Transcript Andrew Flynn liam carson

009 for the sake of this interview can u please state your name

011 Angelo Agosti

016 where were u born

018 what was that

019 what was your birthplace

020 may 22 1923

026 how many people in your family

027 uhh dad

032 uhh 4

036 we would like to just ya know start off by going over a few of the sovierneirs you have because you know I think its pretty cool

045 starting with these I believe these are just the stripes you have on your jacket I see them on your jacket uhm so like is there anything that each stripe resembles is it like stand for something each stripe

101 well as you as you go through the service they go by your ability and and help and if you deserve a little more they give you a stripe

118did you like can you go over any of the ways you got the stripes

122 well the corporation with the ahh higher officials and the service

132 and and um

136 and lets c

140 this ribbon I u know because I don’t know what any of the ribbons and what they stand for can you like you know what that ribbon resembles

149 that ribbons for I believe let’s see I received that when I was discharged for faithful service and it was an honorable degree

200 and so people who served everyone has that ribbon for like ww2

205 yes

206 and like these ribbons I don’t know what these different ones are to but I assume they go on your jacket

215 I think they were for overseas period but I’m not quite sure

227 uhh what was the 2 dog tags represent

230 the two dog tags

231 ya

232 which ones are they

234 these this the dog tags

237 o the dog tags well everybody all the service people where them in case they get hurt or shot or whatever you are imidiatly identified simple

249 is there any reason why there’s two of them on their instead of just one

254 ha I don’t even know that answer question I think it’s take one and leave one

301 and yep

302 alright ya know well move into some of the prewar experiences ya know what was your reaction when you found out you were going that you got drafted

318 well like any other guy my age it wasn’t a total shock because you know what’s going on that was it

331 umm what was your families reaction of you being drafted

338 if I were what

338 what was your families’ reaction to you being drafted

343 well im sure they weren’t pleased because I was kid ya know

351 and did you have any other siblings or family members that served in the war

356 well my brother in law was in the navy

400 ok

405 uhh what did he do in the navy

406 what did your brother do in the navy

410 ah he worked on a ship I can’t answer that question

417 what was your occupation prior to the war

420 I was a tool and die maker a machinist mold maker

429 what got you working with tools

433 I thought it was a good trade to get a to know it was my love

440 did you like ya know like did any of your family members have an influence on you as far as like working with tools go

450 well not really it was my choice of a trades and no

503 how did they train you when you where in the war

505 well they teach you how to do what you there for in my case was drive like tanks half tracks and trucks and a motorcycles anything that rolls and repair it if necessary

534 ahh was there any experiences like boot camp that are interesting that come to mind

543 well it’s the same as anybody else in the service you learn how to do these things

603 uhmm how did you keep in contact when you know when you went to war or in boot camp

611 uhm through mail

614 was boot camp did they have it in America or where you trained over seas

624 we had them in America

627 umm where were you trained

629 Aberdeen Maryland Jackson Mississippi and ah Anaheim Alabama

641 out of those three places did ya know like prefer any of those places over the others

652 well I think ah Aberdeen Maryland

701 was your favorite

726 um describe like um how di the soldiers that you where within boot camp like support each other and help each other out was it like ya know a lot of joking or laughter or was it more seriousness

744 it’s a normal life you meet people you like and thas it

754 umm when you were going overseas did you go by boat to Europe

804 yes the oliner Washington

806 how was the trip their

811 the trip was alright we slept in hammocks but it was all right

815 was it like a long time for a boat trip was it like

820 it took a while to go from here to England more than regular maybe 10 days

833 what where your experiences on the boat was there like any good memories that you made with nay friends or like rough seas I know like rough seas happen a lot

848 well basically your there to make the trip and it was a long trip nothing I could say about it it was alright it went the fleet was surrounded by warships our warships

911 so the boat that you were on was surrounded by warships

916 ya it was a convoy

919 so that was basically to protect the boat that you were on so that

920 I believe so

926 how did the war change you as like a person would you say

933 ha well you get old a lot quicker a nobody likes war so what can I say

944 and you said you were 19 when you joined

946 ya

946 or were drafted

948 19

955 what was your occupation like when you where in the war in Europe like what was your job

