Log in
|
Help
|
English

English

Engish-Pirate

한국어

Search

Advanced Search

Find results with:

Add another field

Search by date

to

Searching collections:

Veterans History Project

Add or remove collections

Home Oral history interview with Norman J. Feitelson recorded 2006 Dec. 22

Reference URL

Share

Add tags

Comment

Rate

To link to this object, paste this link in email, IM or document

To embed this object, paste this HTML in website

Oral history interview with Norman J. Feitelson recorded 2006 Dec. 22

View Description

Download

small (250x250 max)

medium (500x500 max)

large ( > 500x500)

Full Resolution

Link
Text

Close

Text Search...

5785.asx [0.00 MB]

File Format:
Digital file

you wish to report:

Your comment:

Your Name:

Submit

Cancel

...

Back to top

Powered by CONTENTdm®

Select the collections to add or remove from your search

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Select All Collections

C

CCSU Student Publications

CCSU Theses and Dissertations

G

GLBTQ Archives

M

Modern Language Oral Histories

O

O'Neill Archives Oral Histories

P

Polish American Pamphlets

T

Treasures from the Special Collections

V

Veterans History Project

OK

Cancel

Title	Oral history interview with Norman J. Feitelson recorded 2006 Dec. 22
Description	Interview conducted by Eileen Hurst. Norman Feitelson tried to enlist in the U.S. Air Force in 1942, but failed the entrance exam due to an eye test. He then decided to wait to enter the service until he was drafted. He was drafted into the U.S. Army with 18 others from Waterbury, Ct in June of 1943. He went to basic training at Camp Edwards, which was in Cape Cod, Ma. He attended basic training for eleven months, where he learned how to be a range setter for an anti-aircraft unit. He describes the training as very difficult because of the weather and terrain of Massachusetts in the summertime. Although his unit (836th Anti-aircraft Battalion), was supposed to ship overseas in anticipation of D-Day, instead the unit was disassembled and the soldiers were broken into different divisions. Feitelson was placed in an infantry unit, and shipped to Fort Dix for infantry and artillery training. He was then sent to Louisiana and Fort Bragg before going overseas. Feitelson sailed to Scotland with 30,000 other soldiers and was assigned to the 5th infantry division, 11th infantry regiment as a replacement just after the Battle of the Bulge. His job in this unit was to operate an automatic rifle which weighed 17 ½ pounds, and had to be carried everywhere. Just two days after landing in France to join his unit, he experienced combat during the Battle of Bitburg. On his very first patrol he saw men killed. Feitelson describes what the men ate and the conditions of living in a combat situation. In March of 1945, his unit was part of the crossing of the Rhine, where they heard the famous speech given by General Patton before the battle that ensued. Feitelson describes knowing that the war would be over soon in April of 1945, because of the number of German soldiers surrendering to the 5th Division. When the surrender was officially announced, his unit moved into Austria and Czechoslovakia, where it was their duty to "clean up" units that were not aware that they had surrendered. They also liberated one of the satellite concentration camps in Czechoslovakia, where Feitelson's knowledge of Yiddish came in handy for interpretation purposes. In June of 1945, the soldiers were sent back to the United States, and given a 30 day leave to go home. While Feitelson was back in Connecticut the end of the war was announced, so instead of reporting for infantry duty, he was sent to Fort Campbell where he began playing and refereeing basketball for the army team. During the interview Feitelson also describes some memorable experiences, and what daily life for the soldiers in the infantry was comprised of. He was discharged from the U.S. Army in February of 1946, and used the GI Bill to obtain his degree in elementary education from the Teacher's College of Connecticut in New Britain, Ct. He worked in elementary education until 1983, in addition to other occupations that he held simultaneously.
Coverage	1943-1946
Date Original	12/22/2006
Digital Format	video/x-ms-wmv
Duration	01:24:56
Contributors	Hurst, Eileen
Software	Windows Media Player required for viewing
Access Restrictions and Permissions	No access restrictions. For permission to reproduce contact Central Connecticut State University, Center for Public Policy and Social Research at (860) 832-2976
Image Identifier	VHP2006/27
Creator/Owner	Feitelson, Norman J.
War or Conflict	World War, 1939-1945
Branch of Service	United States. Army
Unit of Service	United States. Army. 5th Infantry Division. 11th Infantry Regiment.
Rank	Corporal
Status	Veteran
Subject	World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Europe World War, 1939-1945 -- Concentration camps -- Czechoslovakia United States. Army. Infantry Combat Patton, George S. (George Smith), 1885-1945
Geographic Location	Camp Edwards (Mass.) Fort Bragg (N.C.) Fort Dix (N.J.) France Scotland Austria Czechoslovakia Germany Fort Campbell (Ky. and Tenn.)
Publisher	Central Connecticut State University. Center for Public Policy and Social Research
Language	eng
Relation	Veterans History Project (U.S.)
Type of Resource	Moving image
Citation	Norman J. Feitelson Papers. VHP2006/27. Veterans History Project; Central Connecticut State University, Center for Public Policy and Social Research.
Transcript	Interactive transcript available on Youtube.com http://youtu.be/zOWyp1mmiXk
Rating

Find results with:

Searching collections:

Home Oral history interview with Norman J. Feitelson recorded 2006 Dec. 22

Oral history interview with Norman J. Feitelson recorded 2006 Dec. 22

File Format:

Description

Tags

Comments