Personal Narrative Manuscript/Mixed Material Software, E-Resource Audio Recording Richard Wendell Johnson Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: 96th Division, 383rd Regiment, I Company
- Location of Service: Leyte Island (Philippines); Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands)
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/20719
Enemy soldiers were not the only cause for concern on the battlefield. Disease, adverse conditions, and lack of supplies took vast tolls on American servicemen fighting in the Philippines. After landing on Leyte on October 20, 1944, Army Staff Sergeant Ralph Wendell Johnson and his company became isolated from the supply ships. They existed on coconuts, wild corn, and sugarcane; he lost thirty pounds in two weeks. Such conditions also led to ingenious survival strategies: his squad used small explosives to boil corn and C-rations in the wet and muddy foxholes. For his twenty-first birthday, his buddies treated him to a feast of roasted wild pig.
Richard Wendell Johnson Collection
Interview / Recording
Transcript
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PlayWays of coping with lack of supplies; different foods eaten. 00:08:57.0 - 00:12:32.3
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PlayAdverse conditions such as mud and leeches; presence of sickness; contracting bronchitis and yellow jaundice. 00:13:04.0 - 00:16:36.3
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PlayRoasting wild pigs for his twenty-first birthday. 00:19:03.7 - 00:19:54.5
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Richard Wendell Johnson Collection
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About this Item
Title
- Richard Wendell Johnson Collection
Names
- Legacies: Stories from the Second World War
- Johnson, Richard Wendell
- Swope, Thomas A.
Home State
- Ohio
Headings
- - Johnson, Richard Wendell
- - 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
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World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: 96th Division, 383rd Regiment, I Company
- Location of Service: Leyte Island (Philippines); Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands)
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Dates of Service: 1943-1945
- Military Status: veteran
Materials
- Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2009-02-15)
- Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2004-07-19; 2009-03-07)
- Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2004-07-19)
- Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2007-11-07; 2007-11-07)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/20719
Cite as
- Richard Wendell Johnson Collection (AFC/2001/001/20719), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- audio
- online text