Masi: Mr. Clemente, where and when were you born?

Clemente: August 3, 1916 here in Oakville (Connecticut).

J.M. Oakville, Connecticut. Tell me a little bit about your early life.

J.C. Well, as a kid, you know, growing up like everyone else we went to local schools here in Oakville and, of course, things in those days were rough. I went through the Depression and all that, and there wasn't much money around. But I always hustled trying to make a dollar- not a dollar at that time, a nickel or a dime on the side doing favors for neighbors and selling blueberries and things like that. Then when I was 18 years old I got a job working for (unclear) delivering ice and oil. So when I became 20, my sister was working up in Princeton. They were looking for help up there. So I quit and went up there; more money in the factory, you know?

J.M. Now, what was Princeton?

J.C. Princeton Knitting Mill in Watertown. So I was there for a couple years then things got slow and I got laid off, and from there on I went across the street, Watertown Manufacturing. Over there for a while and things were a little slow too, I worked there until about 1943. No, not 1943. What year was it? Well, anyway I was 23 years old is what I meant to say. So I was there until about 24 or something like that. No, the war was getting rough. I was already assigned to be inducted into the Army, you know, drafted. You had to sign the register. Remember when they registered for the Army?

J.M. When you're 18?

J.C. Yeah. So then as time went by I couldn't even get a job around here because I was going away in the army. So then I finally got a job working in Mattatuck in March. April, May, and June I got called to go to the induction center. Now, who came along with me was my two friends from Oakville, and your grandfather, John Filipone. We went in the Army together. We were inducted together and we stayed up in Massachusetts for three days. Well, then they sent me out first. I got shipped out first and Johnny was still there. So from there I went down to Camp Lee, Virginia. So I was there for three months, that's for training. After my training was over, second week in October they sent me down to Fort Sam Houston, Texas. So we were there, I was there until the month of November. Then the first part of November North Africa was invaded. There was an invasion of North Africa. So we were there. Now every day it was kind of up and down. I knew we were going to go somewhere. So anyway, they finally shipped us out to Staten Island. I forgot the name of the camp. But we stayed there a couple of weeks. So one night, they didn't even give us a pass, they closed everything up. We couldn't get a phone, couldn't call home because we were restricted. So they got us up one morning about three, four o'clock in the morning, they put us in trucks and they took us to the docks and loaded us on ships. So we left December 12th. We got on the ship and we're going and going; naturally, we didn't know where we were going. We were in the Mediterranean. So, going and going, and going. We were going up South and Im like, where are we going anyway? Finally we were way down by the coast of North Africa and coming up. Now, about five days before we landed they gave us little books written in French and English. You know, when you go into town with French people, we couldn't speak French, so you would show them what you want to know. Hey, you read how are you and this and that in English; they would read it in French. So now we knew we were going to North Africa. So now when we cross the Straits of Gibraltar half of the convoy went either to Casablanca or to Monaco. We went into Algeria. Now, we were supposed to land there but they wouldn't bring the convoy in because there was fighting going on and they were afraid because, you know, we got supplies, we got men and everything, they could have bombed us. So we stayed a day and a half and then they pulled the convoy back to a small town named Arzew, something like that I think I remember in North Africa. There was a high stone wall so at high tide our time pulled right in, they threw the gangplank down and we got off of the gangplank. So then they told us, Get on the beach right away. They had trucks over there picking us up. Now, December, January, February, March that was the rainy season. It rained. It rained. It rained. I got all the rain. So we were there for a week and then they took us into a building in the city of Oran. And this building here had no siding on it; it was open, but then the government came in with canvas and they closed it up, and we stayed there until about the month of march and then they got an area where they built a kitchen, they built tents for us and all that. Then we got bombed several times from the Germans. Now, this was the quartermaster, we were operating a supply depot. We knew we had to get food for all the soldiers. We handled all the food. In June the war ended in North Africa. It was a short war. Six months.

J.M. That was 1943?

J.C. Yes, that was in '43. So then we stayed there, oh, until about the month of September. Now, North Africa has already calmed down. So meanwhile, before I noticed the Mediterranean was loaded with ships. They were getting ready to invade Sicily. So then they invaded Sicily. Then out outfit broke up because they didnt need us anymore.

J.M. What outfit were you in?

J.C. 382nd Quartermaster in North Africa.

J.M. In the Army?

