Oral History Interview with Robert Lee Mosty, March 9, 1998 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Robert Lee Mosty, March 9, 1998

Interview with Robert Lee Mosty, World War II veteran and owner/operator of a plant nursery in Center Point, Texas. Mr. Mosty tells stories from his service in WWII, including how his unit was one of the first to meet liberated prisoners of war, as well as how he was wounded and taken prisoner. He also discusses studying at A&M, his work for the National Park Service, and running a plant nursery in the 1920s.
Date: March 9, 1998
Creator: Witt, Gerald & Mosty, Robert Lee
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Charles Scheffel, May 10, 2000 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Charles Scheffel, May 10, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Scheffel. Scheffel grew up in Oklahoma and enlisted in the Army ROTC in 1940. He was called up in 1941 after Pearl Harbor. He was allowed to finish out his senior year of college and was married in March 1942. He embarked on the Queen Elizabeth from New Jersey in September 1942. As leader of 200 men, he landed in Scotland and drove with them to Whittington Barracks where they joined with the British 51st Highlanders. He lists the three main survival lessons he learned from the seasoned English soldiers: having a batman to back you up, digging a two-man foxhole, and waiting for the ""crack and thump."" Scheffel how the ""crack and thump"" lesson would later save his life when he was seriously wounded when attacking the Siegfried Line. From England he went to Algeria with the British troops on the Scythia. The ship is torpedoed off the coast limps into Algiers. Scheffel made the decision to leave the British Highlanders and join up with American 9th Division in February 1943. The division went into Tunisia. Then he was sent to spend another month with the …
Date: May 10, 2000
Creator: Scheffel, Charles
System: The Portal to Texas History