| Title |
William H. Thompson, Salt Lake City, Utah: an interview by Winston P. Erickson, January 19, 2001: Saving the Legacy tape nos. 137 & 138 |
| Alternative Title |
William H. Thompson, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Thompson, William H., 1918-2001 |
| Contributor |
Erickson, Winston P., 1943-; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2001-01-19 |
| 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 |
Denmark; Hawaii; England; France; Germany |
| Subject |
Thompson, William H., 1918-2001--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; Latter Day Saint missionaries--Denmark; Dachau (Concentration camp); Germany--History--1945-1955 |
| Keywords |
Great Depression; National Guard; Island defense; Honolulu; 515th Field Artillery Battalion; Dachau; Allied occupation of Germany; Military engineers; Hill Field |
| Description |
Transcript (75 pages) of an interview by Winston Erickson with William H. Thompson on January 19, 2001. From tape numbers 137 and 138 in the "Saving the Legacy" Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Thompson (b. 1918) discusses his family, the Depression and schooling. He joined the National Guard at age sixteen. He recalls experiences in Europe before being evacuated back to the US. Thompson was reactivated in the Guard as a supply sergeant with the 145th Field Artillery, the 40th Infantry Division, in January 1941. He was shipped to Hawaii after Pearl Harbor for island defense. He was later returned to Camp Roberts to lead training and was then reassigned to the 515th Field Artillery Battalion and shipped to England and later crossed the channel, landing on Utah Beach in September 1944. He entered battle near the French/German border. He describes his activities and occupation duty in Dachau before discharge in 1945. He joined the National Guard in Utah and was called up for active duty during the Korean War, where he served stateside and in Germany in the 115th Engineering Battalion. Discharged in 1954, he was called up again during the Cuban Missile Crisis for one year. Mr. Thompson continued active in the National Guard and served as Assistant Adjutant General of the Guard for Utah. He worked in civilian positions at Hill Field for eighteen years before retiring. Interviewed by Winston Erickson. 75 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
75 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/s6t74khn |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Military operations, Artillery--American; Dachau (Concentration camp); Mormon missionaries--Denmark |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1035110 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6t74khn |
| Title |
Page 27 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1035061 |
| OCR Text |
Show WILLIAM H. THOMP ON J R 19,2001 BILL: Right. The gun crew rides right in with them. We had additional tractors that pulled trailers carrying the ammunition for the weapons too. This is the entire battalion and this is the battalion that was going into combat. We were at full strength here [looking at photo]. I'm standing here as the S-4 and service battery commander. [Editor 's note: A battalion S4 is the battalion staff officer in charge of logistics. (SJ is personnel, S3 is intelligence, S3 is operations, S5 is public affairs and S6 is communications).] This is the doctor, the C-Battery commander, the motor officer, the B-Battery commander, the A-Battery commander, and the headquarters battery commander. Then, of course, this is the battalion staff. I went to high school with this young officer here. He's from Salt Lake, Bill Tanner. And this is the doctor, and he commanded the medical detachment. We went from Fort Lewis, Washington, to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to finish off our training and prepare to go for overseas movement to Europe. I commanded a three-man advanced detachment going to Europe and left on the 20th of September from Fort Bragg and went to the port of embarkation in New York. WIN: Was this in '44? BILL: This was '44, yes. We staged at Fort Hamilton, New York. And finally the word came that we were to embark, and we were two captains and a corporal clerk. He was armed with a portable typewriter. And we were marched down to a landing at Fort Hamilton. We got on a small vessel. And this small vessel then went up the Hudson River to a huge ship. We went into a companion-way in the side of the ship. And the main deck was many stories above us. And it wasn't until we got aboard that we realized we were on the Queen Elizabeth with twenty thousand other troops. 27 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6t74khn/1035061 |
