James Moore Power was born in Red Banks, Mississippi in May 1925. Power’s father was the head of the Mississippi Civil Defense Force in addition to a number of other positions he held. Power’s father had attended the US Naval Academy, but had washed out. He expected Power to go to the Academy too, but Power had other ideas. Due to being homeschooled for a time, Power graduated from high school at the age of 16 after which he enrolled in Ole Miss [Annotator’s Note: the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi]. He had completed his first year when he turned 18 and got his draft notice. Power took basic training at Camp Roberts, California which was followed by a semester of classes at the College of Puget Sound [Annotator’s Note: the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington] as part of the ASTP [Annotator's Note: Army Specialized Training Program; generally referred to just by the initials ASTP; a program designed to educate massive numbers of soldiers in technical fields such as engineering and foreign languages and to commission those individuals at a fairly rapid pace in order to fill the need for skilled junior officers]. When the Army disbanded the ASTP, Power was assigned to the 11th Armored Division. He was trained as part of a 57mm anti-tank gun [Annotator's Note: M1 57mm anti-tank gun] crew in a heavy weapons squad. After substantial training, the 11th Armored Division shipped out for Europe. The 11th Armored Division landed in France the day that the German Ardennes Offensive began [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. Shortly after going ashore, the division took off on a 500-mile march across France to Belgium in an effort to shore up the Bulge. Power was involved in several scrapes with the Germans and was strafed by a Luftwaffe [Annotator’s Note: German Air Force] fighter on one occasion. On one of his first days on the line, Power’s squad started taking mortar [Annotator's Note: a short smoothbore gun which fires explosive shells at high angles] fire. When Power climbed up on the side of his halftrack [Annotator's Note: M3 half-track; a vehicle with front wheels and rear tracks], a mortar round hit very close by. The blast killed Power’s assistant and knocked him off of the track with a broken arm. Power and the rest of the squad got back to their lines. He was sent to an aid station, was eventually diagnosed with a broken arm, and spent the next 45 days in the rear. He was sent back to the front where his unit was located in Austria. After the war ended, he ran the PX [Annotator's Note: post exchange] in Austria and Germany. Power was getting gas when he heard over the car radio about the Pearl Harbor attack [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He drove home and told his dad about the news. Power had lots of jobs while he grew up and learned to work. [Annotator’s Note: Phone rings at 0:15:14.000.]

James Moore Power attended Ole Miss [Annotator’s Note: the University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi] when he received his draft notice. He believes that he comes from a fortunate generation because after he returned from service, the government gave him everything he needed to succeed [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment], and the citizens loved the veterans. Power did his basic training at Camp Roberts, California and found it tough and strenuous. He blacked out on one obstacle because he was climbing a rope with a gas mask on and could not breathe. He followed his basic training with a semester of classes at the College of Puget Sound [Annotator's Note: the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington] as part of the ASTP [Annotator's Note: Army Specialized Training Program; generally referred to just by the initials ASTP; a program designed to educate massive numbers of soldiers in technical fields such as engineering and foreign languages and to commission those individuals at a fairly rapid pace in order to fill the need for skilled junior officers]. When the Army disbanded the ASTP, Power was assigned to Company C, 55th Armored Infantry Battalion, 11th Armored Division at Camp Cooke, California. He was trained as part of a 57mm anti-tank gun [Annotator's Note: M1 57mm anti-tank gun] crew in a heavy weapons squad. He was assigned as the assistant gunner. The Germans had better tank power than the Americans. Power commended his battalion executive officer who was a true leader. He was always part of the fight and saved many men. Power knew he was going to Europe when he was loaded on a train from California to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. Power’s trip across the Atlantic was made aboard a converted Italian ocean liner. His accommodations were bunks stacked three high. He had a little bit of sea sickness, but he got over it by putting his head over the rail. His return back to the United States was horrible because of the weather conditions. After arriving in England, the division conducted additional training. His living accommodations were in a Quonset hut [Annotator's Note: prefabricated metal building].

James Moore Power [Annotator’s Note: serving with the 55th Armored Infantry Battalion, 11th Armored Division] trained in England. He did not acquaint himself with many locals, but did go out to the pub in the nearby town every now and then. After he returned to his unit from being injured, he became very nervous and jumpy. He knew what to expect and felt very lonely when he arrived back at his unit after dark and had no foxhole to get into. Finally, one of the sergeants had Power share a foxhole with another GI [Annotator's Note: government issue; also a slang term for an American soldier]. Performing in spite of one’s fear is all a soldier can do. The 11th Armored Division landed in France the day the German Ardennes Offensive began, 16 December 1944 [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. Shortly after going ashore, the division took off on a 500-mile march across France to Belgium in an effort to shore up the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. Power had broken his arm during combat. Power dug in that night using just his right arm. The following day he was sent to an aid station. At the aid station, the doctors were working nonstop so he was not seen right away. He was eventually diagnosed with a broken arm which was put in a cast, and he spent the next 45 days in the rear. He does not recall what he did on Christmas 1944, except that he ate K rations [Annotator's Note: individual daily combat food ration consisting of three boxed meals]. Near the end of the war, his unit was the farthest east than any other unit and the cooks served him liver on toast. He decided to eat his K rations. He wrote to his future wife and parents, and they often responded to his letters with food packages.

