| Title |
Ralph Tracy Clark, Smithfield, Utah: an interview by Becky B. Lloyd, September 9, 2006: Saving the Legacy tape nos. 767 & 768 |
| Alternative Title |
Ralph Tracy Clark, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Clark, Ralph Tracy, 1926- |
| Contributor |
Lloyd, Becky B.; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2006-09-09 |
| 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 |
Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands; Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands; Okinawa, Japan |
| Subject |
Clark, Ralph Tracy, 1926- --Interviews; Veterans--United States--Biography; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations, American; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Area--Personal narratives, American; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American |
| Keywords |
Nagasaki |
| Description |
Transcript (116 pages) of an interview by Becky B. Lloydl with Ralph Tracy Clark on September 9, 2006. From tape numbers 767 and 768. of the "Saving the Legacy" Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Clark (b. 1926) briefly describes his childhood in Smithfield, Utah. He enlisted in the Navy in March 1944. His boot camp training took place in San Diego, California, then he was assigned to the DD782 as a "plank owner." He describes his duties as a water tender machinist's mate. Clark served in Saipan, Agulon, Okinawa, and Japan. He describes his time in postwar Nagasaki. He was discharged in 1946. In 1950 he joined the army and was shipped to Korea where he joined the 2nd Infantry Division, Battery A, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, Company B. His recollections include time on "Heartbreak Ridge." After receiving the Silver Star, he was transferred from the infantry to air observer and flew 135 missions. He describes the experience that led to his being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Discharged in 1954 as a first lieutenant. Interviewed by Becky Lloyd. 116 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
116 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/s6447phs |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Military operations, Naval--American; Korean War (1950-1953) |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1028236 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6447phs |
| Title |
Page 52 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1028171 |
| OCR Text |
Show RALPH TRA Y L RK PT B R 9, 2006 ide myl ft id allofthetime.' Hesaid ' Whereigo, yougo. D n'tl av my id unl ss you ha e to. Basically we re going to be together. The reas n wa i h had only one forward observer. If he lost me, he'd loose all of his artillery support, which was vital over there. So they kind of watched out (for me). They didn t walk around with guns as bodyguards or anything like that, but he just said, "I'd like to know where you are. You don't have to follow right in my footsteps." He just wanted to know where I was, is what he was trying to say. "Be within contact, so I can contact you if I need you." I knew when they needed me. I found out later. I could tell by the action that was going on whether we were pinned down or whatever it might be. So here we went through the rice paddy. They were levied like this. I was just down as low as I could be. I'd come to one of these things (levees) and go up over into the next one (paddy) and the next one and so on. My face couldn't have been more than six inches from that rice paddy. I took evasive action and wormed my way back and forth all the way across these rice paddies. Well, a few days later the operation was over and they were having the evaluation. I had a liaison officer; his name was Captain Rufus Redwine from the Southern States. He'd been a forward observer and now he had three or four of us observers under his command. He said, "When we were getting ready for this little action we were going on, I hadn't met you yet. But I sat up there in the command post with my binoculars watching you. I wanted to make sure everything's going okay." He said, "Where did you take your advanced infantry training?" "I haven't had any, Sir." "You haven't?" I said, "No." He said, "Well, where did you take your basic infantry 52 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6447phs/1028171 |
