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Description
Oral history interview of Francis D. Morris, conducted by John Grande in University of Central Florida on January 17th, 2018.
Log
0:40 Date of birth and family history growing up; 2:31 Elementary education; 2:40 Talks about Basic Training and preparation for deploying to Europe; 5:29 Talks about the organization of his Division; 7:28 Despite preparing for Europe, his unit was rerouted to the PTO and instead arrived in Adelaide, Australia; 8:00 Describes his initial impressions of Adelaide, and Camp Gable in Brisbane; 11:00 His unit is flown via converted bombers to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and he becomes assigned to a machine gun Company; 13:45 Talks about his weapons company being refitted with light machine guns; 14:50 His unit began going on patrols in an attempt to locate and engage Japanese troops remaining on New Guinea; 19:15 Talks about his first combat action against a small Japanese scouting force; 25:00 Recalls a tragic example of friendly-fire occurring at night with a messenger; 28:50 Talks about the contents of his pack and difficulties in maintaining hygiene; 31:31 The Japanese harassment remained constant, primarily from snipers; 33:00 Highlights the dire situation endured by Army and Marine forces on; 35:30 Papua New Guinea and Guadalcanal / re-supply by Japanese air drops; 36:30 Talks about the experience of being bombed; 41:09 Experiencing malaria and coming off the line; 53:00 Traveled to Newcastle Australia for amphibious training; 1:03:00 Recalls being wounded during a mortar attack; 1:03:15 Describes Japanese Knee mortars; 1:10:00 Assigned to guard the Battalion motor-pool; 1:15:03 Amphibious landing at Leyte Gulf; 1:18:03 Describing combat on the Philippines; 1:22:05 Talks about the attack on Manila; 1:30:02 Interview stopped due to time limit.
Date of Birth
1921-10-30
Place of Birth
Shullsburg (Wis.)
Gender
Male
Race
White - Non Hispanic
Home State
Wisconsin
War or Conflict
World War II
Status
Veteran
Begin/End date of Service - 1st
1945-11-07
Type
Video; MovingImage
1966-08-31
Entrance into Service
Enlisted
Branch of Service
U.S. Army
Unit of Service
128th infantry Regiment; Counter Intelligence Core (CIC) HQ Europe; 2nd Division in Korea; several training companies including the 86th on Germany
Location of Service
Cam Ranh (Vietnam); Phan Rang (Vietnam : Province)
Highest Rank
Master Sergeant; MSG
Prisoner of War
No
Service Related Injury
Yes
Battles
New Guinea Campaign; Battle of Leyte; Philippines Campaign; Battle of Luzon; Burma Campaign
Medals
Purple Heart Medal; Army Good Conduct Medal; American Defense Service Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; World War II Victory Medal; Combat Infantryman Badge; Distinguished Unit Citation; Philippine Liberation Ribbon
Achievements
Please see video
Note
Battle details: Multiple beach landings from Port Morsby to Dutch New Guinea; landings in Leyte, Philippines in Liberation of the Philippines; Landings in Luzon; Burma Missions; holding ground in Korea in Korean War. Medal details: Purple Heart Medal - GO 23, Hq 128th Inf Regt, May 8, 1945; Army Good Conduct Medal - GO 79, Hq 32nd Inf Div, Sept. 22, 1944; American Defense Service Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one Silver Service Star for the New Guinea, Leyte, Southern Philippines Luzon and Papua Campaigns; World War II Victory Medal; Combat Infantryman Badge - GO 11, Hq 128th Inf Regt, Sept. 7, 1944; Distinguished Unit Emblem - WD GO 21, 1943; Oak-leaf Cluster to Distinguished Unit Emblem, WD GO 121, 1943; Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one Bronze service Star.
City of Birth
Shullsburg
Country of Birth
US
Interviewer
Grande, John
Interview Date
Spring 1-17-2018
Location of Interview
University of Central Florida
Subjects
Morris, Francis D.; World War, 1939-1945 -- 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
Grande, John
Length of Interview
91 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, "Morris, Francis Dale interview" (2018). Veterans Oral Histories. 593.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/veteransoralhistories/593