1007 well I basically had to take care of any broken parts for machinery but also did a lot of parcel delivery a lot of driving

1020 so for for working with tools and stuff I know that’s what you like liked to do outside of being in the war did you have any say on how you got into working with tools or was that just luck that you just happen to ya know work with tools

1039 well a my trade sort of fit the job they gave me army ordinance I feel that

1048 uh so they looked at your prior occupation and because you were a tool maker that’s why they put you in that particular branch

1059 of course I believe that

1102 and just like what branch were you in exactly

1104 army ordinance

1105 army ordinance

1115 um what was your favorite memory form war ya know did you have any particular happy memories

1125 well yes I learned to dance in blackpool England haha

1140 when you learned to dance in blackpool where you working with the army ordinance or a tool maker or a mail man at that time delivering

1146 at that time I was still working with the army ordinance

1200 in class we learned great Britain Germany bombed it a lot Germany never took any of great Britain over how was the streets and was their like as any damage done when you were driving around was their like buildings that had fallen down was their like any of that

1220 well of course parts of south Hampton small parts of London were leveled ya

1228 from bombing

1230 from bombing ya

1231 was there any time where you were put n a spot when any bombing went on or was it pretty peaceful when you were delivering mail

1243 I think once I came under a slight bombing attack and I was plaster came off the wall but I didn’t get hit

1257 could you hear explosions in the distance or was or was Brittan like peacefully or did you hear ya know explosions

1309 well lucky for me I wasn’t involved in anything like that

1318 so the army ordinance it wasn’t anything on the front line or anything like that

1321 no no

1324 was there

1325 to be honest no

1327 so was there any time where you could have been put on the front line for the army ordinance

1337 as a matter of fact yes when the war ended no during the battle of the bulge I was taking out of my ordinance and thrown in a new patent division but the war ended immediately and I was lucky to go back to my company

1401 how were I mean I’m sure after going from your family to you made friends with a bunch of guys that worked in the ordinance um how did you guys support each other and keep the moral up keep it boosted when everyone missed their families

1421 well we laughed there’s only one person that I remain to know a guy from hairiston New York and I never saw him again haha

1436 but as far as soldiers in great Britain you guys kept each other’s moral up and tried to be positive or like how did everyone how did you guys keep happy or ya know in a positive manner when everyone is missing their family

1458 like everywhere else you know you had buddies and you prefer certain peoples company that’s all

1508 did you choose the branch that you where in or where you just assigned it when you were drafted

1516 no I was assigned it

1525 um describe like a typical day in Europe when you working in the army ordinance like what did you do each day what was the common thing

1542 well imagine it depends on exactly what you were doing at the time but most of the time I was an mp doing delivery of parcels from headquarters in London to every city in Britain whatever the assignment was I was a mail driver a parcel driver that was one of my best jobs

1612 which did you prefer or which did you like more delivering that or working with tools in the ordinance

1623 well the tools worker in the ordinance doesn’t come up to standards as a regular tool making job in the city you only had a limited amount of tools but they were functional

1642 and which did you like more being a mail man or a person who works with tools did you have a preference on which you did

1651 o ya I was a mail man and as a mail man we saw all of Britain pretty much every big city in Britain

1703 so you’re saying that was a more kinda fun job because you got to travel across europe

1710 yes yes

1723 um did while you were serving did it effect any of your religious faiths or religious beliefs

1735 well ha that’s a good question but a a my religious symptoms order thall shall not kill so I always hoped that I would never reach that state

1753 and you never did

1754 I never did

1758 and I’m sure it’s a very good feeling knowing that you never had to be on the front line or do any of that

1805 ya I’m happy I wasn’t called on to do that

1811 so do you think as far of what you could have been drafted into that it worked out in a really good way that you got into where you did for the military are you happy that you were a tool maker instead of being anywhere close to the front line.

