[Annotator’s Note: Interviewee talks for about four minutes about a recent event.] Kenneth Barnette was born in February 1925 in Plainview, Louisiana. He grew up with six siblings. During the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States], his father acquired a farm where he raised livestock. There were two brothers that his father hired and boarded at the house. One of the brothers married Barnette’s sister. His father also began driving a school bus and continued to do that until he retired. Barnette graduated from high school at age 16 in 1941. He worked part time at a general store during his time in high school, and worked full time at a grocery store making nine dollars a week. After two years of working, he joined the service. He was determined to get away and better himself. He tried to enroll at LSU [Annotator’s Note: Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana] but did not have the money, so he went back and worked at the general store. He was able to earn enough money to buy a house and some acreage for his parents. Barnette wanted to go into the Army Air Corps because he wanted to fly planes. He learned that he could not volunteer anymore, so when he was 18 years old, he was drafted into the Army and left home in March 1943. He was sworn in at the induction center at Fort Humbug [Annotator’s Note: in Shreveport, Louisiana], and then was sent to Camp Beauregard in Alexandria [Annotator’s Note: Alexandria, Louisiana] for reception. He received a shot and clothing. He was then transferred to Fort Barkley in Abilene, Texas for basic training. Barnette was at home when he learned about the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941].

Kenneth Barnette was drafted into the Army at age 18 in March 1943. He was sent to Fort Barkley in Abilene, Texas for 12 weeks of basic training. The daily routine was to wake up early in the morning and police the grounds for cigarette butts, then go to breakfast. He did calisthenics and marches every day. Later he was taught maneuvers, bivouac [Annotator's Note: a bivouac is a temporary campsite], map reading, and rifle training. Barnette was transferred into a casual battalion until November 1943, and was then transferred into the Army Air Corps. He was sent to Biloxi [Annotator’s Note: Biloxi, Mississippi] for a few weeks for testing. He was then sent to Columbus, Missouri for college classes. On 1 April 1944, Barnette was reassigned to the 63rd Infantry Division and completed infantry training. In November 1944, his division was sent overseas from Camp Shanks, New York. He crossed the ocean on an Italian luxury liner. One soldier got seasick the moment he boarded the ship. Barnette felt fortunate that he did not get sick. The bunks were stacked several bunks high. The ship arrived in Marseille [Annotator’s Note: Marseille, France]. His division camped out in tents for a few days before being loaded into freight cars. Their destination was near Strasbourg [Annotator’s Note: Strasbourg, France]. His regiment was then attached to the 3rd Infantry Division and First Free French Army [Annotator's Note: French Forces of the Interior or Forces françaises de l'Intérieur; French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War 2]. Barnette was assigned as a gunner on a 60mm mortar [Annotator's Note: M2 60mm mortar].

Kenneth Barnette was assigned to the 63rd Infantry Division on a 60mm mortar [Annotator's Note: M2 60mm mortar]. He spoke about Hill 216 which looked like a football field covered in snow. There were a lot of casualties while they fought in the open area. Once his regiment captured the hill, they continued to march through the country. One night, one of his friends was hit by a machine gun. Barnette and others dragged his friend through the snow to get him some help. They were able to go through some woods and found a help station. He reunited with his wounded friend several years later. On 29 January 1945, a few days after helping his friend, Barnette found a bazooka [Annotator's Note: man-portable recoilless 2.36 inch anti-tank rocket launcher weapon] with a friend and decided to fire it off into a house. In the process of loading the weapon, he was hit by a sniper in the arm. He went to an aid station, and was then loaded into a jeep and brought to a field hospital. He was shipped to another hospital in Paris [Annotator’s Note: Paris, France]. A few days later, Barnette was shipped to Southampton [Annotator’s Note: Southampton, England] to recover from his injury.

Kenneth Barnette was wounded in Europe only after a month of being in combat. He was sent to Southampton, England to recover from his injury to his arm. He had to do a lot of rehabilitation and physical therapy. Barnette returned to the United States in early May 1945. He sailed across the Atlantic on a Victory ship. He said he got good treatment on the way home because he was wounded. He is glad he served because he received G.I. benefits [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] that allowed him to go to LSU [Annotator’s Note: Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana] in February 1946. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Combat Infantry Badge. He had a career in insurance business. [Annotator’s Note: Video goes black at 1:03:38.000 to the end of the segment.]