Patricia Atkinson

Service Learning

History 2710

April 2006

 

 

Val Edgel

821st Tank Destroyer Battalion

U.S. Army

World War II

 

 

 

 

 

I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Mr. Val Edgel on Monday March 27, 2006 about his experiences as U.S. Soldier during World War II. This was a very educational and meaningful experience for me.

            One of the most important parts for me was learning about my family. Val is my great uncle on my father’s side. I had never met him before, so it was an interesting experience getting to know him. After we finished the formal interview, he really started talking. He told me stories about my grandparents and great-grandparents that I had never had the opportunity to hear before, and showed me family pictures that I didn’t know existed. I found out for the first time that my great-grandfather was an amateur painter; Val has several of his father’s works hanging in the house. One thing that impressed me about him is how much he reminds me of my grandmother. They look a bit a like, but it was the fact that they act so much alike that struck me. Being more than five years apart in age, they have not lived in the same house since about 1940. But as I watched my great uncle tell stories, I could see my grandma. He has the identical facial expressions and body language that she would have while telling the same story.  They are both very animated and get really excited when telling stories. I wish I had been able to record more of his stories, but every time I got out my tape recording, he would stop telling them. I have been working on writing them down to the best of my memory so that my family has access to them.

            Val Edgel was a gunner on a 75mm, anti-tank gun as a member of the 821st Tank Destroyer division that fought all the way across France. I thought it was really interesting what information I could and could not get him to share about the war. Most veterans I have talked to will tell me about their friends and unit activities, but will say very little about the war itself. Val told me several stories about combat. He detailed the time that he ripped a German officer’s arm from his shoulder by accidentally aiming an anti-tank gun to high. I was also told about his being narrowly missed by a piece of shrapnel that went through his bible that was sitting on the dash board, and then through the jeep engine. He also mentioned that he was wounded in the shoulder and spent some time in the hospital in England, but gave me very few details.

Val would not tell me much about life in the army or day to day activities. I asked him about people in his unit and he said very little. He does not remember celebrating any holiday’s at war, though I realized later that since he was wounded in October of 1944 he would not have celebrated any major holidays while in combat. I asked him about correspondence at home and he gave me monosyllabic answers. Though he did admit later, unfortunately it was while I was cleaning up my recording equipment, that he had a girl that he thought was waiting for him at home. She married someone else while he was in the hospital in England.

            One story he told about some of his fellow soldiers saddened me. There was so little integrity in some of the men that when a U.S. Soldier wanted a German POW’s wrist watch, the lieutenant told him to take the POW behind the bush, put a bullet in his head and take the watch. My great uncle pulled out his side-arm and escorted the prisoner to the stockade, probably saving his life. Because of this Val was never trusted by his lieutenant or several of his fellow soldiers again. As Americans we hear about the glorious things that the American forces did during World War II and the horrible deeds of the Germans. The truth is that there are terrible things that happen in war, on both sides. No soldiers, no matter who they are fighting for, are entirely heroic or entirely evil. Most of them are just young men that are doing what there country asked of them.

            The most touching story Val told was of coming home. He sailed, on a hospital ship, into New York Harbor on Easter Morning, 1945. There was a ship in the harbor, full of military personnel singing “God Bless America.” As the passengers that were standing on the deck of the hospital ship heard the music, they all broke into tears.

            Though he did tell several wonderful stories, most of his answers were very brief. Because of this the interview was not as long as I would have liked. I checked a transcription machine out from the library for two weeks expecting to be spending at least that long typing, but because of the length of the interview, I finished the transcription by the end of the week. To make up for the lost time I have spent the last two weeks attempting to research his unit and the war itself to provide some background.

Val Edgel’s Battalion, the 821st Tank Destroyer Battalion, has a small web based history at www.gippetti.com/821st.shtml. The sight has a few photographs and a partial transcript of the unit records. Because of this sight, I was able to find out that Edgel and three others were wounded in Gillrath Germany, with an additional three killed. Unfortunately the 821st has a very limited available history compared to some of the other units. Because of the brief and unceremonious nature of the web sight, it took me hours to track it down. During this time, I had the opportunity to read many other histories. My favorite sights were those that were created by the soldiers themselves. I have always loved studying Word War II, but it so much more meaningful to learn about the war from the soldier’s point of view.

At the end of the interview Val Edgel went into a backroom and came out with several things from the war. He allowed me to handle and photograph his purple heart, which was a wonderful opportunity. I have seen hundreds of pictures of the small medal, but this was my first opportunity to actually hold one. To think of how many men and women have been awarded these medals is both amazing and sad. So many people have bled and often died in defense of their country, it is humbling. Another object that he showed me was the wounded bible. The hole goes all the way through the leather cover and thick body. That piece of shrapnel could have easily caused serious damage to Val or the other man in the jeep.

I hope that this project will benefit anyone wising to learn about the American efforts in WWII. Cold hard facts can be memorized, but will never give someone the understanding that can be gained from learning the true experiences of soldiers. Within the next few years there will be few if any veterans from the Second World War left. The real stories of the war come only from these men and should be cherished. Unless enough stories can be collected, the next generation is going to learn about the war from statistics instead of personal experiences. I know that the personal stories that he told me will of benefit to my family. I just hope that as I labor to remember them, I can do them justice.