voices of veterans newsletter summer 2012

7/31/2019 Voices of Veterans Newsletter Summer 2012

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My Fellow Veterans:

Five generations of my family

have served in times of war. As a

former Marine and Vietnam veteran,

I know every veteran has a story

to tell. The Texas Veterans Land

Board Voices of VeteransTM program

wants to preserve as many of

these important oral histories as

possible. Through these stories of

bravery, fear and fellowship, future

generations of Texans can learn

lessons not found in any textbook

like what it means to sacrifice for a

cause greater than yourself, and how

to face adversity against great odds.

Free to any Texas veteran,the Voicesof VeteransTM program provides a

lasting legacy for historians, friends

and family members, and helps us to

honor and remember the sacrifices of

all Texas veterans.

Semper Fi,

JERRY PATTERSON,

Chairman

Texas Veterans

Land Board

Veteran Spotlight

The Battle o Okinawa was

largest amphibious operation

the Pacifc Theater o WWII

resulted in the deaths o o

95,000 Japanese and 12,

Americans during its bloody

intense 82 days o fghting.

two Texas veterans, their t

fghting together on the island

U.S. Marines remains a defn

moment o their lives and

created a strong bond t

remains over 66 years later. Cl

Thompson and Chester Brown recently shared their memories with

Voices o Veterans oral history program.

Clovis Thompson, a native o Paducah, Texas, served as a corporal in Marine Corps inantry

I had lost three lieutenants during this period o time rom one hill to the other, but as

would have it I was still alive, but I had lost three lieutenants. So they brought in a lieute

named Chester D. Brown. We moved up on this hill ... and then right there in ront o us

a sudden we saw a pu o smoke come out o the ground. We knew what it was. We kn

was a mortar coming out o there, and o course they knew where we were because we

pushing them back. Those mortars come down and theyd holler that Tommys hit, Jo

dead, Ed Dunnin is dead, and so I said theyre going kill us all i we dont do something ...

get the machine guns up here. So he (Lt. Brown) called back and got a couple o machine up there, and they would give cover and I told them Ill go down there and get a good

in there and see i I can knock that out. And o course Lt. Brown says youre out o your e

loving mind. You cant live to go down there and back. Well, we got to do something. We

just lay here and let them put those shells right in our laps. So we decided wed do that

we got those machine guns up there and opened them up and as best they could to giv

protection. I went down across the opening, and when I got down there, I ound a hole i

VOICES ofVETERANSTEXAS VETERANS LAND BOARD

Summer 2012

voicesofveterans.orgH 1.800.252.VETS

Clovis Tompson


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ground, and thats all it wasa hole

in the ground about 3 or 4 eet deep,

about 3, 4 or 5 eet in circumerence,

and there was nothing there. But we

knew good and well thats where

that smoke was coming rom. So as

I got down there, I threw a grenade

in there, and I come back. And in a

ew minutes here come the mortarsagain. So I told Chester (Lt. Brown), I

said OK, holler at the demolition man

and get me three sticks o dynamite

with a 5-second use on it. O course

they looked at me and said

in the world do you think y

going do with that? I said

Im going to try to get up i

lap and I dont want it back

lap, either. So thats what h

He xed me up with a dyna

charge with a use on it, lit it

I took o down there and t

it in the hole, and pretty clo

the time I threw that in the

o course it went o, and we

I use the word landslide, all

hills (had) caves, and withdynamite charge it caved in se

areas, a pretty big area ... As

trying to get back to my po

you never saw two little old legs run so hard in your lie trying to get up that hill an

out o that area. Anyhow, I did knock out the enemy and thats what I got a Silver Sta

Chester Brown was a recent graduate o the University o Texas a

new Marine 2nd Lt. during the battle. He nominated Clovis Thomp

or the Silver Star

They called me up at the regiment and said Brown, we want you to make the landing

the 22nd Regiment as liaison ocer. I said yes sir, and didnt know what a liaison o

did. I assumed you set up some kind o liaison. Anyway, I was with the 22nd on the lan

not my own people. About the third day I went across the peninsula and joined th

Marines ... And then I was given a platoon in Company A and we were the replace

platoon ... I never knew when Clovis joined it. That sounds strange, but you know

Nothing is more powerul than the

spoken word. Imagine i we could

listen to the stories o heroes such

as David Crockett, Sam Houston, and Ste-

phen F. Austin in their own words.

Thanks to digital technology, we can now

record the special memories o todays he-

roes and share them with uture genera-

tions o Texans.

Military his-

tory oten

h i g h l i g h t s

stories o ma-

jor battles,e q u i p m e n t

or amous

leaders. Yet,

the stories o

the men and women on the rontlines are

oten overlooked. Stories o courage, ear,

ellowship and inspiration are lost with ev-

ery passing year.

The Texas Veterans Land Board Voices oVeterans program wants to record these

stories to remind uture Texans that ordi-

nary men and women, when aced with

adversity, can accomplish extraordinary

things. The Voices o Veterans program

serves as a living monument to honor the

sacrifces o all veterans.

The Voices oVeterans program

serves as aliving monument

to honor thesacrifces o

all veterans.

WHY ORAL HISTORY?


Tommys hit, Johns

dead, Ed Dunnin is

dead, and so I said

theyre going kill us all

if we dont do some-

thing ... I said get themachine guns up here.

Clovis Tompson

Page 2

Tompson on Okinawa.


