| Title |
William A. Wells, Salt Lake City, Utah: an interview by Becky B. Lloyd, January 28, 2003: Saving the legacy tape no. 626 |
| Alternative Title |
William A. Wells, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Wells, William A., 1924-2014 |
| Contributor |
Lloyd, Becky B.; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2003-01-28 |
| Date Digital |
2015-09-16 |
| Access Rights |
I acknowledge and agree that all information I obtain as a result of accessing any oral history provided by the University of Utah's Marriott Library shall be used only for historical or scholarly or academic research purposes, and not for commercial purposes. I understand that any other use of the materials is not authorized by the University of Utah and may exceed the scope of permission granted to the University of Utah by the interviewer or interviewee. I may request permission for other uses, in writing to Special Collections at the Marriott Library, which the University of Utah may choose grant, in its sole discretion. I agree to defend, indemnify and hold the University of Utah and its Marriott Library harmless for and against any actions or claims that relate to my improper use of materials provided by the University of Utah. |
| Spatial Coverage |
France; Belgium; Germany; Luxembourg; Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, United States |
| Subject |
Wells, William A., 1924-2014--Interviews; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Veterans--Utah--Biography; World War, 1939-1945--Military operations, American; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Europe, Northern--Personal narratives, American; Ardennes, Battle of the, 1944-1945--Personal narratives, American |
| Keywords |
Cooks; Artillery; Battle of the Bulge; Siegried line |
| Description |
Transcript (26 pages) of an interview by Becky B. Lloyd with William A. Wells on January 28, 2003. This is from tape number 626 in the "Saving the Legacy Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Wells (b. 1924) talks about his childhood in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was drafted into the army in December 1942 and was sent to cooks and bakers school at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He later trained in the aviation cadet program, but was sent to Europe attached to the 87th Infantry Division, 334th Field Artillery Battalion. His service locations included France, Belgium, Germany, and Luxembourg. He gives his impressions of the Battle of the Bulge and combat on the Siegfried Line. 26 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
26 pages |
| Language |
eng |
| Rights |
 |
| Scanning Technician |
Mazi Rakhsha |
| Conversion Specifications |
Original scanned with Kirtas 2400 and saved as 400 ppi uncompressed TIFF. PDF generated by Adobe Acrobat Pro X for CONTENTdm display |
| ARK |
ark:/87278/s6dj7dxg |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Ardennes, Battle of the (1944-1945) |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1022856 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6dj7dxg |
| Title |
Page 15 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1022843 |
| OCR Text |
Show WILLI M . WELL J R 28 200 BE : Right. BIL: o that went on and while we were comfortable there in the Gasthaus th Germans conceded defeat. The war was over. So then we wanted to come home. I can't remember the time frame. We stayed in that Gasthaus and the people treated us well considering that we'd just finished shooting up that area. Another sight I'll always remember: When we finally left, these people that we'd just got through tearing up their country, as we loaded up and went--old men and women, virtually no young men; old men and women. There were maybe a hundred of them-and as we loaded up, they were crying and waving, really sobbing. Of course, the reason they were is they knew that as soon as we left, the Russians were coming in. BEC: Oh. BIL: Then, we went to-I can't remember exactly where we did leave from; I can't remember the leaving too well-but we finally got to the coast and loaded up on a ship and came home. BEC: Did you think that you were going to have to go to fight the Japanese? BIL: Oh, yes. So when I finally got home, they would give you a forty-five day leave. Then they used the point system. My memory now was that I had fifty-nine points, which was one point short of getting out. So I was sent on my forty-five day leave, and the forth-fifth day of my leave was VJ day. BEC: Oh, because at the end of your forty-five day leave, you were scheduled to head over to the Pacific? BIL: Yes. BEC: Wow. 14 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6dj7dxg/1022843 |
