Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Robert Rose

Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) | 489th Civil Affairs Battalion

Due to his peculiar enlistment contract, Robert Rose didn't have to go to Afghanistan, but when his Reserve unit deployed, he felt he had to go. It was a civil affairs unit and, once he was there, the missions were varied and, inevitably, involved something that he had to study to understand, like prison assessments. (4:15)
Robert Rose was excited. It was his last mission in the field before he went to a larger base to prepare a transition book for the next unit. The civil affairs outfit was assessing Afghan schools and, although he was usually on the vehicle's gun, he went inside to do the assessment. Suddenly, there was machine gun fire outside and he could hardly believe what he found out there. (Caution: strong language.) (11:05)
It was a great deployment with the exception of that one fateful day. Robert Rose elected to continue in the Army and make a career out of it. And the day that changed lives made for a bond among the men of that unit that still lasts. (1:48)
The men of the 489th Civil affairs Battalion were having a good deployment in Afghanistan despite mistrust of their Afghan allies and intermittent funding for their projects. That all changed one day when they took an official from USAID with them to assess local schools. Out of nowhere, machine gun fire erupted and a scramble for life began. Michael Trost, Robert Rose and Colin Walsh combine to tell the story of this surprise attack. (Caution: strong language.) (29:52)
Robert Rutledge

WWII | USS Yorktown (CV-10)

Robert Rutledge recalls taking a few bomb blasts from Japanese aircraft near Okinawa, and witnessing the destruction of the USS Franklin. (3:30)
Robert Rutledge remarks at how his ship managed to survive the deadly typhoons in the Pacific. (1:31)
Robert Rutledge describes a few of his responsibilities in helping secure landing aircraft aboard the USS Yorktown. (3:01)
Robert Self

Korea | U.S. Navy

Robert Self describes the painful air pressure effects of diving too fast in an aircraft without protective gear. (2:22)
Leading up to the D-Day invasion at Salerno, Italy, Robert Self describes surviving aircraft and machine gun fire after his tug boat was beached on a sand bar for 32 days. (6:37)
Robert Self, a tugboat captain, recalls rescuing dozens of crew members of the USS Maddox after it was hit by a German dive bomber during the invasion of Sicily on July 10, 1943. (3:12)