HOUSEMAN, Donelson M. (b. 1923) | Oral History

HOUSEMAN, Donelson M. (b. 1923)

Oral Histories

Insurance executive, real estate investor. His experiences in the European Theater during World War II; his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Germans. Pre-war education and college at the University of Texas; his reaction to the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941; his decision to enlist in the Enlisted Reserve Corps; processing at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, April, 1943; basic training, Camp Callan, San Diego, May-June, 1943; Office Candidate School, Camp Davis, Wilmington, North Carolina, 1943-44; his engagement to Kathryn Buckley, January, 1944; assignment to an antiaircraft battalion, Fort Fisher, North Carolina, 1944; infantry officer refresher course, Fort Benning, Georgia, 1944; assignment to the 106th Infantry Division, Camp Atterbury, Indiana, August, 1944; training as a mortar platoon leader; shipment to England, October, 1944; relief of the 2nd Infantry Division in the Ardennes, December 8, 1944; the Ardennes Offensive and the Battle of the Bulge, December 16, 1944; his description of the winter weather and the battle; his severe wrist wound; capture by German troops, December 19, 1944; Stalag VI-G, Cologne, Germany, 1944-45; his time in the prison infirmary; prison camp living conditions; his deteriorating medical condition; transfer to a German military hospital at Montabaur for the possible amputation of his arm; treatment of his wound with sulfa; liberation, April, 1945; further treatment for his wound at McCluskey General Hospital, Temple, Texas; his marriage on June 9, 1945; his return to the University of Texas and postwar business career.
Date of Interview: November 20, 2002

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