[Annotator's Note: The clip begins with Fitzmorris already talking.] James Fitzmorris finished high school and it was time for him to go into the service. He really wanted to be a Marine but he had a birthmark in his left eye so he could not get in. He did get into the Army and was inducted at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana. He was assigned to the combat engineers at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He was sitting on his barracks bag waiting for the train and a sergeant came out. The sergeant asked if anyone there knew anything about transportation and Fitzmorris told him he used to work for the railroad. He was then assigned to the transportation office at Camp Beauregard. He arranged for troop trains all over the country. He then applied for officer school. He knew General Fleming [Annotator's Note: US Army Major General Raymond H. Fleming, Chief of the National Guard Bureau; commander of 39th Infantry Division; Adjutant General of Louisiana] and Fleming asked for him. Fitzmorris' boss, Major Murphy [Annotator's Note: no given name provided], had not turned his application in. In two weeks, Fitzmorris was on his way to officer school. He went to Camp LeRoy Johnson, New Orleans and finished and then went to Camp Plauche [Annotator's Note: also known as Camp Harahan, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana] as a TAC officer. He really got his training in there and he was tired of it. He requested a transfer out but his General refused. Fitzmorris made it to captain. In his service, he met the finest people and they maintained friendships for many years. He remained active in the military even after leaving the service and his job with the railroads let him bring many transportation people to Louisiana. He brought General Ridgeway [Annotator's Note: US Army General Matthew B. Ridgeway] to Louisiana. Fitzmorris also served as a civilian aide to President Eisenhower [Annotator's Note: Dwight David Eisenhower]. He had met the General years earlier in New Orleans. He feels that The National WWII Museum, New Orleans, Louisiana is one of the best things that has ever happened. He took his granddaughters to Washington and he visited the Holocaust Museum [Annotator's Note: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.]. Every American should be required to go to that museum. He built his life on working with and for people. He served for 12 years on the City Council of New Orleans, eight years as lieutenant governor of the State of Louisiana and four years as executive assistant to the governor. He was the President of the Senate of the State of Louisiana. He was also President of the Board of Pardoners for the State. He learned a lot about human nature in that job. He has been back in his own business for 30 years and people still want favors from him because they voted for him.

James Fitzmorris grew up in Depression-era New Orleans, Louisiana in the Irish Channel neighborhood. They did not know they were poor. He had wonderful parents, his father had three jobs, and a wonderful sister and brother. The nuns would come to the school and his mother would feed the nuns breakfast and dinner five days a week. He was an altar boy at his church. He had a great life. Fitzmorris was listening to the radio while working in the ticket office of the railroad when he heard the President [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt] come on and say that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. He remembers the Japanese burning their records outside of the Japanese Embassy. America was down on its knees and was attacked at their weakest moment militarily. People rose to the occasion and picked themselves up by their bootstraps and took the fight back. Fitzmorris really liked the Marine Corps and wanted to be in the fight. He ended up at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana in the Army and did not realize he was going to be hamstrung as to what he could do. He learned a lot though like taking orders and respecting authority. That is needed today. He would establish a course on the three "R's" of citizenship: rights, respect, and responsibility.

James Fitzmorris was inducted into the Army in New Orleans, Louisiana and sent to Camp Beauregard [Annotator's Note: in Pineville, Louisiana] for assignment. He was assigned to the combat engineers at first because he had worked on railroads. He never really went to basic training other than at officer candidate school. His joining the military had a big effect on his family. His mother would write him every day and send him food. He learned to be a good housekeeper. His father told him to be a good soldier. That was it. It was an experience for Fitzmorris being away from family. Christmas was a tough time for servicemen. He met people from all over the country and made great friends. He was in line one morning and a tough officer found somebody's name tag on the floor. Fitzmorris was called out because it was his. He was given night duty for three days. He never dropped his name tag again.

James Fitzmorris was pulled out of the combat engineers and placed into transportation at Camp Beauregard [Annotator's Note: in Pineville, Louisiana]. He worked with the railroads. He called them every morning to get the number of cars he needed to move the troops. He would put a troop commander in charge of each train. They had non-coms [Annotator's Note: noncommissioned officers, also referred to as NCOs] to help keep the men on the train. One Sunday afternoon, two generals needed transportation. The job was interesting because he had to interact with everybody who came in. He issued thousands of TRs, transportation requests, per week. After the war, Fitzmorris was lieutenant governor of Louisiana and he bumped into General Bradley [Annotator's Note: US Army General Omar Nelson Bradley, first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff]. He had met Bradley before at a football game. Fitzmorris was entranced with Eisenhower [Annotator's Note: US Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe then 34th President of the United States, 1953 to 1961]. He was a great President and a great military man. He also feels that Harry Truman [Annotator's Note: President Harry S. Truman; 33rd President of the United States] will go down in history as one of the greatest presidents we ever had. Ronald Reagan [Annotator's Note: Ronald Wilson Reagan, 40th President of the US, 1981 to 1989] was then Governor of California and was coming to speak at Tulane University. Fitzmorris was a Democrat and went to meet him and take him to Tulane. When Reagan became President of the United States, he invited Fitzmorris to the White House. He also knew President Jimmy Carter [Annotator's Note: James Earl Carter, Jr., 39th President of the United States, 1977 to 1981].

James Fitzmorris did not have much college education when he enlisted. He was studying business but wanted to be a lawyer. His friend was the dean of a law school and recommended he go to school at night. He did not have time though. At the time of the interview, he is getting his degree from Loyola University at age 92. Fitzmorris applied for Officer Candidate School because he felt he could contribute more than he was doing in Army. He wanted a leadership role. It was tough but he enjoyed it. He was accepted into school in 1944 or 1945. The war still in on. He went to a transportation school. The United States was moving people and equipment all over the world. All of the railroads were run by civilians. He would run four or five troop trains a week out of Camp Beauregard [Annotator's Note: in Pineville, Louisiana].

James Fitzmorris was accepted into Officer Candidate School and went to Camp LeRoy Johnson in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was then sent to LaGarde General Hospital, New Orleans for his physical. His met his future wife there. She was a medical technician. She would come out to the camp. Fitzmorris was on the softball team and he hit her on the head with a ball. Mistakes were often made in testing people, but he was lucky. He had medical call every morning. The school was a life of classes. They went to the rifle range and did long hikes. They would take a boat across Lake Pontchartrain. A storm turned over several boats and they lost some cadets. The Army made them start taking trucks over after that. Graduation was a wonderful day for him. He found out where he was being assigned. He went to Camp Plauche [Annotator's Note: also known as Camp Harahan, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana]. He tried to be a good soldier out there, but he wanted to do something else. The General kept him out there though. Camp Leroy Johnson was where UNO [Annotator's Note: University of New Orleans East Campus] is now. It was an overseas shipment point.

James Fitzmorris was stationed at Camp Plauche [Annotator's Note: also known as Camp Harahan, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana]. Dating and living in wartime New Orleans was interesting. Fitzmorris dated a girl and was going to take her to the movies. Her mother met him outside and asked him what his religion was. He told her he was Catholic, and she told him he was not welcome at their house as they were Baptists. He had to meet the girl on the corner in order to see her. By the time Fitzmorris ran for lieutenant governor of Louisiana, not one single person asked him what his religion was. That is how much the state changed after the war. In the early 1940s there was a lot of religious prejudice in Louisiana. Dating was otherwise not hard. Off-duty there was not a lot to do. Fitzmorris got married while he was stationed at Camp Plauche. Reveille was at 5:30 in the morning and he lived off base. The Army fed them well. The mess halls were open all the time. Breakfast in the service was everything you could think of. An Army travels on its stomach. The townspeople were very nice. He would go to the canteen at night; he is Irish but not a drinker. He would also go to shows. The camps were close to New Orleans so they would flock into town for the weekends. When he was married, the wedding party was all military. His father was his best man and had accidentally thrown the rings away.

