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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMilitary Panel Home Interview- William H. (Bill) LittleHOME INTERVIEW - MILITARY WILLIAM H. (BILL) LITTLE Interview with William H. Bill Little by Damian Turner April 29,1997 My name is Damian Turner and I am interviewing for the first time Mr. William H. Bill Little. This interview is taking place in room 103 at the Conference Center on 1300 George Bush in College Station, Texas. This project is sponsored by the Historic Preservation Committee and the Conference Center Adviser Committee of the city of College Station, Texas. It is part the Memory Lane or History Project. DT: How many members of your family fought in the Spanish - American War? BL: No, none that I know of. My father was too young for it. During World War II, my family was with my father and his two brothers, they are dead now, but Uncle was in World War I at Fort Sam in San Antone. He wasn't in there for more than a year. He received an honorable discharge in World War I. DT: Where were you when you heard about World War II. BL: I don't remember the Pearl Harbor attack. I was all of four years old when it happened, and my momma told me to go my room because I was running around and screaming "damn the japs." And I remember something about going over to tell our neighbors the war had started. What did you next. I don't remember. DT: I have to ask some questions or there is no reason for me being here. Let me ask some questions. Are you still here in Bryan? BL: College Station DT: Have you lived here your whole life? BL: Most of it. Yea. DT: Did anyone in your family join in the war effort? BL: Not that I can recall. My uncle Jim joined the Navy in 1940. I guess he saw Pearl Harbor coming He was discharged in December of 1946. On the maternal side, my mother's brother uncle Alvin's work was considered important to the war effort. On the maternal side, I had some distant relatives that joined. One was in the Navy, one went to Europe. I think he in the Battle of the Bull, and there was a third cousin, Joe Palermo, he was in the Navy in World War H. And I remember him sending a recording to their home and calling the ship the Old Lady when he said " Well, I've got to get back to the Old Lady" meaning the ship he was in. I don't remember where they went for training or for how long or what they did after that. DT: You had a lot of family that was in the Navy, huh? BL: Not a whole lot, just distant relatives. DT: Do you happen to remember what ships they were on? BL: I have no idea. I want to say something else about World War II that might surprise you. When I was just about two years old, before I could read and write. I know there was a depression going on, and that this Hitler in Germany had come to power. Papa never did like Hitler, he called him a mad man. I think I can remember we subscribed to The Dallas Morning News for a couple of years, and I might remember seeing a headline reading "Germany Invades Poland" or "Hitler Invades Poland." I might remember a song "when the lights go on again all over the world," they were probably referring to the bombing waves going on with the bombing with the British. It was just awful. I don't remember any first hand knowledge. But, from what I've read about it, it was just terrible. They were having daytime raids, and one time Hitler almost had the British at their knees. And to think that two of the most advanced nations in the world, and the number one land power on the continent and the number one sea power were at each others throats. and to think that Germany, with a guy like Hitler was about to take over. It's scary. DT: Do you remember what it was like on the home front during World War II. BL: The only thing I can remember was rationing and gasoline rationing. Victory garden, I remember Papa started a victory garden. Gasoline rationing prevented a lot of running around, maybe it was a good thing. DT: Did you have trouble getting new tires, meat rationing, what not? BL. Yea, tires, meat was rationed, bread wasn't rationed. But my memory... I was every bit of eight years old when it was over. DT: In school, did they have any air raid practices or anything like that. BL: No I don't recall anything like that. We made war decorations for something at the Bryan Army Air Force Base. But, like A &M College in World War II, I don't recall anything like that at all. DT: Too young to be a part of the college campus I guess? BL: Well, some of the characteristics were not built until after World War II. Were any of my relatives at Bryan Air Force Base or Colter Field? I don't recall. I know one of my second cousins' daughters might have worked out there. She lives a long way off now, and might have worked there. And, I remember about barely 1942, going out to the Air Force Base, the first time I ever saw an airplane. It made an impression on me. DT: Do you happen to remember what type of plane it was? BL: No. DT: Was it a fighter plane? BL. Yea, it was a fighter plane. DT: Real fast, let me go back for a second. Concerning the people that you know in the military, did you have trouble getting letters back and forth? BL: I don't recall it. But, I know something about it. Papa said when Uncle Jim went to New Guinea, Papa had a collection of letters from Tim, they are both dead now. Something about where they could not know where there movements were. But, that's about it. DT: Did you notice anything about censorship regarding letters or newspapers? BL: I don't recall it. I was eight years old when the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I remember listening to the radio, it was real staticy, something about the Swiss Embassy, in Japan, and a general surrendering to MacArthur. DT: Had to hear that on the radio? BL: Yea, On the radio. It was quite a hub -bub. My mother was glad it was over. DT: I'm sure she was not the only one happy to see the war over in America. Was your family in business during time of the war? BL: No, mom sent some stuff to two young men in the Army. That's about it. I think I told you my second cousin might have been in the Battle of the Bull, going on fifty years at least. DT: What was it that... BL: No, I have no idea of a returning soldier after World War H. Of course, I know of the veteran benefits. They had been there after every war. I know that they had the G.I. Bill. It's only been since 1945, that A &M College really began to grow. In September of 1946, there was 8200 students on campus. Of course, no one could foresee this. Of course, it is never the same after any war. A war creates opportunity for social mobility. It was not he same after any of the wars. the ladies dresses became shorter after World War I. Of course, it has only been after World War II that the average person has experienced material prosperity. DT: What was it like in College Station considering the war being over, a lot happier? BL: Content, but A &M college grew, made many changes, apparently they were just not prepared for it. DT: As Soon as the war ended, did it immediately change the way it was? BL: Well, in many ways it did. Some of the old timers like my father, he was born in 1914, and the changes were just terrible. You know, the whole world was different before May 11, 1918, nothing has bee the same. Whether or not the world has been a better place since 1918? DT: That is a big question on a lot of our minds BL: And it has only been since Roosevelt got into the White House that much has been done for man in the industry. DT: What was entertainment like, movies? BL: I might remember this movie, Casa Blanca. I was just a child, I don't remember a whole lot about the movies. DT: You don't remember any returning soldiers? BL: Oh yes, a second cousin of mine told what it was like out there, people shooting and my aunt's step -son was a sniper and went along and shot people. Oh, was he glad to get back. DT: Oh, I'm sure he was. There are much better things to do than being in war. I was going to ask you about your family, but, I forgot what I was going to say. BL: Well, Dad passed the physical, but he did not want to leave us, and Momma, and Me and Martha. He said if it would have gone on much longer, he would have gone. He was 23, during the Pearl Harbor attack. DT: What did your parents do for a living? BL: He taught at A &M. He taught Entomology . DT: Are you still in touch with anybody from World War II? BL: No, I was only 8. Frankly, I identify with the post World War II generation. DT: Your generation? BL: Well, I consider it my generation. Well, I consider it my generation. They might not, but, William Jefferson Clinton was born in 1946, so the fact that he was the influence of the veterans of World War H in Korea is slipping. When Grover Cleveland took office in 1885, he was not a veteran, which shows the political influence of the Civil War veterans were slipping. When Truman went out and Eisenhower came in, the veterans of World War I, there political influence was slipping. History repeats itself, but not in exactly in the same way. DT: That is pretty much it on the military history. Thanks.