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Libby Bob Croak Interview February 5, 2008

On Tuesday, January 29, 2008 I interviewed my mother’s uncle, Bob Croak. This interview was at my house and it will be hand written. The connection that my Great Uncle has to WWII is, he was in the war with his brother, my grandfather, and he was in a big battle where many thousands of Americans died. My Great Uncle Bob was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He was born on March 13, 1924. After the war he worked at Old Ben Coal Company, and then when that was bought out, he worked for himself as a real estate investor. He retired at age forty-five. The school that he attended was a public high school and the government paid for three years of college at University of Missouri (MIZZOU). He had one brother, my grandfather, and a Mom and Dad. Bob’s hobbies include, playing golf and picking peaches at Eckerd’s Farm. Bob Croak’s most vivid memories from WWII where the fact that he was eighteen years old when joined the Navy. He also remembered the Invasion of Normandy where he drove the landing crafts. Jobs that he acquired in the Navy where working on the boats running the engines, he also fixed the big diesel engines. Another job was bringing people to the land in the Invasion of Normandy. For a year in a half Bob was on a ship going around Europe. After Normandy, Bob went back on a ship and traveled to Japan, but before he made it, Harry S. Truman dropped the Atomic Bomb and the war was over. He was then sent to New Orleans and soon discharged, which was his fondest memories. The most difficult thing for Bob Croak was following orders and the strict regiment. He also did not like seeing people being killed left and right in the Invasion of Normandy. Bob Croak thinks the war changed the country because it made us better citizens, better American’s. It also made us, for a while think that Japan and Germany was bad. A seventh grader can take away from the war is, fighting for freedom and discipline. Bob Croak would like to emphasize the fact that he spent three years of his life in the war, but was able to spend three years at college that the government paid for (GI Bill). Also that at the time, Bob regretted going to war, but he doesn’t now. What people should learn more from my interview with Bob Croak is, the Invasion of Normandy. It was something that was terrible, and we should learn from it and it would be interesting to learn more about. I know that many people died, and that my Great Uncle was part of it.