Personal Narrative Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Software, E-Resource Audio Recording Leon E. Kent Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: 142rd Anti-aircraft Artillery (AAA) Gun Battalion
- Location of Service: Camp Wolters, Texas; European Theater
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/7607
Leon Kent's experiences in World War II Europe were marked by luck. His artillery unit arrived on the continent in time for the liberation of Paris, and during the celebration he met his future wife, a Frenchwoman. Several months later, his artillery battery was in Belgium, and they were assigned to move out just before a German offensive nearly wiped out an adjoining company. That was the opening of the Battle of the Bulge, and Kent's memoir of activities in the battle's early days detail how what he described as a lucky shot at an advancing German tank severely hampered the advance of an enemy column; that delaying action bought the Allies precious time to turn the tide of the fighting.
Leon E. Kent Collection
Interview / Recording
Transcript
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Leon E. Kent Collection
Interview / Recording
Transcript
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About this Item
Title
- Leon E. Kent Collection
Names
- Legacies: Stories from the Second World War
- Kent, Leon E.
- Swope, Thomas A.
Home State
- Ohio
Headings
- - Kent, Leon E.
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Race
- White
Status
- veteran
Service History
-
World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: 142rd Anti-aircraft Artillery (AAA) Gun Battalion
- Location of Service: Camp Wolters, Texas; European Theater
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Dates of Service: 1946
- Entrance into Service: Drafted
- Military Status: veteran
Materials
- Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- (collected 1995-09)
- Photograph: Copy photographic print [3 items] -- (collected unknown)
- Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-07-20)
- Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2006-06-08; 2006-06-08)
- Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2006-06-08)
- Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2006-03-20; 2006-03-20)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/7607
Cite as
- Leon E. Kent Collection (AFC/2001/001/7607), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- audio
- online text
- image