*We began talking and looking at pictures before the actual interview was being recorded, so there is some information missing from the beginning that is filled in later*

I landed in the Philippines, then after that God knows where we were going…

Ok, now you’re name is Patrick…

Lucci, L-U-C-C-I.

Italian?

Yeah, you?

Yeah, Italian and Irish…both sides, half and half…

That’s alright.

You were here til FDR died, and then you shipped out?

Geez, I don’t know…the piano’s not helping you know?

Yeah…

(we change locations so that the piano isn’t distracting us anymore)

You shipped out right after FDR passed away?

Oh, what? Oh yeah, Roosevelt, when he passed away, a few months after that we shipped out. ‘cause I was down in Texas. They put us in a, now let’s see, I was down in Gainesville, TX. It used to be a German prison camp years ago.

Oh really?

Well, not years ago, but you know…they took them out and then they put us in there. Ain’t that nice?

In there to train?
Yeah, it was awful.

Wow, was it a prison camp before or after you trained there?

Well, we had to sleep in tents.

Ok.

Well ‘cause some of the barracks were no good down there…a lot of snakes, Jesus…all over the place. We’d shoot ‘em with the rifles, ya’ know?

So when you were here, you were working in the bayonet factory?

Oh yeah, down at copper metal, or copper wire I forget the name…well there’s two factories in Worcester, one’s copper metal and one’s copper wire, and I get confused which one is mine now. I think it’s the one down on Washington Street.

Yeah? And when did you work there?

When? Oh God, I was in my early 20s. Oh yeah, we were making bayonets and things; we all worked there at the same time. Like I told you before, you know, what’s the word I’m trying to think of, oh what’s the word…I’ve got it right on my tongue and I can’t get it out, isn’t that awful?

(laugh) I know what you mean though…

As long as I was at the war factory while they were making bayonets and I was working for them, the army couldn’t touch me, the government.

Right.

I was working for them, making bayonets, but as soon as I got laid off or I quit, they take you right in. But I didn’t quit see? …they release me…I just didn’t sign anymore papers, because if I signed it again, I’m stuck here for another two years, and I don’t want to stay here. There was nobody in Worcester, you know? My buddy’s were all gone, the place was dead.

Right.

Don’t sign anymore papers, I’m going in, which I did.

So you didn’t get laid off, you quit?

Oh, yeah, no I didn’t quit. I told them I wanted to go into the service, so I had to fill out some papers and tell them that I didn’t want to work anymore. Then I had to fill a form out and send it to the government, and then I got my notice after that, you know?

Right.

When I got my notice, I was like "Oh, God".

Yeah.

But I liked it. It was nice. You know, the army is what you make it. But you miss your home. I missed my parents…

Were you married before you shipped out?

Huh? No.

No?

No, that’s my wife in there, the one you were talking to.

Oh.

Would you believe it…her maiden name is Lapan, and I was in Japan. When I got released from the army I went from Japan to Lapan…what a coincidence, huh?

(shared laugh)

Yeah, so we’ve been together for 54 years. So she’s 86 and I’m 54…I mean 84…what am I talking about? I wish I was 54.

You’re 84?

Yeah, I’m 84.

Wow, you don’t look 84.

I don’t?

No.

No, I’m 84. We just keep moving. Trying to keep these legs moving, that’s the main thing.

Where did you live in Worcester…

I lived in Worcester all my life.

Where about?

Shrewsbury Street area…are you familiar with it?

Yeah, right over there?

Yeah.

That’s a big Italian neighborhood right?

I would say, well, I wouldn’t say, well, I was living on Morton (?) street. Do you know the Wonderbar?

Yeah.

I used to live right behind there before I went into the service. I wish I had my dog tags; I’d show ya’, I still have them.

I might come back so I can…

Yeah, I’ll show ya’ my dog tags.

So you met your wife when you came back?

Yeah, through my nephew. You know, I didn’t want to go on a date with her, I had a date with someone else, ya’ know?

But you did anyway? (shared laugh)

Yeah, I went anyway. Not with her, well, my nephew brought her right where I was and I had to lose the other one to come to this one. She was a manager at Filene’s department store the other one.

Yeah.

She was very nice to me, we got along good.

So she worked at Filene’s while you guys were overseas?

Who?

Your wife?

No. She was not overseas.

Right, but she was working at Filene’s while you were overseas?

No…she was working at Filene’s? No, the one I was going with, she was a manager.

Oh, oh ok.

See, I had a date with her, and this one too, so I couldn’t say no to the first one, so you know, I wanted to keep my word.

Right.

But my nephew took a ride up to the place where I was and I had to leave; and she knew it too.

Right.

She was very nice too. A nice Jewish girl, very nice. Rosalyn…I’ll never forget her. She died…so…she wanted to get married, I didn’t want to get married. I was too young, you know? I wasn’t in the position to get married. My father was sick. I was the only healthy one in the house, I had to go out and work.

Right.

So, things were rough, that’s why I was happy to be in the army. I didn’t have to have half the worries I have to have now.

Really?

Oh yeah…

So, the main reason you joined the army was because you didn’t want to be in Worcester anymore, or…

No, all my friends were gone, that’s why, all my buddies.

So it was more for that, than the cause, or what do you think?

