Description
Object description
Two booklets of his memoirs, 'Aid Man!' (130pp, printed 1970) and 'Recollect and Ponder, Part I' (65pp, printed 1994), including his poems and letters to his parents, recording his experiences as a Combat Aid Man (Combat Medic) with the E Company, 2nd Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment (30th US Division) in the USA and in North West Europe (October 1942 - 1945), including enlisting and volunteering for combat medical service (October 1942); his basic training at Camp Blanding in Florida (no dates, but from late 1942); manoeuvres at Camp Forrest in the mountains of Tennessee (no dates, but 1943); Camp Atterbury, Indiana (no dates, but October 1943 – January 1944); Camp Miles Standish for embarkation overseas (winter 1943); the voyage in the liner ARGENTINA to the UK (February 1944); preparing for D-Day in Bognor Regis in Sussex and near Oxford(February 1944 – June 1944); on active service in France, landing as reserves on Omaha Beach in Normandy (June 1944) and the subsequent advance on Cherbourg, St Lo and Mortain (June 1944 – August 1944); his capture during the German counter-attack on Mortain (August 1944) and evacuation to a reception centre at Limburg in Belgium and then to a POW camp; his captivity as a prisoner of war (POW) in Stalag IIIC at Kuestrin (winter 1944 – January 1945); liberation by Soviet troops and repatriation to the USA via Odessa and Naples (no dates); working at the base hospital at Fort Belvoir, Virginia until demobilisation (no dates, but 1945) dealing with a polio epidemic; and commenting on army life, notably his training as a medic, the conditions, the types of ailments and the treatments notably Army foot discipline preventing blisters etc, snake and insect bites, his fellow soldiers, the boredom, the rations and Cherokee Indian scouts; life in England; Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery; his first casualty; the heavy casualties and loss of friends; the killing of local livestock; his medical equipment; the treatment and types of wounds he encountered; the introduction of sulphonamides and antibiotics; German shelling and snipers; the mental breakdown of some troops who were threatened with court martial; wandering the battlefield to treat and evacuate the wounded; the modification of methods taught in training in the harsh reality of the battlefield; the effects of modern weapons on the human body; burial and stench of the dead; his narrow escapes from death; the German attitude towards medics and the Geneva Conventions; the destruction in Normandy; his treatment on becoming a prisoner; life as a POW, notably the conditions, the shortages of food and fuel, the hunger, battering with the Germans for supplies, Red Cross visits and parcels; relations with and the behaviour of Russian troops, notably women serving as soldiers; celebrating VJ Day; reflecting on his wartime service; and mentioning Major General Leland S Hobbs (30th US Division) and witnessing the death of Lieutenant General Lesley J McNair (Deputy Chief General Staff, US Army) when bombed by American aircraft at St Lo (July 1944). Also included is a ts booklet of poems (60pp, printed 1995) relating to his service with the 30th US Division and as a POW.
Content description
Two booklets of his memoirs, 'Aid Man!' (130pp, printed 1970) and 'Recollect and Ponder, Part I' (65pp, printed 1994), including his poems and letters to his parents, recording his experiences as a Combat Aid Man (Combat Medic) with the E Company, 2nd Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment (30th US Division) in the USA and in North West Europe (October 1942 - 1945), including enlisting and volunteering for combat medical service (October 1942); his basic training at Camp Blanding in Florida (no dates, but from late 1942); manoeuvres at Camp Forrest in the mountains of Tennessee (no dates, but 1943); Camp Atterbury, Indiana (no dates, but October 1943 – January 1944); Camp Miles Standish for embarkation overseas (winter 1943); the voyage in the liner ARGENTINA to the UK (February 1944); preparing for D-Day in Bognor Regis in Sussex and near Oxford(February 1944 – June 1944); on active service in France, landing as reserves on Omaha Beach in Normandy (June 1944) and the subsequent advance on Cherbourg, St Lo and Mortain (June 1944 – August 1944); his capture during the German counter-attack on Mortain (August 1944) and evacuation to a reception centre at Limburg in Belgium and then to a POW camp; his captivity as a prisoner of war (POW) in Stalag IIIC at Kuestrin (winter 1944 – January 1945); liberation by Soviet troops and repatriation to the USA via Odessa and Naples (no dates); working at the base hospital at Fort Belvoir, Virginia until demobilisation (no dates, but 1945) dealing with a polio epidemic; and commenting on army life, notably his training as a medic, the conditions, the types of ailments and the treatments notably Army foot discipline preventing blisters etc, snake and insect bites, his fellow soldiers, the boredom, the rations and Cherokee Indian scouts; life in England; Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery; his first casualty; the heavy casualties and loss of friends; the killing of local livestock; his medical equipment; the treatment and types of wounds he encountered; the introduction of sulphonamides and antibiotics; German shelling and snipers; the mental breakdown of some troops who were threatened with court martial; wandering the battlefield to treat and evacuate the wounded; the modification of methods taught in training in the harsh reality of the battlefield; the effects of modern weapons on the human body; burial and stench of the dead; his narrow escapes from death; the German attitude towards medics and the Geneva Conventions; the destruction in Normandy; his treatment on becoming a prisoner; life as a POW, notably the conditions, the shortages of food and fuel, the hunger, battering with the Germans for supplies, Red Cross visits and parcels; relations with and the behaviour of Russian troops, notably women serving as soldiers; celebrating VJ Day; reflecting on his wartime service; and mentioning Major General Leland S Hobbs (30th US Division) and witnessing the death of Lieutenant General Lesley J McNair (Deputy Chief General Staff, US Army) when bombed by American aircraft at St Lo (July 1944). Also included is a ts booklet of poems (60pp, printed 1995) relating to his service with the 30th US Division and as a POW.
History note
Cataloguer SNR