1832 yes I’m very pleased ya I got lucky in some ways and I served my country and and and in the manner that they told me so yes I’m happy yes about that

1847 Um when you were in war or in Europe did any of your friends go out in the infantry or on to the front lines and fight that you knew

1901 yes indeed one of the fell as I grew up with was wounded and I paid him a visit he was in a hospital in Great Britain

1913 do you remember how he got wounded or any of the details on remembering how he got wounded or any details about that

1916 no not the details

1921 so you said you went all around great Britain and out of all the places In great Britain what was your favorite places like city wise any that stuck out the most

1941 well simply I love to ballroom dance and I was stationed at Blackpool England which is the Mecca of ballroom

1958 umm how much did you care about what you were fighting for

2003 pardon

2005 um how much did you care about what you were fighting for

2012 well I’m an American and we were at war so I had to do what I had to do care or not care

2027 um how were the holidays different while serving in the military I know being away from te family can cause a big difference was there difference from holidays over here and celebrating them in Europe

2046 well I think being at home was better family ya times

2058 in the holidays would you ever send Christmas cards and any of that or was it like just letters and like did you receive mail from the us

2116 yes yes I got mail and sent mail

2124 if you knew then what you knew now what choices would you have made differently

2133 choices about what

2134 just what you did anything that you did in England would you have changed anything or would you have stuck with what you had

2145 hah you don’t change where they sent you they send you somewhere you go there

2154 basically just following orders

2155 yes yes yes

2210 when you where in war or in Europe did you have any future plans post military did you have any thoughts on what you where gonna do once you got out

2222 well I was going to go back to my work my trade

2233 well when you got back would you have worked for the same place that you worked for before the war

2235 I did exactly that

2239 where when you came back from war id you you know locate yourself and work when you came back from war where the place you worked was

2250 Bridgeport

2254 Bridgeport Connecticut

2303 besides dancing was there any fun things that you did overseas besides dancing

2308 well as I can say as a driver I can say I enjoyed driving all over Europe seeing all these beautiful cities that was enjoyable

2325 what was the hardest thing to leave behind about Europe

2325 Europe

2334 well what was the hardest thing to leave behind going to Europe

2336 well because of my family and everything I couldn’t wait to get back

2344 I know you said you were 19 when you served the military so how long did you serve for

2350 almost 4 years 3 3 quarters

2357 so you where coming back when you were 23 or 22

2359 23

2410 what was your biggest complaint about the military if you had any

2416 hah well mainly it was for the loss in family life and a I wasn’t I wasn’t completely happy

2444 But um what’s your opinion on modern warfare

2446 I think it’s bad

2447 so you like peace

2450 o I defiantly like peace

1504 when you got home from the war what was the first thing you did when you got home was it just see you family or spend time with your family

2521 of course I live with my family it was my house we had and then I went back to work immediately

2533 how did a serving in the military change your life from even today or until today

2543 well I don’t think it changed my life you grow up a ah you just go back to what you were doing

2550 um how did it affect your family’s life would you say you going of to war

2602 ha well they missed me

2609 umm where do you live when you came home from the war you lived in Connecticut have you lived there all your life

2624 a for 50 years I lived their

2629 and then where was it

2632 I live in Fairfield

2638 what’s like the most difficult thing for you to talk about in the military do you have any darkest moments

2643 about the war

2644 ya

2645 well obviously a pretty sad affair and that’s the way it stands

2645 do you have any like stories or memories that come to mind when you think of the darkness of war

2710 well when I was in the army I saw some casualties with a train a train problem people got ran over by the train in didn’t even see their service

2726 when you hear someone say something about ww2 or the phrase ww2 what comes to mind

2737 sadness

2738 sadness

2747 what was some of you first thoughts when you got over to Europe and it was completely foreign

2754 Plymouth

2756 Plymouth was the first place you arrived

2756 Plymouth England

2800 did you stay in Plymouth England or did you stay someplace else

2808 no we stayed in a camp just outside of London

2813 do you remember what the base is called by any chance

2814 hah honestly I’m 90 now I don’t

2841 what was like a funny happy memory or funniest stories you experienced in world war 2

2852 I participated in a parade after the war ended through London

2901 and do you think that was your funniest experience

2904 well it was fun

2907 you said you marched through England

2912 we marched in a company through London in our company or a pantaloon

2921 after the war and up until now what’s what do you do to have fun besides dance what’s your

2943 I’m a golfer ha

2945 you’re a golfer haha