Interview Summaries
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Special Collections Division Nashville Public Library 615 Church Street Nashville, TN 37219 Veterans History Project Interview Summaries Disclaimer on Veterans History Project Collection Materials – (Historical Accuracy and Reliability in Personal Accounts) The Library of Congress [and the Nashville Public Library] does not verify the accuracy of the accounts described herein by participants in the Veterans History Project. Individual stories are voluntarily submitted to the Veterans History Project and are placed in the Library's permanent collections as received. These histories are the personal recollections and perspectives of participating individuals and are not intended as a substitute for an official record of the federal government or of military service. (based upon a statement from the American Folklife Center at Library of Congress, May 15, 2008; http://www.loc.gov/vets/vets-disclaimer.html) A Note on Indexes and Transcripts Created by Nashville Public Library: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of transcripts and indexes created to accompany recorded interviews produced by the Nashville Public Library. However, errors of misunderstood words, misspellings, or other mistakes may remain. Researchers are advised to always compare the transcript to the original audio recording for utmost accuracy. Researchers may also wish to consult other third-party resources to further ensure accurate spellings of names, military terms or acronyms, geographic locations, or other information contained in transcripts and oral histories. Veterans History Project Veterans History Project Main Finding Aid Special Interest Categories World War II Index Biographical sketches of people who served as interviewers for this project on a regular basis can be found at the end of this finding aid. VHP - Interview Summaries Page 1 of 142 Last updated: 12/20/2016 JAMES M. ADAMS, older brother of Mozelle (Adams) Core, served in the Army Air Corps in Africa, Italy and England with the 14th Troop Carrier Squadron, 61st Troop Carrier Group during World War II. He grew up in Cedar Hill, in rural Robertson County, Tennessee, and he speaks about his family’s operation of a general store there during the Depression. He was drafted in 1940, and was on an airbase in Dothan, Alabama when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He tells about how five men, including himself, had to “scatter” all the planes on the base, in case of attack. Adams was among the troops sent to North Africa. Adams’ main duties were to diagnose and repair malfunctioning parts on C-47 transport planes. These planes carried cargo and supplies to and from bases. Adams speaks at length about his experiences in Algeria, including health issues related to poor nutrition, the joy of obtaining fresh fruit, R&R at the Isle of Capri, and living conditions in the desert. He also tells about several instances of close calls or friends who died in accidents – showing that death and danger were present well behind the frontlines in “secure” areas, as well. During the invasion of Sicily, planes from his base carried paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, and were fired upon mistakenly by U.S. naval vessels. After serving for a time in Italy, his unit was sent to England. Prior to the invasion of Normandy, a number of planes were grounded due to a faulty solenoid. Adams diagnosed the problem and found a makeshift, but effective solution to the problem, getting the planes in his squadron up and running. Other squadrons were having similar problems, and he taught them his solution. For this work, he was awarded the Bronze Star. These aircraft were used to pull glider planes during the invasion. After VE day, Adams was sent to Natal, Brazil, where there were constant flights into the base from Europe, by way of Africa, and from Brazil to the United States, as troops, equipment, and supplies were being sent back to the United States in the aftermath of the war. When Adams returned home, he went to work in his father’s grocery store in Madison, Tennessee, and helped put his younger siblings through school at Vanderbilt. (Approx. 