J.C. It was always in the Army. So then what they did, they broke up the outfit in half and they took our half and they gave us infantry training in North Africa. So they gave us infantry training in North Africa and I though we were going to go to Normandy. They said, No, you guys are not going to Normandy. Normandy is already planned. So after I trained we went to Sicily. From Sicily we went to Italy. Now, we stayed in Italy, in town, about three or four weeks. So now they had to replace us and they replaced us different places. They replaced me in the 85th Division. I became sick when I was over there. When I became sick they sent me to the hospital, a field hospital. Now, while we were there in combat we got engaged in a fight and there was this machine gun up on a hill. So the company picked three of us guys; me and two other guys. They gave us grenades. Said, We got to knock that machine gun nest out. So we went up in the hill, this was night. We flanked the machine gun. We threw grenades in there and we got the hell out of there and we went back to our company. Now, the next morning the officers went up and when they went up there they saw the machine gun nest was knocked out, so we got the credit. So they out us in first for a Bronze Star. They said, No, the Bronze Star, it's got to be higher, so they put us in for a sliver star. That's how I was awarded the Silver Star. And later on, going on and going on we fought a little more, that's when I became ill. They put me in a field hospital. From the field hospital they sent me down to Naples to a general hospital.
 
 

J.M. What kind of illness?

J.C. I had a kidney removed. So then from there what they did, when I finished three months training there and the hospital there, they sent me north. Pisa, North Italy. Not in combat any more. It's a rest area. And while we were there in the month of May of 1945 the war ended. So now there was no more war. So what they did to me, they replaced me in another outfit in Florence, Italy. So I was there a good two months and I still wasn't feeling right. So then I went in sick call and they said, You know, we'll send you back to Naples. So then they took me back to Naples. When I went into Naples over there you go to doctors they test you, twice a week they check you out and I was there for several weeks. Then one day this doctor says, Clemente, he says, you've been out here for quite a while. You were in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy, you were out here almost three years. I said, Yes sir. He says, How would you like to go home? I says, That'll be fine. All right, he says, 'in a couple of weeks you'll go back home.' And that's what happened. That was the end of July. In the middle of August we landed in Charleston, South Carolina in the camp down there. Now, I was there about a week so from there they shipped us back to Fort Devons in Massachusetts. I was there a couple of weeks. And from there they shipped me to Camp Edwards, that's in Massachusetts. Now, we were there, oh I say I was there about a month or so, and then in the month of November I got discharged. They discharged us all. They wanted to make sure you were in good health. And then the war was over naturally in '45, in the month of November I got discharged and they sent me home, and then we came back home. So when I came to Waterbury after the war, Im walking downtown and who do I meet, John Filipone. We haven't seen each other in three and a half years. Hey John, how are ya? And we went through this and that, you know? And after that we joined the VFW. We built this place. We all got together, a lot of members, who did one thing, who did another, we had electricians, masons, and everything over here and we built this place. But of course, now a lot of those soldiers passed away. That's the whole story. I came back here and that's it.

J.M. Mr. Clemente, how did you perceive being in war as far as what were your emotions, what were battles like?

J.C. Well, it was rough. You're getting hit by artillery shells, mortar shells, you're being shot by machine guns, you're digging foxholes to cover yourself. If you can't dig a foxhole, you've got to get cover somewhere else. I know one time I got caught in a field with mortar shells coming in and machine guns. I could hear them hit the ground. Lucky that I didn't get hit at all, and that's what you go through, you know? You put up with all these artillery shells and we got straifed by airplanes, by machine guns, German airplanes, like that, you know? Luckily I pulled through.

J.M. How did you feel being an Italian American over in Italy? What were your emotions there?

J.C. I liked it because I speak Italian. I enjoyed it.

J.M. How did people treat you?

J.C. Treat me good. They were good. They were good.

J.M. You were over there at the time there was German occupation, Italy had already surrendered.

J.C. Yeah. The war was still going on when I was there but after it was over, you know, then they started sending the GIs home. But the people were good before and after. We used to go into the towns that were destroyed and we tried to help these people. So this just went back and forth, but they were pretty good.

J.M. Any fond experiences you'd like to talk about, one that stands out in your mind?

J.C. Well, you know, it was war, we had to go through it. Had to put up with it. I didn't like it. I mean, dont tell me I wasn't scared. I really was scared, but you got you put up with it. I'm not the only one. Everybody, you know?

J.M. You were 24 when you went?

J.C. I was 25 when I went in the service. About 28, something like that.

J.M. So you served three years.

J.C. Three and a half years in the service. Overseas close to three years.

J.M. Basic training for about six months?

J.C. All together, yeah, off and on. And then in November of '45 I got discharged.

J.M. Did you use the GI Bill for anything?

J.C. No, no.