Well, it was three of us from Worcester, me and two of my buddies.

Uh huh.

We went to Camp D---(?). The clothes, similar to this, I had ‘em for three months on, ‘cause we never had our uniforms on. They had to make them…they ran out of clothes.

Yeah.

So for three months, we were freezing with these. We took long hikes.

Yeah.

Right up to have a cigarette. If the cafeteria was here, my barracks was next door, but we couldn’t go in that cafeteria. They make you go to the one all the way on the other end, three or four miles on the other side, that I didn’t like.

(laugh)

You know, you wake up early in the morning…you gotta go on hikes. Twelve miles up 12 miles back. And we had what they called the behind us, in case anybody got sick or feint.

Right.

Something happens to their legs, like mine. I had big blisters, I couldn't hardly walk.

Wow.

But you still walk with the blister you know…all they do is take care of it, put some stuff on it.

Yeah.

You had some rough sergeants in there, but they were just doing their job. I'm not blaming them…

Right.

It ain't my fault, you know, you don't feel good, you lay down.

Yeah. So before you shipped out, did you have to deal with rationing and things like that?

Like what?

Like ration cards

Well, my friend, I'm trying to think of her name…I think it was Mary Rinaldo, years ago, they were across the street from the draft board and they had a sign up, so I signed up over there. But I never got called on account of I was working in the factory making bayonets…and I was making good money there.

You were making good money?

Yeah, working in the factory.

Wages didn't drop or anything?

No, as I remember. I don't remember too good though; it's hard to remember.

Yeah.

There were quite a few guys in there though; they didn't want to go in the service, so they stayed there.

So people weren't laid off that much?

No, I don’t think so.

They were looking for people to work, right?

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. What about the propaganda? All the propaganda the government put out towards, or against the Nazis and the Japanese, did that encourage you to join the service?

The propaganda? About what you just mentioned?

Yeah.

We had no choice, you know?

Um hm.

It was just a matter of time before we go in.

Yeah.

'Cause things like that happen on the average of every 50-60 years, which is way overdue now. Now, as you can see, we're fighting the Afghanistans. Our boys are over there don't like it.

Right.

I'm sure they don't like it no more than I did being in Japan.

Yeah.

You got a job to do; America comes first.

Right.

I was proud to serve my country…still am. It's the best country in the world. Do you remember when they had the God Bless America day at East Park (?)?

No.

Did you ever hear of it?

No.

You never heard of it?

Uh uh.

How about that…well let me show you something. I'm glad to…

(shared laugh)

I'm gonna show you something. These are the pictures I took. We had Mayor Mariano then.

Right.

These are the pictures I took that day.

And when was this?

This pin, right here on my lapel, I got it here.

Ok.

(description of pictures from September 22, 2001: God Bless America Day)

What’d you do when you came back?

When I came back? Ooh, boy. It was hard to find a job…

Was it really?

Oh yeah. Unless you knew some politician to get you the job.

Oh.

I worked for a politician…but this was God Bless America Day…I forget the dates, oh here they are.

I didn’t have no idea you were coming in today, good thing I brought these in today.

Yeah. (shared laugh)

That family that you showed me pictures of in Japan, how’d you know them?

I felt so sorry, because all the food that we wee throwing away, they were coming out to the barrel and grabbing it, you know ‘cause they were starving. We used to bring them all our leftovers, but they were scared of me, you know why?

No…

‘Cause they used to look at my .45 on the side of me, and they’d think that I was going to use it on them.

Right.

But no such thing.

But neither of you…

No, you know…they didn’t want a war anymore than we did.

Right.

As a matter of fact, the one I was going with, she was married to a soldier. It was them against us, that’s why she was scared of me, I think.

Right.

But they were very nice, I used to have dinner with them, you know? The food I didn’t care for but you didn’t want to insult them and not eat it.

Right.

Ya’ know, tea I don’t like, but I drank it. And you’d leave your shoes outside, your army shoes. She’d teach me Japanese…I can still speak very little Japanese, (speaks some Japanese words and phrases that he remembers).

Ok.

Then she cried her eyes out the day I was leaving. As a matter of fact, I’ve got the letter she wrote. It’s a beautiful letter, really beautiful. She was very, very nice.

Did you leave after they dropped the bomb?

No, I was still in the service before they dropped the bomb. The only reason I came home, Truman gave the order to drop the bomb. ‘cause Roosevelt passed away and Truman took over. And then they dropped the bomb.

What’d you think about that?

Oh, well. It was them or us. ‘cause we were gonna get slaughtered on the beaches, they had over a million men on the beaches. So it was either drop that bomb, or lose a lot of American men., you know what I mean?

Yeah.

What can I tell ya’, you know?

Yeah.

We had two presidents though: Franklin Delanor Roosevelt and Truman.

You like Roosevelt?

I liked the two of them. You see, Roosevelt didn’t put me in there, I did that on my own, but if Truman hadn’t dropped that bomb, I wouldn’t be here right now.

Yeah.

I wouldn’t be here talking to you. When I saw my name on the bulletin board that I was going home…

Was it a relief?

Yeah, yeah.

So it was nice to get back to Worcester? Was everyone back here when you got back?

Huh?

Were all your friends back here when you got back?

----------A couple minutes left to transcribe to this-----------