Dylan Fox Molly Drake Transcript 00:00
2:00
Molly
So Phillip Drake, umm..when did you join the war, World War 2?
Mr. Drake
I left college…December 8th, the day after Pearl Harbor, got on a train in Boston and went down to New York to 90 Church Street which was the recruiting office for the United States Marine Core. And I took the physical on the 8th of December, and I got all through the physical and the recruiting sergeant interviewed me at the end and he said, “Sorry Mr. you don’t make it as a marine.” And I said “Why? I passed everything in the test.” He said, “Yes but your color blind.” So the last test was what they call an ishahara color blind test where you look at charts and if your color blind you see one number and if you have normal color perception you see another number. And I saw all the wrong numbers, so they would not take me. So I went back to college and stayed until Christmas..which was about two weeks.
Molly
Uh huh.
Mr. Drake
Then at Christmas time, I left college and enlisted in the United States Army.
Molly
Wha..what made you want to enlist into the army?
Mr. Drake
Cuz I wanted to participate.. and I couldn’t make it as a marine and I couldn’t make it as a pilot because in those years in order to qualify for aviation cadet training you had to have two years of college, and I only had three months of college.
Molly
Umm..and you became a paratrooper?
Mr. Drake
Well I became a..I took basic training.
Dylan
How long were you in basic training?
Mr. Drake
I was in basic training seventeen weeks in Virginia and then I stayed on as a drill sergeant in the same unit for another seventeen weeks. And then I volunteered for engineer amphibian training, and parachute training. And I decided the one that came through first, I would except. Engineer amphibian training was down in Carabell Florida. They ran..amphibious barges like the marines did. And my orders for the parachute school came through first at Fort Benning, so I went to Fort Benning.
Molly
And what exactly does a paratrooper do?
Mr. Drake
He uhh departs aircraft in flight and lands by a parachute.
Molly
(laughs) Okay. Um..
Mr. Drake
And then he..he fights (pause) he fights as infantry. He is an infantry rifleman, just has different way of getting there.. that’s all.
Molly
Okay.
Dylan
Umm..what were families reactions when you joined the..when you decided to enlist?
4:00
Mr. Drake
(long pause as if he is thinking) They were quite excepting. I had an older brother who was already in the service.
Dylan
Oh really?
Mr. Drake
And uh..that was my brother Dave.
Molly
Yeah.
Mr. Drake
So they didn’t have any arguments. They had no arguments. My parents were quite elder..were quite old..they were in their forties.
Molly
Yeah. Umm.. So you enlisted in World War 2, and then how did you come into Korea?
Mr. Drake
Well I went to um..North Africa on a British transport called the Andes. As a replacement.. A 2nd platoon replacement. And in north Africa I joined the 82nd..(mumbles)
Molly
So did you..was it your choice to go back into war in Korea or were you drafted?
Mr. Drake
I was recalled, its called a recall. If you get out of the service and you’ve been a commissions officer, you have an obligation, even though your inactive. In the reserves, you have an obligation (mumbles) and they, they uh nailed me.
Molly
Okay.
Mr. Drake
Two days after the uhh..Koreans crossed the (mumbles) (long pause)
Molly
Umm..
Mr. Drake
They’re always looking for riflemen. (long pause)
Molly
Umm.. So once your in the military, how did soldiers spend their free time?
Dylan
Like when you guys were like.. (pause) (pause)
Molly
Did you have much free time?
Mr. Drake
Sea time?
Molly and Dylan
Free time.
Mr. Drake
Free time.. In the service. (pause) Yeah you get a certain amount of free time, I mean its not a labor camp. It depends on where you were. If your in a combat zone, you don’t have free time, if your in training, you don’t have free time. I had a lot of free time in Fort Benning.
Molly
What did you do in that free time?
6:00
Mr. Drake
Drank beer.
Molly and Dylan
(chuckle) Oh.
Mr. Drake
Chased girls, went to Atlanta.
Molly
So..umm how long were you in World War 2?
Mr. Drake
I was in World War 2 from January 1942 until January 1946.
Molly
And then um..(pause)
Mr. Drake
More of that time I was in North Africa and Italy.
