Oscar H. Savoie was born on in December 1923 in Lockport, Louisiana with one older brother and one younger sister. At the age of seven, Oscar’s mother passed away and he dropped out of school in the third grade. His father worked as a bartender and cook in various restaurants with Oscar bouncing between his uncles’ and grandparents’ homes. He would do chores around the farm, like climb trees and pull the moss down so the cows would eat it. His grandfather died five years after he moved in. He also did a lot of trapping and fishing. He was home fishing when he heard over the radio about the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Oscar was drafted into the Army in 1943, but was classified 4F [Annotator's Note: Selective Service classification for individuals who are not fit for service in the Armed Forces] since he was underweight. Eventually, he was accepted and sent to boot camp at Fort Knox, Kentucky for 17 weeks. He then reported to Fort Meade, Maryland where he received all his equipment for overseas deployment. Savoie was then sent to Camp Shanks, New York for the 11-day boat trip to Scotland. The voyage was very rough, and many troops were seasick. He joined the 70th Tank Battalion as an assistant gunner as a replacement in England.

Oscar H. Savoie was sent overseas to Europe during World War 2. He was placed in his unit [Annotator’s Note: the 70th Tank Battalion] in England and assigned as an assistant driver and later, as a loader. By the end of the war, he was assigned as a gunner. His unit worked a Sherman tank [Annotator's Note: M4 Sherman medium tank], and they painted a picture of a turtle on it, but it had no name. While in England, his unit began to prepare for the invasion [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. He landed on Utah Beach and was attached to the 4th Infantry Division throughout the duration of the war. Savoie and his unit were transported by an LST [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank] and stormed the beach, and then moved eight miles inland on the first day. His unit moved quickly through France, including Sainte-Mère-Église. He was injured during the Battle of Hurtgen Forrest [Annotator’s Note: the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, 19 September to 16 December 1944, on the Belgian-German border] when artillery shrapnel exploded over his tank while his hatch was open, resulting in an injury to his thigh. He was only out for a month and re-joined his unit for the Battle of Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. His unit was once attacked by Germans in a small town in Germany. He had to evacuate and lost his tank while fleeing the attack. When the war in Europe ended, he was in Austria with a new tank. He started as an assistant driver and later became a loader right before his unit reached the Hurtgen Forrest. He received the gunner corporal position when he returned to his unit after he was wounded. He slept, ate, and lived in the tank. The tank was his home. He remembered one time he stayed in a chateau for a few days in France. He associated very little with the local population because he was so busy. After the war ended in Europe [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945], he had enough points [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home] to go home.

Oscar H. Savoie was sent overseas to Europe during World War 2. He and his unit [Annotator’s Note: 70th Tank Battalion attached to the 4th Infantry Division] fought through the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. At one time, his tank was in a field and a shell landed very close to him but it was a dud. He believes that if it had gone off, he would have died. Tanks were very loud, and he lost some of his hearing from working in the tank. The Germans had bigger tanks that were better armed. World War 2 changed him a little, but it did not bother him to fight. He made a few friends during combat, but lost touch with them after he returned to the United States. After the war, Savoie came home and used the G.I. 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] at a technical school, but decided to become a fisherman instead. He also managed hunting camps. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewee asked a person off camera a question at 0:35:02.000.]. He wants to tell the younger generations to try and do something, and not to be a bum. [Annotator’s Note: Video goes black at 0:38:30.000 until end of segment.]