Ubert Labat was born in May 1924 in Luling, Louisiana and was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was one of seven children, and had a "normal" childhood. When he finished high school he was called up for service. He was sent to Fort Polk, Louisiana, was tested, issued uniforms and sent to Camp Hulen, outside of Palacios, Texas. There, he took training with the 554th Antiaircraft Automatic Weapons Battalion, and practiced at Matagorda Bay [Annotator's Note: Matagorda Bay, Texas]. He learned to identify all aircraft, including "our own." Labat notes that while he was in Europe, 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], when the Germans broke through on the Ruhr River, his unit was credited with knocking down a German aircraft loaded with paratroopers all dressed in American uniforms. His unit came under shell attack that hit the barn where they were staying. One soldier, who had just gotten notice that his wife gave birth to a baby boy, was killed in the attack. He remembers going to Saint-Lo [Annotator's Note: Saint-Lô, France], "and all those places." Backing up, he states that they were firing 40mm [Annotator's Note: Bofors 40mm antiaircraft automatic cannon] and .50 caliber [Annotator's Note: Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun] guns, and also attached to his unit was a half-track with four "mounted .50s." Labat was trained as a range setter, but he later progressed to "second in charge" of the outfit. From training in Texas, Labat moved to Camp Stewart, Georgia, then had a 30 day leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. When he returned to duty, he went to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, and from there he went to Germany. He remembers his stays in New York [Annotator's Note: New York, New York], spending three-day passes at the USO [Annotator's Note: United Service Organizations].

When he deployed, Ubert Labat was among 14,000 troops on the Queen Mary [Annotator's Note: RMS Queen Mary], including a battalion of doctors and nurses. He landed in Liverpool [Annotator's Note: Liverpool, England] and traveled through snow by train to Stoke-on-Trent [Annotator's Note: Stoke-on-Trent, England]. He remembers the sound, "like a washing machine," of the buzz bombs [Annotator's Note: V-1 pulse jet flying bomb, German name: Vengeance Weapon 1; Allied names: buzz bomb, doodlebug] when they came over. He also says he liked to watch the American and British fighter aircraft in England. He notes that his 29th Infantry Division was joined by artillery, mortar and tank outfits, including Patton's [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] 2nd Armored [Annotator's Note: 2nd Armored Division] and the 2nd and 3rd Rangers [Annotator's Note: 2nd Ranger Battalion and 3rd Ranger Battalion] when they stormed the beaches in Normandy [Annotator's Note: Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. Training in England included target practice and hikes. All his possessions were packed into a duffle bag, and Labat carried his rifle and often wore two bandoliers. He pointed out that each soldier was issued grenades, and was under orders to destroy his gun if he was captured.

The beach was already taken when Ubert Labat went into Normandy [Annotator's Note: Normandy, France] two days after the invasion [Annotator's Note: Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944], and the Army was advancing. On the night of his arrival [Annotator's Note: 8 June 1944], German aircraft dropped bombs and strafed his location. The next morning, Labat's unit [Annotator's Note: 554th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 29th Infantry Division] dug their guns in, and that night the Germans dropped flares that lit the area "like daylight," but they didn't hit Labat's gun. His division went to and held Saint-Lo [Annotator's Note: Saint-Lô, France]. From there they went into the Ardennes [Annotator’s Note: Ardennes Forest], Belgium, Holland, and as far as the Ruhr River. They were positioned at Julich [Annotator's Note: Jülich, Germany] 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]. Labat liked to watch the Piper Cubs [Annotator's Note: Piper J-3 Cub light abservation aircraft] that spotted on the line. He lists the various artillery pieces the Americans had in use. Labat notes that the division by-passed Paris [Annotator's Note: Paris, France], but had some contact with the Free French forces who called the Germans "Boche." At Saint-Lo, Labat says the infantry did all the ground combat, while his unit was conducting the antiaircraft fight. He describes the "short bombing" that resulted from a drifting smoke screen. Labat also names several of his fellow soldiers and officers, and describes the makeup of the battalion. Labat says that he went through Saint-Lo after the battle, and it was "wrecked," nothing but piles of bricks and dirt. He says that he was "always scared," but he knew he had to "keep his mind on his business."

