World War II veterans remember: Roland Powell Sr., 94, was was drafted into the Army in April 1942 and served in a segregated unit, mostly in the Philippines. He served in the Army from 1942 to 1945 in the Pacific Theater.
One thing about mortars: They don’t discriminate.
Roland Powell learned that early on in his combat experience, observing how the shells cut down everyone, race or skin color notwithstanding.
The sound of them being fired in the distance “was an eerie feeling,” recalled Powell, who served in a segregated Army unit for black soldiers.
“Then, you got real nervous,” counting off the seconds to see where they’d hit...
In recognition of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in 2015, the Tulsa World is trying to capture and preserve some of the personal stories of veterans living in the Tulsa area.
Stories in the series "Serving Our Country: World War II Veterans Remember" will be collected at tulsaworld.com/ww2veterans.
Article written by Tim Stanley on Tulsa World. WW2live has special and granted permission from the Tulsa World to use part of this article and this video.
Source:
Categories:
Nation in war:
Language:
