Personal Narrative Film, Video Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Leroy Mzhickteno Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Company E, 137th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division
- Location of Service: San Francisco, California; Camp Rucker, Alabama; Camp Butner, North Carolina; New York; Liverpool, England; Normandy, Le Mans, Nancy, France
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/38223
Leroy Mzhickteno, nicknamed Mickey, grew up on the Potawatomi Reservation in Kansas during the Depression. After graduating from high school, he joined the National Guard in 1939 to make money. He was still in the Guard on December 7, 1941, and was soon on fulltime active duty in the Army. His infantry regiment sailed from England to France shortly after D-Day, and they spent the rest of the war chasing the retreating Germans. He was wounded in the back by shell fragments during intense fighting. Patched up and sent back to his unit, he was put in charge of a group of replacements who were more interested in confiscating the food and wine in a village they captured than in pursuing the German Army.
Interview / Recording
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PlayKept an amount of Indian tobacco as a way of giving him courage and used it occasionally for good luck through his tour. 00:11:42.7 - 00:12:56.7
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PlayOn his way by ship out of New York Harbor, wasn't allowed on deck and missed seeing the Statue of Liberty; on his pass before he left, he'd missed seeing the Empire State Building because of fog; 10 days to Europe; bivouacked in small town in England; over to Normandy a month after D-Day; could see evidence of how brutal the fighting was; apprehensive about upcoming action; intense action in the hedgerows; narrow escape from a German 88 shell which fell in front of him but didn't explode. 00:15:37.1 - 00:23:18.8
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PlayJust as they were about to cross into Germany in the fall of 1944, caught in the back by fragments from a mortar shell; was able to move out of the area on his own to aid station; was in several hospitals in France and England; sent back when Battle of the Bulge began and the hospitals needed space for incoming casualties; returned to his own unit; as sergeant, put in charge of replacement troops; they were difficult to control, would scatter in a town to look for something to eat and drink. 00:43:18.5 - 00:52:12.0
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PlayCelebrating on V-E Day with homemade liquor; doesn't remember getting back to camp; lost his hat and his ammunition belt. 00:57:30.2 - 00:59:27.7
About this Item
Title
- Leroy Mzhickteno Collection
Names
- Brown, Beth
- Mzhickteno, Leroy
- Beal, Gale P.
- William Cook
- VA Medical Center, Colmery-O'Neil, Topeka, Kansas
Home State
- Kansas
Headings
- - Mzhickteno, Leroy
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army.
Form
- Hi-8/Digital 8
Extent
- 1 item
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Race
- American Indian and Alaskan Native
Status
- veteran
Service History
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World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Company E, 137th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division
- Location of Service: San Francisco, California; Camp Rucker, Alabama; Camp Butner, North Carolina; New York; Liverpool, England; Normandy, Le Mans, Nancy, France
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Dates of Service: 1939-1945
- Military Status: veteran
- Service History Note: The veteran served in the Army National Guard.
Materials
- Video: Hi-8/Digital 8 [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2005-03-31)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/38223
Cite as
- Leroy Mzhickteno Collection (AFC/2001/001/38223), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- image
- video
Additional Metadata Formats
Part of
Wars & Conflicts
Service Branch
Location of Service
- Camp Butner, North Carolina
- Camp Rucker, Alabama
- Liverpool, England
- New York
- Normandy, Le Mans, Nancy, France
- San Francisco, California