Ubert Labat remembers a time in Belgium when he was scouting and turned a corner to face a machine gun and three Germans. As it turned out, the Germans were dead, and Labat supposed the infantrymen had posed them upright. He says they stayed at a house in Heerlen [Annotator's Note: Heerlen, Netherlands] where a woman and her three daughters made dumplings for them. He says that once his division [Annotator's Note: 554th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 29th Infantry Division] got a foothold in Europe, they were pretty well fed. Charles Gerhardt [Annotator's Note: US Army Major General Charles Hunter Gerhardt], or "Jumping Charlie" as he was called, was the commander of the 29th Division. Labat doesn't remember exactly where, but knows that after Saint-Lo [Annotator's Note: Saint-Lo, France] the division went into Holland. He remembers being in Brussels for a rest, and found it wasn't bombed "too bad." Labat moved through Holland quickly, but recalls that the tulips were in bloom, and it was beautiful. Asked what he did in Belgium, Labat responds that he was sitting in the field, doing his duty, watching the skies. When the Germans came over, they would fire, but didn't often hit a German plane. Once, they fired at an American P-51 [Annotator's Note: North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft]. The pilot parachuted out and ate Thanksgiving dinner with the men. 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], Labat says they held a three-division front. He saw several dead, both Germans and Americans, which was sad. But he was called to service and he went. He still believes America should have compulsory service. Other than some German strafing, Labat says there weren't many close calls during the Battle of the Bulge, other than the shells that flew over their heads from a German railroad gun.

When the big push toward Berlin commenced, Ubert Labat says the Americans brought all the big guns up to the line, and faced them toward the front. They fired all night long, as fast as they could load. It was at night, and Labat says he couldn't see a target. Every now and then the Germans would return fire, and a couple of times a bomb hit within 50 feet of Labat's antiaircraft gun. He served with the 29th [Annotator's Note: 554th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 29th Infantry Division] all the time he was in Europe, although when he was in Bremerhaven [Annotator's Note: Bremerhaven, Germany], and among the first groups to be sent back to the United States, he thinks he was transferred to an artillery outfit. He says the Army was in such a hurry to get them home that they never gave him credit for all his battles. It wasn't until a neighbor put in for and got him all the medals he had earned while in Europe. To return to the United States, Labat had a stormy journey on a Liberty ship [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship]. After the German surrender, Labat remembers staying in the German camps, in places he can no longer name. One village he does remember was Schlitz [Annotator's Note: Schlitz, Germany] where Labat collected a piece of the railroad gun that had plagued his position during combat. After the surrender, he went house to house disarming the area, and Labat says he found the people "friendly." He and two buddies went hunting and hit an elk that, once it fell, eventually fed the town. The GIs [Annotator's Note: government issue; also a slang term for an American soldier] had K-rations [Annotator's Note: individual daily combat food ration consisting of three boxed meals], and hated to take food from the civilians who needed it. He also recalls that one of the guns was lost when it went off the road on the autobahn. He thinks that only one man in his outfit was killed.

When Ubert Labat was on his way to get his discharge from Camp Shelby, Mississippi, the train he traveled on was derailed, and a head injury put him in the hospital for a couple of days. His possessions were looted, and Labat lost a Luger [Annotator's Note: German P-08 Luger 9mm semi-automatic pistol] and some souvenirs he was bringing home. After his discharge, he took a bus that stopped at the White Kitchen in Slidell, Louisiana, and Labat saw his family waiting for him there. They took him home, where there was a party waiting for his arrival. Labat says there used to be reunions of their outfit [Annotator's Note: 554th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 29th Infantry Division], but they don't gather anymore. After he was home a while, he met and married his "pretty wife." [Annotator's Note: Labat smiles.] [Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks Labat when he was most afraid during the war.] Labat was most afraid during the war when he was at the Ruhr River [Annotator's Note: Germany], and when he was in Normandy [Annotator's Note: Normandy, France]; he explains that he was afraid of sabotage. He also experienced a bombing raid in London [Annotator's Note: London, England], and spent one of the worst nights he ever had there. He points out that he never had hand-to-hand combat. Labat says if the country was in danger, and he was able, he would do it all again.