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A. William Perry, Italy [1944]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Company K, 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Fort Huachuca, Arizona; Italy
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/51117

View full service history

"I don't think they particularly liked us, and we returned that thing in spades." (Audio Interview, 18:01)

William Perry had been in the Army for only ten days when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. That was the day he was shipped off to Alabama for the first of many postings in the racially tense South. Perry, from Cleveland, hadn't encountered the kind of systematic discrimination he experienced in Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Even in isolated and nearly all-black Ft. Huachuca, Perry recalls, there were problems, mainly with young recruits bucking military discipline. He himself was transferred to the infantry for a minor infraction. Italy was the first place in his service career he actually felt welcome, first by General Mark Clark, who promoted one of the 92nd's officers on the spot, and then by the grateful Italian citizens. Fighting the Germans could be complicated by their hiding out in landmark buildings like the Tower of Pisa, off-limits to Allied firepower.

Interview / Recording

More Resources

A. William Perry Collection
Interview / Recording

[ Clipping from a 92nd Infantry Division magazine ]

About this Item

Title

  • A. William Perry Collection

Names

  • World War II - Korean War Roundtable
  • Perry, A. William
  • Donohue, Jerri R.

Home State

  • Ohio

Headings

  • -  Perry, A. William
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • Black or African American

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Company K, 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Fort Huachuca, Arizona; Italy
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1945
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2006-10-27)
  • Photograph: Digital print [2 items] -- Photograph (collected 1944)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/51117

Cite as

  • A. William Perry Collection (AFC/2001/001/51117), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

World War Ii - Korean War Roundtable, A. William Perry, and Jerri R Donohue. A. William Perry Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.51117/.

APA citation style:

World War Ii - Korean War Roundtable, Perry, A. W. & Donohue, J. R. (1942) A. William Perry Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.51117/.

MLA citation style:

World War Ii - Korean War Roundtable, A. William Perry, and Jerri R Donohue. A. William Perry Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.51117/>.