| 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 65 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1028184 |
| OCR Text |
Show RALPH TRA Y LARK P M R 9, 200 how long it was but, anyway here they came back with the litt rand that n w commander had been shot. Guess where. It was through the helmet. I thought ' h golly. What a crime." But you don't want to think, "I wonder if he's married. I wonder if he has children. How are they going to tell them he got killed? What's he going to receive, a Purple Heart? Okay, what else?" I never got a Purple Heart, for which I'm very thankful. I didn't want to get wounded. I didn't realize what a bullet was like. You see shooting going on and see people drop, but when somebody's close, you hear, "Whap!" The shock of it and the impact of it is so hard. One young fellow got hit and he was lying there in the mud. He couldn't have been more than eighteen years old. That's a slightly different story but every time he'd breath, you could see bubbles coming out of the hole. He was shot through the lungs I guess. We got kicked off of that mountain. We finally came back and retook that mountain a couple of days later. The young fellow was still there, but by then he was dead. The gooks had taken the boots off his feet and whatever else they could pilfer from him while he was still there. It made me so mad, I thought, "Man." I'd called headquarters and told them, "We've got a wounded man up here to start with. You've got to come and get him." "Okay, Lieutenant, we're doing the best we can." I said, "Now!" To get into that place, we'd had to shoot our way in to get into it. That's another story. At any rate, we were in the Punch Bowl and we were just getting decimated. So they started a withdrawal. So I could see that they needed artillery. We needed to hold some of them back because they were already coming down on us. So I crawled way out 65 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6447phs/1028184 |
