of guys got married, 18, 19, came over( .. .) divorce rate was pretty high over there, if they had to live on the economy, it was( ... ) it was hard for people without( ... ) I don't know how you say this, life-skills, dealing with a foreign language, dealing with a very different culture, dealing with( ... ) a very different attitude, like for example the town we were in had a water supply, and they'd come around and read your water meter wrong. My water-meter was broke. It was broke when we moved in and it was broke two and a half years later, and I always paid, they had the same water bill, and every time we went to pay the bill, I'd tell the guy that our water meter was- was broke, and he would say "Yes, know it's broke," and the next month, I'd tell him the same thing, so, a lot of people were frustrated by the sort of( ... ) the difference in the attitudes like that, and then it bothered some Americans that the Turks stared at them. Well, of course they would, you know, I mean, just drop foreigners down into your- into a small town and you're going to be stared at, and, I think some of the American customs amazed them, like Christmas trees. But, anyway( .. .) I forget what your question was, I hope I answered it. I kind of wandered off, there. RZ- Well, it was( .. .) it was, lots of information in there, anyways. (Laugh) DW- Sure. RZ- What was your( ... ) what was your experience with officers and fellow soldiers? DW- I had very little contact with officers. We were on-we did shift work, and( ... ) we were isolated from the main base, and there was( ... ) there was a flight commander, usually a lieutenant or a captain (cough) and that was about the only officer I saw on a daily basis, unless I had to go down on Main Base, then of course, it was crawling with officers. So I really didn't have that much contact with( .. .) I did make one friend who was an officer and,( ... ) it was at his own risk that he was friends with me because officers and enlisted men were not supposed to fraternize, of course. But, he and his wife had been on some of the same trips and same places that my wife and I had, so we got to know each other. And we're still- we still keep in touch, in fact( ... ) he's been to see us twice since then( .. .) no three time, since then, so( ... ) And the like I said, I made some real good friends while we were over there, some very interesting people. I met people from all over the country. We had neighbors from, let's see( .. .) one fella was from the Philippines, another was from Texas, one was from Oklahoma, one was from Michigan, so, we were ( .. .) we had a lot of different parts of the country brought together there and, it's like anywhere, some people you like better than others, some people you socialize with, some you don't. So, at work everybody( ... ) well you had to get along, there was no option about that, and then after work you associated with people you liked and avoided those you didn't, so( .. .) 4 �Fortunately, I didn't have to live on base. That was a real plus, I didn't have to live in the barracks. RZ- Yeah, I bet. DW- So I had a( .. .) we had a little place off-base which was nice. So, I avoided a lot of that mess. RZ- Well , that's good. Was it because you were married that.. ... ? DW-Yes. RZ- OK. Alright. Do you think there's a higher( .. .) out of curiosity, do you think it was a higher rate of married guys or single guys? DW- I'd say, there's probably more single guys. RZ-OK DW- I can't say for sure( .. .) I don't really know( ... ) I really don't know( .. ... .. ) probably more single guys. That I encountered. RZ- OK. DW- There was( .. .. ) there was a high school on base that( .. .) dependents from other places, other bases in Turkey were sent there to go to high school. There was also an elementary school and a kindergarten there. So there were a lot of children, American children on the base. RZ- I wouldn't expect that. DW- Oh yes, it was( .. .) and a lot of people had babies while they were there. RZ- Interesting. Well , do you recall your service ending? I guess what I really want to know is, what did you do afterwards? DW- Well, it kind of came to a screeching halt, while we were in Turkey( .. .) Congress was really upset with- with the Turks going into Cyprus, so they passed( ... ) I don't know if it was an embargo, or( .... ) I can't remember exactly the legislation. And so, the Turks closed the base, and they shut down- they shut down our operation, and- and people who had( .. .) a lot of time left on their enlistment were shipped to other bases, and those of us who were .. . had a few months left just stayed there, and they found jobs for us, like I worked at the Post- at the base Post Office for several weeks and then at the base Marina. They just had( ... ) there were so many of us. We worked every other day at the Marina, and the boss, the fella who was working the Marina said, basically if you need days off, just let him know, and take 'em, cause .... we did have stuff to do we had an oil slick move in one night, so we spent a good bit of time cleaning that up from the base beach and shoreline, but,( ... ) anyway, so I ended up basically( ... ) you know( ... ) not doing 5 �(... )well, like I said, you know, working at the Marina, getting boats ready for winter, and then we just- we did a lot of day trips, during that time. And then the Turks took over the base. RZ- OK. What year was that? DW- Seventy-( ..... ) '75 or '76, I cannot... I'd have to look at that. RZ-OK DW-It might have been '76. 