Loading...

Media is loading
 

Description

Oral History interview of Albert Galvan. Interview conducted by Irby, Travis; Allen, James at Colburn Hall 205.

Log

1:20 Christopher Galvan formal Staff Sergeant in the Army now 2nd Lt.; 1:37 I joined the Army cause I wanted to jump out of places and shoot guns.; 1:47 I was going to join the Navy but I had a change of heart.; 1:57 The recruiters told me I couldn't control where I was going, what I was to; 2:14 June 18th 1998, 8 days after graduating high school I left for basic; 2:33 I was prepared for what they call a shark attack (the Drill Sergeants); 2:56 totally new environment culture shock; 3:24 typical day, you wake up around 05 and clean up the barracks from; 4:33 Mentally I was more prepared than most; 5:13 not just push-ups along but from exercises; yes; 5:34 basic training yes and no the soldiers in the unit you go to and your leaders; 6:15 March 26th 2003, May 2004 in Iraq. Left little early I went to Kuwait to help; 7:17 It was surreal there was about 1000 of us Army, we parachute in; 8:29 I was Airborne infantry so I was a paratrooper and I was a team leader; 9:08 we jump at around 2 o’clock in the morning; 9:33 when we jumped we took them by surprise, nobody really expected; 10:42 During the first three months we pushed south I call it "the Race South"; 11:30 sleeping 3 to 4 hours a day, walking a lot cause we didn’t have vehicles; 11:55 the culture was the biggest thing, we were prepared and we weren’t; 12:59 I didn’t call them (family) for about six months; 13:20 I would say if don’t here from me that’s good.; 14:18 one day my family used the Red cross Message; 14:43 We eat MRE’s for the first 4 or 5 months; 15:09 You would have some type of meat; 16:05 we know we are going to be operating on limited supplies; 17:44 right now I weigh 205, its 60 pounds a chute; 18:10 Combat was less stressful thing; 19:09 when we jumped we didn’t have any interpreters; 20:25 no I don’t believe luck; 20:54 there is no women in what we do in combat or shirts chasing, jokes.; 22:30 you always have the father figure, the comedian or two comedians; 23:14 the funniest thing can happen at the worst possible time; 24:07 I’m not that kind of person (to keep a journal); 25:02 I received a Bronze Star; 26:41 I got hit by a grenade; 30:02 My enlistment ended June 30th 2006; 33:20 Life become serious, different perspective about life; 34:26 I went to college, got my Bachelor; I also joined the ROTC; 35:28 Two weeks ago they had a reunion with my buddies that served with; 36:43 the positive side is we need to bring the fight to the enemy; overall opinion of army + war, influence of service on life.

Date of Birth

1980-03-21

Place of Birth

Lorain (Ohio)

Gender

Male

Race

White - Hispanic

Home State

Ohio

War or Conflict

Operation Iraqi Freedom; Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan

Status

Veteran

Begin/End date of Service - 1st

2003-03-26

Type

Audio; Sound

2004-04-20

Begin/End date of Service - 2nd

2005-03-26

2006-03-26

Entrance into Service

Enlisted

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Unit of Service

Alpha Company, 2nd Battlion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division; Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion (Airborne) 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade; Delta Company, 2nd Battalion 485th Infantry; Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 53rd Infantray, Florida Army National Guard.

Location of Service

Afghanistan

Highest Rank

Sergeant; SGT; Staff Sergeant; SSG

Prisoner of War

No

Service Related Injury

Yes

Battles

Operation Northern Delay; Operation Joint Guardian; Operation Noble Eagle

Medals

Bronze Star Medal; Purple Heart; Army Commendation Medal; Army Achievement Medal; Army Good Conduct Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Kosovo Campaign Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal; Iraq Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Global War on Terrorism Defense Medal; Army Overseas Service Ribbon; Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon; NATO Medal; Multinational Force and Observers Medal; Expert Infantryman Badge; Combat Infantryman Badge; Drill Sergeant Badge; Parachutist Badge; Italian Parachutist Badge; Meritorious Unit Citation; Superior Unit Citation

Achievements

See video for details.

Note

Awarded Non-Commissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbon twice, Army Overseas Service Ribbon four times,

City of Birth

Lorain

Country of Birth

United States

Interviewer

Irby, Travis; Allen, James

Interview Date

10-10-2011

Location of Interview

Colbourn Hall, University of Central Florida

Subjects

Galvan, Albert C.; Iraq War, 2003-2011 -- Personal Narratives; Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, 2001-present -- Personal Narratives; United States. Army

Collection Description

Contains logs, audio and video recordings of interviews with Central Florida's veterans as part of a history class project for the students at the University of Central Florida (UCF). The UCF Community Veterans History Project(CVHP) started in fall 2010. It collects, preserves, and makes accessible to the public the experiences of Central Florida's veterans so that future generations will better understand the realities of conflict. It is a collaborative endeavor supported by multiple departments and offices at UCF. The veterans' histories are archived and made digitally available through the UCF library and selected materials are contributed to the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress.

Contributor Affiliation / Organization

RICHES; University of Central Florida

Contributors

Irby, Travis; Allen, James

Length of Interview

47 Minutes

Publisher

Department of History, University of Central Florida

Type

audio

Rights

All rights are held by the respective holding institution. This material is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. For permission to reproduce and/or for copyright information contact Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, (407) 823-2576. http://library.ucf.edu/about/departments/special-collections-university-archives/

Repository

University of Central Florida Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives

Contributing Project

UCF Community Veterans History Project

Document Type

Interview

Download Interview


Share

COinS