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My Fellow Veterans:
Five generations of my family
have served in times of war. As a
former Marine and Vietnam veteran,
I know every veteran has a story
to tell. The Texas Veterans Land
Board Voices of VeteransTM program
wants to preserve as many of
these important oral histories as
possible. Through these stories of
bravery, fear and fellowship, future
generations of Texans can learn
lessons not found in any textbook
like what it means to sacrifice for a
cause greater than yourself, and how
to face adversity against great odds.
Free to any Texas veteran,the Voicesof VeteransTM program provides a
lasting legacy for historians, friends
and family members, and helps us to
honor and remember the sacrifices of
all Texas veterans.
Semper Fi,
JERRY PATTERSON,
Chairman
Texas Veterans
Land Board
Veteran Spotlight
The Battle o Okinawa was
largest amphibious operation
the Pacifc Theater o WWII
resulted in the deaths o o
95,000 Japanese and 12,
Americans during its bloody
intense 82 days o fghting.
two Texas veterans, their t
fghting together on the island
U.S. Marines remains a defn
moment o their lives and
created a strong bond t
remains over 66 years later. Cl
Thompson and Chester Brown recently shared their memories with
Voices o Veterans oral history program.
Clovis Thompson, a native o Paducah, Texas, served as a corporal in Marine Corps inantry
I had lost three lieutenants during this period o time rom one hill to the other, but as
would have it I was still alive, but I had lost three lieutenants. So they brought in a lieute
named Chester D. Brown. We moved up on this hill ... and then right there in ront o us
a sudden we saw a pu o smoke come out o the ground. We knew what it was. We kn
was a mortar coming out o there, and o course they knew where we were because we
pushing them back. Those mortars come down and theyd holler that Tommys hit, Jo
dead, Ed Dunnin is dead, and so I said theyre going kill us all i we dont do something ...
get the machine guns up here. So he (Lt. Brown) called back and got a couple o machine up there, and they would give cover and I told them Ill go down there and get a good
in there and see i I can knock that out. And o course Lt. Brown says youre out o your e
loving mind. You cant live to go down there and back. Well, we got to do something. We
just lay here and let them put those shells right in our laps. So we decided wed do that
we got those machine guns up there and opened them up and as best they could to giv
protection. I went down across the opening, and when I got down there, I ound a hole i
VOICES ofVETERANSTEXAS VETERANS LAND BOARD
Summer 2012
voicesofveterans.orgH 1.800.252.VETS
Clovis Tompson
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ground, and thats all it wasa hole
in the ground about 3 or 4 eet deep,
about 3, 4 or 5 eet in circumerence,
and there was nothing there. But we
knew good and well thats where
that smoke was coming rom. So as
I got down there, I threw a grenade
in there, and I come back. And in a
ew minutes here come the mortarsagain. So I told Chester (Lt. Brown), I
said OK, holler at the demolition man
and get me three sticks o dynamite
with a 5-second use on it. O course
they looked at me and said
in the world do you think y
going do with that? I said
Im going to try to get up i
lap and I dont want it back
lap, either. So thats what h
He xed me up with a dyna
charge with a use on it, lit it
I took o down there and t
it in the hole, and pretty clo
the time I threw that in the
o course it went o, and we
I use the word landslide, all
hills (had) caves, and withdynamite charge it caved in se
areas, a pretty big area ... As
trying to get back to my po
you never saw two little old legs run so hard in your lie trying to get up that hill an
out o that area. Anyhow, I did knock out the enemy and thats what I got a Silver Sta
Chester Brown was a recent graduate o the University o Texas a
new Marine 2nd Lt. during the battle. He nominated Clovis Thomp
or the Silver Star
They called me up at the regiment and said Brown, we want you to make the landing
the 22nd Regiment as liaison ocer. I said yes sir, and didnt know what a liaison o
did. I assumed you set up some kind o liaison. Anyway, I was with the 22nd on the lan
not my own people. About the third day I went across the peninsula and joined th
Marines ... And then I was given a platoon in Company A and we were the replace
platoon ... I never knew when Clovis joined it. That sounds strange, but you know
Nothing is more powerul than the
spoken word. Imagine i we could
listen to the stories o heroes such
as David Crockett, Sam Houston, and Ste-
phen F. Austin in their own words.
Thanks to digital technology, we can now
record the special memories o todays he-
roes and share them with uture genera-
tions o Texans.
Military his-
tory oten
h i g h l i g h t s
stories o ma-
jor battles,e q u i p m e n t
or amous
leaders. Yet,
the stories o
the men and women on the rontlines are
oten overlooked. Stories o courage, ear,
ellowship and inspiration are lost with ev-
ery passing year.
The Texas Veterans Land Board Voices oVeterans program wants to record these
stories to remind uture Texans that ordi-
nary men and women, when aced with
adversity, can accomplish extraordinary
things. The Voices o Veterans program
serves as a living monument to honor the
sacrifces o all veterans.
The Voices oVeterans program
serves as aliving monument
to honor thesacrifces o
all veterans.
WHY ORAL HISTORY?
voicesofveterans.orgH 1.800.252.VETS
Tommys hit, Johns
dead, Ed Dunnin is
dead, and so I said
theyre going kill us all
if we dont do some-
thing ... I said get themachine guns up here.
Clovis Tompson
Page 2
Tompson on Okinawa.
