| Title |
Frederick T. Baird, Provo, Utah: an interview by Benjamin Bahlmann, August 30, 2002: Saving the Legacy tape nos. 528 & 527 |
| Alternative Title |
Frederick T. Baird, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Baird, Frederick T., 1924- |
| Contributor |
University of Utah. American West Center; Bahlmann, Benjamin J. |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2002-08-30 |
| 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 |
Germany |
| Subject |
Baird, Frederick T., 1924- --Interviews; Veterans--Utah--Biography; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; World War, 1939-1945--Military operations, American; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Europe, Northern--Personal narratives, American |
| Keywords |
Army Air Corps; Marines |
| Description |
Transcript (81 pages) of an interview by Benjamin Bahlmann with Frederick T. Baird on August 30, 2002. From tape numbers 322 and 333 in the "Saving the Legacy" Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Baird (b. 1924) describes his childhood and life on a Utah farm. After enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1943 and receiving basic training in Texas, he was assigned to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, as a records clerk, then to Columbus, Mississippi. During December 1944, he was reassigned to the infantry for European duty and shipped eventually near Aachen, Germany, for combat with the 52nd Armored Infantry Battalion, 9th Armored Division, operating from a half-track. He discusses his combat experiences. At the end of the war, was assigned occupation duty in Munich, where he returned to records management with the 39th Machine Records Unit. He was discharged in 1946. Mr. Baird worked thirty-four years for Geneva Steel before retiring in 1984. Interviewed by Benjamin Bahlmann. 81 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
81 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/s64q9x2g |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945) |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030066 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s64q9x2g |
| Title |
Page 51 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030035 |
| OCR Text |
Show FREDERICK T. BAIRD 0, 2002 FTE: Ye , we were told that we were doing it. So we were kind of watching and looking around. We'd looked in all the cupboard and looked everywhere. Like y u e them do, taking everything we could see for ouvenir or whatever. When we found thi cache in there, one of the old soldiers was mad. Whoever wanted what, we ju t took it. We had it all there in a pile. When she came that night. He just pointed to that stuff that we had found and she just went white as a ghost. He turned her around and gave her a kick so hard that she just flew through the air and hit the ground. He was creaming and hollering at her. BB: What made him so mad? FTE: They'd tried to hide their stuff from us. They hid their guns and valuables from us. She was coming over to check the stuff every night, to see if we'd found it. BB: Were their weapons there, too. FTE: Oh, yes. There were some guns and stuff there that they 'd had. [Editor 's note: Germans in occupied towns had to turn in all their guns, including sporting rifles, and shotguns and other equipment that could be used for military purposes like telescopes and binoculars. The Gls simply took their pick of these, the rest were destroyed.] That just set him off. He really went after her. She never came back again. BB: You had the luxury of driving in a vehicle. At what point did you start picking up things? The senior people in your squad, is that what they'd done from the beginning? FTE: Yes, and we had a lot of prisoners and they could have all that stuff with them. BB: You shook them down? FTE: Yes. We'd take their guns and stuff that we wanted and just put it under our seats in the half-track. The rest of it, their guns and stuff, they had to leave them there in a pile and we just sent them on. 51 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s64q9x2g/1030035 |
