Oral History Interview with Paul Davidson, June 11, 2005 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Paul Davidson, June 11, 2005

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Paul Davidson. Davidson was drafted into the Army in September of 1941. He was assigned to the 252nd Coast Artillery. He describes basic training, including food and clothing, and the ship he went aboard on his first assignment to Trinidad, the SS Evangeline (II). From February 1942 to March of 1944 they were stationed on the island of Trinidad off the coast of Venezuela. In March of 1944 he was transferred to the 530th Field Artillery Battalion in the 5th Army. They arrived in Italy in March of 1945. He was in charge of the advance detail, where he supervised the layout of the gun position, including moving the guns, leveling and digging out the ground and sandbagging. He describes their maneuvers through Italy, getting shelled heavily in some places, and details some of the people and places he witnessed. He was discharged in October of 1945.
Date: June 11, 2005
Creator: Davidson, Paul
System: The Portal to Texas History