2 hrs. Interview date: Oct. 16, 2007. Digital recording: VHPAdamsJ (MP3 file). Transcript #518. Interviewer: Linda Barnickel) MOZELLE ADAMS – see Mozelle (Adams) Core DOMINICK AKINS is a Vietnam War veteran who served in the U.S. Army from July 1965 to September 1968 during which he served two tours of duty in Vietnam. He grew up and went to school in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. In the summer of 1965 when he completed high school, he decided to enlist in the Army rather than be drafted. His goal was to become a paratrooper and after completing Basic Training and Advanced Infantry Training at Ft. Gordon, Georgia, he was sent to Jump School at Ft. Benning, Georgia. Upon completion of Jump School he was sent to Vietnam. Even though he held a jump badge and wanted to be assigned to an airborne unit, the Army assigned him to an infantry unit instead. A major portion of his story deals with his first tour in Vietnam. He VHP - Interview Summaries Page 2 of 142 Last updated: 12/20/2016 talks in some detail about his experience of being assigned to a unit not far from the Cambodian border (and also not far from the Ho Chi Minh Trail) where they were frequently involved in fire fights. The heaviest of these occurred about two months after he arrived in country. During several of these fire fights he saw several of his buddies die. “It was almost inevitable that someone was going to get killed,” he said. After completing his first tour, he was assigned to the 82nd Airborne at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina and remained there for almost a year. Then, he was reassigned to Vietnam, arriving there during the Tet Offensive of 1968. In another bit of irony, he was again assigned to another infantry unit, this time one based up in the mountains. The interview stops abruptly at this point because Mr. Akins’ had a previously-scheduled appointment with one of the service-support groups at Operation Stand Down. Therefore, there is very little discussion of his experiences during his second tour in Vietnam, and the effects his Vietnam experience had on him. (approx. 1 hr. 30 min. Interview dates: Oct. 14, 2006 and Dec. 5, 2006. VHP TAPES #359 & 360. Index available. Also available on CD in standard audio format. Interviewer: Larry Patterson. Interview was conducted on October 14, 2006 at a special annual event hosted by Operation Stand Down.*) In a second interview conducted two months later, Mr. Akins begins with his second tour in Vietnam. Because of his previous experiences there, he did not want to go back, knowing the likelihood of getting killed. While he says that he felt the battles in which he was involved during his second tour were not as intense as those he experienced during his first —partly because he now knew what to expect —he also comments about not seeing much change in the situation there. It “seemed like there was no end” to the fighting, he said. He also talks about the effects the Vietnam experience had him. On the positive side, he said that he “became a man” during his first tour, at age 19, when his squad leader was killed and he realized no one would take care of him. It was his responsibility to take care of himself. On the negative side, he talks at length about how he has been affected by PTSD, which manifested itself in the form of flashbacks, night sweats, substance abuse, and divorce. He was diagnosed with PTSD just a few years before this interview. As he described how the memories of the Vietnam experience continue to linger, he noted that it has been almost 40 years since his Vietnam experience and yet “I can still remember things “as if they happened two weeks ago.” (approx. 1 hr. 5 min. Interview date: Dec. 2006. VHP TAPES #361 & 362. Index available. Also available on CD in standard audio format. Interviewer: Larry Patterson.) BEN COOPER ALEXANDER, trained and ordained as a Methodist minister in the Tennessee Conference, entered the US Navy from his reserve unit into active duty as a Naval chaplain. He served on active duty in two time periods, March 1944 to June 1947; and June 1951 to June 1953. He continued serving with a Naval Reserve unit until March 1970. He described his experience as a VHP - Interview Summaries Page 3 of 142 Last updated: 12/20/2016 Navy chaplain, based first on land (San Diego and Pearl Harbor); and subsequently on ship duty in the Pacific theatre of operations. His ship duty during the Korean war took him to Yokosuka, Japan, where his ship gave support to U.S. troops then fighting in Korea. Neither he nor his ship was engaged in direct conflict or battle with the enemy, but he provided preaching, worship opportunities, teaching, coaching, and counseling while on board ship. Although he was unaware of it at the time, due to tight security, he later found out that President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower and his party of aides and officials were aboard his flagship cruiser, the U.S.S. Helena (CA-75) in the Pacific during the Korean War. An especially memorable event for Alexander, serving in his role as chaplain, was collecting from the sailors on board ship a large amount of clothes, food, blankets, and similar items to be donated to a Korean children's service center. This effort had been arranged by a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army. Alexander said he had never seen an Army sergeant cry, but this one did when he was overwhelmed with the amount of goods donated by the Naval personnel.