Richard S. Dirkes oral history
Scope and Contents
The interview provides information and personal observations about Dirkes being drafted at 18 year of age and being sent to Camp Upton, Long Island, N.Y. to join the ski troops at Camp Hale, arrival at Camp Hale with scarlet fever and subsequent hospitalization, training in rock climbing, test for cadet training program, choice of returning to the 10th Mountain Division or joining the 65th Infantry, arriving at Le Havre, France and combat in France, Austria and other central European locations, German prisoners of war camps.
Dates
- Check date
Creator
- Dirkes, Richard S.,1924- (Person)
- Thorton, Patricia, (Person)
Language of Materials
Material is in English unless otherwise noted.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright is retained by the author of the items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Biographical / Historical
Richard S. Dirkes was born on March 27, 1924 in Richmond Hills, Queens, N.Y. and enlisted in the Army at February 19, 1943 at Camp Upton, N.Y. At the time of enlistment he was unmarried and had completed four years of high school. Dirkes joined the 10th Mountain Division at Camp Hale, Colo. where he was assigned to Company B and then Company E of the 86th Infantry Regiment. While at Camp Hale, Dirkes was accepted to the aviation cadet program and transferred to Jefferson Barracks, Mo. He attended Albion College, Mich. until the cadet program terminated in 1944. He later served in combat with the 261st Infantry Regiment of the 65th Division. Dirkes was honorably discharged on March 11, 1946.
Extent
1 videodiscs (DVD)
Immediate Source of Acquisition
GIft;Richard Dirkes2007.
Linking Entry Complexity Note
Forms part of the 10th Mountain Division Resource Center Collection.
- Camp Hale (Colo.) -- History. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- DVDs Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Dirkes, Richard S., 1924- -- Interviews.
- Military maneuvers -- Cold weather conditions. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Mini-DV Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Oral histories (document genres) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Ski troops -- History. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Soldiers -- United States. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- United States. Army. Infantry Regiment, 86th.
- United States. Army. Infantry, 65th.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Finding Aid for the Richard S. Dirkes oral history,2007[videorecording]
- Author
- Finding Aid prepared from MARC data.
- Description rules
- Anglo American Cataloguing Rules
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Denver Public Library, Western History and Genealogy Repository
