| Title |
Niles W. Drage, Spanish Fork, Utah: an interview by Benjamin Bahlmann, February 15, 2002: Saving the Legacy tape nos. 495-497 |
| Alternative Title |
Niles W. Drage, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Drage, Niles W., 1923-2006 |
| Contributor |
Bahlmann, Benjamin J.; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2002-02-15 |
| Date Digital |
2015-12-16 |
| 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 |
| Subject |
Drage, Niles W., 1923-2006--Interviews; Veterans--Utah--Biography; Alaska Highway--History; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; World War, 1939-1945--Military operations, American; World War, 1939-1945--Artillery operations, American; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Europe, Northern--Personal narratives, American; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--France--Normandy--Personal narratives, American; Arnhem, Battle of, Arnhem, Netherlands, 1944--Personal narratives, American |
| Keywords |
Civilian Conservation Corps; Alcan Highway; Combat Engineers; D-Day; Omaha Beach; Battle of the Bulge; Occupation duty; Geneva Steel; Military engineers; Combat Engineers; Bazookas; Bailey bridges; Pontoon bridges; Buchenwald |
| Description |
Transcript (145 pages) of an interview by Benjamin Bahlmann with Niles W. Drage on February 15, 2002. From tape numbers 495, 496, and 497 in the "Saving the Legacy" Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Drage (b. 1923) grew up in Salina, Utah. He was drafted into the Army in March 1942, and took basic training at Camp Sibert, Alabama. He was sent to Alaska to work on the Alcan Highway, then returned to Oregon for additional training before shipping to Europe as part of the 35th Combat Engineers. Drage participated in the D-Day invasion on Omaha Beach and continued in combat to within 25 miles of Berlin before the war ended. He was in Europe for occupation duty before being shipped back to the states for discharge on in 1945. After the war, he worked for Geneva Steel for more than 30 years. Interviewed by Benjamin J. Bahlmann. 145 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
145 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/s6qc25k8 |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Military operations, Artillery--American; Arnhem, Battle of (Netherlands : 1944); North America--Alaska Highway |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1027534 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6qc25k8 |
| Title |
Page 81 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1027469 |
| OCR Text |
Show NILE W.DRA NWD: No, he died. BJB: Okay. 1 BR R 2002 NWD: And, anyway he got his ear drums broke so they sent him back horn . And w went on through. And I'll tell you another little story that was interesting to me. When we were going down to Brest we stopped by an anti-aircraft outfit. And I asked one guy, "Have you ever [shot down] anybody?" And he said, "Yeah, we've got seven planes: four American and three British" (laughs). I said, "You don't get credit for that, do you?" And [he] said, "Well we knocked down seven planes." And he was telling about the British guy that after they hit him, he came over and said, "Good show, lads." Anyway they had seven planes to their credit that they had knocked down. BJB: Wrong ones though. People mention on the D-day and the fleets that came in ... were you out to sea when the actual invasion was happening? Or did you wait a day before news? Because you said you went in on D-plus-two, is that correct? NWD: I don't remember when we went in. I know it was, we were out on the English Channel and then we went in on Omaha beach, and I know we got strafed and bombed but I can't remember. I know when we got over on the shore, a plane came over while we were on the boat and another plane came over while we were on the shore. Was it a plane? I was trying to think if it was a plane or artillery. Plane, I think. It bombed and I could feel this sweat running down my cheek and there was a guy next to me, and blood was squirting out from a piece of shrapnel wound. It was hitting me there and running down my cheek, and I thought it was sweat and I went to wipe if off like that, looked and 81 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6qc25k8/1027469 |
