Transcript of an interview with James Hudson, Army veteran (3rd Platoon, 36th/83rd Quartermaster Trucking Company, 470th Quartermaster Regiment), concerning his experiences in the European Theater during World War II. Hudson discusses his youth in segregated Yalobusha County, Mississippi; his reaction to being drafted, December, 1942; basic training, Camp McCain, Grenada, Mississippi, 1942-43; segregated training facilities; maneuvers at Camp Polk, Louisiana, 1943; training in truck maintenance and operation; relations between white officers and black enlisted men; entertainment on and off base for black soldiers; illiteracy among black troops; voyage to Europe, February, 1944; pre-invasion training around Cardigan, Wales; transfer of the unit to Swansea for further pre-invasion training; his observations of the Normandy landings, June 6, 1944; the landing of his unit on June 7 at Omaha Beach; establishment of beach supply depots; his participation in the activities of the "Red Ball Express," August-September, 1944; his description of war damage in German towns and cities; postwar adjustments to segregated society in Mississippi. Appendix consists of photocopy of "Honorable Discharge" (1 page).

Interview with Bruce Elliot, a Navy veteran and POW from Montezuma, Kansas. Elliot discusses his family, joining the Navy and volunteering for Asiatic service, the start of war and the bombing of Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines, retreat to Corregidor, capture by the Japanese, escaping internment on Palawan and joining Moro guerillas, sabotage, linking up with Australian forces, evacuation to Australia and returning to the United States, becoming a deepsea diver, and Korean War service. In appendix are a photo of Elliot, a map of the Philippines, two photos of a POW camp on Palawan, and a photo of three of his comrades.

Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans (Disregard Restriction Header and Footer)