Gerald “Gerry” Gustafson was born in December 1921 in Chicago [Annotator’s Note: Chicago, Illinois] and grew up in Stockton, Illinois where his father worked as a doctor. He was the only child due to his mother having a very lengthy labor with him. The house that he grew up in did not have plumbing so they used an outhouse. His father worked above their two-bedroom apartment. As he grew up, he was given chores like shoveling snow from the path to the outhouse. He also was given the chore of opening up packages that had medicine for his father’s office and helping his mother with the supply inventory. He was not allowed to have pets because his father’s doctor’s office was upstairs. His father had an old Ford car and a family car. His father taught him to drive when he was 13 years old. His father went through a few other cars while he was growing up. Gustafson was able to get to know a lot of people in the town when he went on medical errands with his father. He appreciated his father’s willingness to teach him, but he was also very strict. When he was in high school, he recalled going to dances in a town called Galena [Annotator’s Note: Galena, Illinois] that hired big bands from Chicago. His father allowed him to take a car with his friends and a couple of girls to the dances. He excelled in school and was very active in different activities. He played the saxophone in the school orchestra. During the summer, he played in the town orchestra for band concerts on Saturday nights. He was part of the school Glee Club, and they won the state championships. He also was part of the Boy’s Octet which also won state championship his senior year of school.

After graduating high school in 1939, Gerald “Gerry” Gustafson attended Wentworth Military Academy [Annotator’s Note: Wentworth Military Academy and College in Lexington, Missouri permanently closed in 2017] and joined the ROTC program [Annotator's Note: Reserve Officer Training Corps]. His school had a required two-hour study period five nights a week. While he was there, he sang in the Octet Club and played football. The school was very rigid, but it was a good school. His parents were allowed to visit on the weekends. He had to wear a uniform and be given permission to leave the campus. Gustafson was aware of Hitler’s [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] uprising in Europe during the late 1930s. After he graduated from Wentworth, he went to another college in Illinois. He dated a girl who was the daughter of the colonel who ran the ROTC program at Wentworth. In his third year of ROTC, he learned to fly and earned his pilot’s license. He was returning from church when he heard the news about Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Following the attack, while home on Christmas leave, Gustafson asked for his father’s permission to join the Army, but was rebuffed. His father believed that the United States should not have been involved in the war.

Following his fourth year at Wentworth [Annotator’s Note: Wentworth Military Academy and College in Lexington, Missouri permanently closed in 2017], Gerald “Gerry” Gustafson began teaching in the high school. He talked about the men that he hung out with while he was in the faculty. Near the end of his fourth year, Gustafson was sworn into the Army in 1943 with the rank of corporal. He was told to go home, and that he would receive orders soon. He was called to report for duty in July 1943. After two months, Gustafson was sent to Fort Benning [Annotator’s Note: Fort Benning, Georgia] for OCS [Annotator's Note: officer candidate school]. The recruits were moved around depending on how they tested on a written exam. He would often help some of them the night before the exam, so his unit had a high success rate. Gustafson was required to go before the board and answer various questions. He received his commission.

[Annotator’s Note: A washing machine running in the background is audible throughout this segment.] Upon receiving his commission, Gerald “Gerry” Gustafson was stationed at Fort McClellan, Alabama where he trained new recruits as a platoon leader. He hated this duty. In February 1944, Gustafson sought and was granted a transfer to Camp Shelby, Mississippi where he was made a platoon leader [Annotator’s Note: in Cannon Company, 442nd Regimental Combat Team]. He received a 10-day furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] before reporting to Camp Shelby. His first reaction of Camp Shelby was how “crappy” it looked. He also was surprised to learn that he would be overseeing a Japanese-American unit. This was the first time in his life that Gustafson was ever exposed to other races. He became great friends with some of the Japanese-American officers.

[Annotator’s Note: A washing machine running in the background is audible throughout this segment.] Gerald “Gerry” Gustafson arrived for duty at Camp Shelby, Mississippi and was assigned as a platoon leader [Annotator’s Note: in Cannon Company, 442nd Regimental Combat Team]. His outfit was made up of Japanese-American soldiers. He trained on the cannon that was a 105mm [Annotator's Note: M2A1 105mm howitzer; standard light field howitzer]. [Annotator’s Note: The interviewee has a hard time remembering some of the officers’ names.] Some of the Japanese-Americans were coming from the internment camps, and half of his men were from Hawaii. He spoke about an officer who had attended UCLA [Annotator’s Note: University California Los Angeles] and was in ROTC [Annotator's Note: Reserve Officer Training Corps]. [Annotator’s Note: Someone comes in through a door at 1:11:05.000.] After Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], this man was forced to stay on campus and allowed to graduate or else he would be forced to go into an interment camp. After he graduated, he was still sent to an interment camp before going to Camp Shelby and becoming a platoon leader in the cannon company with Gustafson. His fellow officer helped him with his soldiers’ names. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewee asked to take a break at 1:20:25.000 – 1:21:50.000.]

