| Title |
Alan W. Layton, Salt Lake City, Utah: an interview by Winston P. Erickson, August 29, 2000: Saving the Legacy tape nos. 94 & 95 |
| Alternative Title |
Alan W. Layton, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Layton, Alan W., 1917-2009 |
| Contributor |
Erickson, Winston P., 1943-; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2000-08-29 |
| 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 |
France; Germany; Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, United States |
| Subject |
Layton, Alan W., 1917-2009--Interviews; Veterans--Utah--Biography; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, 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 |
Battle of the Bulge; POWs' |
| Description |
Transcript (65 pages) of an interview by Winston Erickson with Alan W. Layton on August 29, 2000. From tape numbers 94 and 95 in the "Saving the Legacy" Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Layton (b. 1917) grew up in Oakley, Idaho. He discusses his early family life, schooling, jobs, and attending the University of Utah, where he participated in ROTC. He was called up to active duty and sent to Fort Ord, California, working on a survey crew. Assigned as a gunnery instructor at Fort Skill, Oklahoma, he joined the 770th Field Artillery Battalion. He entered combat at Brest, France, in late July 1944, and moved across France, Belgium, and to the German border. Injured by an exploding mine, he was evacuated to the States and eventually to Bushnell Hospital in Brigham City, Utah. He was separated from the Army in 1945, and subsequently started the Layton Construction Company. Interviewed by Winston Erickson. 65 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
65 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/s6g182wq |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Ardennes, Battle of the (1944-1945) |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1035424 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6g182wq |
| Title |
Page 15 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1035373 |
| OCR Text |
Show L W.L YTO 29 2000 WPE: Did you feel much anxiety that the US might becom invol d a thing h at d up in Europe? AWL: No, the earliest anxiety that we had as a country wa when he wa going into Czechoslovakia and Poland and just taking over. Plundering, if you please, tho e countries to build up Germany. [Editor's note: The international crisis over the German take-over of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia in 1938 came because England and France where required by treaty to come to the aid of Czechoslovakia. Germany's actions should have meant war then and there, but neither Britain nor France was prepared physically or psychologically for war. They instead betrayed the Sudentenland part of Czechoslovakia to Hitler, in exchange for Hitler's promise that this was all the territory he wanted. Hitler shortly took the rest of Czechoslovakia as well. This gave Hitler control of the massive Czech armament industry, which in tum produced most of the heavy panzers that blitzed across France a year and a half later.] WPE: So though you were in ROTC, you didn't feel like you might be drawn into the conflict? AWL: In June of '41, everybody who took ROTC in their senior year was automatically made (commissioned) a second lieutenant. It was $166 dollars a month plus quarters allowance. I owed a few hundred dollars at the bank that I'd borrowed. It was a solution. I went to the colonel and said, "I'm about twelve or fourteen hours short of my degree in civil engineering. I'm going to stay in school." He said, "No way. You're going on active duty." This was in June of '41. The minute that the Japs attacked on December 7, 1941, we were in the war with Japan and a short time (three days) later with Germany. Then we got a notice that said, "You're in for the duration of the war, plus six months." [Editor's note: By the fall of 1940, France had fallen and Britain stood alone, facing 15 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6g182wq/1035373 |