J.M. What did you end up doing after the war?

J.C. I went to work, and then I met my wife and we got married and raised a family and that's it.

J.M. Mr. Clemente, how were you received when you came home as far as treatment from your community?

J.C. Good. Very good. We joined the post here and all get together and everything was all right. I mean, there's no bad feelings.

J.M. You said you didnt have a furlough.

J.C. No, I never got a furlough.

J.M. And so it was extra special for you.

J.C. Well, because the war was going on, I was in training, then the war broke out in North Africa so I didn't get time to get a furlough.

J.M. How did you feel about being in North Africa, being in a desert?

J.C. It's the war. There was nothing else I could do. But then you get to meet people and, you know, you have a pass, you have weekends off, you could go to church, you get to meet people and all that.

J.M What would you do on weekends off?

J.C. Well, you go into town. You go to the movies. Americans had a bar. If you wanted to go and have a quick drink they had bars set up in town.

J.M. How did you deal with the climate, the weather?

J.C. Weather was nice except for the rain, When the rainy season stopped it was nice, but we had a lot of rain. It's a good climate out there.

J.M. How did you deal with the climate, the weather?

J.C. Weather was nice except for the rain. When the rainy season stopped it was nice, but we had a lot of rain. It's a good climate out there.

J.M. Really? I had it in my mind that it was the desert, extreme heat.

J.C. That was outside, the desert. This is in the city. We didn't go into the desert. But the city was nice. In other words, like California. I've been to California. And it was nice. The climate was nice. Nice climate. Real nice.

J.M. Was there actual fighting in Sicily?

J.C. No, it was already taken.

J.M. And from Sicily you went direct to . . . ?

J.C. Italy. In Italy there was fighting going on.

J.M. Where did you land in Italy?

J.C. We landed in Naples.

J.M. And from there you went north?

J.C. Yeah, then we went north. We were in the company area, you know, to be replaced. Me, they placed me in the infantry, 85th Division.

J.M. Tell me a little bit about what you did in basic training as far as exercise?

J.C. Oh yeah, you do exercise. They tell you a lot about the war, not so much about the war but they train you. You get up in the morning and march, you've got to do your exercises and they teach you how to drill and all that. You go in the rifle range, they teach you how to shoot.

J.M. Give me an example of an average day from waking up, what time you woke up-

J.C. We got up I think it was 7 o'clock in the morning. We had breakfast at 8:00, and then we go to the warehouse and work. Then in the afternoon after lunch we go back to work and then at night we go back to camp and we eat. Now, if you want to stay in camp, you stay in camp; if you want to go to town you can get a pass and go to town.

J.M. That was during basic training?

J.C. No, this was overseas. We were over in North Africa.

J.M. During basic training, what was your average day?

J.C. Well, I'd say from 8 to about 4 o'clock, something like that.

J.M. 8 o'clock to 4 o'clock.

J.C. Yes.

J.M. 8 oclock was?

J.C. in the morning. You go in the field until 12 oclock. You do training in the field and then you go back and eat lunch. 1 oclock you go back and do the same thing again. Then at 4 oclock you come back and your day is done.

J.M. How did you spend your time from 4 oclock in?

J.C. If you wanted to stay in camp, if you wanted to go to the canteen where you have something to drink, or if you dont want to go to town, just stay in camp.

J.M. And the people that lived near the basic training camps, they treated you well/

J.C. Oh yeah, they were nice people. Maybe some were mistreated or something like that but not me, I got along with everybody. They were nice people. I always got along with everybody.

J.M. What was your reaction when you heard about your deployment as far as leaving basic training and actually going to North Africa? What were your emotions?

J.C. Well, we didnt know where we were going but we knew there was a war and sooner or later I knew we would get engaged in something. Not that I liked it, but it was wartime and thats it, you had to put up with it.

J.M. What rank did you hold/

J.C. PFC.

J.M. PFC is?

J.C. Private, First Class.

J.M. And that was what you came out of the service as?

J.C. Right Honorable Discharge.

J.M. How was the morale of the company during North Africa and the Italian campaign?

J.C. Well, it was all right. You got to put up with all that stuff, you know? Maybe some people dont like it but they dont tell you. People are pretty nice there. Hey, were helping them out, you know what I mean? Because we were the invaders but still and all, you know, a lot of them didnt even like the Germans after that when they got to know the Americans because the Americans did a lot of good for them out there. They put people to work. After the war they built up these countries, especially in Italy, America did a lot of building. We got along all right. I got along with everybody. Real nice. Hope it never happens again.

J.M. Me too.