Morrison, Harvey C.

Title

Morrison, Harvey C.

Performer

Harvey C. Morrison

Interviewer

Roland Schaedig

Description

Harvey C. Morrison was born on January 28, 1925 in the city of Prairie Depot, Ohio. He volunteered at the draft board in Flat Rock, Michigan when he turned 19 in 1944. He received basic training for six weeks at Camp Hood, Texas. Then Morrison volunteered for airborne training, which he received at Fort Benning, Georgia. After this, he went to Fort Bragg where he was assigned to the 17th Airborne Division. His division went to England in late May to act as replacements, if needed. They parachuted into France after D-Day, but were well past their target due to flak and loss of altitude. It took three days to regroup with other airborne units after encountering little German resistance. Assignments while in France included holding bridges and train yards and disarming infrastructure. The 17th Airborne Division was set up in St.-Saens, France, from which they proceeded on foot to Germany. When the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes got underway, the 17th was sent in as replacements for the 101st and 82nd Airborne in Bastogne, Belgium. Morrison remembers the severe fighting and even more severe weather, which was made worse by their lack of winter gear. He was wounded in Bastogne but soon returned to full service. He carried a standard rifle along with a BAR and a Bazooka (used to take out German emplacements). He received Special Forces training and was authorized to wear a "T" under his Corporal bars. His company crossed the Rhine in a glider and secured Wesel, Germany. From there they went to Hamburg and Dusseldorf, encountering slow house to house fighting. Along with 17 other men, Harvey captured the son of a German diplomat named Von Poven in the Ruhr Valley. In April they began occupation training in Dusseldorf. It was there that they received word of Germany's surrender and were sent to Nancy, France to receive training to go to Japan. Three days out on their way to Japan, the atomic bomb was dropped and the men began to go home. Harvey returned home in January to a parade in New York along with his division. From there, he returned to Fort Bragg and was called back into service before the outbreak of the Korean War. His job was to handle reservist and draft papers in Fort Wayne near Detroit and Battle Creek, Michigan. Due to his and his wife's stay in hospitals, Harvey was not sent over to Korea during the conflict. Harvey was awarded the bronze star for meritorious service.

Date Span

1944-1952

Dates of Service

Subject

Drafted; United States Army Air Forces/Corps; 17th Airborne Division; 82nd Airborne Division; 194th Glider Infantry Regiment; 325th Glider Infantry Regiment; World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953; Second World War - European Theater; United States; Staff Sergeant

Publisher

Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Collection Location

3/25

https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/loc.natlib.afc2001001.68033

Spatial Coverage

Second World War - European Theater; United States

Item