Molly
Oh okay.
Mr. Drake
Then I went to the Philippine islands and the pacific. (pause) and from there to Okinawa.
Molly
What..what were the Philippines like?
Mr. Drake
Hot, humid, sticky.
Molly
What was it like having to carry everything around through that weather?
Mr. Drake
Tough.
Molly
Tough..
Dylan
Did you see combat?
Mr. Drake
Yes. (pause) We also had a wonderful football game.
Molly
Oh.
Mr. Drake
In Okinawa, and the war was beginning to wind down in the summer of 1945. And the navy high command and the army command were looking for activities to keep the troops occupied. So the commanding admiral of the 7th fleet challenged our division commander of the 11th airborne to a 8:00 football game. Molly
Oh.
Mr. Drake
Which was played on the fourth of July in Razel stadium in Okinawa. In mud.
Dylan
Who won?
Mr. Drake Molly
(laughs) It was a 0-0 tie. How long were you in Korea for?
Mr. Drake
How long was I in Korea?
Molly
Yeah.
Mr. Drake
Well I went to Korea.. I got recalled in June.. You wanna cut?
Molly
No keep going.
Mr. Drake
And I spent that summer training troops at Fort Dix New Jersey and I went to Korea at the end of September 1950.
Molly
Okay.
Mr. Drake
Just about the same time McArthur pulled that stunt at Enshawn.
Molly
What was that?
Mr. Drake
Well he..he surprised all the uh the uh Korean command by launching an amphibious attack in the ehh..harbor of Sol. Where they thought the tides were too low to accommodate. (mumbles)
Molly
When Peal Harbor happened, do you remember where you were?
Mr. Drake
Yes.
Dylan
Where were you?
Mr. Drake
I was in a freshman dorm at Harvard college.
Dylan
What were your reactions?
Molly
Yeah..what were your reactions? What did it feel like?
Mr. Drake I had a room mate who was taking a nap, it was a Sunday afternoon, and I went it and woke him up and he said, “Don’t bother me, I have to sleep.” And I said, 10:00 “You better get up.” So we got him up and we walked up to the freshman dining hall which you can imagine was just a hubbub of activity and whispers. 00:00
Molly
So you were at school and you enlisted the next day and you brought a jacket with you today, behind you. Tell us what the patches mean. (everyone stands and walks to jacket)
Mr. Drake
It was the official PX army officers, so called Eisenhower jacket because of the length. And uh..its very much like the British, wore these in combat. We didn’t wear them in combat, this was more a dress uniform.
Molly
And what does this patch mean? (points to patch)
Mr. Drake Molly
This patch is for the 82nd airborne division. Okay. And that patch? (points to a different patch)
Mr. Drake
And this patch is for the 11th airborne division, its who I was with in that Philippines. And this patch is for the 187 regimental combat team which is the unit I was with in Korea.
Molly
Okay, and you said that umm..paratroopers wore leather jackets like the one your wearing now?
Mr. Drake
They were authorized to be worn off duty, not in a combat situation.
Molly
Okay, so entering the war, enlisting were you scared? Were you scared when
you went to go enlist? Mr. Drake
No I was scared.
Molly
Okay.
Dylan
Can you describe a typical day in the military? (long pause)
2:00
Mr. Drake
Well we had a typical day in the reception center the first couple weeks before you got fully in documented. Your probably talking about a typical day in basic training?
Dylan
Yeah.
Mr. Drake
Yeah your up at 5. You go out to the company street. You do a half hour of calisthenics.
Molly
What does calisthenics mean? (pause) Oh..exercise?
Mr. Drake
Exercise.
Molly
Okay.
Mr. Drake
Then you run around the company area for three miles and you get back and have breakfast.
Molly
What was breakfast usually? Do you remember?
Mr. Drake
Coffee, bacon, eggs, hot cereal, toast, very nourishing.
Molly
Oh. Then what’d you do after that?
Mr. Drake
Then you would have classes and close order drill. Military sanitation, military history, rifle marksmanship. Then after a couple weeks, you’d go out and spend day after day on the rifle range.
Molly
And then what was a typical day..(cut off)
Dylan
In a battle zone..
