[Annotator’s Note: Interviewee speaks very slowly throughout this segment.] Taylor Howard was born in October 1918 in Choctaw County, Alabama. [Annotator’s Note: a voice is heard in the background at 0:01:41.000.] He grew up in a community of blacks, Choctaw, and Cherokees. His grandfather was a well digger. The family moved to Gulfport, Mississippi when Howard was a child. He was one of ten children whose father ran a small family farm and raised corn, potatoes, collards, turnips, and other vegetables. His farm also had a rooster, hens, and two mules. When he was old enough old, Howard did work with the WPA [Annotator's Note: The Works Progress Administration was a federally sponsored program that put unemployed Americans to work during the Great Depression] before joining the CCC [Annotator's Note: Civilian Conservation Corps] in 1937. His work was mostly digging ditches on the side of the road.

[Annotator’s Note: Interviewee speaks very slowly throughout this segment.] Taylor Howard lived in Gulfport [Annotator’s Note: Gulfport, Mississippi] where his family lived on a farm. When he was old enough, he worked with the WPA [Annotator's Note: The Works Progress Administration was a federally sponsored program that put unemployed Americans to work during the Great Depression], and later with the CCC [Annotator's Note: Civilian Conservation Corps] in 1937. While working at a CCC camp, Howard fought fires and helped build roads in rural areas of Mississippi. The Army ran the camp while the Forest Service oversaw the work. While he worked in the CCC camps, he witnessed a man being lynched. Howard attended public school from first grade to ninth grade. He and his father were almost bitten by a snake while they were working on the farm one day. He recalled hearing the news report of the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. [Annotator’s Note: phone rings at 0:30:34.000.]

[Annotator’s Note: Interviewee speaks very slowly throughout this segment.] After Taylor Howard worked in a CCC [Annotator's Note: Civilian Conservation Corps] camp, he was drafted into the Army at age 18 and sent to Camp Shelby, Mississippi for induction. He was assigned to the 370th Infantry Regiment and attended basic training at Fort Breckinridge, Kentucky in the fall of 1942. The 370th and the remaining regiments of the 92nd Infantry Division joined up at Fort Huachuca, Arizona for divisional training exercises before going on larger maneuvers in Louisiana. Although most of the high-ranking officers in his company were white, the focus in training was not on race but on accomplishing a common goal of defeating Nazi Germany.

[Annotator’s Note: Interviewee speaks very slowly throughout this segment.] While Taylor Howard was in the Army, the focus was not on race, but on training and accomplishing the common goal of defeating Nazi Germany. He attended basic training at Fort Breckinridge, Kentucky. The press and newsreel footage of the day did the job of influencing public opinion against the enemy. He particularly recalls footage of Rommel [Annotator's Note: German Army Generalfeldmarschall, or Field Marshal, Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel] riding across the North African desert in a tank.

[Annotator’s Note: Interviewee speaks very slowly throughout this segment.] In July 1944, Taylor Howard was sent overseas [Annotation Note: with the 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division]. Taking someone’s life was the only way to have a future life in peace. His regiment landed at Oran, Algeria which was occupied by the British military. His regiment was sent to Naples, Italy in the Alps mountains and to the Italian front lines. His unit came under enemy fire while in Naples. Howard was very shaky during his initial encounter with combat. He often wondered how he was going to live through all the fighting. He witnessed soldiers in his unit killed in action and wondered when the next shell was going to get him.

[Annotator’s Note: Interviewee speaks very slowly throughout this segment.] Taylor Howard was sent overseas [Annotation Note: with the 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Division]. He was in combat in Naples, Italy. Combat was all about kill or be killed. He often witnessed Bed Check Charlie [Annotator's Note: nickname given to aircraft that performed solitary, nocturnal operations]. He often hoped that someone on the other side was hoping for peace and a quiet place to sleep. Howard’s mother sent him a cake and corresponded with him while he was overseas. [Annotator’s Note: telephone rings at 1:16:22.000.] He hoped that the commanders of both sides would find peace.

[Annotator’s Note: Interviewee speaks very slowly throughout this segment.] Taylor Howard was sent overseas [Annotation Note: with the 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division]. He was in combat in Naples, Italy. While on patrol and laying lines, Captain Gandy [Annotator’s Note: phonetic spelling], a Black officer, was killed during a patrol. One night, Howard was on night patrol, laying lines for communication purposes. His patrol came under attack, and someone was killed. He carried an M1 [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also known as the M1 Garand]. The command post was half a mile away and he saw a fire in the distance. He then heard a big boom just as the patrol finished laying the lines. The remaining men in the patrol stayed as quiet as they could so they would not get shot too. They moved to get back to base camp. [Annotator’s Note: There is noise in the background at 1:40:55.000.] He is thankful that he made it through the war alive. Sometimes, he was taken off the front lines and given a break.

[Annotator’s Note: Interviewee speaks very slowly throughout this segment.] Taylor Howard was sent overseas [Annotation Note: with the 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division]. He was in combat in Naples, Italy. Sometimes he was given a three-day leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] off the front lines. When he returned home to the United States, there were the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement, and today it seems that people are making life better for everyone. When the war was over, he was thrilled that he would be going home soon. He knew it would be an adjustment to go back to a civilized world. He remarks about the Civil Rights Movement and the Freedom Riders.

[Annotator’s Note: Interviewee speaks very slowly throughout this segment.] After returning home from World War 2, Taylor Howard became an active member of the Civil Rights Movement and the Freedom Riders. He believes that biblical was the best route to overcome racial tension in America. He recalled when citizens began to elect black men to the legislature. He was a member of the Gulfport Chapter of the NAACP [Annotator’s Note: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights organization in the United States], helped bring the Head Start program there, and founded the Community Action Program. He was faced with many instances of racism from the small businesses in his community.

[Annotator’s Note: Interviewee speaks very slowly throughout this segment.] After returning from World War 2, Taylor Howard owned movie theaters. He ended up having to close them due to competition. He believes that religious teaching is vital to ending racism in this country. He joined the service to teach people a better way of life. The war helped him understand the different ways of government and an attitude of understanding. His service today means a better understanding of life.