Video Log Roger A Howard W.W.II U.S. Army Born: 02/07/1923. Interview Date: 5/27/2012 Interviewed By: Eileen Hurst. Part I

Transcription

1 Video Log Roger A Howard W.W.II U.S. Army Born: 02/07/1923 Interview Date: 5/27/2012 Interviewed By: Eileen Hurst Part I 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:49 Served in the Army during World War Two; enlisted while a first semester freshman at Bates College; having a choice of service to join, Howard decided to join the enlisted Army reserve corps in 1942; 00:02:52 was called up on March 3 rd, 1943 and reported to Fort Devons for duty; following induction at Fort Devons, Howard was sent via troop transport to Fort Bragg, North Carolina; basic training was described as lasting about three months; Howard gets into great detail describing the differences between the young guys and the older men whom were also going through basic training; 00:06:22 Names off memorable officers form basic training; remembers being assigned to KP duty where Howard had to take the shells off of thousands of eggs during a 12 hour overnight shift; was also assigned to guard duty; describes in detail why he chose the 78 th division; locations of training for advanced training in field artillery was also a major deciding factor as warm weather was a must for Howard; 00:11:51 Talks about officer candidate school and the taking of a standardize test to assess eligibility into program; was later assigned to A.S.T.P. school; went From Fort Bragg to North Carolina State to determine college skills for courses to be undertaken during this program; was then assigned to Boston University, which was very close to Howard s hometown of Melrose, Mass. 00:20:15 After phase 1 of taking classes at Boston University, Howard was able to make due, but saw a substantial increase in the level of difficulty within the courses offered through the A.S.T.P. program; Phase 3 came with even further difficulties and is where Howard began to slack off and realize that he and most others would not advance any further after the third phase of classes;

2 00:22:00 While at home on leave, Howard developed an illness which prevented him from reporting back for Duty at Boston University. Fortunately, Howard s father knew the Lt. Col. And was able to get Howard an extended sick leave of 5 days; 00:23:01 after the company commander found out who Howard was, he was assigned to the position of cadet company commander for a week with varying responsibilities. 00:23:35 Went to the 78 th division at Camp Picket, Virginia after attending classes at Boston University; was later assigned to a heavy weapons company, anti-tank company, and later in a cannon company, onward and into a field artillery company, battery A; describes in great detail what the transition and training was like going into the field artillery company; 00:29:58 describes formation of Field Artillery Company; Howard was trained on 105 mm howitzer gun; further describes gun specifics, types of ammunition, and trajectory of fired ammunition based on varying land conditions; 00:34:40 Landed into Europe at South Hampton, England; describes seeing Buzz-Bombs flying by; explains what a Buzz-Bomb was and how it operated; 00:37:11 boarded LST ship and after landing, drove up to Belgium onwards and eventually into Germany; 00:44:45 mentions staying in one location from the middle of December to the middle of January; Howard was assigned as the number one man on gun and was responsible for establishing distances and targets for the 105 mm howitzer gun to fire at the enemy; 00:47:26 while at this one location, Howard and his men saw very little direct combat, however the unit still had to fire off rounds on a daily basis; recalled not knowing the severity and the bloodshed involved with what would be later known as the Battle of the Bulge; mentions having 4 men on, 4 men off while working this location; described trench foot; 00:51:31 talks about replacements that were sent in to relieve the soldiers that had developed trench foot; mentions other officers that floated in and out of thes Company; 00:55:39 was granted a 3 day pass to Paris; goes on to mention time spent on R&R; 00:57:00 mentions crossing the Rhine and pushing through to the other side; 01:01:29 talks about conditions once into Germany, how things wound down after the war, and how Germans were captured as prisoners of at much higher rates than during actual wartime;