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ear a man get hit behind you, and you hear about a replacement, and you got a name,nd hes lled the bill. Thats the man they gave you, thats the one you use. I heard

hat Texas twang ... We were on a ridge and didnt know it, but it links with a cave

nderneath, and we began to get casualties rom mortar re, and we nally located

he hole that was evidently an air vent to the troops underneath, and we called or an

xplosive bigger than a grenade, and they brought it up and the guy said youre going

o have to have a lot o endurance to take this. (His name is) Clovis, (but) I called him

Blackie, it was his nickname ... he didnt hesitate. He said Ill take it. Handed his rife

o somebody else and took the thing and ran down the hill. Im going to say about 20

ards under rife re and poked that thing in the hole and came back about ve steps

nd ell down fat. It went o and we never got another mortar round out o that hole.We didnt think about awards ... (but) I was ully aware o the bravery that he took on

imsel, exposing himsel to enemy re to save us, the rest o the troops.

How It Works

1Complete and mail thescreening form at theend of this newsletter.Let us know youre ready to tellyour story.

2Introduction byphone.When we get your contact ino,our sta will call to chat aboutyour story. This helps us organizeour work and lets us know moreabout you.

3Set an interview date.

Once approved, the sta willwork with you and our volunteerinterviewer to pick the best dayor your interview.

4Tell your story.Either by phone or in person,a typical Voices o Veteransinterview lasts 1 to 2 hours.

5Add pictures if youwant.Please eel ree to send us copieso wartime photos, documents orother memorabilia to enrich yourstory.

6Proof your interview.You will have a chance to reviewand edit the transcript o yourinterview or accuracy. We want

to get it right.

7Get your story on CD.You will receive a ree transcriptand 4 ree audio CDs o yourinterview, along with a rameablecertiicate.


Tompson and pals on Guadalcanal.

Chester and Daisy Brown

Page 3


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h

Well, being a Christian, it was badto think about trying to kill someone,

but i somebodys shooting at you, youknow good and well youre going toshoot back ... and that way were doinga duty, we thought, to the country ...

Roy Goad, U.S. Army

Awarded the Silver Starrecorded 8 January, 2008

I know one o the guys asked me onetime ... was you ever scared? I said

yeah, one time. I said I was scared

om the time that frst damn bombhit, until the end o the war when Igot home. Tats just about the way itwas ...

Albert Kamenicky, USN

Pearl Harbor survivorrecorded 2 December, 2008

... their avorite trick was, i youreused to answer, you got two

options. One, they would takeout their Luger, put it on the deskand say we have ways to make youanswer ...

Andrew Bardagjy, USN

POW on interrogation by NaziSS recorded 2 December, 2008

I ound these people and they had on aGerman uniorm with a gun. O course

we just threw our hands up ... and theydidnt want us. I saw that Chetnikemblem on his cap and I said well, wereamong iends.

Donald Landrum, USAAF

Shot down over Nazi territoryrecorded 17 April, 2008

Chester Brown now resides in Conroe and Clovis Thompson in Abilene.

shared bond rom their service keeps them in touch to this day as riends

ellow Marine veterans.

If you know a veteran with a story to tell please have them call 1-800-252-V

The Voices o Veterans oral history program accepts donations to ensure that every interview is

transcribed and saved or posterity. The transcription process, which can be time consuming and

expensive, allows historians and the interested general public to better study and review the in-

terviews in our archives. A transcription, unlike the spoken word, aords the opportunity to read

and review the interview in a more detailed manner and also allows searching by key words and

terms. Voices o Veterans currently contracts with court reporters and transcribers in Texas to ac-

complish the laborious task o transcribing each interview. Your donation, o any amount, wil

help us reach our goal.

Clovis and Mary Jo Tompson

voicesofveterans.orgH 1.800.252.VETS Page 4

DONATETO VOICES OF VETERANS

DONATE ONLINEAT VOICESOFVETERANS.ORG ORMAIL TOTexas Veterans Land Board, P.O. Box 12873, Austin TX 78711-9788

Jerry Patterson, Chairman


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EveryVeteranHas

AstorytoTell.

OPEN NOW through september 4, 2012

CAPITOLVISITORS

CENTER

FREEEXHIBITat the

112 East 11th Street

Austin, Texas 78701

512-305-8400

The Voices of VeteransTM oral history program

is being highlighted in a yearlong multimedia

exhibit at the Capitol Visitors Center in the

historic Land Office Building on the Capitol

grounds.

Entitled Every Veteran Has a Story to Tell,

this free exhibit features a short video on the

program, multimedia iPad kiosks with actualselections from the veterans' interviews and

personal artifacts.

VOICESOFVETERANS.ORG

Jerry Patterson, Chairman

voicesofveterans.orgH 1.800.252.VETS Page 5


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I WANT TO TELL MY STORY.

Email address

Home Phone

Street Address

City State Zip Code

Spouse or Other Contact Name

Your Name

Cell Phone

Other Phone FAX

(Mr. ) (Mrs.)

(Mr. ) (Mrs.)

Service Branch: Last Rank:

Dates of Service (e.g., 1946 to 1951) Conflict / Theater of Operations

Significant Battles / Missions

Significant Battles / Missions

Awards/Medals

Awards/Medals

Other Items of Interest

to

Please mail form to:

Texas Veterans Land Board, P.O. Box 12873, Austin TX 78711-9788.

Or you may fax it to 512-475-1415.

Call 800-252-VETS (8387) for more info.

In order to help us learn more about you and your service record, pleasecomplete this screening orm to the best o your knowledge. Thank you.

voices of veterans newsletter summer 2012

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