Oral History Interview with Robert M. McClure

Partial Transcript: "At this volume I think should be able to hear you okay. Why don't you just state your name and where you're from..."

Segment Synopsis: Introduction to R McClure, Veteran, Retired police officer. Intro of interviewer

Keywords: 1924; Fellowship Baptist Church; Linton, Indiana; Police Officer, ret.; Robert M. McClure; Verteran

Subjects: Korean War, 1950-1953.; Veteran; World War II, 1939-1945

Partial Transcript: "What branch of service were you in? Army"

Segment Synopsis: Describes military service promotions during WWII through Korean War. National Guard insistent offer after Korea.

Keywords: Armory in Linton, In; Army; First calvary; Korean War; Master Sargent; National Guard; Platoon Sargent; Promotion; Reserves; Rifle company; Seventh regiment; Staff Sargent; Third battalion; World War II

Subjects: Korean War, 1950-1953.; National guard; World War II, 1939-1945

Partial Transcript: "Let's get back to the beginning, Tell me a bit about where you are up, your childhood. Remind me again where were you born?"

Segment Synopsis: Talks of early life on parents farm. Didn't pass school due to work. Recalls Pearl Harbor. Describes enlistment.

Keywords: 45 automatic; Color blind; Cotton; Draft board; Education; farm deferment; Farmer; Fort Benjamin Harris; Fort Knox (Ky.); Fort Riley; Great Depression; Hickman Co (Ky.); Highway 307; Horse calvary; Lenny McClure; M1 rifle; Paducha (Ky.); Pearl Harbor; Pigs; school; Squirrel hunting; Tobacco; Transportation; Truant officer; US Army

Subjects: Cotton.; Fort Benjamin Harrison (Ind.); Fort Knox (Ky.); Fort Riley (Kan.); Great Depression; Hickman County (Ky.); Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941.; Tobacco

Partial Transcript: "How did you feel when you were at basic training? Were you excited, were you home sick?"

Segment Synopsis: Describes feelings and processes of basic training for US Army during WWII. Describes training with horses for calvary. Stories of fellow soldiers struggles with basic training. McClure breaks range record. Dog Robbers are army aides.

Keywords: Basic training; Boxing; Dog Robbers; Fullerton (Ky.); Grenade; Horses; Marching; Marriage; Pepsi; Target practice

Subjects: Basic training (Military education); Boxing.; Pepsi-Cola Company; World War II

Partial Transcript: "Did this reputation for being able to defend yourself, did that carry over into the military?"

Segment Synopsis: McClure discusses his reputation for fighting during his time in the Army. Talks of one experience with a dirty fighter. Describes experience with drunk commanding officer. Worked as Stable police in Calvary unit.

Keywords: .03 Rifle; Boxing; Enlisted Man's Club; Fort Riley (Ks.); Golden Glove Champion; Horses; New Guinea; Second Platoon; Stable police

Subjects: Boxing.; Fort Riley (Kan.); New Guinea.; World War II

Partial Transcript: "So there were African Americas at this basic training camp with you, as well?"

Segment Synopsis: McClure discusses his experiences with women in service and fellow African American soldiers. McClure's sister was in service. Soldiers described WACs as whores. Talks about shipping out after basic. Describes downtime - service club, wrestling, bar fight.

Keywords: 112th Calvary; 11th Airborne; African American soldiers; barracks; calvary unit; Camp Drake, Japan; Fort Ord (Ca.); Golden Gate Bridge; Lieutenant Dawson; Military Police; MPs; New Guinea; San Fransisco (Ca.); Second Squadron; service club; WAC; Women in Service; Women's Army Corps

Subjects: Fort Ord (Calif.); Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco, Calif.); Japan.; Military police; New Guinea.; San Francisco Bay Area (Calif.); Women's Army Corps (U.S.)

Partial Transcript: "Sounds like you were very proud to be in the Calvary?" "Well, you know that was the outfit we was in, I figured everybody would hold up for whatever outfit they was in..."