3 01:03:52 mentions being on the edge of the Hurtgen Forest during intense war fights; remembers being fortunate that the company was in a non-combat zone during the battles; 01:05:34 recalled sending many letters home while in the service; remembered receiving many packages of fruit cake in the mail as it held up well and did not spoil as quick as other perishables; mentions also receiving sardines in the mail and how they were a joy to eat; 01:08:22 remembered the mail as being very efficient, even though his company was always on the move; it would typically take a week or so to get a letter from somewhere in Europe back home to Stateside; 01:08:40 describes the food while in the field as having Powered Eggs, dehydrated milk, pancakes, spam, and muffins; while moving and on the go in the field, the troops would have K- rations and C-Rations; describes other items that were rationed to the troops such as cigarettes, candy bars, and toilet paper; 01:12:40 during the war, Howard and the rest of his unit would sleep in a foxhole on the ground and never would be placed in a camp or a tent; also had camouflage nets that covered the troops from being quickly discovered by the enemy; 01:16:28 while in Europe, Howard never had any issues obtaining supplies; although at some points during the Battle of the Bulge, ammunition supplies ran lower than normal, but were never completely run out; 01:17:19 to deal with stressful situations, Howard would try and remember all the good times, and block out the bad; 01:17:56 while on R&R, Howard and the boys would drink alcohol and search for souvenirs to send home; talks about another R&R after the war when Howard went to Brussels for 3 days; describes the time there as relaxing and eating a lot of good food; additionally, before being discharged, Howard was awarded a 7 day pass to London; 01:22:42 was stationed with the 83 rd division waiting to be discharged and sent back home into the states; was eventually sent to Camp Pall Mall, a cigarette camp in France before catching a ride across the Atlantic; remembers the ship ride home being rough as Howard was sea sick for 5 days straight;

4 Part II 00:00:19 for entertainment, the newspaper Stars and Stripes would be received about twice a week; also recalled being mailed local newspapers that were described as having detailed information about the war and actually informed the troops as to the current status of the conflict; 00:01:18 Howard never saw a U.S.O. Show, however recalled U.S.O girls stopping by from time to time; remembered it being a nice feeling as you were able to talk with a gal that spoke good English and it was a good reminder of life back home; 00:01:38 talks about structure and feelings of fellow officers within the company; For the most part, the officers were good 00:04:46 Howard and his fellow soldiers developed close relationships during their time in the service; 00:05:41 after the war, Howard kept in touch with a fellow soldier by the name of Roy Harrison from Arkansas; mentions meeting up with him during a reunion out of Fishkill, New York; 00:08:10 during the whole war, only 1 soldier was killed in action within Howards battery; 00:09:21 recalled the day the war was over while he was on Guard Duty; 00:10:46 after the war was over, Howard s job duties shifted gears and varied from cleaning the trucks to maintaining the Howitzers for inspections; 00:12:14 beyond the standard medals earned for good conduct and serving during a European tour of duty, Howard was not awarded any additional medals or citations; 00:12:40 once back into the States, Howard landed in New York City in the middle of January; was then stationed at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey for less than a week before being shipped back to Fort Devons, Massachusetts; 00:14:26 after being discharged from the Army, Howard returned home to Melrose, Massachusetts; remembered the house looking great because he had not seen it for about

5 three years; talks about the club where unemployed Veterans would collect $20 Dollars a week under the G.I. Bill 00:17:41 went back to Bates College to return to classes; this was where Howard later met his Wife; later graduated with a BA in Liberal Arts; 00:20:28 later took a job back in Boston selling paint and industrial products; although being dissatisfied with the business world, Howard later took a job as a teacher out in Michigan, but only after 4 or 5 years, took a job back in Brookline, Massachusetts as a teacher, where he taught for well over 20 years; 00:22:12 Howard taught U.S. and World History; also taught track and cross country at the High School level; 00:22:45 The Military helped Howard to grow up; 00:23:21 Howard is an active member of the 78 th Military Veterans Association; 00:24:08 closing remarks; mentions a couple more memorable stories 00:28:43 Conclusion