James Moore Power [Annotator’s Note: serving with the 55th Armored Infantry Battalion, 11th Armored Division] marched across Europe to meet the Germans at the front. He was involved in several scrapes with the Germans and was strafed by a Luftwaffe [Annotator’s Note: German Air Force] fighter on one occasion while trying to make a road block. On one of his first days on the line, Power’s squad started taking mortar [Annotator's Note: a short smoothbore gun which fires explosive shells at high angles] fire. When Power climbed up on the side of his halftrack [Annotator's Note: M3 half-track; a vehicle with front wheels and rear tracks] a mortar round hit very close by. The blast killed Power’s assistant and knocked him off the track with a broken arm. The weather conditions were very cold and the terrain was covered with snow. Bodies were frozen and stacked up. He would move his feet constantly so they would not freeze up, and he still has restless feet today. On one occasion, he was digging a foxhole on a mountain after a long day of combat. His men were very tired, and their morale was low. He soon got word that his unit could fall back, get a hot meal, and sleep in a barn with another unit taking patrol. Power and his men were so relieved. After, Power was diagnosed with a broken arm. His arm was put in a cast, and he spent the next 45 days in the rear. He missed his unit pushing through the Siegfried line [Annotator's Note: a series of defensive fortifications roughly paralleling the Franco-German border built by Germany in the 1930s], and rejoined them in Prüm, Germany.

As the war continued, James Moore Power [Annotator’s Note: serving with the 55th Armored Infantry Battalion, 11th Armored Division] was happy to see German soldiers surrender. Power’s unit captured a flag factory and a pistol factory. He brought many souvenirs home. [Annotator’s Note: Video break at 1:03:15.000.] A unit in his division discovered and liberated Mauthausen concentration camp. His unit picked up prisoners from camps that were walking down the road near the camp. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewer helps interviewee with microphone adjustment at 1:05:05.000.] When Power arrived in Linz, Austria he learned that some of the prisoners attacked the German guards. The war in Europe ended while he was in Linz. Power gives a lot of credit to the people of Belgium and Luxembourg because they went through a great deal of hardship. They were also very appreciative of the American troops. After the war in Europe was over, He spent the next seven months running army PXs [Annotator's Note: post exchange] in Austria and Germany. [Annotator’s Note: siren in the background at 1:08:30.000.] The worst moment of his war experience was rejoining his unit after he was wounded because he felt lonely. There were several close calls where he was almost wounded from shrapnel. He knew one soldier that lost his mind and began shooting his rifle. Power and others had to hold him down to get the rifle.

James Moore Power [Annotator’s Note: with the 55th Armored Infantry Battalion, 11th Armored Division] was still in a weapons squad, but was now a gunner on a mortar [Annotator's Note: a short smoothbore gun which fires explosive shells at high angles]. He never fired the mortar in combat. He also carried an M1 rifle [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also known as the M1 Garand]. After the war concluded, he ran PXs [Annotator's Note: post exchange] in Austria and Germany. After the war, he took a trip to Paris [Annotator’s Note: Paris, France] and then England. He met a lot of people and went dancing at a club. He stayed in London [Annotator’s Note: London, England]. Power collected a lot of souvenirs including hand-crafted crystal from Austria. When the war in Europe ended, Power’s unit was in a mountain village north of Linz, Austria. He remembered hearing the news of the death of President Roosevelt. [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States, died 12 April 1945]. In late December 1945, Power returned to the United States after a rough ride across the Atlantic Ocean. He was discharged from the army in January 1946 at Camp Shelby, Mississippi as a private first class, or PFC. After the war, Power took advantage of the GI Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment] and earned a degree from Ole Miss [Annotator’s Note: the University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi].

James Moore Power took advantage of the GI Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment] and earned a degree from Ole Miss [Annotator’s Note: the University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi]. The war changed his life because he became more worldly. He also had a successful career because of his education that he received through the G.I. Bill. His father taught him responsibility, but he learned that the world is big, and it trained him to practice responsibility. He served in the war because he was drafted. He believes that his experience in World War 2 was impressionable for the rest of his life, and he developed a deeper faith. He believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations.