Oral History Interview with Gene Witt

Partial Transcript: . . . Interviewing Gene Witt--uh--who had three brothers that served in World War II.

Segment Synopsis: Gene Witt had three older brothers who served in WWII. His second eldest brother Estill Witt, served in the U.S. Navy from 1939 to 1945. During WWII, Estill Witt was assigned to the USS Yorktown and was involved in seven major battles in the Pacific theatre. Witt recalls listening to the news on the radio every night, read by famous broadcaster Lowell Thomas. In June of 1944, the USS Yorktown sunk and Witt's family did not know whether Estill Witt was dead or alive for a few weeks until they received a letter from him. The USS Yorktown was then recovered by General Nimintz and underwent repairs in preparation for service in the Battle of Midway. Estill Witt had jumped off the ship and was picked up by a rescue destroyer ship, swallowing a considerable amount of oil as he hit the water. Estill Witt was then transferred to Pensacola, Florida to finish his service and attained the rank of petty officer when he was discharged following the end of WWII. Gene Witt says that Estill did not like to talk about his experiences during WWII and it was apparent that his time in the service had taken a toll on his mental health. Estill Witt returned to his native Estill County and died in 2002.

Keywords: Estill Witt; Kenneth Witt; Ray Witt; USS Yorktown (Aircraft carrier : CV-5); Battle of the Coral Sea; Chester Nimitz; News

Subjects: Brothers; World War II; Kentucky; Kentuckians; United States. Navy; Japan; Nimitz, Chester W. (Chester William), 1885-1966; Battle of Midway National Memorial (Midway Islands); Radio; Thomas, Lowell; Uncertainty; Letters; Pensacola (Fla.); Mental health; Estill County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Next oldest brother was Ray Witt.

Segment Synopsis: Gene Witt's third eldest brother Ray Witt also served in the U.S. Navy. Witt reads from Ray Witt's autobiography for a significant portion of this segment. Ray Witt was on Main Street in Irvine when he learned about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Ray Witt then found out about a contest held by the American Legion to find five men who were willing to go aboard a submarine chaser. Ray Witt was one of the five men selected and was twenty when he enlisted in 1942. Ray Witt underwent a six-week boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center about an hour north of Chicago. Witt then boarded a destroyer in Philadelphia and served in a variety of places in the European theatre of WWII, including Ireland, Wales, and Sicily. Witt worked as an electrician in the Navy and detailed a harrowing incident in his autobiography about a piece of shrapnel almost hitting him during the Allied invasion of Sicily. Fortunately, Witt was unharmed and was discharged at the end of WWII.

Keywords: Ray Witt; Estill Witt; Kenneth Witt; Irvine High School (Irvine, Ky.); Estill County High School (Irvine, Ky.); Main Street (Irvine, Ky.); Military draft; Boot camp; USS Grenadier; Convoys; Allied invasion of Sicily; Shrapnel

Subjects: World War II; Brothers; Kentucky; Kentuckians; Irvine (Ky.); Estill County (Ky.); Autobiographies; High school; Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941; American Legion; Indiana; Submarines (Ships); Training; Great Lakes Naval Training Center (Great Lakes, Ill.); Philadelphia (Pa.); Galveston (Tex.); Morocco; Ireland; Gibraltar; Wales; Sicily (Italy); Sicily (Italy : Territory under Allied occupation, 1943-1947); Bombs; Electricians

Partial Transcript: Which brings us down to my other brother, Kenneth--Private Kenneth Witt.

