Personal Narrative Film, Video Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Software, E-Resource Earl Ervin McClung Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division
- Location of Service:
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/34734
Drafted before he completed high school, Army Staff Sergeant Earl Ervin McClung served with the famed Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. After surviving the jump into Normandy, he was wounded during Operation Market Garden in Holland. In his interview, he emphasizes that he does not consider himself a hero, although as a group, he and his comrades achieved some heroic things. As for the acclaim given to his unit, he says, "We didn't go through any more than a lot of other people did."
Interview / Recording
Transcript
Share
-
PlaySimilarity between his experience during the invasion and the series "Band of Brothers"; taking fire from every direction; staying with the 82nd Airborne for nine days 00:02:19.1 - 00:03:22.9
-
PlayThe good and the bad of being in combat; bonds between soldiers; volunteering for missions in order to spare his buddies 00:08:02.3 - 00:09:21.8
-
PlayDifficulty in talking about the war to people who weren't there; importance of reunions. 00:28:17.0 - 00:29:03.8
-
PlayImportance of teaching future generations to avoid war 00:29:09.9 - 00:30:05.0
-
PlayNot thinking of himself as a hero; doing heroic things as a unit 00:30:07.0 - 00:31:45.0
-
PlayEmphasizing that many other units went through the same things as Easy Company 00:32:02.5 - 00:33:19.4
More Resources
Interview / Recording
Transcript
Share
About this Item
Title
- Earl Ervin McClung Collection
Names
- McClung, Earl Ervin
- Vest, Rosemarie
- Marrott, Sheralan K.
- Veterans Outreach for Community Advocacy (VOCA)
Home State
- Colorado
Headings
- - McClung, Earl Ervin
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Race
- American Indian and Alaskan Native
Status
- veteran
Service History
-
World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division
- Location of Service:
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Dates of Service: 1943-1945
- Entrance into Service: Drafted
- Military Status: veteran
Materials
- Video: MiniDV [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-12-02)
- Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-12-02; 2004-01-01)
- Manuscript: Clippings [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2004-2005)
- Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2005-12-21)
- Photograph: Digital print [2 items] -- Photograph (collected 1945-2005)
- Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2005-12-21; 2005-12-21)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/34734
Cite as
- Earl Ervin McClung Collection (AFC/2001/001/34734), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- image
- online text
- video