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ear a man get hit behind you, and you hear about a replacement, and you got a name,nd hes lled the bill. Thats the man they gave you, thats the one you use. I heard
hat Texas twang ... We were on a ridge and didnt know it, but it links with a cave
nderneath, and we began to get casualties rom mortar re, and we nally located
he hole that was evidently an air vent to the troops underneath, and we called or an
xplosive bigger than a grenade, and they brought it up and the guy said youre going
o have to have a lot o endurance to take this. (His name is) Clovis, (but) I called him
Blackie, it was his nickname ... he didnt hesitate. He said Ill take it. Handed his rife
o somebody else and took the thing and ran down the hill. Im going to say about 20
ards under rife re and poked that thing in the hole and came back about ve steps
nd ell down fat. It went o and we never got another mortar round out o that hole.We didnt think about awards ... (but) I was ully aware o the bravery that he took on
imsel, exposing himsel to enemy re to save us, the rest o the troops.
How It Works
1Complete and mail thescreening form at theend of this newsletter.Let us know youre ready to tellyour story.
2Introduction byphone.When we get your contact ino,our sta will call to chat aboutyour story. This helps us organizeour work and lets us know moreabout you.
3Set an interview date.
Once approved, the sta willwork with you and our volunteerinterviewer to pick the best dayor your interview.
4Tell your story.Either by phone or in person,a typical Voices o Veteransinterview lasts 1 to 2 hours.
5Add pictures if youwant.Please eel ree to send us copieso wartime photos, documents orother memorabilia to enrich yourstory.
6Proof your interview.You will have a chance to reviewand edit the transcript o yourinterview or accuracy. We want
to get it right.
7Get your story on CD.You will receive a ree transcriptand 4 ree audio CDs o yourinterview, along with a rameablecertiicate.
voicesofveterans.orgH 1.800.252.VETS
Tompson and pals on Guadalcanal.
Chester and Daisy Brown
Page 3
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h
Well, being a Christian, it was badto think about trying to kill someone,
but i somebodys shooting at you, youknow good and well youre going toshoot back ... and that way were doinga duty, we thought, to the country ...
Roy Goad, U.S. Army
Awarded the Silver Starrecorded 8 January, 2008
I know one o the guys asked me onetime ... was you ever scared? I said
yeah, one time. I said I was scared
om the time that frst damn bombhit, until the end o the war when Igot home. Tats just about the way itwas ...
Albert Kamenicky, USN
Pearl Harbor survivorrecorded 2 December, 2008
... their avorite trick was, i youreused to answer, you got two
options. One, they would takeout their Luger, put it on the deskand say we have ways to make youanswer ...
Andrew Bardagjy, USN
POW on interrogation by NaziSS recorded 2 December, 2008
I ound these people and they had on aGerman uniorm with a gun. O course
we just threw our hands up ... and theydidnt want us. I saw that Chetnikemblem on his cap and I said well, wereamong iends.
Donald Landrum, USAAF
Shot down over Nazi territoryrecorded 17 April, 2008
Chester Brown now resides in Conroe and Clovis Thompson in Abilene.
shared bond rom their service keeps them in touch to this day as riends
ellow Marine veterans.
If you know a veteran with a story to tell please have them call 1-800-252-V
The Voices o Veterans oral history program accepts donations to ensure that every interview is
transcribed and saved or posterity. The transcription process, which can be time consuming and
expensive, allows historians and the interested general public to better study and review the in-
terviews in our archives. A transcription, unlike the spoken word, aords the opportunity to read
and review the interview in a more detailed manner and also allows searching by key words and
terms. Voices o Veterans currently contracts with court reporters and transcribers in Texas to ac-
complish the laborious task o transcribing each interview. Your donation, o any amount, wil
help us reach our goal.
Clovis and Mary Jo Tompson
voicesofveterans.orgH 1.800.252.VETS Page 4
DONATETO VOICES OF VETERANS
DONATE ONLINEAT VOICESOFVETERANS.ORG ORMAIL TOTexas Veterans Land Board, P.O. Box 12873, Austin TX 78711-9788
Jerry Patterson, Chairman
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EveryVeteranHas
AstorytoTell.
OPEN NOW through september 4, 2012
CAPITOLVISITORS
CENTER
FREEEXHIBITat the
112 East 11th Street
Austin, Texas 78701
512-305-8400
The Voices of VeteransTM oral history program
is being highlighted in a yearlong multimedia
exhibit at the Capitol Visitors Center in the
historic Land Office Building on the Capitol
grounds.
Entitled Every Veteran Has a Story to Tell,
this free exhibit features a short video on the
program, multimedia iPad kiosks with actualselections from the veterans' interviews and
personal artifacts.
VOICESOFVETERANS.ORG
Jerry Patterson, Chairman
voicesofveterans.orgH 1.800.252.VETS Page 5
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I WANT TO TELL MY STORY.
Email address
Home Phone
Street Address
City State Zip Code
Spouse or Other Contact Name
Your Name
Cell Phone
Other Phone FAX
(Mr. ) (Mrs.)
(Mr. ) (Mrs.)
Service Branch: Last Rank:
Dates of Service (e.g., 1946 to 1951) Conflict / Theater of Operations
Significant Battles / Missions
Significant Battles / Missions
Awards/Medals
Awards/Medals
Other Items of Interest
to
Please mail form to:
Texas Veterans Land Board, P.O. Box 12873, Austin TX 78711-9788.
Or you may fax it to 512-475-1415.
Call 800-252-VETS (8387) for more info.
In order to help us learn more about you and your service record, pleasecomplete this screening orm to the best o your knowledge. Thank you.