Interviewer
Julie Kenfield
Files
Description
Lyle Slade discusses working as a Border Patrol officer and guard at Fort Missoula in Missoula, Montana, during World War II. Slade recalls his duties as a guard, and life for the detainees at the camp, most of whom were Italian seamen, as well as few Japanese and Germans. Slade describes Fort Missoula as one of the more pleasant detention centers, detailing the meals and daily life of the detainees, who occasionally worked as hired help in the town of Missoula and in the Bitterroot Valley. Slade discusses detainees with whom he was friendly, and recalls his other wartime duties, such as transporting high-risk prisoners to different detention centers. He discusses his time in the Border Patrol after the war, working on the Mexican and Canadian borders, and credits his knowledge of Italian language, which he picked up while interacting with Italian detainees, as helping him learn Spanish during Border Patrol training.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
World War, 1939-1945; Prisoners and prisons; Concentration camps; Tule Lake, California; Crystal City, Texas; Bismarck, North Dakota; Fort Lewis; Thomas, Wolfgang
Original Date
12-3-1979
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Montana
Language
eng
Original Collection
World War II Detainees at Fort Missoula Oral History Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula
Digital Publisher
University of Montana--Missoula. Mansfield Library
Rights
Copyright to this collection is held by the interview participants and by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. Permission may be required for use. For further information please contact Archives and Special Collections: (406) 243-2053 / library.archives@umontana.edu
Oral History Number
OH 066-001, 002
Media Type
Sound; Text
Original Format
2 sound cassettes (02:00:00 min.) analog + 1 transcript (32 p.: 28 cm.)
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
01:19:21 minutes
Local Filename
OH_066_001_002.mp3; OH_066_001_002.pdf
Citation
Slade, Lyle, "Lyle Slade Interview, December 3, 1979" (1979). World War II Detainees at Fort Missoula Oral History Collection. 2.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/fortmissoula_interviews/2