Earl Flanagan was born in Harvey, Illinois in December 1924. He grew up with three older sisters and a large extended family. His father worked as a stationary engineer and ran a large steam plant. His mother raised the children and was a musician. Flanagan loved living in Harvey because everything was convenient and within walking distance. The town was very much integrated and he recalls no racial problems. During the Great Depression, his father lost his job and the family had live in their cottage and rent the house to make money. He recalls his family canning fruit, vegetables, and meat to keep food. He was hired by a radio station to perform music for a weekly barn dance. He sang and played piano and flute. He graduated from high school in May 1942 and attended the University of Illinois [Annotator's Note: in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois] for architecture school but continued his musical passion there as well. Flanagan recalled feeling concerned about Germany and Japan leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] by the Japanese.

Earl Flanagan recalls listening to the radio when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. After graduating high school at age 17 he attended college in the fall of 1942 and joined the ROTC [Annotator's Note: Reserves Officer Training Corps] artillery and had basic training while in school. When he turned 18, he received orders to report to selective duty, but was deferred for six months so he could complete his ROTC training and other studies. In July 1943, Flanagan was inducted into the Army. He oversaw draftees reporting to Camp Grant, Illinois to get physicals, medical exams, and placement tests. He was then sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for basic artillery training. Flanagan had his first experience with segregation while at Fort Bragg. He was surprised to see the segregated theaters, bathrooms, and water fountains. At the camp, there was a notice for a secret outfit, which Flanagan signed up for in lieu of going to West Point [Annotator's Note: the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York]. He was shipped off to Camp Gruber, Oklahoma then to Camp Carson, Colorado where he was shocked to find out that he volunteered to be in the mule pack. This outfit was part of a mountain division, so he was given snow equipment and clothing and hiked mountains which he had never seen until joining the outfit. During his training, he had guard duty, kitchen patrol, took care of the mules and maintained the barn. Flanagan recalls the use of mules to move the French 75 mm howitzers in training. He was then sent to California to train in maneuvers with the mountain division to prepare for the Philippines, but due to D-Day [Annotator's Note: Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944], his division was turned into a triangular division.

Earl Flanagan and his artillery outfit were transferred from a mule outfit into a triangular division of the 71st Infantry Division [Annotator's Note: when the 71st Infantry Division was transitioned from a square division to a triangular division]. He recalled watching lots of patriotic movies and films about venereal diseases before he was shipped out of the country. He remembered that many of the men were shocked by the various diseases and were sickened by it. They shed their mules before being sent overseas. [Annotator's Note: A telephone rings in background at 0:42:48.000.] He was part of the advanced detachment and landed in La Havre [Annotator's Note: La Havre, France] prior to the rest of his division. When he arrived in the harbor, he had to wade in the water to get to the shore and then wade through 12 inches of snow. He was given the duty to set up camps in a nearby town for the 71st Infantry Division and wait for their arrival. They met some local farmers who invited them over for dinner and dancing. [Annotator’s Note: A telephone rings in background at 0:45:24.000.]

Earl Flanagan recalled his voyage overseas as enjoyable. It reminded him of rollercoasters which he loved. He did not get seasick like many of the troops. He recalled being disappointed with the food on the ship. He was part of the advanced detachment and landed in La Havre [Annotator's Note: La Havre, France] prior to the rest of his division [Annotator's Note: 71st Infantry Division] to set up the camps. Flanagan remembered looking forward to combat in anticipation of the Germans retreating. He recalled being on the front lines for the first time and it was very dark. He could not see his hands in front of him. The same day his unit was committed to combat for the first time, he received a telegram from the Red Cross that his father had died. Flanagan felt his father near him during his time in World War 2 [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses interview to change tapes at 0:53:47.000.] He had a chance to go into town with a superior officer for an errand and was able to take a hot shower. His first time in combat was at the Maginot Line [Annotator's Note: a series of defensive fortifications roughly paralleling the Franco-German border built by France in the 1930s], near Bitche [Annotator's Note: Bitche, France] where they reached a rock fortress with tunnels. They took the fortress from the Germans and continued to the Siegfried Line [Annotator's Note: a series of defensive fortifications roughly paralleling the Franco-German border built by Germany in the 1930s]. Flanagan recalled the Germans using a megaphone to demoralize the 71st Infantry Division and teased the American troops. They defeated the Germans while they were in pill boxes. After that, his unit cleared out the enemy as his unit took over towns and cities. He communicated with other outfits to set up artillery to confuse the Germans patrols if they got too close to the American troops.

