[Annotator's Note: The video is scrambled for the first ten seconds of the interview. There is a minute and a half of chit chat before the interview formally commences.] Julian Gould Brunt was born in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi in 1920. His family were farmers and his father moved them around due to the Great Depression. Unfortunately, his father was a drunk and caused his family a lot of heartache as Brunt grew up. Brunt was in the middle of junior college when he and some friends decided to volunteer for the Army. He was sent to Camp Shelby [Annotator's Note: Hattiesburg, Mississippi] for basic training then took mortar training at Fort Rucker, Alabama after which he joined the 4th Infantry Division [Annotator's Note: Brunt was assigned to the 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion which was attached to the 4th Infantry Division]. He was trained in firing the mortar and in reconnaissance. His unit took the Queen Elizabeth across the Atlantic Ocean and landed in Scotland. The journey was short, but there were thousands of troops and many were seasick during the voyage. He was sent to England by a train where he camped for weeks and trained for the invasion [Annotator's Note: Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. Brunt and his unit took part in the invasion of Normandy [Annotator's Note: Normandy, France], landing on Utah Beach.

[Annotator's Note: Julian Gould Brunt served with the 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion which was attached to the 4th Infantry Division for the invasion of mainland Europe.] One morning, Julian Gould Brunt put everything on his back and there was a line of Englishmen wishing them luck as they marched down the street. He knew this was the big invasion day. The Normandy invasion was Brunt's first official action of fighting; however, he was part of the Slapton Sands disaster [Annotator's Note: Exercise Tiger or Operation Tiger, Slapton Sands, Devon, England in April 1944]. Brunt recalls the obstacles they encountered while trying to exit the boat on the beach and being under constant fire. When his unit finally made it up the beach, advancing was slow for the first couple of days due to artillery and mine fields. Being a sergeant, Brunt had to be responsible for many troops and their whereabouts. [Annotator's Note: The interviewee moves his arms throughout the interview causing the sound to muffle.]

Julian Gould Brunt was a Platoon Sergeant [Annotator's Note: in the 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion] at the beginning of the invasion of Normandy [Annotator's Note: Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. He directed a group of men on four mortars. By July 1944, he received a field commission and was commissioned a second lieutenant. His unit headed to Cherbourg, France and was able to capture some German troops. Brunt remarked that many of his troops were scared and he had to keep the morale up and give them encouragement. He also had to censor his troops' letters before they could be mailed out, which took a lot of time. He would keep his troops busy by making them take hikes or clean weapons. Brunt also hunted for rabbit and deer, which was preferred over the K rations [Annotator's Note: individual daily combat food ration consisting of three boxed meals]. After they took Cherbourg, Brunt recalled that he got drunk and decided to ride a mule for fun, but that ended up being a mistake. The mule shook him up and Brunt ended up getting sick and vomiting in the bushes.

Julian Gould Brunt recalls getting trapped by a barrage and had to seek shelter in some old German foxholes. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview to adjust the camera at 0:41:14.000.] He had to force one of his troops by gun to stay in his foxhole. Brunt made many combat decisions to keep his troops safe. He was able to stop German snipers from picking off his men with quick thinking and artillery support. In another incident, as the Germans were retreating, one of his troops had gotten stuck in an outhouse, and Brunt had to come to his rescue. Brunt had to take care of his troops by cutting their hair sometimes. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview to change tapes from 0:51:26.000 to 0:52:10.000.]

Julian Gould Brunt's unit [Annotator's Note: 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion] was used frequently when the troops were trying to get through the hedgerows until the tanks were able to come in for support. Brunt did not like the French too much because they were given credit for things they did not do, and they caused a lot of problems when they had to interact with the French troops. Brunt and his unit were dug in during the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. They were surprised attacked and responded with fire on Christmas Day 1944. [Annotator's Note: The interviewee covers the microphone with his arms and the video loses sound from 1:05:36.000 to 1:05:48.000.]

During the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945], Julian Gould Brunt just got used to staying cold because he never got warm. His unit [Annotator's Note: 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion] was not pulled off the front lines until after January 1945 and the war began to lighten up a little bit. Brunt was sent to the Elba River to manage the German prisoners coming to surrender to the Americans. At one point, Brunt had to stop taking German prisoners because there were too many for the Americans to take care of. The Germans did not want to surrender to the Russians. [Annotator's Note: The interviewee covers the microphone with his arms and the video loses sound from 1:12:51.000 to 1:13:08.000.] Brunt received a Silver Star [Annotator's Note: the Silver Star Medal is the third-highest award a United States service member can receive for a heroic or meritorious deed performed in a conflict with an armed enemy] for rescuing an injured soldier under heavy fire. In April 1945, Brunt returned to the United States and was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia when the war ended in Europe. He returned on the Queen Mary and there was an incident where the British soldiers took a dog from an American soldier and threw it overboard. When he reunited with his family, he hugged his mother so hard, he accidently broke her rib. He was ecstatic when he heard the United States dropped the atomic bombs on Japan.

Julian Gould Brunt returned home from World War 2, was discharged from the Army, and enrolled at Mississippi State University [Annotator's Note: in Starkville, Mississippi]. He enlisted in the Army again and stayed for his career. He worked with chemical and nuclear weapons. Brunt did not talk about his war experiences until later in life, however, it did not bother him to share them. He spoke about his experiences to the public later in life. Brunt shared a story about a young German woman coming up to him and blamed him for killing her daughter. Brunt states that his unit [Annotator's Note: 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion] liberated the Nordhausen Concentration Camp [Annotator's Note: Nordhausen, Germany]. [Annotator's Note: The interviewee shows his ranks and awards.]