1976. RZ- Alright. Did you( ... ) did you go to( ... ) after you got out of the service, did you go( .. .) I guess, go to work somewhere else, or go back to school, or. ... ? DW- I went back to school. I went to( ... ) University ofTennessee on the GI Bill. RZ- OK. What did you study? DW- Library Science. RZ- Library Science. And( ... ) Well, you said that( ...) you said that you've kept in touch with a lot ofthe guys that you served with. DW- Some of them, yes. RZ- OK. Even now? DW-Mm-hmm. RZ- OK. DW- One of them( .... ) one of them from Texas has put up a website with a lot of pictures from when we were in Turkey, and then, somehow a friend of his went back to Turkey just a couple of years ago and took pictures of how the village is( ... ) the town is now. And we're thinking photographs of the base( .. .) since it's a Turkish base, there's no getting on it, of course. But from the hills up above the base, they took some pictures, and you can see some of the changes. The village has really grown. Well, this wasn't a village, it was a small town. But it's just really grown, it's changed a good bit. RZ- What was the name of the village? DW- Karamiirsel. RZ- Karamiirsel? DW- It means "Black Prophet," or "Gloomy Prophet." And while we were there, we had some friends that had a little girl. And she was a beautiful little blonde-headed, cherubic baby, and 6 �they named her "Kara." And the Turkish women were just really upset with them for calling her that, that such a beautiful child would be given( ... ) would be called gloomy or( ... ) or dark. RZ- Interesting. Alright, did you join any veteran's organizations? DW- No, I.. .. No . RZ- OK. And, so, you studied Library Science? DW- I did. RZ-And ( .. .)and you have been a Librarian. DW- I have worked( ... ) I have worked in the Library( .... ) since 1978, I guess. RZ- Alright. I guess( ... ) one of the last things I want to ask is( .. .. ) I guess, how( ... ) how would you say that your service affected your life since then? DW- ( .... )It's had a major impact( .... ) it did a real good job of getting me away from home, getting me out. Definitely out of the comfort zone( ... ) you know, the( .. .) that( ... ) small-town, small-college, living in the same house for years( .... ) exposed me to a( ... ) a very different way of life, a very different mentality and mindset, and people who've never been in the military just don't understand it. ( ... )And( ... ) we( ... ) we were supposed to( ... ) go on a( ... ) we were supposed to go on Flying Status. We were supposed to be( .. .. ) work off an Airborne platform. And( ... ) so they sent us to survival school, so I spent nearly four weeks at( .. .) four weeks( .. .. ) three and a half weeks at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington in December, and that was a real experience. It was( ... ) for me it was a good experience, because I realized how much I could do and, realized what my limits were, and got to see some really different country up there( ... ) the first time I ever saw serious snow like that. And then of course the foreign travel. Of course( ... ) Monterrey, California was just was( .. .) very different from the( ... ) from the East Coast. ( ... ) Learned a lot of discipline. I learned( ... ) we went to school 8 hours a day and then came home and studied anywhere from 4 to 5 hours a night. I learned to appreciate( ... ) a lot of things. And then( .... .) and of course the foreign travel. We had( ... ) we had guys that desperately fought( ... ) well, didn't fight, but did not want to go overseas, and I was terrified I'd get stationed somewhere in the States, but, I was glad to get Turkey. So, it worked out really well , but no, it was a very ( .. .. )for me, it was a very positive experience. Like, I said it was( ... ) you know( .. .) I don't know that I would have joined, ifl had- .. .well , I might have, given the( ... ) given the employment situation, at that time, but the draft certainly pushed me into it, and so I went ahead and joined the Air Force, so .... But, like I said, it was( ... ) it was an interesting experience. RZ- Sounds like it. Well, before we conclude the interview, is there anything else that you'd like to add, any ..... ? DW- I can't think of anything else( ... ) 7 �RZ- Alright. Well thanks for doing this interview. DW- (Laughs) You're welcome. RZ- And, I guess that concludes this interview. DW- Is that what you needed? (Recorder shuts off) 8 � https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/b2b6d2837e402d746342fdc38358209e.mp3 3143d3ce02ee204bf4f17c8b8374484a 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/. Description An account of the resource Dean Williams describes his service as a Russian linguist working in Karamursel, Turkey. He was drafted after he finished his undergraduate degree, spent a year in Monterrey, California, studying Russian and then was sent overseas. He describes the work as "boring" but living in Turkey expanded his mind and allowed him to see from a different perspective. 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 Appalachian State University American Military History Course Veterans Oral History Project Description An account of the resource Each semester, the students of the American Military History Course at Appalachian State University conduct interviews with military veterans and record their military experiences in order to create an archive of oral history interviews that are publicly accessible to researchers. The oral histories are permanently available in the Appalachian State University Special Collections. The project is supervised by Dr. Judkin Browning, Associate Professor of History at Appalachian State University and all interviews are transcribed by the student interviewers. Copyright Notice: Copyright for the Veterans Oral History Project’s audio and transcripts is held by Appalachian State University. These materials are available for free personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that proper citation is used (e.g. Veterans Oral History Project, University Archives and Records, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC). Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed. Williams, Dean Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview. Ziegler, Ziegler Interview Date 3/10/2010 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 0:26:54 File name 2013_063_Williams_Dean_interview 2013_063_Williams_Dean_transcript 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 Interview with Dean Williams, 10 March 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ziegler, Ryan Williams, Dean Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a title="UA.5018. American Military History Course Records" href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/167" target="_blank">UA.5018. American Military History Course Records</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright for the Veterans Oral History Project's audio and transcripts is held by Appalachian State University. These materials are available for free personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that proper citation is used. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 8 pages Language A language of the resource English English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Veterans Williams, Dean United States Interviews Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Dean Williams describes his service in the Air Force as a Russian linguist working in Turkey. He was drafted after he finished his undergraduate degree, studied Russian in Monterey, California for a year, and was then shipped overseas. He describes his work as "boring" but living in the small town of Karamursel was eye-opening and a very positive experience. Air Force basic training Cyprus Dean Williams Erskine College Karamursel linguistics Monterey California Russian sergeant Turkey https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/bd39b2c2eed0d6f65ab1dceff2e63593.pdf e879ac8eec16009713fb203f09497efa PDF Text Text Rob Helton: It is October 12th, 2012. Mr. Thomas: Uh huh. Rob Helton: I’m interviewing Mr. Gene Thomas, and we are in Mr. Thomas’ home in Pyatte, North Carolina. I am Rob Helton, a student at Appalachian State University, and this interview is being conducted as part of Dr. Judkin Browning’s American Military History Course for the Appalachian State Library, and we will begin the Oral History now. Mr. Thomas, When and where were you born? Mr. Thomas: I was born in Michaelsville in Yancey County. Rob Helton: Yes sir, what year was that, or what is your birthday? Mr. Thomas: 28 Rob Helton: Of…? What year? Mr. Thomas: …September the 19th, 1928. Rob Helton: And where were you raised? Mr. Thomas: I was raised in Avery County. Rob Helton: What did… What did your family do? Mr. Thomas: Well, my Dad was an engineer, and… he worked for Russ engineering company and retired there. They sent him all over, everywhere. Put in steel mills, paper mills, and all that stuff. And all he done was read the blueprints and tell them what to do. He had a big 554 acre farm in Highland County, prettiest place, it’s up in Virginia, but I came down here and stayed with my people most of the time. I’d go up and stay for maybe a week or two with him. My mother died, and he married another woman up there, she had a big farm, 220 acres of land, and one of these big colonial homes. And Dad had a new ranch type home built there. And, there was three of us children. I had a sister that’s older than me and a brother that’s four years younger than me, and he went in the Navy. And my sister lives in Morganton, out there like you’re going out 64, out there a ways on the left. Nice place, but she’s, she’s had so many strokes and she has to go with a walker, won’t let her drive her car no more. And her daughter’s living with her. Rob Helton: So when and why did you join the Army? �Mr. Thomas: I’d just a, I’d never seen the ocean or anything before, up in these hills, and… and I’d… Radio was all we had had back then, no televisions or… And I just wanted to do something for my country. Rob Helton: So where did you go to enlist? Mr. Thomas: I… They was a guy come through had… he, they was a, he’d… asked us a lot of questions and then he put us on a bus in Marion and sent us to Ft. Bragg, and I wanted to, they had things up all over Ft. Bragg there. ‘Join the Airborne, $50 extra a month for jump pay’ long as your on jump status. Well that’s what I wanted, and I wanted to jump. (laughs) That’s all I thought about, jumping out of an airplane. Rob Helton: And… I think you mentioned earlier but, you had an early childhood desire to jump? Mr. Thomas: Yeah Rob Helton: Would you mind telling that story again? Mr. Thomas: My mother told me about going to the county fair, and seeing this man go up in a balloon. And I said, well how did he get out of it? She said, he parachuted. Well I said, what’s a parachute. She said, you come down like a big umbrella you know. I ruined every umbrella she had! We had this big barn and a big chicken house and I’d jump off of that chicken house. (Rob laughs) And I just wanted to do that so bad, I thought what a thrill that would be, come floating down. But it wasn’t so good when they were shooting at you, you know that?. (Rob laughs) Rob Helton: Yes, sir. So what, when… do you remember the… your enlistment date? Mr. Thomas: Yeah. The 8th day of… I was sworn in the eighth day of February, 1944. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. Mr. Thomas: At Ft. Bragg, and then they sent me from there to Ft. Jackson to take Basic Training. And it didn’t last long, then they shipped me on to Ft. Benning, Georgia, which is down there right out of Columbus, Georgia you know. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. Mr. Thomas: Across the river from Alabama, the Chatahoochee River runs down there. And before we ever jumped out of an airplane, they’d put a harness on us and we’d slide down this cable, and that’s how we learned how to land, you know. Do a PLF and all that. And then they had them 250 foot towers, they’d pull us up in them, but the chute was already inflated. Had four big arms that was out, and… The Sergeant on the ground, he’d say ‘pull it to the left, pull it to the right.’ Before we �ever jumped out of an airplane we went through all of that. And then we started jumping out of them old C 47s. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. Mr. Thomas: And that was a thrill, I tell you, that was a thrill. And I loved it! And then they took us in the rigging tent, where they rigged the chutes on these big long tables. And we, you could hear a pin drop buddy, we thought we was gonna jump with the chute that we… rigged you know? But we didn’t. They had riggers that was good. And they had come out with that old C5 chute, which wasn’t worth a hoot. It didn’t have no panels out, and they was hard to maneuver you know. And then the next chute I jumped was a T7 chute, which had one panel out, and you could maneuver it pretty good you know. And then they got that T10 chute, and boy that was a dandy! And I just loved it. Rob Helton: And so after jump school, you were assigned to the 101st Airborne? Mr. Thomas: 101st. Rob Helton: Do you remember which Regiment and Company? Mr. Thomas: Yes, sir. I was in the 506th Parachute Regiment, 3rd Battalion, A Company. And my commanding officer in Europe was from Lexington, North Carolina. Colonel Robert Sinks, he was a full bird Colonel. And I thought the world of him, and then we had a Captain, he was from Pennsylvania. Richard Winters, you may have read something about him. Rob Helton: (humorous) Yes, sir. I believe I’ve heard of him. Mr. Thomas: He was one fine man. That man, he didn’t drink, he didn’t smoke, he didn’t cuss. But he was a leader, that man… I’d have followed him through hell, well I did! (Both laugh) But he died along back, I kept telling Georgia (Mrs. Thomas) I said we need to go up to Hershey, Pennsylvania and see my buddy. He was a Captain when, well he was a First Lieutenant then he made Captain. And he was just such a good leader, that man was a leader, and he didn’t mind killing. Cause we had a job to do. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. Mr. Thomas: And buddy he was right with us, all the way. When we jumped in France, St. Mere Eglise, France. I had a friend from, well he was originally from Alabama, but they lived in Winedot, Michigan. Went up there, his people did, to work in the factories you know. Building Jeeps, tanks and… And Donald Barragut was his name, and that, and he got wounded three times. And he was another fine guy, buddy. He was 19 and I was 16. And, we trained a lot after we got to England. We trained in England, then we went up in Scotland and trained some, and then �back to England. And then… D Day was coming up, that was the 6th day of June, 1944, and they had rushed us through everything. They needed us bad, and me just a kid. And I had some good men that was older than me, they was a lot of help to me. And we jumped, come down behind the German lines. St. Mere Iglis, at night. It was just a little after midnight when we jumped, and then that was D Day, that’s when they was gonna land at Normandy you know, and all them beaches up through there. And… we fought up there, and… they was… right out of St. Mere Iglis, there was swampy country and the Germans had filled it, flooded it with water and a lot of the guys drowned in it. We come down right in St. Mere Iglis, and… they issued us these little snapper bugs. You click it once and then you hear two clicks and you knew it was your buddy, some of them in your company or platoon. And we fought there, and fought through them hedgegrows a long time up through there. And then they pulled us back to England. Newbury, England. And… we’d fall out and thought we wasn’t going when the weather was bad, and rainy and windy. And finally one day Eisenhower, I’ve got pictures of that, where he give us a pep talk, and wished us the best. And see, he was a… MacAuthur had the say so, not MacAuthur, but Eisenhower had the say so what to do. And after that, after they pulled us back to England we trained some more, and then… September 17th, it was on a Sunday, and, we pulled a glider behind us till we got to the drop zone, and cut him loose. And the German’s was shooting at us, you could here them bullets go ‘pew, pew, pew’ through the chutes! And I got it on the ground and I come down right on the edge of a little cornfield and I was getting out of my chute and I heard them cornstalks a rattling. Well here come a German soldier. And I’d just got out of my chute, and I had a carbine rifle, and… I whirled around, and there he was. He was ready to lay it on me buddy, and I whirled around and I shot him. Shot his helmet off, and the bullet went through his head, and he had on glasses. I’ll never forget him, that’s the first one I killed in Holland. Had to kill. And… after that it didn’t bother me. They had told us that, don’t think of them as a person… think of them as an object, and if you don’t get that object, he’s gonna get you. It didn’t bother me no more after that. And… we fought there in Holland, there at Mannehoven, Hell’s Highway they called it up through there. And after that they pulled us back Camp Mourmalande, France. And then on… 16th of December they loaded us up by trucks, had all coloured drivers, the Redball Express they called theirselves. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. Mr. Thomas: And they hauled us from there, they wouldn’t go all the way into Bastogne, we had to walk in with snow up to our knees. And that first night we slept out in the field, and then we went on in and set up a perimeter around Bastogne. And then we fought there… and… my foxhole was here and then went on up out to the end. One night there was a jeep come up there, had a driver and a Second Lieutenant in it. And buddy I jumped out of my foxhole cause a lot of them Germans was wearing our uniforms. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. �Mr. Thomas: And I made him advance and be recognized and give me the password for that day, and they did. I run him through the mill. And my mother had sent me a carton of chewing gum for Christmas, and I was chomping on that stuff! And he said soldier what have you got in your mouth? I said some chewing gum that my mother sent me. He said spit it out! I said is that an order or a request? He said that is an order! Said the Germans can hear you a chewing that chewing gum. (Rob laughs) I said they must have pretty damn good ears. (Both laugh) He got back in his jeep and he left. And we fought up there, it was awful, terrible. Ten below zero, and in that Ardennes forest you know, out of Bastogne. And then we went on up to Norville, little town right out of Bastogne. We fought up there, I, we didn’t have no food, we run out of food and about out of ammunition. And, them Germans boy, they