| Title |
Kenyon E. Graff, Orem, Utah: an interview by Benjamin Bahlmann, November 1, 2002: Saving the Legacy tape no. 610 |
| Alternative Title |
Kenyon E. Graff, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Graff, Kenyon E., 1924- |
| Contributor |
Bahlmann, Benjamin J.; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2002-11-01 |
| 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 |
Wales; France; Germany; England, United Kingdom |
| Subject |
Graff, Kenyon E., 1924- --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; Falaise Gap, Battle of, France, 1944 |
| Keywords |
D-Day; Cannon Company; Falaise Pocket |
| Description |
Transcript ( 62 pages) of an interview by Benjamin Bahlmann with Kenyon E. Graff on November 1, 2002. From tape number 610 in the "Saving the Legacy" Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Graff (b. 1924) discusses growing up in Hurricane, Utah, during the Depression. He was drafted into the Army in 1943 and was inducted at Fort Douglas, Utah, before being sent to Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi, for basic training with the 63rd Division. He was transferred to Fort Dix, New Jersey, with the 90th Division, 359th Regiment, Cannon Company. They were shipped to Liverpool, England, and then to Abergavenny for additional training. Graff provides a description of the training and his duties on the cannon. He participated in the D-Day invasion at Utah Beach on D-plus two. He was wounded and spent approximately five weeks in a field hospital before rejoining his company. They moved with the front line to Germany, where they were attached to the 3rd Battalion. They participated in the Battle of the Bulge activities near Dillengen, Germany. Graff was sent back to England with injuries resulting from trench foot, had his appendix removed, and returned to New York on V-E Day. He spent time in hospitals in Auburn and San Francisco, California, before being rehabilitated at Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was discharged from there in November 1945. Graff spent his post-military career working for Geneva Steel. Interviewed by Benjamin Bahlmann. 62 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
62 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/s6km1dxf |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Military operations, Artillery--American; Falaise Gap, Battle of (France : 1944) |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030746 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6km1dxf |
| Title |
Page 22 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030704 |
| OCR Text |
Show KENYON E. GRAFF 1 V B R 2002 around. But we couldn't let him put them shells into the cannon. He wasn t capabl aft r that. We had another job for him. That was just too much for him. If they d hit th nd f that, they'd blown us all up. You had to be sure on foot and then you had to put it in that opening that's that big around and your hand in there. All of us had got killed if they hit the point of that thing, because it was ready to explode then. BB: So how much training did you have in Wales, there? KEG: Oh, three or four weeks, I guess, at least. BB: Back then, of course, I don't know of many artillery men who worked with ear plugs at the time. KEG: Oh, sometimes we'd put them in or use cotton or whatever you could find. Never heard of the plugs; we didn't have anything like tha~. BB: So you were over there, then, in Spring of '44. Are there rumors of the invasion? KEG: Well, we kind of knew it was coming. We had different generals visit us. You seen so much materiel there, everywhere you looked, you had American armed forces there everywhere. So it had to go somewhere. BB: Did you have any occasion to interact with the British people? Or the Welsh people in the area? KEG: We went to dances. It was quite a bit of fun. BB: What did you think of the people there and the way they talked, etc. Was it quite a different experience? KEG: Yes, I found that people's sense of humor's much different than ours. I went to a couple of movies and they were just rolling in the aisle; it didn't have enough to even get a smile out of me, but they ... 21 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6km1dxf/1030704 |
