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Description
Oral history interview of Albert Lewis. Interview conducted by Caroline Heumann at the veteran's home in Leesburg, Florida on April, 18 2017.
Log
0:25 Childhood in a strict religious home; 1:35 Enlisting in the Army, but sent to Air Force; 2:25 Parents' Occupation; 2:44 Size of family and education before/in the service; 5:55 Flying with the RAF; 7:15 Influence to join the military; 8:10 Civilian Military Training Corps; 10:30 How he feels God prepares him for life; 11:42 His thoughts on WWII soldiers and strategy; 13:38 Advanced Training, Judge Advocate General Corps; 14:50 Stationed in England with the RAF; 17:00 From Orlando, Introducing CO to his future wife; 18:52 Radio tower in Corsica, CO breaking radio silence; 20:18 Assignment in the military; 21:50 Trading alcohol for machine parts; 22:50 Building mobile units; 24:08 Only southerner in his outfit; 25:28 Bartering with alcohol, finding parts; 27:30 Attitude of the Army; 27:58 Typical day in the Air Force; 29:35 Air Strips and types of planes; 31:30 In New York Harbor when Japan surrendered; 32:30 Unusual events, seeing a slave market in North Africa; 34:30 Service exposed him to the rest of the world; 35:06 Seeing the Notre Dame and meeting a soldier that deserted during WWI; 37:08 Learning French with a southern drawl; 37:55 Living in a retirement home; 39:16 Finding the location German ball bearing plants; 46:45 Telling his SO about the plans; 52:00 Previous struggles with alcohol and how his faith helped; 54:30 Helping the French Resistance; 55:10 Almost killed with Resistance; 57:15 Almost turned over to the Marquis; 1:00:22 Guarding oil drums; 1:02:30 Describing WWII servicemen; 1:03:20 Seeing corruption; 1:04:20 Brothers who died in the war; 1:05:45 Suspecting people of being spies; 1:06:55 Entertainment; 1:07:40 Seeing art abroad; 1:08:33 Being granted liberty, going into town; 1:10:35 Traveling; 1:11:38 Discharged and commissioned in the reserves; 1:12:35 Practicing law for the Army; 1:17:20 Last day of service; 1:19:20 Keeping in touch with servicemen; 1:21:15 Trouble with the VA after files burned; 1:22:30 Hearing damage from machine gun fire; 1:23:55 Medals and citations; 1:25:50 Wished he had been less stubborn, father-in-law in the VA; 1:27:44 End of Interview.
Date of Birth
1923-06-11
Place of Birth
Jackson (Miss.)
Gender
Male
Race
White - Non Hispanic
Home State
Mississippi
War or Conflict
World War II
Status
Veteran
Begin/End date of Service - 1st
1940-06-15
Type
Video; MovingImage
1954-06-14
Entrance into Service
Commissioned
Branch of Service
U.S. Air Force
Unit of Service
Unknown
Location of Service
Corsica (France); Africa, North
Highest Rank
Sergeant; Sgt
Prisoner of War
No
Service Related Injury
No
Battles
Unspecified
Medals
Unspecified
Achievements
"Lewis was stationed on Corsica and ran the radio/flight tower for incoming wounded and refueling of planes with RAF. He ran patrols for supplies into Italy and France. Found the plans and reports for locations of Germans ball bearing plants for their tank and was able to have them targeted and destroyed." -- The interviewer.
Note
"My dad has many stories with the French resistance and his scouting patrols." -- The veteran.
City of Birth
Jackson
Country of Birth
United States
Interviewer
Heumann, Caroline
Interview Date
Spring 4-18-2017
Location of Interview
Leesburg, FL.
Subjects
Lewis, Albert L.; World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives; United States. Air Force
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
Heumann, Caroline
Length of Interview
88 Minutes
Publisher
Department of History, University of Central Florida
Type
video
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 & University Archives
Contributing Project
UCF Community Veterans History Project
Document Type
Interview
Semester
Spring
Recommended Citation
Central Florida, RICHES of, "Lewis, Albert L. interview" (2017). Veterans Oral Histories. 537.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/veteransoralhistories/537