was, they was good fighters, I can say that. So, I seen this barn and a house way over here out of Norville. And I told my buddies, I said I bet you they got some eggs over there. And I said, I found out what the password was gonna be, and nobody else would go, we was starved! So I left right before dark, and went around through the woods and circled back down, there at Norville. And… I went to this barn and went in the barn and there was a big German police dog in there. And he run me up the steps up into the hayloft, and it had a gate there and I slammed that gate to. And his teeth looked that long buddy! (Indicates length of forefinger) (Rob laughs) And I was afraid to shoot him you know, didn’t whether they was Germans there or what. But finally a girl come out of the house and, with two milk pails. Was gonna milk the cows and… she… wanted to know if I could do that you know. (Indicates milking a cow) They spoke French and that was all. And I did, and I hadn’t had a bath in I don’t know when, and took me in their house, nobody there but her and her mother. And her Daddy was a doctor and he was in Brussels. And her and her mother was running the farm. And I got to take a good bath, and they fed me, and I kept showing them what an egg was. And they, they knew what I meant, and they had some of that five star cognac, they give me some of that, took me in this bedroom and I slept under a duck down comforter, and I set my rifle right there and slept with my forty five pistol right here where I could get it. (Indicates across his chest) And I looked, and I said get me up before it gets daylight. And they filled me up a thing kind of like a flour sack with eggs, and I went back up and circled around through the woods and come back up to where our perimeter was. And I got halted, and they could have court marshaled me for that. And… but my buddies covered up for me, and we had these little gas stoves about that high and about that big around. So we scooped snow up in our steel helmets and boiled them eggs! (Both laugh) Over that little thing there were it had our helmet over it. And the next day this officer came up there and he said where in the h e double l did all these eggshells come from! And one of them said I think old Thomas found a hens nest! (Both laugh) Covered up for me buddy! But we had eggshells everywhere, or we’d have starved to death. Well, it did let up a little bit and they dropped us some food and ammunition, medical supplies and stuff, and the Germans beat us to it. They got it, and we went for days and days… And first warm food I remember we ever had was an old corn meal mash, they’d cooked up. And buddy I thought that was the best tasting stuff I ever tasted in my life, cause we was hungry. And we fought up there for a long time and then this… Maxwell Taylor was my Division commander at that �time, but they had sent him back to the states. And General Anthony C. McClauliffe was a two start general and he went with us to Bastogne. And one day these, this German motorcycle come in with a, waving a white flag and an enlisted man and an officer. And wanted to talk to our commanding officer. And I could speak pretty good German, and we blindfolded them and took them into Bastogne, where General McClauliffe was. And, he told them, said we got you surrounded we want you to surrender, and he said Nuts you damn Krauts, said we’re just beginning to fight. (Both laugh) And they couldn’t figure out what that was! He went back to their outfit and told them what McClauliffe said, they couldn’t figure that out, nuts what that meant. Meant for them to go to hell, we, we just wasn’t going to give up. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. Mr. Thomas: And we made it through that, lost a lot of buddies. After that they pulled us back into southern Germany. South of Munich, and… sent us to, down to Landsberg where that concentration camp was. Landsberg. And we liberated them people, that was the most sickening thing I’ve ever seen in my life. They had these big barrels there of false teeth that had gold in them, and they’d… take their teeth out and pile them in them. And then they’d put people in these gas chambers, women and children, they thought they was gonna get to take a bath, and they’d turn the gas loose on them, killed them in there. And then they’d put them in these furnaces and things and… cook them. And that place stunk so, they finally gave us some things to go over our nose and mouth, to keep that smell down. And them poor people was eat up with body lice, and they come holding their arms out wanting to hug us, we’d just have to back away from them. I was so sorry for them, they were Jews, Polish, Czechs, different nationalities they had there in that concentration camp. And… we killed the Germans out around the perimeter, you know, where they had that. And this… they was a building right across from us and, ‘ka ping ka ping’ they was shooting at us, and I spotted him in an upstairs window and I blowed him all to pieces. I was, at that time I was a 60 millimeter mortarman. And we come back in to Germany and… there was a river that run down through here. My buddies was down here dug in right beside the river, and I was shooting over their heads at them Germans that morning. And I had to move it I don’t how many times, me and the other guy did, took two men. And I was a feeding that mortar so fast that throwed one in and one was coming out! And that one coming down hit that last one I’d thrown in and it went ‘zup zup.’ I’ve got books that’d tell you the whole story. And it went down, they heard it coming, making a yodeling noise. But it hit in the water, didn’t hit them. And this guy, Donald Barrugut wrote this book… Said ole Gene, old Thomas come closer to killing us than the Germans did. Well I finally got zeroed in on them over there across the river, and I knocked them German guns out, and got a Bronze Star for that. And… then we went on in to Austria, cleaned the Germans out of there. We first went into Salzburg, and then on up to… what was the name of that little old place… And we fought up there, then they brought us back to, into Germany to Berchetesgarten for a rest, you know. And we seen this boxcar setting on the side track. And had big cables, it, it was sealed, sealed up. The car was, the railroad car. Some of the guys got some big cutters and �hacksaws and we cut that seal off of that box car. And it was loaded with gold bricks, all in that thing. And we was studying about how could we get to Switzerland, or bury it and come back after the war. (Rob laughs) And he made us quit, Colonel Sinks did, said that don’t belong to you. And they was some salt mines there, and old Goering, he had all kind of stuff in them salt mines. Pictures and everything, that they’d took off of the Polish and all them. And we was wondering how we could get that to Switzerland, or digged up. And then… we went back into where we was at in Berchetesgarten and… then Roosevelt died. He was in Warm Springs, Georgia, you know. I seen guys break down and cry about it but… He, he was a good President, I was, I mean, I was raised a Republican, you know, and he was a Democrat, but I’d have voted for him again if he’d of run, you know. It didn’t make no diference, I just voted for the ones I thought done the best job, in the Presidential elections, been that way ever since. But, they fell us out one morning there, this was in 1945, and they fell all the NCO’s out one morning and we didn’t know what they was gonna do with us. They finally told us to, we gonna send you to Breruth (?) and take constabulary training to guard those war criminals in Nuremburg. And they sent us down there, and we… had a big long haul getting down to the prison. And each one had a war criminal to watch after, kept a light a burning 24 hours a day. And then we had to record, had a clipboard there, every hour I looked in their cell, whether he was sleeping, or reading, or standing, or whatever. And then we had to go to the courtroom, and… I never seen so many lawyers in, in my life there. And they give them different sentences, on… what they had done you know, war criminals. And they hung ten, I watched that, there in the gymnasium. And… after that I was wanting to get out of Nuremburg. I’ve been there where Hitler, I’ve stood right where he made his speeches there at Soldier’s Field. And after that, I got to come home, I come home and stayed out 28 days. If I’d stayed out over 30 I’d have lost my rank. And I reenlisted. Put me on a bus at Spruce Pine and took me to Greenville, SC. Airbase down there. And I was sworn in again, and then from there I went to, over in the Pacific. I was in the… Marianas Islands, and then I was in… oh what was the name of that bunch of islands… oh anyway it was Kwajalein and Naniwetaw (?) and all them there. And then I come back to the States, and then the Korean War broke out. And I was at Ft. Lewis, Washington, and I was at Camp Carson too. Then up to Ft. Lewis. And they sent us to Japan, I mean we went to Kobe, Japan. And… then they fell us out and put us on a train to sent us all the way down to Sassibo (?), Japan. And we sailed from Sassibo to Pusan, Korea. And then we fought all the way up, all the way up to the Yalu River. And we come back down, the Chinese, we fought the Chinese there, and then at Koon Ri they come over on us again, and was about to over run us, the Chinese was. And they said it’s every man for himself, and there was an old weapons carrier sitting there, and they was a Turkish Brigade a fighting on our left down below us. And the British on the right. And we put that thing up on that railroad track, a bunch of us, about 5 got in it, and bump bump bump going down through there to where this Turkish Brigade was. We fought there, and then I finally got back with my outfit, I was in the 38th Regimental Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. Then I got hit, we’d took this hill, and they overrun us there. And the next time we went back up I got hit. And they flew me from there to right out of Tokyo, to a hospital. And kept me there a long �time, and then finally flew me on to Walter Reed, and I had the awfulest seizures from that nick I got here in my head. Seizures, seizures, and they kept me there a long time. I didn’t want to come out… And they put me out, said I wasn’t fit you know, to… to… fight. And… stayed there a long time. I got to come home, and… I had the old women, they come and hugged me and told me son, we’ve prayed a many a night that God would bring you home. And I believe they did, and I made it home. And that wound up my military career. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. Do you mind if I ask a couple of follow up questions? About… (Mr. Thomas shook head.) Rob Helton: Do you… Do you remember how much you were paid a month when you went and joined the Army? Mr. Thomas: It was about twenty seven dollars a month, I believe. Rob Helton: And then you got jump pay on top of that? Mr. Thomas: Yeah, fifty dollars as long as you was on jump status. Rob Helton: Was that… was that comparable to anything that you could have made in the States? Mr. Thomas: Well back then things was cheap, back in the early ‘40s and ‘50s. But I don’t’ regret it a bit, I’d go back tomorrow if they’d take me. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. When you, when you jumped into Normandy and Holland do remember what your jump kit consisted of? Mr. Thomas: What? Rob Helton: Your jump kit, your weapon and equipment? Mr. Thomas: Well, I jumped with a carbine rifle and a forty five pistol. But I was a mortarman, and I’d took training you know, to operate a mortar. And I got pretty good with that mortar buddy, I tell you. Till throwed that one in, that one was a coming out and it liked to killed my buddies. (Laughs) And I really liked to fire that thing, drop it in, bloop, shew. But it was something. But when I was in Korea I just had a rifle, I’ve fired a M1 rifle and a carbine till the whole side of my face would be blue. Them little Chinese was tough, I can say that. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. Before the Korean War broke out, did you know where Korea was, or know anything about it? Mr. Thomas: Never heard tell of it. �Rob Helton: Yes, sir. Now when you… when you got into Korea do you remember what the, the date or the month? Mr. Thomas: It broke out in 1950 and we got there… it was… what… in July, first of July when we got there. And buddy it was rough, I tell you. Rob Helton: And, so you were there during the winter. Mr. Thomas: Yeah Rob Helton: Do you have memories that stand out from the winter fighting? Mr. Thomas: Yeah, I remember this old boy from Austin, Texas. They’d had a bunker there and we got in this bunker, it was cold. God it was cold. The moon was shining bright that night. We had trip flares set up down here at the foot of the hill, and… and if the gooks would come across then they’d hit that trip wire and just light up everything, you know. And my buddy, I kept hearing something a grinding and a chopping and he, he was in sleeping bag laying right behind me, and I was watching down there, which way we thought they was going to come in. And I kept hearing that noise, finally it got daylight and he says, he had false teeth. He’d pulled them out and laid them on a rock. And that rat had chewed his teeth! (Both laugh) Plum in two! That’s what I could hear, cause I knew if they come in down there they’d trip them trip flares. And his teeth just fell apart, his upper plate. And froze, and hungry, that, that was rough. We went hungry too during the Bulge, eat K rations whenever we could get them. But it was a rough go, I don’t want to go back to Korea. I’d love to go back to Germany and all them places where we fought, and Holland. Belgium. Austria. I thought Bavaria, down there in Southern Germany, was the prettiest country. It was pretty and… and different places, and then most towns was blowed all to pieces, you know. And… But they put us, after that they sent us to Bamberg, Germany. And it was time for me to come home, after the Nuremburg trials. And they sent me, we rode cattle cars from Bamberg, Germany to Laharre, France. And there we caught a ship, brought us back to the States. And, but I didn’t stay out but 28 days, you know, and back in there I went. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. Before you got to the concentration camp, had you and the other soldiers, had you been told anything about concentration camps or ever been informed of… what was happening in those? Mr. Thomas: Oh yeah, yeah we knew what was a happening. And… that’s the most sickening thing, that I saw in the war, was them poor people. Lord, it was awful. And another thing, them SS troopers, I know you’ve heard of them. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. �Mr. Thomas: Up there at Malaby, Belgium. They took a whole bunch of our men that was prisoners of war, most of them was in the medical corps. Lined them up out in the field, snow on the ground, and had a German army truck here and they rolled the tarp up and they had a machine gun in there. Fifty caliber machine gun, and then they just started mowing them down, and they was two escaped, run through the woods and got away to tell the tale. Now this was back in Belgium. And I remember what McClauliffe told us, says don’t take no SS men prisoners. Says, you know what to do. We didn’t take no SS prisoners. We lowered the boom on them buddy. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. Mr. Thomas: And a lot of them had our uniforms on, you know, behind our lines. Some spoke perfect English. They’d trained them when they was just young, and… Korea wound, wound me up though, I draw a little pension for getting hit. Rob Helton: Would you describe your wound from Korea? Mr. Thomas: Huh? Rob Helton: Would you describe how you were wounded in Korea? Mr. Thomas: Yeah. I’ve got a hernia right here that I’ve had that’s bothered me ever since. There was a pile of rocks there, and they was a shell hits them rocks and it throwed a rock and hit me right there. And then next I got shot threw the hand, and then when I got my head busted, that’s when they sent me to Japan. And then I wound up in Walter Reed. And… kept me up there a long time, I’d have them seizures, I’d be just like sailing through a tunnel or something. And I could see a light, and then they’d, they, they give me all kinds of medication for it. And I finally got to where I could think some, you know. And… And, it bothered me a lot. And they put me out. Rob Helton: So, obviously, it’s on the other side of the world, but how was the fighting in Korea different from Europe during the Second World War? Mr. Thomas: Well, it was different, because… you know just a regular German soldier, he was like us, he had to fight. And… I’ve… well it says thou shall not kill, but I killed a lot of people, but it was in uniform, you know. And, I used to have the awefulest nightmares in the world. And… I’d… come out of the bed, my wife couldn’t sleep for me, you know. And I’d dream the enemy was coming in on me, and my bullets just come to the end of the barrel and dropped down on the ground. And me a slugging it out with them with a bayonet. Now we had to do that, in World War Two, fix bayonets. And… I’ve, I’ve rammed them so hard I’d have to shoot my rifle to get my bayonet out of them. But, it bothered me, one of my buddies come to see me, he was from down in Hudson, below, there out of Lenoir. Thad Tungmire (?). And he come to see me, my wife told him about how I was having them nightmares. �And he talked to me, he said Thomas, I’m going to tell you one thing. He said, if you don’t start talking about that, and get it out of you, you’ll go plum crazy. And I was crazy enough! (Both laugh) Way it was. But, I survived. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. So after you got out of the Army, what did you do then? Mr. Thomas: Started trucking. Yeah I run… out to California, Oregon, Washington, into Vancouver, British Columbia. And up in Canada, and up to LaChute, Canada, which is right out of Montreal. And then… then I’d run up to Peterburg, Canada. And I had a contract to haul the stuff up there. And… then I come back and I just kept trucking. Made good money. I’d bring home a thousand dollars a week. And one week I’d put it in savings, and the next week I’d put it in checking. But buddy, I run out across them deserts and didn’t have no air conditions, no power steering back then. And all I wanted to do was drink water. And we had a, we had a Lister bag I’d hang on the front of my bumper, to keep the water cool, and we suffered, and I laid right with it till I retired. Drove 57 years. (Recorder almost falls) Rob Helton: Excuse me. Are you a member of any veteran’s organizations? Mr. Thomas: Yes, sir. I’m a lifetime member in the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars and I’m a lifetime member in the DAV, Disabled Veterans. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. And you’re also a member of the Honor Guard? Mr. Thomas: Yes, sir. I’m on the Honor Guard, been on it a long time. Well I’m the oldest man on the Honor Guard, I was there when they formed it in the VFW. And we’ve done a great job, we’ve went all the way to Charlotte, and down to South Carolina, burying veterans everywhere. And a lot of my buddies is dead, they’re gone, they’ve been dying lately here. We watched this DVD of one of my friends, last night. He died down at Johnson City at the VA Hospital. And Georgia and I’d go see him. And he fought in Italy, and war is hell, I can say that. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. Have you participated in any reunions or other events? Mr. Thomas: …No. I had a chance to go to reunions, you know, of the 101st Airborne, but I never did go. Then I was invited to come to Bush’s Inaguaration, and stay in the Mayflower hotel, have livery, limousine service to the President’s ball and dinner. And all that. And… I just didn’t go. So, then the next, I got them in my car out there, they wrote old letters, they invited me to come and sit four days in the Senate circle to represent the state of North Carolina. (Both laugh) Rob Helton: Now you also spoke at Appalachian’s World War Two symposium this year? �Mr. Thomas: I did, I sure did. Mrs. Thomas: Oh that’s another thing, you remember that… Mr. Thomas: World War Two… Mrs. Thomas: Round table. Veteran’s Round Table. Mr. Thomas: Yeah, over in Boone. Mrs. Thomas: That round table over there. Mr. Thomas: Yeah, we have meetings every month. Mrs. Thomas: Been there since it started. Mr. Thomas: And… Had me on television. Georgia was with me when they had me on television. If we had time I’d like to show you all of that, but I don’t guess you’ve got time. Rob Helton: Well we’ll see sir. Is there anything else that you can think of that we’ve left out? Mr. Thomas: Well, I know I’ve, I’ve left something out… My brain don’t work like it used to. (Both laugh) But… I was out there to fight for my country, and I put my heart and soul into it. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. Well sir, I’d like to thank you for conducting this interview and also thank you for your service. Mr. Thomas: Well I want to thank you too. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. Mr. Thomas: Proud of you. Rob Helton: Yes, sir. And this concludes the interview. Mr. Thomas: Alright. � https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/900f1dd7e11266b1ebb82b9c9aef150b.mp3 cde09afffe5e012260f74c4ec939e30a 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 Appalachian State University American Military History Course Veterans Oral History Project Description An account of the resource Each semester, the students of the American Military History Course at Appalachian State University conduct interviews with military veterans and record their military experiences in order to create an archive of oral history interviews that are publicly accessible to researchers. The oral histories are permanently available in the Appalachian State University Special Collections. The project is supervised by Dr. Judkin Browning, Associate Professor of History at Appalachian State University and all interviews are transcribed by the student interviewers. Copyright Notice: Copyright for the Veterans Oral History Project’s audio and transcripts is held by Appalachian State University. These materials are available for free personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that proper citation is used (e.g. Veterans Oral History Project, University Archives and Records, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC). Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed. Thomas, Gene Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview. Helton, Rob Interview Date 10/12/2012 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 1:10:22 File name 2013_063_Thomas_Gene_interview 2013_063_Thomas_Gene_transcript 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 Interview with Gene Thomas, 12 October 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Helton, Rob Thomas, Gene Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a title="UA.5018. American Military History Course Records" href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/167" target="_blank">UA.5018. American Military History Course Records</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright for the Veterans Oral History Project's audio and transcripts is held by Appalachian State University. These materials are available for free personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that proper citation is used. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 12 pages Language A language of the resource English English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Subject The topic of the resource World War, 1939-1945 Korean War, 1950-1953 Veterans Thomas, Gene Personal narratives, American United States Interviews Description An account of the resource Gene Thomas of Avery County gives his somewhat glorified account of his service in WWII and the Korean War. He fought all over Europe against the Germans, and preferred it to the Korean War. He was shot in the head in the Korean War and has been part of the DAV ever since. Avery County basic training C47 concentration camp DAV Fort Bragg France Gene Thomas Korean War mortar parachute regiment Roosevelt St. Mere Iglis WWII