As Earl Flanagan and his unit [Annotator's Note: 71st Infantry Division] marched through Germany, he noticed that there were people dressed in striped clothing on many of the farms. He assumed they were prisoners but did not realize they were Jewish civilians used for slave labor. He became aware of the situation when he liberated concentration camps in Czechoslovakia. When Flanagan reached the Rhine River, they shelled the city across the river before crossing the Rhine under cover of a smoke screen so the enemy could not locate them. Patton [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] then had Flanagan's unit shell the 6th SS Mountain Division which annihilated the group. Few scattered away. The 71st Division then headed to Coburg [Annotator's Note: Coburg, Germany] and Flanagan recalled blasting a castle where Germans were stationed. They took over the castle and the Americans made it their command post. Flanagan recalled a sergeant in his unit shooting German prisoners instead of turning them in. One day the Military Police came and arrested him.

Earl Flanagan and his unit [Annotator’s Note: 71st Infantry Division] successfully cut the Autobahn between Berlin [Annotator's Note: Berlin, Germany] and Munich [Annotator's Note: Munich, Germany] and faced fierce opposition soon after. Flanagan recalled witnessing tank warfare between a American tank outfit and a Panzer unit. There was a close call, but the Americans eventually beat the Germans and Flanagan and his unit did not have to retreat. As they were crossing the Danube River into Regensburg [Annotator's Note: Regensburg, Germany], Flanagan saw slave laborers following them and asking for food. He also saw boxcars with piles of bodies and holocaust victims still alive. Flanagan was shocked by what he was witnessing. Later, as the 71st Infantry Division headed into Austria, they liberated the Gunskirchen [Annotator's Note: Gunskirchen, Austria] concentration camp.

Earl Flanagan and his unit [ Annotator's Note: 71st Infantry Division] headed into Austria, where they liberated the Gunskirchen [Annotator's Note: Gunskirchen, Austria] concentration camp. When his unit was organized at the Enns River, Flanagan was assigned to keep order in a Russian zone to keep Germans from fleeing into the American zone. At war's end, as part of the occupation, Flanagan served with the Military Government that dealt with French displaced persons in Melk [Annotator's Note: Melk, Austria] for two months. Flanagan recalled when they were near the Danube River, he was on a bluff. Someone radioed in asking for artillery support because some troops were hiding in a barn and were about to be discovered by the Germans. Flanagan fired a shot, and it made the Germans leave. Many years later, Flanagan met the man he conversed with over the radio and he gave recognition to Flanagan for saving his life.

After the war, Earl Flanagan worked for the Military Government because of his ability to speak French. Only two months later, he was asked to try out and became part of Eisenhower's [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force; 34th President of the United States] Symphony and toured Europe. [Annotator's Note: The interviewee asks to pause interview at 1:49:31.000.] He met many great symphony musicians including German musicians. Flanagan witnessed the Nuremberg Trials while he was touring with Eisenhower's Symphony. He saw some of the high-ranking German leaders which unnerved Flanagan because they were laughing among themselves. Flanagan was convinced that the Nazis were evil and wished there would have been more convictions at the trials.

Earl Flanagan was discharged in 1946 and returned home to his mother and sister. He found it difficult to adjust back to civilian life. He remembered feeling lost without his fellow comrades now that he was no longer in the military. He personally did not have bad dreams, but his roommate in the orchestra did and Flanagan would have to wake him up constantly. He returned to college and studied music and architecture. He also continued in the ROTC [Annotator's Note: Reserves Officer Training Corps] to get a commission in the United States Air Force. He was called up for the Korean War but worked in intelligence and psychological warfare. He was discharged from the Air Force two years later as base commandant.

Earl Flanagan's most memorable experience of World War 2 was witnessing the boxcar full holocaust survivors and bodies. He fought because he was absolutely convinced that the Germans would take over the United States. The war changed his life by him becoming an adult early on in life. His service means to him today that cities in Europe have been consistently at peace since the Americans liberated them. Flanagan believes that World War 2 showed that America can be a leader in the world. He believes its important to have institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] and to continue to teach on the subject to future generations.