[Annotator’s Note: A washing machine running in the background is audible throughout this segment.] Gerald “Gerry” Gustafson arrived for duty at Camp Shelby, Mississippi and was assigned as a platoon leader [Annotator’s Note: in Cannon Company, 442nd Regimental Combat Team]. His outfit was made up of Japanese-American soldiers. He was surprised to learn about the internment camps and how the Japanese-Americans were treated. Gustafson thought they were very good soldiers because they wanted to prove that they were patriotic Americans. During his time at Camp Shelby, Gustafson was able to go to New Orleans [Annotator’s Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] on leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. The chaplain removed his cross on the way down because it caused trouble when he went to parties. Sometimes the mainland Japanese-Americans would get in fights with the Japanese-Americans from Hawaii, because the Hawaiians were more relaxed. He spoke about the different relationships he had with the different officers and how one became a senator after the war [Annotator’s Note: likely referring to Daniel Inouye, member of the 442nd Infantry Regiment and senator for Hawaii from 1963 to 2012]. [Annotator’s Note: Phone rings at 1:33:27.000.]

[Annotator’s Note: A washing machine running in the background is audible throughout this segment.] In May 1944, Gerald “Gerry” Gustafson and his company [Annotator’s Note: Cannon Company, 442nd Regimental Combat Team] boarded a liberty ship [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship] and sailed overseas. The bunks for the troops were five beds high. He spoke about a Japanese-American lieutenant who he befriended that was killed five days before the war ended. The captain of the ship was a bridge player, so the officers got together and played the game. His liberty ship was part of a very large convoy that sailed for about 27 days before reaching Naples [Annotator’s Note: Naples, Italy]. A few ships had left the convoy and disembarked in Algeria. [Annotator’s Note: There is a knock at the door at 1:52:10.000.]

In May 1944, Gerald “Gerry” Gustafson and his company [Annotator’s Note: Cannon Company, 442nd Regimental Combat Team] sailed to Naples [Annotator’s Note: Naples, Italy]. There were Red Cross ladies and he wanted to take them to the “Hidden City” in his jeep. His company was attached to the 34th Infantry Division. The weather was horrible by the time he arrived in Naples. His company was sent to Southern France. His company received communication through a telephone wire. The observer would go out and locate the enemy, then call back to the gun position to give directions to where to fire. His jeep had a .50 caliber machine gun [Annotator's Note: Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun] attached to the back. He ended up on a path on a flat field near some trees. As he was about halfway across the field, he saw a big explosion behind him. He immediately told the men with him to get in the jeep and head out. He realized that he was in the wrong place. He went to an area that was much hillier. They found another company that was hit by the shells. Gustafson returned to headquarters to report what he saw. His commander requested for his company to receive radios.

Gerald “Gerry” Gustafson and his company [Annotator’s Note: Cannon Company, 442nd Regimental Combat Team] saw combat in Italy during the summer of 1944. He spoke about the cannons his company used during combat. The troops in his company were Japanese-American. After his company crossed the Arno River, they headed for Florence [Annotator’s Note: Florence, Italy] where they reached a stalemate with the enemy. [Annotator’s Note: There is knocking at the door at 2:15:02.000.] His company could not locate any Germans. Soon they received orders to head for Southern France attached to the 34th Infantry Division in September 1944. He reunited with a friend from his hometown when he landed at Marseille [Annotator’s Note: Marseille, France]. His company boarded a train and headed into Bruyères, France.

[Annotator’s Note: A washing machine running in the background is audible throughout this segment. Interviewee has trouble remembering names and words throughout this segment.] Gerald “Gerry” Gustafson and his company [Annotator’s Note: Cannon Company, 442nd Regimental Combat Team] saw combat in France in the fall of 1944. While his company was in Bruyères [Annotator’s Note: Bruyères, France], Gustafson spotted a German on a vehicle shooting artillery into the buildings of the village. His lieutenant was wounded during the artillery fire. Gustafson continued to call for artillery fire throughout the morning. The mayor of the village and his family were hidden in a basement. The mayor’s son was wounded, so the medics went over to help him. After the Germans pulled back, the Army began to put an aid station together. The weather was damp and cold with snowstorms. When his unit heard that a battalion was surrounded by Germans, they were given orders to go find and rescue them. They located them on a mountainous chain, but none of the regiment could break through the German line. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewer pauses interview. Video break at 2:35:04.000.] After three days of trying to make an advance, the 3rd Battalion was able to break through and rescue the Lost Battalion [Annotator’s Note: 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division].

[Annotator’s Note: A washing machine running in the background is audible throughout this segment. Interviewee has trouble remembering names and words throughout this segment.] Gerald “Gerry” Gustafson and his company [Annotator’s Note: Cannon Company, 442nd Regimental Combat Team] participated in the rescue of the Lost Battalion [Annotator’s Note: "The Lost Battalion" refers to the 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division which was surrounded by German forces in the Vosges Mountains in October 1944.] Gustafson got black feet because of the cold weather. The medics came over to examine his feet and took him to the hospital. The next morning, he saw the leader of the Lost Battalion in the hospital with black feet too. He also reunited with a former classmate from military school while at the hospital. His unit was put in reserves after the Lost Battalion had been rescued. His unit was shipped to the French Riviera near the Maginot Line [Annotator's Note: a series of defensive fortifications roughly paralleling the Franco-German border built by France in the 1930s]. His unit was ordered to set up cannon guns on a hill of the Maginot Line.

[Annotator’s Note: A washing machine running in the background is audible throughout this segment. Interviewee has trouble remembering names and words throughout this segment.] Gerald “Gerry” Gustafson and his company [Annotator’s Note: Cannon Company, 442nd Regimental Combat Team] were ordered to return to Italy from Southern France. They landed in Pisa, Italy along the Gothic Line [Annotator’s Note: a German defensive line of the Italian Campaign of World War 2]. He spoke about a company that was ordered to move up a mountain at night. At dawn, the men were behind the Germans, and later the Germans surrendered. This allowed for the Allies to open the roads. Gustafson’s troops were of Japanese descent and during his time with them, he learned that all they wanted was to be accepted by Americans. They wanted to prove that they loved their country. On VE-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945], they had a big celebration with lots of drinking. His troops were grateful that it was over. While driving in his jeep down a road, they came across an officer and two armed men. The German officer asked Gustafson if he could surrender his battalion to him.

[Annotator’s Note: A washing machine running in the background is audible throughout this segment. Interviewee has trouble remembering names and words throughout this segment.] Gerald “Gerry” Gustafson and his company [Annotator’s Note: Cannon Company, 442nd Regimental Combat Team] were stationed in Italy when the war in Europe ended. His company was given orders to guard a prison camp near Pisa [Annotator’s Note: Pisa, Italy]. In July 1945, Gustafson received orders to return to San Francisco [Annotator’s Note: San Francisco, California] where he would receive a 10-day leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] before preparing to go to the Pacific. He was in Naples [Annotator’s Note: Naples, Italy] when the United States dropped the first atomic bomb, and then in the Atlantic when the second bomb was dropped [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. When he returned to the United States, he visited his uncle where they would go pheasant hunting in South Dakota. While there, he received news that his orders to San Francisco were cancelled and to stand by for new orders. He remarked about his relationship with his Japanese-American troops [Annotator’s Note: He refers to a picture]. He spoke about a Japanese-American who signed up before the war began hoping to only serve one year. After Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], he was forced to stay in the Army and was assigned to a cannon company.

[Annotator’s Note: A washing machine running in the background is audible throughout this segment. Interviewee has trouble remembering names and words throughout this segment.] After World War 2 ended, Gerald “Gerry” Gustafson remained in the Army until retiring with the rank of major in April 1964. He received orders to report to France. While he was on a train, he went to the bar car and saw a nice-looking young woman sitting with an old man. All pf a sudden the train stopped, and the conductor announced that there had been an accident and they would be delayed. Gustafson and the young lady decided to take a walk together outside while they waited. He decided to go to Detroit [Annotator’s Note: Detroit, Michigan] with her and got a hotel room, and spent the day together. Gustafson then went to Chicago [Annotator’s Note: Chicago, Illinois] to see his parents and asked the lady if she would meet him there.

[Annotator’s Note: A washing machine running in the background is audible throughout this segment. Interviewee has trouble remembering names and words throughout this segment.] After World War 2 ended, Gerald “Gerry” Gustafson reported to a fort in New York. He reported to the officer section where he found out that he would not be leaving until 1 January [Annotator’s Note: year unspecified] and was free to do what he wanted until then. He got a room at the Taft Hotel in New York [Annotator’s Note: New York City, New York]. He went to a G.I. [Annotator's Note: government issue; also a slang term for an American soldier] club where there were a lot of girls that danced with the servicemen. A girl tapped him on the shoulder and asked if he wanted to go to a bar and have a drink. She took him to the Lexington Hotel and went to the top floor where he learned that her parents owned the hotel.

[Annotator’s Note: A washing machine running in the background is audible throughout this segment. Interviewee has trouble remembering names and words throughout this segment.] Gerald “Gerry” Gustafson’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was when he was moving troops after landing in Italy. His company was moving from Naples [Annotator’s Note: Naples, Italy] following the Arno River. In one of the movements at night, they were moving through bombed out roads. They had to go around the bombed-out area and the vehicle ahead of him turned completely over in the hole. He began getting people out of the jeep. Some of them were wounded, and one died. He fought because he wanted to beat the Germans. His life was changed by World War 2 by making him a better man. He learned to appreciate the Japanese-Americans and the cruel way they were treated by the American government. Gustafson believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations. He is proud of what his company’s achievements and glad they were recognized by the United States government for it. After World War 2, he returned to Europe for service duty and was assigned to look for certain people.