Student-Veteran Oral History Project
Karl Allen Interview
Interviewer Name
Robert Shumpert
Context for Interview
Karl Allen is a veteran of the US army and is being interviewed for a course on Oral History. The students interview a veteran who is also a student at USCA.
Brief Description of Interview
Interview starts with a description of Allen’s life before he joined the military. He describes moving around a lot as well as the activities he participated in during high school. He then talks about how his dad gave him a choice to either go to college or go into the military. After that he explained what basic training was like for him, comparing it to summer camp. After that he talked about his work at Fort Campbell and his deployment to Afghanistan. He describes his job as a helicopter mechanic as dull most of the time but claims that the fun parts make up for it. He talks about how his unit interacted with citizens of Afghanistan and how they hired them to do work on the base he was staying in; he also talked about time he came under mortar fire as well as things they did for fun in their free time, such as wrestling. He also mentioned how beautiful and full of history the country was and how he wished it wasn’t such a war-torn country because it would be great place to visit otherwise. The interview ended with the narrator telling of his future plans to flip restaurants and other properties.
Location of Interview
RPSEC
Duration of Interview
22 minutes
Birthplace
Spokane,WA
Gender
Male
Dates of Service
5 years
Branch/Units of Service
Army; 159th Combat Aviation Brigade
Theaters/Locations of Service
Ft. Campbell, KY; Afghanistan
Highest Rank Attained
E-4
Major Course of Study
Business
Publication Info
2017.
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