James Fitzsmorris heard about German u-boat [Annotator's Note: submarine] attacks in the Gulf of Mexico but never knew if they were true or not. News reporting was not as big as it is today, it was not instantaneous. The reports turned out to be true. Fitzmorris requested a transfer out of New Orleans, Louisiana but his general would not let him go. He remained at Camp Plauche [Annotator's Note: also known as Camp Harahan, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana] for the duration of the war. Military life took precedence over his family life. He would go home every night but others did not have that luxury. His father was an air raid warden for the area. Those drills were the only time he really stayed late. Fitzmorris vividly remembers President Franklin Roosevelt passing away [Annotator's Note: 12 April 1945]. People would gather around the radio in those days, to listen to him talk. The great majority of people respected the President and had family in the military. He feels there was more patriotism in those days. Political parties should not mean what they do. We are all Americans first. V-E Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945] was a thrill. New Orleans had musicians on the street and there was singing and dancing. But then they got concerned about the Japanese.

When President Truman [Annotator's Note: Truman, Harry S., 33rd President of the United States] dropped the atomic bombs, it was a tremendous decision. James Fitzmorris understands it took a lot of lives, but it also saved a lot of lives. He was in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and he took a bus home. He reported for duty at his old railroad job the next day. Later in life, Fitzmorris was invited to Japan. He saw a great country restored. The day the war ended everyone was happy. That was the greatest generation. After the Japanese surrendered, his duties were just shutting everything down. He was discharged shortly afterwards at Camp Shelby, Mississippi as a Major. He was not ready to stay in the Army. He met so many great, dedicated people. The military is a lot cozier when not at war. He thinks about the sleepless hours Eisenhower [Annotator's Note: US Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe; 34th President of the United States, 1953 to 1961] must have had. He visits The National WWII Museum, New Orleans, Louisiana a lot and thinks about the sacrifices made to preserve this country. He did not take advantage of the G.I. Bill after his service because he really threw himself into the community and his job. He was able to meet a lot of people at the 1950 Industrial Army Conference in New Orleans. Fitzmorris helped bring them into town. He had never seen that much rank in one place.

James Fitzmorris had the opportunity of entertaining General and Mrs. Ridgeway [Annotator's Note: US Army General Matthew Bunker Ridgeway] in New Orleans, Louisiana after the war. Mrs. Ridgeway wanted to ride down Canal Street with sirens blaring so they did so. The General told him he had more guts than he had. Fitzmorris finds that the higher you get, the easier the person is to deal with. He has a photo of General J. Lawton Collins [Annotator's Note: US Army General Joseph Lawton Collins; served in the Pacific and European Theaters of Operation during World War 2; Chief of Staff, US Army, Korean War] from Algiers, Louisiana on his wall. He spent a lot of time with General Westmoreland [Annotator's Note: US Army General William Childs Westmoreland; Commander of US Forces in Vietnam from 1964 to 1968; US Army Chief of Staff, 1968 to 1972] who was a wonderful man. It is difficult to lead. You will not please everybody all the time. Do what is right. Even in his political career he learned how to say no. He has another hero on his wall, Medal of Honor recipient, General Livingston [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Major General James Everett Livingston was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroic actions in the Vietnam War]. He was in Saigon, Vietnam and was the last to leave. Fitzmorris served with him on several boards. Livingston told him he made 90 appearances around the country. People want to know who these people are now. Fitzmorris worked with all of the services after the war. He loves Armed Services Day [Annotator's Note: Armed Forces Day, third Saturday in May annually]. He sees the physical conditions of the men returning home from war now and it tears him apart. He feels that lack of service at Veterans Administration Hospitals is unforgiveable. He is delighted to see so many people going in and out of The National WWII Museum, New Orleans, Louisiana. Young people are becoming more conscious of what it takes to preserve freedom.

James Fitzmorris joined the military because he felt it was a responsibility to serve. He could not have stood on the sidelines. The war made him more appreciative of what he has. He understands that one can be a success or failure on their own initiative. Hard work will pay off. Our country was able to survive because of World War 2. It proved strength will prevail. The National WWII Museum, New Orleans, Louisiana, is imperative to have. When he visited the Holocaust Museum [Annotator's Note: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.], he read an article written by General Eisenhower [Annotator's Note: US Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe; 34th President of the United States, 1953 to 1961] about what he saw at the camps. He wanted to see it himself. Fitzmorris was enlightened at the Holocaust Museum and he is enlightened at The National WWII Museum. It serves as a reminder of what freedom is all about.