Segment Synopsis: Gene Witt's fourth eldest brother Kenneth Witt was inducted into the U.S. Army at Fort Thomas, Kentucky in 1943. Witt became a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division, 501st Infantry, Company D. Witt was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia and received his parachute training there. Witt also received his wings badge at Camp MacKall, North Carolina. Witt served in England for about five months prior to being called into combat for the Invasion of Normandy. Witt was killed in action during the Invasion of Normandy, which was also later known as D-Day. Gene Witt says that he later found out his brother died in the arms of Chaplain Samson (who was captured and released by German troops). In the 1990s, Chaplain Samson wrote to Gene Witt detailing his brother's final moments. Witt remembers when his family received the news of his brother's death from a telegram. Kenneth Witt was initially buried at a cemetery in Normandy but his family put in a special request to have his remains moved to a cemetery closer to their Estill County home in 1947. A French woman who did not know Kenneth Witt prior to his death would place flowers on his grave in Normandy and eventually began exchanging letters with Witt's mother. Gene Witt speculates that the French woman may have been honoring the memory of his brother to express her gratitude towards the U.S. Military and its role in the liberation of France from Nazi control.

Keywords: Kenneth Witt; Ray Witt; Estill Witt; 101st Airborne Division; Paratroopers; Wings (badges); Invasion of Normandy; Chaplain Samson; Telegrams; West Irvine Cemetery (Irvine, Ky.); D-Day operation

Subjects: World War II; Kentucky; Brothers; Kentuckians; United States. Army; Fort Thomas (Ky.); North Carolina; Training; Parachutes; Fort Benning (Ga.); Camp MacKall (N.C.); England; Operation Overlord; Normandy (France); Normandy (France)--History; Chaplains; Sainte-Mère-Eglise (France); Manche (France); Letters; Nurses; Death; Casualties; Burial; French; Mother; Correspondence

Partial Transcript: . . . I served--uh--during the Korean War.

Segment Synopsis: Gene Witt served in the Navy for four years, including during the Korean War. Witt was aboard a landing ship tank (LST) and became involved in combat support. Witt remembers that the LST was difficult to maneuver, resulting in the ship getting stuck at various beaches. Witt was stationed on the Marshall Islands when the U.S. Military began nuclear weapons testing on Bikini Atoll during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Witt recalls watching the nuclear weapons testing and seeing a very bright light, accompanied by an unnerving feeling that he never wanted to see something like that again. Witt was ordered by the military not to talk about what he saw at Bikini Atoll and quips that Life Magazine knew more about the nuclear weapons testing operations than he did.

Keywords: Landing ship tank; MacArthur's Invasion; Arthur MacArthur; Combat support; Nuclear testing

Subjects: Kentucky; Kentuckians; Korean War, 1950-1953; United States. Navy; Korean War, 1950-1953--Amphibious operations; MacArthur, Arthur, 1896-; Marshall Islands; Bikini Atoll (Marshall Islands); Hydrogen bomb; Nuclear weapons; Brightness perception; Military intelligence

Partial Transcript: When your brothers came home, did they talk much about their experiences or were they rather quiet or?

Segment Synopsis: Gene Witt says that his brothers would come home on leave occasionally but did not like to talk about their experiences in the service because they were trying to enjoy their time off and relax. Witt has a picture of himself and Estill Witt on the USS Yorktown after it was decommissioned and docked at Charleston, South Carolina. Gene Witt reads a passage from his brother Ray's autobiography. Ray Witt was on leave in Manhattan in 1942 when he saw on a rolling news screen about the war in Times Square that the USS Yorktown had been sunk by the Japanese Navy. Gene Witt adds that the U.S. Navy wanted to keep the ship's sinking a secret as long as possible for security reasons. Ray Witt, like the rest of his family, did not know if their brother Estill had survived the sinking of the USS Yorktown. Gene Witt says that Estill struggled with mental health issues following the war.

Keywords: Estill Witt; Kenneth Witt; Ray Witt; USS Yorktown; News

Subjects: Brothers; World War II; Military leaves and furloughs; Kentucky; Kentuckians; Battle of Midway National Memorial (Midway Islands); New York (N.Y.); Newsreels; Ships; Times Square (New York, N.Y.); United States. Navy; Military intelligence; Uncertainty; Communications; Mental health; Veterans; Autobiographies

Partial Transcript: Now Kenneth, that was the paratrooper, you had pictures of that church . . . tell me that story.

