Thibault, Romuald (1918-2002)

https://reflections.mndigital.org/catalog/stc:9861#/kaltura_audio

Biographical Information: Romuald Thibault was born on December 22, 1918 in Garden, Michigan. He enlisted in the military twice, first in 1937 and again in 1942. During World War II, Thibault spent most of his service in Alaska patrolling the North Pacific Ocean with the Navy. After the war, Thibault came to St. Cloud where he worked for the railroad, retiring in 1980. He married Rachael Kramer on January 2, 1945 and they had two sons, Jack and Pat. Thibault passed away on May 28, 2002.

Transcript Summary: In an oral history interview, Romuald Thibault discussed his experiences in the military during World War II. Thibault first enlisted in the Army in 1937 with the 7th Tank Company. His first overseas duty was in the Philippines, and he discussed his interactions with the local civilians and life there before the outbreak of World War II. Thibault also discussed typical military discipline practices, including disciplinary barracks (DBs) as well as Alcatraz when it used to be a military prison. Thibault had returned to the States in 1940 after his tour in the Philippines, and reenlisted into the Army shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After some displeasure with his outfit’s organization, Thibault transferred to the Army Air Corps while stationed in Alaska. Thibault participated in multiple salvage trips with the Navy around Kodiak. His duties during the war were to continuously patrol the Alaskan areas of the North Pacific Ocean to keep enemy occupants out of the region. Thibault concluded the interview with his thoughts on the Vietnam War and how he was against the draft process.

Interview by David Overy