Episode 90: In the Hospital
War As My Fathers Tank Battalion Knew It
English - May 21, 2021 13:56 - 1 hour - 84.3 MB - ★★★★ - 7 ratingsHistory Arts tanks armor generalpatton worldwarii Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Distinguished Service Cross recipient Jim Flowers lost parts of both legs in Normandy. Pfc. Bob Levine, who was following one of Flowers' tanks when he was wounded and captured, had a leg amputated by a German surgeon. Lieutenant Jim Gifford was struck by a bullet which protruded from his head near his right eye. Corporal Jim Rothschadl, Lieutenant Flowers' gunner, was badly burned after his tank burst into flames. These accounts portray a vivid picture of medical treatment during the war, and the often unsung heroism of the doctors and nurses who treated the injured.
On Friday-Sunday June 4-6, I'll be exhibiting in the hangar at the Mid Atlantic Museum World War II Weekend in Reading, Pennsylvania. This is one of the great WW2 events, and usually draws ten to twenty thousand visitors. If you attend, be sure to stop by in the hangar and say hello.
Thank you for listening to War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It, a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. I'm Aaron Elson. For more of the individual stories of the veterans in this episode, check out some of the earlier episodes, especially those on Hill 122 and the Battle of the Bulge.
The usual suspects:
World War II Oral History Audiobooks
War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It
Semper Fi, Padre: The Mathew Caruso Story