Segment Synopsis: Gene Witt says that the 82nd Airborne Division landed at the small village of Sainte-Mère-Église erroneously, which was depicted in the movie "The Longest Day." Many paratroopers died as they landed on buildings in the village. Witt says one paratrooper lost his hearing when he landed on the village's Catholic Church very close to the church bells and another paratrooper was captured by the Germans as a prisoner of war. There is a tribute to the fallen paratroopers at the Sainte-Mère-Église Catholic Church in the form of a parachute sculpture on the roof. Townspeople worked to put out a fire as the paratroopers landed, which Witt thinks may have been caused by decoy paratrooper dummies bursting into flames as they fell. Kenneth Witt was part of the 101st Airborne Division and most likely participated in the paratrooper landing at Sainte-Mère-Église and he was initially buried at Sainte-Mère-Église. Gene Witt says that he still has his brother Kenneth's wings badge, which were colloquially known as the 'screaming eagles.'

Keywords: Kenneth Witt; The Longest Day (movie); Invasion of Normandy; Church of Sainte-Mère-Église; 82nd Airborne Division; Hearing loss; Paratroopers; Decoys; Catholic churches; 101st Airborne Division; Wings (badges); D-Day operation

Subjects: World War II; Kentucky; Kentuckians; Normandy (France); Normandy (France)--History; Brothers; Casualties; Sainte-Mère-Eglise (France); Manche (France); United States. Army; Death; Church bells; Parachutes; Memorials; Fire; Burial; Prisoners of war; Church; Operation Overlord

Partial Transcript: How old were you when your brothers went off to war?

Segment Synopsis: Gene Witt was nine when his second eldest brother Estill went into the Navy and was twelve and thirteen when his third and fourth eldest brothers Ray and Kenneth enlisted in 1942 and 1943, respectively. Witt enjoyed when his brothers came to visit on leave about two to three times per year when they were in the military, sometimes showing up announced. Witt says his brothers would travel back to the family's Estill County home on either a train or bus. Witt's fifth eldest brother Frank tried to enlist in the Navy but was turned down because a spot on his lungs was discovered during his physical examination. Witt says the spot on Frank's lung healed up about a week later but was still turned down by the Navy. The interviewer suggests that the Navy might have been concerned that the spot on Frank's lung was tuberculosis. Witt says that someone recently told him that unpasteurized milk can cause spotting on the lungs.

Keywords: Kenneth Witt; Estill Witt; Ray Witt; Trains; Frank Witt; Military draft; Physical examinations; Unpasteurized milk

Subjects: World War II; Brothers; Kentucky; Kentuckians; Veterans; Military leaves and furloughs; United States. Army; United States. Navy; Transportation; Buses--Motors; Health; Lungs--Abnormalities; Lungs; Milk; High school; Tuberculosis

Partial Transcript: So, there were five of you boys?

Segment Synopsis: Witt discusses his eldest brother Chester, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver at age twenty-one. Chester graduated from Irvine High School in 1935 when Gene Witt was five. There were six boys and two girls in Witt's family. Witt says his eldest sister died in 1979. Witt's eldest living sister Opal resides on the family homeplace in Estill County. Witt explains that himself, Opal, and Ray agreed to split ownership of the homeplace into thirds after they had inherited their parent's estate. Witt says he would like to visit Normandy someday to honor his brother Kenneth, who was killed in action at the Invasion of Normandy. Witt mentions that another veteran from Estill County traveled to Normandy every year and asked Witt to accompany him. Witt says he was unable to take up this offer because he was not retired yet. Witt also mentions that he still has his brother Kenneth's wings badge.

Keywords: Chester Witt; Kenneth Witt; Ray Witt; Estill Witt; Car accidents; Wings (badges); D-day operation

Subjects: Brothers; Siblings; Sisters; World War II; Irvine (Ky.); Estill County (Ky.); High school; Home; Death; Hit-and-run drivers; Property; Inheritance and transfer tax; Normandy (France); Veterans; Operation Overlord