Segment Synopsis: Attempted to volunteer for 11th Airborne. 1st Calvary in Korea. Disease from contaminated bathing water. A recon mission in Japan. Accidental shooting in camp. 81 mortar feeder during combat.

Keywords: 112th Calvary; 11th airborne; 81 mortar; 90 mortar; bathing; C troupe; Captain Thomas (Tn.); disease; Dranmore River; First Squadron; Friendly fire; hygiene; James Elwood Shaver; Korean War; Landing Craft Infantry; LCI; M1; Military Police; MPs; New Guinea; reconnaissance; Second Squadron; Tommy Gun; volunteer

Subjects: Friendly fire (Military science); Korean War, 1950-1953.; New Guinea.; World War II

Partial Transcript: "On our previous interview, we spoke about your experiences growing up and in basic trading and things like that."

Segment Synopsis: Transportation into the Pacific Theatre via Oro Bay, New Guinea.

Keywords: 11th Airborne division; 5th replacement depot; Alligator tank; Boyd Clark (Tn.); Camp Stoneman (Ca.); Landing Vehicle Tracked; LVT; Milne Bay, New Guinea; Oro Bay, New Guinea; Yellow Fever; Yellow Jaundice

Subjects: Camp Stoneman (Pittsburg, Calif.); Landing vehicles, Tracked; LVTs (Amphibian tractors); Milne Bay (Papua New Guinea); New Guinea.; World War II; Yellow fever.

Partial Transcript: "You got to Leyte, do you remember roughly when that was?"

Segment Synopsis: Talks about cooking, food, and special rations. Combat mission at Dog Hill. Took boots from a dead soldier. Took flag and gold Buddha dead from Japanese soldier.

Keywords: 112th Calvary; 32 division; 32nd division; 38th division; 77th division; Buddha; C 47; C rations; C troupe; candy bars; D troupe; Dog Hill; food; Ipo Dam; Jungle rot; K rations; Leyte, Phillipenes; Luzon, Philippines; Manila, Luzon; rations; Red Cap Ale; Santa Maria Valley; soda pop; souvenir; Tank destroyers; TDs

Subjects: Buddha.; Candy.; Leyte Gulf, Battle of, Philippines 1944.; Leyte Island (Philippines); Luzon (Philippines); Manila (Philippines); Soda; World War II

Partial Transcript: "What was that like being under fire from artillery? How was that different from the other kinds combat that you have been in?"

Segment Synopsis: Describes unexploded mortar, with no injuries. Near miss with an anti-tank gun. Hit in the back with shrapnel, long term effects. Illness due to contaminated water from caribou wallow with no hospital care. Out of body/near death experience. Reunite with 112th calvary after hospital. Cut by combat wire. Brother was a combat engineer at Normandy. Describes confronting more soldiers about WACs.

Keywords: 28th evacuation hospital; 30 cal water-cooled machine gun; 43rd division; 6x6 vehicle; Anti-tank gun; Antipolo, Philippines; BAR; Battle of the Buldge; Browning Automatic Rifle; Captain Fyke; Caribou; combat wire; D-Day; Death; European theatre; fatigues; fever; field hospital; head quarters; headache; heart surgery; Heavy 31 machine gun; Hillbilly; hospital; HQ; Jeep; Lorn Stewart (Ok.); Manila; Mortar; mosquito netting; mosquitos; Normandy; Pasig, Philippines; Pig valve; Pilipino jail; Shrapnel; tongue swelling; VA; Veterans Affairs; WAC; water; women in service

Subjects: Antipolo (Philippines); Browning automatic rifle; Jeep automobile; Manila (Philippines); Normandy (France); Pasig River (Luzon, Philippines); World War II

Partial Transcript: "Were there people who, I mean, how did you all feel about the replacements in general? Were there people who were very mean towards them and condescending?"