Mr. Drake (pauses for a long time) I can give you a typical day in Italy at Anzio. We came in there not by parachute but by landing barge. And we proceeded inland about three miles and set up a Cp.
4:00
Dylan
What’s a Cp?
Mr. Drake
Command Post. And then we dug holes.
Molly
Like trench warfare? Like trench warfare?
Mr. Drake We dug holes to protect ourselves. There was no incoming fire at that point, the Germans hadn’t yet discovered us. But the water table along that shore land of Italy was held so high that if you dug a four foot foxhole, two feet of it would be full of water within a matter of minutes. (pause) And you spent.. That’s where the army made a terrible mistake. We could’ve gone all the way to Rome that
first day but they got scared and thought we better dig in so we dug in and we never got to Rome for three months. We would stay in the holes in the day and patrol at night. Molly: What was it like missing holidays or birthdays? Did you do anything special while you were there? Mr. Drake: On your birthday? Dylan: Any holiday Molly: I mean did you miss any holidays like Christmas? Mr. Drake: I was up in the mountains near casino on the previous Christmas and we were in a forward position and the regimental commander and he came around with 5 or 6 quarts of scotch and he’d give everybody a slug of scotch and that was Christmas. (laughs) Molly: Did you feel like you should have been home, or were you happy with your decision? Mr. Drake: Oh you felt like you were doing what you should be doing absolutley Dylan : Did you have, like, what’s your darkest memory of being in the military Mr. Drake: Darkest memory? Dylan: Yeah (pause) Mr. Drake: I guess when I was uh concussed Molly: How did that happen? Mr. Drake: It was in a ground engagement and uh it was shell fire, tank fire, it was a battle down near the beach in Italy. Dylan: In Italy? Mr. Drake: And the destroyers were firing, and tanks were firing, artillery was firing and you never knew who was being hit with what and the concussion was terrific and I, I was concussed, I went into shock, I couldn’t see or hear, except very dementedly so I got evacuated, to uh Naples Molly: Uh you once told me you were shot twice couldMr. Drake: At least Molly: Could you explain what happened Mr. Drake: Well when you’re in close infantry combat uh, there’s so much scrapple flying around that sometimes your aware you’re hit and sometimes your unaware till afterward and some are quite superficial I mean you can believe you still have a superficial wound Molly: Where were you shot? Mr. Drake: Well I’ve still got some scars here and up the rest of the elbow (strokes his right forearm) Molly: Do you uhm Dylan: Did you ever kill anybody? Mr. Drake: I’m afraid so Molly: Has uhm has that Dylan: Has that bothered you? Mr. Drake: No, it has not bothered me Molly: Did you know, when you uh shot someone or killed someone, were you, did you know who you were shooting or was it from such a distance thatMr. Drake: You would have no idea who it was I mean you might know whether he was a German or a Jap or an Italian. Molly: Did uhm if it was close, if was close enough to see them do you think it would change the wayMr. Drake: Yes I think it I think if you were standing as close as I am to Dylan yes that would be bothersome I think (points to Dylan) Molly: And were there any times that people fighting with you did things that you didn’t approve of or were you guys usually on the same page I meanMr. Drake: (crosses legs and shifts) yeah there were often things done that you wouldn’t approve of Dylan: can you describe some of them Mr. Drake: One rather modest infraction took place in Yokohoma after we invaded Japan and all the civilians took off to the mountains, terrified that the parachuters would rape them and kill them and we had
a patrolist stop the truck and the first lieutenant who was my executive officer pulled these three men out of the Japanese soldiers out of the…down east uhh historically have had very poor vision and these men were all wearing thick , thick eye glasses and he uh ripped the eye glasses off them through them on the ground and stamped on them and brought them to pieces, I thought that was an ugly thing to do. Molly: Wow..yeah uhm looking back on everything that you went through in the war, would you change anything that you’ve done or are you are you proud of what you’ve experienced Mr. Drake: You can always do better Molly: Yeah..would you still have enlisted? Mr. Drake: Yes Molly: Is there like anything that you felt like you missed out on like at home during that time? Mr. Drake: That I missed out on at home? Molly: Yeah. Mr. Drake: Well I missed out on my sister’s wedding (laughs) Molly: Did you have any, did you have to see any of your close friends die? Mr. Drake: (pause) well not close friends in the civilian sense but certainly close friends because we were in the same unit, yes Molly: And what was that like? Mr. Drake: Well the rush of war is so intense that you don’t take time to dwell on things like that until well afterward Molly: Mhm.. do you think about it now, at all? Or.. Mr. Drake: Well I think about them if I take a look a something like Saving Private Ryan or A Bridge Too Far, something like that Molly: Okay. Mr. Drake: We carried a uh, (pause) we carried m 1 riffles and 45 caliber pistils and we carried switch blade knives, and trench blade knives with brass knuckles, and we also carried garrotes Molly: Garrotes Dylan: What are garrotes? Molly: Is it like a grenade? Mr. Drake: I think its spelt G.A.R.R.O.T. Its like a piece of wire with two handles and you use it to choke a man to death or saw his throat open (raises his hands ) Molly: OH..WOW Dylan: uhm if a grandchild or granddaughter were to tell you they wanted to enlist in the war, what advise would you give them? Mr. Drake: Which war? Dylan: If they wanted to enlist in the service? Mr. Drake: Well I had two sons who (pause) were the appropriate age for Vietnam and uhm David was very anxious to enlist and I talked him out of it, Than was a little young so he wasn’t quite as interested Molly: Mhm and why did you talk him out of it? Mr. Drake: Because it was a war I didn’t believe in for one thing, had it been WW2 all over again it would have had a different ending Dylan: And this was Vietnam you’re talking about? Mr. Drake: Yeah Molly: Do you believe in today’s war in Iraq ..or Afghanistan? Mr. Drake: Absolutely not Molly: Absolutely not..okay so you defiantly agree that there was a strong purpose for WW2 and Korea Mr. Drake: Certainly for WW2, Korea was a little more nebulous I think Molly: Okay Dylan: for what reasons? Mr. Drake: (leans forward)Well Harry Truman made the most wonderful decision when he realized the atomic bomb to end WW2 that was prime and then suddenly he got confronted with a situation in Asia and no one really knew how much of a threat communism really was so he sent troops to Korea Molly: uhm Mr. Drake: and I think in the long run it was probably okay mhm the atomic bombing of hiroshimawhat werew your thought on that, did you agree with that or did you
think the jals were already defeated and it wewas kindoff pointless? We were sitting in an outdoor jungled theater in a little town called lipa in luzland and they interrupt the movie to say an atomic bomb had been dropped on.. Hiroshima Hiroshima on that was on the 6th of august and we had no idea what theat meant, we had no idea of the magnitude of it so we went on with the movie (shrug) a couple of night later, the ninth you think we spent every night at the movies now (laugh) they now say that they had dropped another one and they had suspected that the Japanese might suit for piece, and I was with three men that I have stayed in touch with ever since and we all broke down and cries, and they did actually sued for peace on the fifteenth Uhm how.. once you were out of the war, out of WW2, out of korea and you came home, was there an signifigant change in your personality? D: howd the military affect you? Well I got out of the military first in January 1946 and went back and finished college Right Then I went to Chicago to work for Montgomery ward then I came back to new york and worked for national biscuit (laughs) and the pitsburg state glass company and then I met your grandmother I mean was there any uhm, so you started a family then Howd the military change you? Was there anything different about you when you got back that you can recognize. Huuu, id like to say that I was tougher, but im not sure I was any tougher, I thought I was tough going in (laughs) Right. Did your uh did your perspective on war change imean when you entered, you were thinking I want to do this to help D:when you came out did you regret going in? When I came out did I regret having gone in? no Did your uh idea of war change of what you thought it was at the beginning them at the end? Well it was a lot nastier than I realized it would be because our only experience, our only reference of war in my generation had been WW1 Right Which was quite a different war, I mean it was taught and fought in a quite static situation, with trenches with duck boards and you spend 2 days forward in the trench and….of course very little air activity. Uhm alrright Well thanks for the great interview That’s it? That’s it That’s it Thanks you were really great Will I get a c+? (laughs) uhmm TIME CODES!
