Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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George Jordan

WWII | B Battery, 489th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Self Propelled Battalion, 4th Armored Division, 3rd Army

While in basic training training at Fort Bliss, George Jordan befriended a sergeant who had an idea for some recreation. Why don't they go over the border to Juarez and get a steak dinner? It didn't work out so well for the sergeant. (3:12)
George Jordan deployed to England where his first duty was guarding a paratrooper base, not against infiltration but against deserters. Once his light armor unit was transported to France, it made quick progress to the Moselle River, where they paused to await resupply. He recalls seeing the legendary General George Patton direct traffic, just like in the movie. (6:34)
George Jordan was a squad leader on a halftrack, but he recalls a time when he was tasked with reconnaissance on an enemy spotter plane. Most of the time, his unit was an antiaircraft outfit. His light armored vehicle was no match for a German tank. (5:03)
In Arlon, Belgium, a nineteen year old George Jordan opted for some ice cream instead of warming whiskey. He still can't believe he made that mistake as he recalls the advance on Bastogne by his light armored unit in support of the 101st Airborne. As he rolled to a stop and stepped down from the halftrack, he was in a frozen stupor, and the next thing he knew, he was coming around in a hospital. (3:26)
George Jordan recalls the German execution of two clergymen and the retribution of General Patton it engendered. As the war wound down, he was fortunate enough to relax at a Bavarian resort with a German girlfriend. That almost caused him some trouble. (5:54)
George Keating

WWII | 731st Bomb Squadron, 452nd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

His boyhood hero was Lucky Lindy, Charles Lindbergh. When the boy was grown, there was a war to fight and George Keating enlisted in the Air Corps one step ahead of the draft board. They made an aircraft mechanic out of him. (4:53)
George Keating shipped out on the Queen Elizabeth. There was no escort fast enough to keep up with her, so they traveled alone to England where his B-17 was waiting for him. He was on the ground crew and was not destined to be on the front lines, but there was that one time a lone German plane slipped through. (5:27)
Once, when the B-17 he was responsible for was heavily damaged, crew chief George Keating stayed with the plane for 72 hours until it was fixed. His job on the ground crew was tough, but he had a really good commander and a so-so assistant. (4:35)
The B-17 could take some serious damage and still fly. Crew chief George Keating describes two miraculous returns after direct hits from the dreaded German 88. The plane was superb, yet the young pilots suffered from inexperience and there were mishaps. (3:37)
George LaMar

WWII | Multiple Units

George LaMar was an Army Air Corps recruit in training when Pearl Harbor was attacked. The population of the west coast was immediately put on edge by the fear of further attacks. He was put into a squadron that consisted of old, slow bombers that went out on anti-submarine patrols with a curious payload. (This interview made possible with the support of ANDREW DESMARAIS.) (4:50)