Carl Robert Gatlin was born in January 1920 in Bogue Chitto, Mississippi. He grew up with two younger sisters in his grandfather's home. He likes to hunt and fish. [Annotator's Note: A telephone rings and someone answers it at 0:02:46.000.] Gatlin grew up farming. He and a friend decided that there was nothing in the area for young men, so he set out to join the Marines. He and his friend were turned down, but then were recruited by the Army. In July 1940, Gatlin was sent to San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] while his friend was sent to Georgia. The weather was cool, and no one could understand him [Annotator's Note: when he spoke due to his accent]. He trained up and down the West Coast. Gatlin was in Fort Lewis [Annotator's Note: now part of oint Base Lewis–McChord near Tacoma, Washington], Washington training when he heard that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He trained with M1 rifles [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also known as the M1 Garand]. Before war began, there were signs on restaurants that said no dogs or soldiers. People felt differently about the military before the war. After additional training and maneuvers, he was sent to Blackstone, Virginia by rail to be shipped overseas. [Annotator's Note: An off-camera male speaks at 0:10:28.000.]

Carl Robert Gatlin enlisted in the Army and after training, he was sent to Blackstone, Virginia to be shipped overseas. He shipped out with a large convoy to Casablanca [Annotator's Note: Casablanca, Morocco]. During the voyage, they zig-zagged [Annotator's Note: a naval anti-submarine maneuver] across the seas. He had to do roll call on the ship and saw many troops that were seasick. They landed at daylight. The shelling began as soon as they did. It was raining. When he got to the shore, Gatlin and his friend dug a foxhole and stayed in there throughout the night with a rain jacket over them. The Germans had attacked their ships and everything, including their equipment, had been destroyed. Gatlin's regiment [Annotator's Note: 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division] was put on guard duty for the duration of their stay. They lived off C-rations [Annotator's Note: prepared and canned wet combat food] until more food and supplies arrived. His unit captured a German artillery gun which ended the fight in Morocco. The French joined the Americans and traveled across North Africa. [Annotator's Note: At 0:27:13.000, Gatlin gets a book with a map of where he went and converses with another man.] The flies were horrible, and they slept on the ground.

[Annotator's Note: An off-camera male interjects throughout this clip.] Carl Robert Gatlin and his regiment [Annotator's note: 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division] invaded Tunis, Tunisia after the Germans retreated from Casablanca [Annotator's Note: Casablanca, Morocco]. His regiment trained on amphibious landings while they were not in combat. Their next mission was invading Sicily [Annotator's Note: Sicily, Italy]. They made several amphibious landings, and then let other regiments hold the station, so they could make another. The mission was difficult because the enemy was firing at them the whole time. They were always moving. As they invaded each town, the locals were told to turn in their radios and phones. The Allied troops would destroy them. They would also tell the locals to evacuate. Gatlin and his regiment arrived in Palermo, Sicily and after they took over the city, they were given a lengthy rest. While there, he oversaw getting the laundry done for the troops. He paid Sicilian women in German currency to do the wash because that was all they would accept.

[Annotator's Note: An off-camera male interjects throughout this clip.] Carl Robert Gatlin and his regiment [Annotator's note: 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division] invaded Salerno, Italy and was hit by heavy fire as they came on the beach. They crossed Italy and saw intense fighting as they captured cities. When they reached the bottom of a mountain where Monte Cassino Abbey [Annotator's Note: Cassino, Italy] was located, they were given orders to rest. Gatlin was talked into playing poker in a truck. Suddenly they heard firing and shells were raining in on them. His pup tent was destroyed by a shell, so Gatlin was thankful that he played poker that night. His unit jumped in a ditch for cover. The next day, some of the troops went up the mountain and found the German post. Gatlin's next amphibious invasion was in Anzio [Annotator's Note: Anzio, Italy], which did not go well because the distance they had to cross was too far and they did not have enough men. His unit was stationed there for six months under constant fire. They kept a smoke screen up to help keep them hidden. They did get some air support during this time, and there was an incident of friendly fire that killed two soldiers. Practically everyone was going crazy. Some were even shooting themselves so they could be sent back to the hospital. Finally, they were able to break out and head to Rome [Annotator's Note: Rome, Italy]. He recalled listening to Axis Sally [Annotator's Note: Rita Luisa Zucca] on the radio.

[Annotator's Note: An off-camera male interjects throughout this clip.] Carl Robert Gatlin and his regiment [Annotator's note: 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division] captured Rome [Annotator's Note: Rome, Italy]. When they had secured the city, Gatlin was able to enjoy some leisure time and went sightseeing. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses to change tapes at 0:58:16.000.] He was invited to a Sunday meal by some locals. He ate too much and had to go to the bathroom and vomit. Their next mission was in France where they landed on 15 August 1944. The opposition on the beach was rough. As he went through the towns of France, he saw that the locals had shaved the heads of women who were friendly with the Germans. The locals treated the Americans great. The Germans were falling back so fast, that his unit had to follow them in vehicles and on tanks. The offensive got tough when they had to cross rivers, and the Germans would hold up the bridges. At one point he was sent to Nice, France to recuperate. [Annotator' Note: The interview is interrupted at 1:07:35.000.] During the Winter of 1944, his unit was stuck in the Colmar Pocket [Annotator's Note: Colmar Pocket, area in Alsace, France] because of the bad weather.

[Annotator's Note: An off-camera male interjects throughout this clip.] Carl Robert Gatlin and his regiment [Annotator's note: 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division] headed into Munich [Annotator's Note: Munich, Germany] after a hard winter in Colmar [Annotator's Note: Colmar Pocket, area in Alsace, France]. His regiment had captured Hitler's [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] retreat in Berchtesgaden [Annotator's Note: Kehlsteinhaus in Berchtesgaden, Germany]. He also received orders to visit the concentration camps as a witness. He was astonished at all the bodies stacked up everywhere. Gatlin collected souvenirs during his World War 2 experience. When war was declared over, Gatlin had racked up 135 points [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home]. The Army required 75, so he was able to go home immediately. He returned to the United States by plane, stopping in various places. He landed in Miami [Annotator's Note: Miami, Florida], and the first thing he did was get a haircut. He was sent to Camp Shelby [Annotator's Note: near Hattiesburg, Mississippi] and was discharged in July 1945. He married his wife soon after.

[Annotator's Note: An off-camera male interjects throughout this clip.] Carl Robert Gatlin had a lot of nightmares which took him a while to get over. While in Europe fighting, he had to go to the hospital twice for ulcers. His friend talked him into a radio job about six months after he came back from World War 2. He eventually owned a radio and television store.