Segment Synopsis: Describes night raid/ambush. Talks about the ages of fellow soldiers. First usage of helicopters used for medical evac at Luzon. Recalls bombing of Hiroshima, 84% casualties. Saw signing of peace treaty with Japan.

Keywords: "Maggie's Drawers"; "old Model"; 45 carbine pistol; 77th division; amphibious training; Antipolo, Philippines; bomb; Crane Ammunition Depot; Cutts Compensator Tommy Gun; FOP; helicopters; Hiroshima; illumination flare; Peace Treaty; replacements; Searchlight Battalion; Tokyo; Tommy gun

Subjects: Antipolo (Philippines); Atomic bomb.; Hiroshima Bay (Japan); Tokyo (Japan); World War II

Partial Transcript: "How did you get from Luzon to Tokyo?" "From Luzon, on a ship, a troop ship."

Segment Synopsis: Man overboard instance. Thoughts on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Watched Surrender Ceremony from onboard ship with binoculars. Describes reactions of Japanese citizens and soldiers at the end of war. Personal impressions of Japan. Fraternization with Japanese soldiers after the war. Exit of the Pacific theatre to Tacoma, WA. Describes uniform. - Tech issues replays earlier portion on interview - First Calvary reunion. Private busted to recruit after court martial, fined $10.00.

Keywords: "please don't rain" cap; Bomb; busted rank; court martial; Eisenhower jacket; GI uniform; Hiroshima; Japan; Lifesaver; MacArthur; Nagasaki; R and R; Radios; Reunion; surrender; Tacoma (Wa.); Tojo; USS Missouri; whiskey

Subjects: Hiroshima Bay (Japan); MacArthur, Douglas, 1880-1964.; Nagasaki-ken (Japan).; Tojo, Hideki, 1884-1948.

Partial Transcript: "Well, can I tell you anything else? Well if you want, well you had spoken a little bit going to a reunion down in Georgia for the First Calvary. Have you stayed involved in any kind of veterans organizations?"

Segment Synopsis: Discusses veterans organizations and benefits. Talks about the native people of the Pacific - language, trade goods, money, culture, dislike of Japanese, favored US. Discusses prisoners of war. Thoughts on killing.

Keywords: "Fuzzy Wuzzys"; Australians; Battle of the Bulge; culture; DAV; Disabled American Veterans; Japanese; Kamikaze; Language; Luzon; New Guinea; Normandy, France; Oro Bay; Philippines; POWs; prisoners; Prisoners of War; VFW

Subjects: Disabled American Veterans; Japan.; Kamikaze; Normandy (France); Prisoner of war; Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States; World War II

Partial Transcript: "I think the lord took care of us guys. What role did your religion play while you were in the war?"

Segment Synopsis: Talks about religion/faith during war. Talks about trying to save fellow soldiers. Describes Chaplin on Luzon that had a Jeep with an organ. Chaplin carried a .45. Instance of Japanese Imperial Marines wearing GI uniforms. - tech issues, repeat of story about reunion and demotion and VFW -

Keywords: 91 psalms; Bible; Chaplin; Christian; Church services; Communion; Faith; Jeep; Missionary; Organ (Inst.); Testament

Subjects: Bible.; Communion; Japan.; Jeep automobile; Missionary; Religion.; World War II

Partial Transcript: "They feeding' me I've got a cot to sleep on, what else can ya ask for?"

Segment Synopsis: Talks about how he was awarded the Bonze Star. Helped soldiers cross a flooded stream covered in combat wire. Volunteered for several risky missions. Police office with high arrest record. K-9 unit. Shot at with a bow and arrow. Was a deputy sheriff in Green Co. A town councilman for 12 years.

Keywords: Bronze Star; combat wire; Councilman; Crane Ammunition Depot; Deputy Sheriff; Green Co,; Ipo Dam; K-9 unit; Leyte, Philipines; police officer; Sheriff; volunteered

Subjects: Bronze Star Medal (U.S.); Green Co., Ky.; Leyte (Philippines)