Title: Ron L. Gill Memoir

Date/Date Range :   undated

Extent: 0.4 linear feet

Abstract:

This collection consists of one 49-page illustrated manuscript, one 3.5 inch floppy disk, and three cassette tapes documenting Ron L. Gill's experiences in World War II.

Call number: MS-2579

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Aquisition Information:

Craig C. Galloway donated this collection to the Special Collections Library in May of 2002.

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Copyright:

The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of Item], Ron L. Gill Memoir, MS-2579. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Collection consists of four folders divided into two series: Printed Memoirs and Cassette Tapes.

Ron L. Gill was born in approximately 1923. His father was a hog farmer in the Land Between Lakes Region on the Tennessee-Kentucky border, and Gill worked on the family farm until his high school graduation in 1941. After graduating, Gill went to work for the TVA building Kentucky Dam. He was drafted into the armed forces on October 22, 1942. Although he had planned to join the Navy, Gill was inducted into the Army. After completing basic training, Gill was sent to the School of Mines and Metallurgy to learn engineering. Just before D-Day, the school was disbanded in order to free more soldiers for combat in Europe. In September of 1944, Gill was transferred to England, attached to the 12th Armored Division of the 3rd Army, and deployed to Europe. He was discharged in December of 1945.

This 49-page illustrated memoir was narrated by Ron L. Gill and written by Craig Galloway. It begins in 1940, one year before Gill was drafted into the U.S. Army. The bulk of the narrative is devoted to describing Gill's experiences during the Second World War.

Gill begins his account with his basic training in Texas and his experiences in the Army's School of Mines and Metallurgy. When Gill deployed to Europe in 1944, his descriptions turn to his experiences in European tank battles. These descriptions include friends lost in battle (including one who was killed by friendly fire), German soldiers who surrendered to his unit, and the rudimentary instruction that his unit received in the German language. Interestingly, Gill also gives his opinions of German solders and civilians, mentioning the impartiality of German doctors (who tended to American POWs as well as they did to German soldiers) and the honor that German civilians accorded German soldiers.

• Gill, Ron L.
• World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American.
• World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Europe.