| 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 44 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030236 |
| OCR Text |
Show DONALD G. JOHN ON PT MB R 14 2002 you didn't start measuring by the mile; you measured by the yard your advanc m nt. They had hedgerows for quite a ways. BB: How soon before you actually knew ... when was the defining moment that you realized that you were in it? You're in it? DGJ: I knew I was in it when the tank ramp dropped. To see what's going on, right there on that beach and all the rest of it was ahead of you, and you're there. No if, ands, buts, about it. We expect most anything and fortunately nothing happened. We got on the beach with no casualties, no nothing. It just worked out great as far as our particular unit was concerned. Got up into the hedgerows and still nothing happened. It was quite a while before our company, our battalion, actually, took a casualty. BB: So when you were even working in the hedgerows, still kind of a containment there, but there's forces in front of you, pushing through the hedgerows, kind of cleaning the way? DGJ: Yes. We were in a position to cover, in case a tank approaches, the best it could be covered. In case somebody tried breaking through, that was primarily what they set us up to do, was security. It was that way right up through Paris. Paris, we got detached again. We had been working with, I think it was the 1 ih Infantry Division, 117th or 17th. Anyway, it was one or the other. It was an infantry division that we were attached with. Then they sent us into what they call the Advanced Section Security Patrol and pulled us back. We set up, then, certain posts that if an Army bypassed a pocket and it was close to where we were, then we would go in and try to clean the pocket up. The only one I got involved in, there was four German soldiers and that was it. 43 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s62n74bg/1030236 |
