Mr. 0’ Buckley’s Life From 1939-1947
Written by Kyle U., Thomas M., and Alex C.
After Donal passed jump school he made a total of four jumps during
the war. His team would jump and land outside an enemy line and then
move into their location to complete their objections. Some of their
missions included taking hills, roads, buildings, and cutting off enemy
communications. Mr. 0’ Buckley only got to go home once during the war,
and that was after basic training. The soldiers would never go without
food, but would only get small amounts to last them a long period of time.
Mr. 0’ Buckley was only injured once during the war. It happened when he
burnt his hand in a fire trying to rescue one of the allied troops from a
burning tank. From that he received a Purple Heart. While a paratrooper,
his specific job was a radio operator.
Mr. 0’ Buckley made some smart choices after the War. Before the
war Mr. 0’ Buckley was kicked out of high school and didn’t have his
diploma. Then the war started and he was drafted. One time in basic
training he was climbing a rope and he found out that one of his
Lieutenants wasn’t able to do it, and the Lieutenant started to cry. That
made him decide that he really did need the rest of his education when
he got out of the war. When the war ended Mr. 0, Buckley went back to
18 months of high school where he got his High School Diploma. Then
after that, he went to Ithaca College to further his education. After
college he went and got married. He said that he was glad, and relieved
that the war was over. He also said that it needed to happen. Imagine
our lives today and how they would be if the United States never
entered the war.
Mr. 0’ Buckley said that the war didn’t really change his life, it changed
ours. After the war many people went back to what they were during
before the war. From the war he learned that education is crucial, and
one of the most important things that we shouldn’t forget was the war in
general. And how we should never have another.
The person we interviewed was Donal 0’ Buckley. Mr. 0’ Buckley
was born on April 3 0th, 1925. He is currently 75 years old. He was 18 or
19 when he was drafted for World War H. He went to war and became a
paratrooper.
Donal grew up in a small town called Horseheads. He held a job at the
holding point. He was in a band that he had formed with his friends, and
was going to school before he was drafted into WWII. One of his
interesting stories takes place at Cake Hill. It was his first time being
under fire. He was in the center squad. To get away from the gunfire he
tried to dig into the snow, so he would have a lower profile. A machine
gun was firing on the upper-left-hand corner until Smitty, their mortar
man in the squad, had shot it down. Now the men didn’t have to worry
about the machine bullets grazing them. Before Smitty could knock it out
Donal’s friend was shot in the chest. He though he had died, but
miraculously he survived. After that Donal’s squad went into the woods
to see if the Germans would counter attack. The Germans never did.
In WWII Mr. 0’ Buckley started off as a bugle instructor until he decided
he wanted to become a paratrooper. To become a paratrooper he would
have to go through jumping school. In jump school he learned how to
jump from helicopters. He would jump from many different heights. On
one jump he hurt his ankle and on another jump he cracked his nose on
his helmet.