John P. Litchfield oral history
Scope and Contents
The interview provides information and personal observations about Litchfield's experiences: (DVD1) background prior to joining the 10th Mountain Division; officer's training at Fort Benning; reasons for joining the 10th Mountain Division; beginning of Camp Hale; types of men at Camp Hale; uniqueness of Camp Hale and how training made the soldiers stronger; moratorium on publicity when the division arrived in Italy; move from Company Commander to liaison officer; role of liaison officer; routes established on Riva Ridge; morale in Italy; (DVD2) role of officers versus enlisted men; March offensive, primary planning, speed by which troops advanced; (DVD3) 10th Mountain Division formation, accomplishments, use, success; place in history; personal life philosophy.
Dates
- Check date
Creator
- Litchfield, John P.,1917-2011. (Person)
- Litchfield, John P., (Person)
- Unknown, John, (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
John P. Litchfield was born in Lisbon Falls, Me. on July 21, 1917 and enlisted in the Army at Boise, Idaho on April 15, 1942. At the time of his enlistment, he was unmarried, had completed four years of college and working as an athletic instructor. Litchfield was a member of the National Champion Dartmouth Ski Team. He went through basic training at Camp Roberts, Calif. before being sent to Infantry Officers Candidates School at Fort Benning, Ga. Litchfield was assigned to Camp Hale, Colo. on October 6, 1942 as a Platoon Leader with the 86th Infantry Regiment, but later served as a Battalion Supply Officer and after promotion to 1st Lieutenant became a Company Commander. He transfered with the rest of the 10th Light Division to Camp Swift, Tex. to received final training before being deployed to Italy and was assigned to Headquarters Company, G3 Section for duty as a Liason Officer to the 86th Infantry Regiment. Arrived in Naples in January 1954 and was later stationed near Pisa. Promoted to Captain on February 7, 1945 and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his actions during the Apennines and Po River Campaigns in the Spring of 1945. Litchfield later served during the Korean conflict and on the General Staff in the Offices of Assistant Chief of Staff G2, Intelligence, Department of the Army, Washington DC. He died in Denver, Colo. on June 10, 2011.
Extent
3 videodiscs (103 min.) :sd., col. ; + 1 envelope
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift;Abbie Kealy;2008.
General
Produced as part of the Western History/Genealogy Dept. Oral History Project. (if applicable, check inventory)
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
- Camp Swift (Tex.) -- History. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- DVDs Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Litchfield, John P., 1917-2011 -- 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 -- Interviews. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Soldiers -- United States -- Interviews. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- United States. Army. Infantry Regiment, 86th -- Interviews.
- United States. Army. Mountain Division, 10th -- Interviews.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Finding Aid for the John P. Litchfield oral history,2005[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
