Robert Mayes was born in Middlesboro, Kentucky in September 1923. He graduated from high school in 1941. He maintained a high grade point average and never missed a day of school. His father was a field agent for the Southern Railways and was lucky to have a good job during the Depression. He himself had a paper route and earned extra income. He was very aware of the world events at the time. He was a student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and was the manager of the Tennessee Theater downtown in 1942. Even though there was a lot of devastation happening in Europe, America did not seem to care that much. The students did discuss the events though. He recalls hearing about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor over the radio. It did not bother him that much. He did not know anyone who was eager to join the fighting, but he was glad to go do his duty and could not understand the people who thought it was not our war to fight. He was drafted at 19. His family took it well and thought it was our country's duty.

Robert Mayes was inducted at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. He went through Basic Training and then went to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He was held out separately from the others he was inducted with. He adjusted to military life well. He went to Observation School 23. His letters from there were censored due to the secrecy of the school and job, Geodetic OS 23, land surveying. They were always on the front lines or even beyond it at all times. He was good at math, so he enjoyed it quite a bit. He had entered service in 1943, and he left Fort Sill in March 1944 for Ft. Meade, Maryland. After that he went to Camp Shanks, New York. Mayes left for England on 2 May 1944. He was on a small British ship and the food was terrible. The trip over was awful. They were part of a convoy zig-zagging across the Atlantic to avoid submarines. They landed in Liverpool, England. The people were nice, but he could not understand the accent. He was a replacement troop and his battery went in on Utah Beach about ten days after D-Day [Annotator's Note: approximately 16 June 1944]. He said it was an awesome sight. He said there were ships still sunk and the sky was filled with barrage balloons. There was debris everywhere. Planes were flying overhead above the barrage balloons. It was very hard to believe what he was seeing. He was immediately tasked with surveying the landscape so the various units could place their guns and artillery. He said it was somewhat like a party and was entertaining and somewhat frightening. He was never afraid but was apprehensive about what was around the next corner. [Annotator's Note: Unintelligible for quite a bit. He tells a story about using a cigarette for light to assist their work.] He was strafed by a German Messerschmitt once.

Robert Mayes and his unit [Annotator's Note: 12th Field Artillery Observation Battalion, 9th US Army] had been in Lorient, France at the French submarine base [Annotator's Note: Keroman Submarine Base, Lorient, France] doing artillery surveys. They went to a USO show [Annotator’s Note: United Service Organizations] and were attacked by the Germans. Since they were at the show, they did not record any data about the attack. The unit was punished by being reassigned to a British Army Group. Mayes was on guard duty 16 December 1944, and saw many planes flying over low and then attacking off in the distance. This was the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge. They were in Waubach, Holland and then moved to Übach-Palenberg, Germany across the lines. They were told the Germans were parachuting in wearing American uniforms. Elderly German women carrying canes with knives in the bottoms were cutting communication lines. It was a scary time. They were on the perimeter and contained the Bulge on the northern side. The group that had replaced his unit in the south was assassinated and murdered so he felt lucky. They had been told the war would be over by Christmas. A lot of the troops with them were new and they were worried about being defeated by the Germans.

A month after the Battle of the Bulge, Robert Mayes' unit [Annotator's Note: 12th Field Artillery Observation Battalion, 9th US Army] was surveying near the Ruhr River, Germany. They were taking it easy because they thought everything was great due to the Germans retreating. Two Me-262s [Annotator's Note: Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe, or Swallow, jet fighter aircraft] aircraft were fighting P-51s [Annotator's Note: North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft] and they were watching the dogfight. One Me-262 turned and strafed them. Mayes scrambled into a nearby pill box that had previously been damaged severely and was wounded. He was bleeding pretty badly, and he went to the medic. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks about men he served with.] Being Southern, Mayes says that he thought Northern people were stiff and uncomfortable to be around, but he was proved wrong. He was always around great people. He wishes he would have learned more about them and regrets not getting their contact information. He also admired the Germans for their technical competence, discipline, and professionalism. He visited the Nuremberg sportplatz [Annotator's Note: Nazi party rally grounds, Reichsparteitagsgelände] and he hated that the eagle statue there was blown off the stadium. Mayes feels that if the Germans had been able to separate the Allied armies at the Bulge, we likely would have had to settle for a negotiated peace.

[Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks questions about life in the field.] Robert Mayes lived two people to one pup tent. As the front moved, they moved with it. He would stay in houses and burned out farms too and he had good food every day. Bathing was difficult so getting a place to get a proper bath was a luxury. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks about German civilians.] Mayes was moving from one base and came across an elderly man and a little boy. The man turned the boy's back to the Americans as they passed, and this bothered Mayes. The levels of destruction in Italy and Normandy really bothered him as well. He hated to see the cathedrals harmed. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks if Americans at home realized the level of destruction.] Mayes does not feel as if the Americans really cared about it. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer talks about the Marshall Plan and then asks about surrendering Germans.] Mayes recalls the Germans surrendered en masse. Once he was sunbathing when a large group came to surrender, and he waved them on to find someone else to turn themselves in to. He never came across any concentration camps. He knows Eisenhower [Annotator's Note: General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe; 34th President of the United States] did and made the German people view them. He feels that Germany will have to live with that forever.

Robert Mayes knew the end of the war was impending when the Germans were trying to surrender to his unit [Annotator's Note: 12th Field Artillery Observation Battalion, 9th US Army]. He was exhilarated to know the war was going to be over. He knew it would be awhile before going home due to the point system. He wrote over 700 letters that were eight to ten pages each while he was overseas. He said his letters had been punched through with holes from the censors. Writing letters was a form of leisure and relaxation for Mayes. He wrote about what he was feeling and how he had been affected by things. Getting a letter in return was great as well. There would be a long period of time between mail and then there would be a stack all at once. He compares it to getting food from Heaven. He says Patton [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] was very strong on getting letters through to the soldiers. Mayes saw the Red Cross quite often. They would give them miscellaneous items and he admired them greatly. Mayes left Europe on 16 December 1945. During the waiting period before leaving, he went to Paris, France twice, sightseeing and doing all of the things a tourist would do. His return trip home was on a small, overcrowded boat with terrible food and he was often seasick. Almost everyone had diarrhea. He arrived in Hampton Roads, Virginia to no celebration. He went by train to Fort Knox, Kentucky and people came out of their houses to wave to them. He was discharged at Fort Knox. He went back to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee to resume his degree. He had kept in good communication with his family, but it was still very nice to see them and his dog Duke.

After the war, Robert Mayes returned to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee and got his degree. He then went to work for Maxin Construction Company building atomic bomb parts in Oak Ridge, Tennessee for ten years [Annotator's Note: Oak Ridge National Laboratory]. He then went to Rusk Engineering [Annotator's Note: unable to confirm company names], followed by Union Carbide [Annotator's Note: Union Carbide Corporation; Dow Chemical Company] for 15 or 16 years. He then worked for 30 years at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga and retired. He feels his war experience made him a good writer. Mayes feels that is very important for the newer generations to learn about World War 2 and feels the museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana] is fantastic. Duty to country is important to teach children. Mayes does not like war but if there is no other way there is no alternative. His message to future generations is "be prepared to serve your country." Young soldiers are told to keep their heads up and be disciplined. There were some unusual instances when Mayes was in Germany. He saw infantry all crouched in attack mode in a ditch soon after Normandy. [Annotator's Note: The Normandy landings on 6 June 1944.] He and his unit [Annotator's Note: 12th Field Artillery Observation Battalion, 9th US Army] started surveying in the middle of the town and after about two or three hours, he was told the Germans had been fully in the town and he could have been shot at any time.

[Annotator's Note: The interviewer switches to Jay Christopher Atkins who asks Robert Mayes how it felt to have two brothers serving in the war as well as him.] Robert Mayes' older brother served in the US Army Air Corps, and his younger was in the Army infantry. This was hard on the family. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks his about his sister and notes that The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana has over 700 of the thousands of letters written by Mayes.] Mayes knew Zila [Annotator's Note: unsure of spelling] would keep the letters. Mayes is the Chairman of the Board of a 200-year-old campground run by his mother's family, the Bell family in Powell, Tennessee. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks Mayes to expound on a letter about being prejudiced about being an American.] Mayes wanted to see the Statue of Liberty when leaving the United States for Europe at the beginning of the war, but they went at night, so he was unable to. His return ship at the end of the war came into Virginia so he did not get to see it again. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks about racial bias differences between United States' soldiers from the North and the South.] Mayes remembers that black soldiers could not serve in the active military with a few exceptions. Discrimination was policy at the time. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks him about his belief in a Creator.] Mayes notes that his faith helped relieve the stress on his body and soul. There were eight or nine instances where he easily could have been shot and he thanked God each time he did not.