T.
ABSTRACT
INTERVIEWEE NAME: Gueymard, Adolphe COLLECTION: 4700.1742
IDENTIFICATION:
Adolphe Gueymard is a LSU
Alumnus who also served in the 101st Airborne Division of the
INTERVIEWER: Marmande,
Ann Marie
PROJECT: Military History
INTERVIEW DATES: April 29, 2005
FOCUS DATES: 1930 - 2005
ABSTRACT:
T3444, Side A.
Introduction; born in Carville, Louisiana, to Adolphe and Felecie Babin
Gueymard in 1913; his parents were farmers and merchants; attended LSU from
1930 to 1935 while working for the Baton Rouge Electric Company; participated
in ROTC as company captain; was twenty-nine years old when Pearl Harbor was
bombed; felt grateful when the war was over; was on leave in San Antonio when
the Japan was bombed; as a reserve officers, he was called up immediately in
1942; trained at LSU three days a week, including military camps; continued
training at Camp Beauregard, in North Carolina, and in England before going to
Normandy on June 6th ; landed in a glider the south side of the
Cotentin Peninsula and again around Veghel, Holland; ground fire caused troops
to scatter in Normandy, but proved helpful in preventing a German counterattack;
used a British six-pounder, fifty-seven
millimeter gun in Normandy and Holland;
compares the sturdy American CG-4 and the plywood British Horsa gliders
which were easily destroyed and caused many casualties; had no problems
protecting Utah Beach; describes Omaha Beach were casualties were heavy; was at
Utah Beach about four to six weeks without a great deal of problems and went
back to England for more troops before going to Holland; landing and rushing to
Boekel to take out tanks; explains the
tanks heavy armor was in the front, so they attacked the sides; was relieved
from Holland and was north of Paris, France, when the Germans penetrated the
Bulge; went by truck to the Bulge; then from Bastogne went to Foy and began
surrounding the perimeter of Bastogne; Germans ran out of fuel, abandoned
tanks, and retreated; slept at a Catholic nunnery, while his troops were dug in
on the frontlines; enjoyed a good position and suffered a minimal number of
casualties; also went into Germany to Berchtesgaden and guarded the train with Hermann Goering's stolen items from
Europe; went to Yugoslavia before being sent back to the United States as a Lieutenant
Colonel; while on leave in San Antonio, nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan; civilians
welcomed the U.S. troops in France and left them alone in Germany; Colonel X. B.
Cox was the commander of the 101st Airborne Division; physical
training when not fighting; wants future generations to know about the war and
the effort that was given as well as be prepare to do their duty for the
country and be proud of it; his comrades from the war meet two times a year;
all the events of World War Two were an act of heroism; morale was good; mail
was slow, but got there; reacted with hopes of returning home after the war
ended; does not think the nuclear bomb was controversial, but an enormous
relief; quit his job in New Orleans; went to work in the banking business in
Houston; married in 1940 before he left for the war, while away, she worked and
had her parents near; wife accompanied him until he was stationed overseas.
TAPES: T3444 TOTAL
PLAYING TIME: 44 minutes
# PAGES
TRANSCRIPT: 23 pages
OTHER
MATERIALS: Correspondence
and Veterans' Release Form
RESTRICTIONS:
None