PATTON, James H. (b. 1920) | Oral History

PATTON, James H. (b. 1920)

Oral Histories

His experiences as a paratrooper in the European Theater during World War II. His youth in Du Bois, Pennsylvania; attendance at Lock Haven State Teachers College, Pennsylvania; enlistment in the Army, February, 1942; basic training, Camp Croft, Spartenburg, South Carolina, 1942; Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Georgia, 1942; volunteering for the Airborne and parachute training, Fort Benning, 1942; demolition school, 1943; assignment to the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1942; his marriage, December 22, 1942; attachment of the 501st Regiment to the 101st Airborne Division; shipment to England, January, 1943; training for the Normandy invasion; the night jump into Normandy, June 6, 1944; securing the La Barquette lock; the capture of Carentan and its road network; Operation MARKET-GARDEN, September, 1944; comments about the commanding officer of the 501st, Colonel Howard Johnson; the Battle of the Bulge, December, 1944-January, 1945; miscellaneous recollections about other combat experiences; postwar occupation duty in the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden; comments about the esprit de corps of airborne troops.
Date of Interview: August 9, 2002

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