| Title |
Donald G. Johnson, Salt Lake City, Utah: an interview by Benjamin J. Bahlmann, September 14, 2002: Saving the Legacy tape no. 600 |
| Alternative Title |
Donald G. Johnson, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Johnson, Donald G., 1924-2005 |
| Contributor |
Bahlmann, Benjamin J.; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2002-09-14 |
| 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 |
England, United Kingdom; France; Belgium; Germany |
| Subject |
Johnson, Donald G., 1924-2005--Interviews; Veterans--Utah--Biography; 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; Ardennes, Battle of the, 1944-1945--Personal narratives, American |
| Keywords |
ROTC; Tank Destroyer Battalion; D-Day; Battle of the Bulge; Remagen Bridge; Dachau |
| Description |
Transcript (72 pages) of an interview by Benjamin J. Bahlmann with Donald G. Johnson on September 14, 2002. From tape number 600 in the "Saving the Legacy" Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Johnson (b. 1924) shares stories of his upbringing in Salt Lake. He focuses on his time in the military, including his time in the ROTC at the University of Utah. JOhnson describes how his experiences in ROTC helped, but also caused a problem for him in basic training. When he was assigned to Field Artillery he was assigned to a French 75 artillery piece. There was no one who knew anything about the French 75. Mr Johnson knew about it, and taught student and cadre the ins and outs of the French. He was assigned to the 817th Tank Destroyer Battalion. He was first assigned to a half-track vehicle with the French 75 piece. Eventually he was assigned to an M18 Hellcat. He participated in D-Day, hitting Omaha Beach D+2 hours. He describes being surrounded by Germans, how they had to surrender, then about their escape from the shed the Germans had placed them in. He also recalls occupation duty following VE day. Interviewed by Benjamin Bahlmann. 72 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
72 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/s62n74bg |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Military operations, Artillery--American; Ardennes, Battle of the (1944-1945) |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030267 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s62n74bg |
| Title |
Page 15 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030207 |
| OCR Text |
Show DO ALD G. JOH 0 p R 14 20 2 DGJ: I didn t have time to get homesick. At basic of course having had R T training I was ahead of the guys that I was in with. I found while the sergeants utilized my knowledge and my training, they didn't like it anyway. So I, through a great extent, in basic I helped in the close order drills and teaching manuals on arms and things of this nature. At the end of basic when we got assigned our big gun, which turned out to be a French 75 to start with, there wasn't anybody, officers and anybody else other than myself that had had anything to do with the French 75. I got it at the University. BB: So the ROTC at the University, they were an artillery group? DGJ: Yes. So through that first quarter I learned the French 75 pretty thoroughly. So then to make matters worse, I got called into the colonel's office ... BB: Are you still in Camp Bowie at this time? DGJ: Yes, still Bowie. We were due to be moved but we were still at Bowie. And the colonel quizzed me about the 75, and he didn't even know anything about the 75, the smallest they had, of course, as far as big guns were concerned was a big coastal artillery gun. So he says, well, you're going to teach the battalion the French 75. I said, "Oh, thanks a bunch." So as a private I wound up in a class of colonels, majors, captains, and lieutenants, and all the high NCOs to learn the French 75. So that's what I did. BB: So they had to teach and instruct in the French 75, but no increase in ... DGJ: Not at that time. BB: So, then, I was still instructing the 75 when we got orders to move for our advanced training. We went to what was then Camp Hood, now Fort Hood, an armored base. BB: What state? 14 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s62n74bg/1030207 |
