Personal Narrative Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Software, E-Resource Audio Recording Harold Conan Hammil Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: 34th Infantry Division, 135th Regiment, 3rd Battalion, Headquarters Company
- Location of Service:
- Highest Rank: Private First Class
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/2714
Harold Hammil's experience of Anzio was much like that of other soldiers there: he spent almost four months in a foxhole, never coming out during daylight hours. However, Hammil's depiction of the feelings and actions of the ordinary combat soldier offer some surprising insights into the mental state of men at war. Hammil tells of the inhumanity of living in a foxhole, where even bowel movements must be postponed, if possible, until after dark; and he tells of the gruesomeness of the euphemistically named "clean up" detail. A story notably lacking in tales of heroics, Hammil instead tells us of deserters, suicides, and men who attempt to wound themselves in the hopes of escaping combat. This is war as it was experienced by an observant and sensitive twenty-year old man who recognizes that people are not natural born killers.
Harold Conan Hammil Collection
Interview / Recording
Transcript
Share
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Play"Clean up" detail in Africa: "I would just as soon go in combat and fight as to carry dead GIs..." 00:13:16.5 - 00:16:52.9
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PlayLife in a foxhole on Anzio; friendly fire deaths. 00:18:41.5 - 00:23:48.0
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PlayUntold stories of WWII: suicides, deserters, and self-inflicted wounds. 00:23:49.7 - 00:26:19.8
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PlayReflections on combat: "You don't live like a human being." 00:26:20.0 - 00:30:25.7
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About this Item
Title
- Harold Conan Hammil Collection
Names
- Lugar, Richard
- U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar
- Ordner, Larry
- Hammil, Harold Conan
Home State
- Indiana
Headings
- - Hammil, Harold Conan
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Status
- veteran
Service History
-
World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: 34th Infantry Division, 135th Regiment, 3rd Battalion, Headquarters Company
- Location of Service:
- Highest Rank: Private First Class
- Dates of Service: 1943-1945
- Entrance into Service: Drafted
- Military Status: veteran
- Service History Note: Hammil declined to accept the Silver Star.
Materials
- Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2006-06-27)
- Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2006-06-27; 2006-06-30)
- Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2004-04-12; 2004-04-12)
- Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-06-28)
- Photograph: Copy photographic print [1 item] -- (collected 2002-07-03)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/2714
Cite as
- Harold Conan Hammil Collection (AFC/2001/001/2714), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- audio
- image
- online text