Oral History Interview with Dwight Dahmes, October 28, 2002
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Oral History Interview with Dwight Dahmes, October 28, 2002 (Text)
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dwight A. Dahmes. Dahmes was born 18 July 1918 in Clements, Minnesota. In 1936 he attended Westmar College in Lemars, Iowa where he joined the 133rd Infantry Regiment of the Iowa National Guard (part of the 34th Infantry Division). On 1 February 1941 the unit went to Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. Soon after, Dahmes was made sergeant of a weapons platoon and trained with various weapons. Upon completion of training the unit moved to New Orleans to perform guard duty at water purification plants and energy centers. On 1 February, the unit went to Fort Dix, New Jersey to await shipment overseas. The regiment went aboard the Duchess of Atholl and Dahmes describes the conditions aboard the overcrowded ship. They landed in Belfast and trained until June 1942, when they went to England and continued training. In December 1942 the unit boarded the Empress of Australia and landed in Oran, North Africa. He was involved in a number of battles and comments on the many casualties. In September 1943 the unit invaded Salerno and Dahmes recalls his admiration for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which was assigned to his company. On 3 October 1943, fourteen of the men in his company were killed and twenty others, including Dahmes, were wounded. He was sent to general hospitals in Sicily and North Africa before being put aboard a ship bound for the United States. The ship was stopped by a German submarine, inspected and permitted to continue. Describing his stays in several hospitals he tells of the procedures taken to save his arm from amputation. After seven operations and spending over a year in hospitals, Dahmes was discharged February 1945.
Oral History Interview with Dwight Dahmes, October 28, 2002, [transcript] ark:/67531/metapth1604242
Oral History Interview with Dwight Dahmes, October 28, 2002, audio recording, October 28, 2002; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1608054/: accessed May 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation.