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Home Oral history interview with John J. Higgins on 2007 Oct. 22.

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Oral history interview with John J. Higgins on 2007 Oct. 22.

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Title	Oral history interview with John J. Higgins on 2007 Oct. 22.
Description	Interview conducted by Michelle Delvecchio. John J. Higgins enlisted in the Army National Guard's in May of 1940. Before he enlisted he had been part of the Civilian Conservation Corps for fifteen months. Higgins felt this was an advantage to him when he joined the army. He was assigned to Camp Blanding, FL for basic training, and over the next three years rose in rank from private to master sergeant. He was then transferred to Camp Shelby, MI for additional training. It wasn't until October of 1942 that Higgins was shipped out of San Francisco and overseas to New Zealand. As part of the 169th infantry regiment he was part of battles on many islands in the South Pacific, including Guadalcanal, New Georgia, New Guinea, and Luzon, in the Philippines. The first real combat situation he experienced was during the invasion of New Georgia (part of the Soloman Islands). Higgins describes in detail the events and conditions that he endured during the invasion, including a story of being ambushed during a patrol with seven men, where only two of them survived. The 169th stayed on New Georgia for 19 months, securing an air field there before moving to Matawan in Papua New Guinea for a period of six months, and then Luzon (they arrived in January of 1945). In all places they experienced heavy combat and harsh conditions. In April of 1945 the men were evacuated to Biak (another small island in Papua New Guinea) to prepare for the Invasion of Japan which never took place. After the peace treaty with Japan was signed on September 2, 1945, Higgins regiment landed in Japan. He describes Tokyo as almost 90% destroyed. He did not stay in Japan for long though, as he was due to be discharged because of the amount of points he had accrued in battle. He was discharged on January 31, 1946 at Fort Devens, MA. Higgins then joined the Reserve Officer Corps (he had been made a 2nd lieutenant on New Georgia) when he returned home, and was called into active duty once again in the fall of 1950 at the start of the Korean War. During the Korean War Higgins trained three platoons at Camp Pickett, VA, before he was transferred to Southern Bavaria. He remained in active duty status until 1976, when he retired as a colonel. After his retirement he joined the Avon post of the VFW.
Coverage	1940-1946
Date Original	10/22/2007
Digital Format	video/x-ms-wmv
Duration	01:13:39
Contributors	Delvechhio, Michelle
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	VHP2007.23
Creator/Owner	Higgins, John J.
War or Conflict	World War, 1939-1945 Korean War, 1950-1953
Branch of Service	United States. Army Connecticut. National Guard
Unit of Service	United States Army. 169th Infantry Regiment. 3rd Battalion.
Rank	Colonel
Status	Veteran
Subject	World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- New Guinea World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Philippines United States. Army. Reserve Officers' Training Corps United States. Army. Infantry Seppuku
Geographic Location	Camp Blanding (Fla.) Camp Shelby (Miss.) Biak Island (Indonesia) New Zealand Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands) New Guinea Solomon Islands Luzon (Philippines) New Georgia (Solomon Islands) Papua New Guinea Germany
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	John J. Higgins Papers. VHP2007/23. Veterans History Project; Central Connecticut State University, Center for Public Policy and Social Research.
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