Jones, Homer 2006-08-10
Homer Jones speaks about his early life experiences living on a farm. He talks about his military career as well as his capture by the German army and life in the prison camp. Next he describes his escape from the prison camp. Lastly he shares his later life experiences as a teacher.
General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: Homer Jones
Additional Parties Recorded:
Date: August 10, 2006
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Interviewer: David Marshall
Length: 01:45:37
Abstract
Background information; Full name Homer Irving Jones; Born in Slaton, Texas; Date of birth April 20, 1923; Second of nine children; Father was farmer all his life; Father’s name Robert Lee Jones; Mother’s name Ethel Harrison Jones; Father’s origin in Tennessee and mother’s in Oklahoma; Mother was part Indian; Parents were cotton farmers in Fanning Texas; Cotton farm outside of Slaton, TX; Born and grew up in a farm six miles west of Slaton, TX; Lived in the farm during the Depression; Did not notice the influence of the Depression; Childhood work on the farm; Slaughtered their own animals; Miss school due to the cotton production; Fifteen percent of students grew up on farms; School Experience; Started school in Union, Texas; Trend of growth in Lubbock; School consolidation; German influence in Slaton, Texas; Very few Hispanic and Black families in that area; Started seeing Hispanic population by 1960s; Father continued cotton farming 5 years before he passed away; Other farms purchased; Dad bought tractor in 1938; Moved to Slaton, TX for school; Finished college in 1948; Started teaching after college; Teaching career and high school; Interests in teaching; FFA program; Different types of contests; Extra-curricular activities in high school; Slaton High School was pretty competitive; Graduated from high school in May 1941; Aware of what was happening in the era; Military experience; Army Air Corp.; Cadet training school; Pilot training; Went through radio training; Knowing the mission of going overseas; Finished training in Tucson, Arizona; Moved to North Africa; Shipped to Italy by B-24; Realized the seriousness of the war; Air raid to Germany; Mission in Greece; Got a direct hit on 24 of September 1944; Altitude 24000 ft; Got captured by the Germans; Marched down the streets; Held prisoner; Interrogated in a building; Solitary confinement; Put into Austrian prison camp with Russians; Hard time for Germany to move about; Other nationalities in the prison camp; Observance of the absence of the guards; Escaped from the camp; Transferred to Yugoslavia; Walked to Soviet Bulgaria; Russian occupation of Eastern Europe; Encountering Russians; Got back to the base in Italy 1945; Back to the base; Shipped back to America; Went home and then to Miami, FL; Lack of food was the most difficult part of capture and escape; Hardships for 45 days; First to escape from the camp; Attitude of the Yugoslavian leader Tito; Reason for the support received; Appearance on the German newspapers; Family’s reaction; Mother wrote a letter to him everyday; Mother continued to write everyday during his capture; Love and faith of a mother; Discharged in November 1945; Wasn’t bothered by the deployment to Japan; How the war experience affect his life; Could not recall some of the experience; Solitary mind; Taught school and preached in Church of Christ; Ability to associate with others; Speeches in schools; One particular speech at Lubbock Christian University; Feeling of release by talking about the experience in the prison; Other people’s responses to the prison experience; Post-war experience; Amount of the first paycheck; Got married in 1946; Industry concentration and teaching focus; Local FFA program; National movement of FFA being introduced to politics; Typical weekly schedule; Farming work in the summer time; Went to national meeting of FFA in Kansas; Changes in Texas public school over the years; Changes in income; Making more money from retirement than the last year of teaching; John Deere tractors; Decrease of different livestock breeds; Interest rate of buying land; Biggest success in teaching career; FFA’s growth; Students’ achievements; Considered family as most important thing in life.
Access Information
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Transcript: No transcript available
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