Interview with Robert F. Houlihan, May 1, 1990

Partial Transcript: --the sound.

Segment Synopsis: Houlihan talks about the special training his Greek battalion underwent near Washington, D.C. He says the training focused on being in enemy occupied territory, demolitions, knife fighting, sabotage, and more. He says they were in peak physical condition. He talks about their Commando instructors, and how Major Clainos was promoted and transferred, leading to his own promotion to commander of the battalion.

Keywords: 122nd Infantry Battalion; Behind enemy lines; British Army; British officers; Charleston (S.C.); Classical Greek; Commanders; Commando knife; Commandos; Congressional Country Club; Country clubs; Courses; Demolition; Enemy occupied territory; Greek battalion; Heavy weapons officers; Infiltration; Instructors; Intensive training; Knife fighting; Major Peter D. Clainos; Map reading; Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.); Operational groups (O.G.); Parachute training; Physical condition; Physical training; Plastic explosives; Practice; Preparation; Promotions; Resistance groups; Sabotage; Shangri-La (Camp David); Tent city; Transfers; Washington, D.C.

Subjects: Military training camps; United States. Army--Military life; United States. Army. Infantry; Washington (D.C.); World War, 1939-1945--America; World War, 1939-1945--Reconnaissance operations; World War, 1939-1945--Regimental histories--United States; World War, 1939-1945--Secret service

Partial Transcript: You mentioned then that you went down to South Carolina. Is that correct?

Segment Synopsis: Houlihan talks about his battalion's time in Charleston, South Carolina before they were set to ship out. He talks about the incident that changed those plans: a fight over stolen liquor between his officers and other officers stationed in Charleston at an officers club. He talks about how they were disciplined for the incident.

Keywords: Alcohol; Arrest orders; Barracks; Commanders; Exercise; Fights; General Duke; Generals; Investigations; Liquor bottles; Moved; Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.); Officers; Officers clubs; Orchestras; Performance; Physical condition; Physical training; Port of embarkation; Reactions; Staff; Statements; Stealing; Strenuous; Theft; Troop commanders

Subjects: Charleston (S.C.); Military training camps; United States. Army--Military life; United States. Army. Infantry; Violence; World War, 1939-1945--America; World War, 1939-1945--Regimental histories--United States

Partial Transcript: Uh, but the result of that was that they decided that there may have been publicity about it and this secret unit...

Segment Synopsis: Houlihan talks about shipping out from Camp Henry, Virginia. He describes their journey across the Atlantic, including the convoy of ships, organizing a Christmas service, traveling though the Strait of Gibraltar, and a storm in the Mediterranean Sea.

Keywords: At sea; Camp Henry (Va.); Christmas services; Church; Conditions; Convoys; Course; Crowded; Embarkation; Ethnicity; Germans; Greek; Guards; Liberty Ship Pierre L'Enfant; Narrow; Orders; Orthodox; Port Said; Publicity; Rock of Gibraltar; Secret units; Storm; Strait of Gibraltar; Submarines; Suez Canal; Tense; Travel; Troop commanders; Voyages; Weather

Subjects: Atlantic Ocean.; Gibraltar, Strait of.; Mediterranean Sea.; Religion; Travel.; United States. Army--Military life; United States. Army. Infantry; World War, 1939-1945--Regimental histories--United States; World War, 1939-1945--Secret service

Partial Transcript: What, what are your recollections of, of, of Egypt and, uh, and going through the--

Segment Synopsis: Houlihan talks about his impressions of Egypt before arriving at Camp Huckstep. He talks about his battalion continuing their training there, including physical conditioning and parachute training. As the commander, he met with Colonel Paul West to discuss a change in their orders. They were to be split into two groups with one sent to Yugoslavia and the other sent to Greece. He discusses his battalion's reaction to the change in orders, and gives his impressions of Colonel West.

Keywords: "Need to know"; Age; Assignments; Camels; Camp Huckstep (Egypt); Changes; Colonel Paul West; Dividing; Enlisted men; Greece; Greek; Impressions; Infiltration; Information; Inspections; Italy; Languages; Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.); Officers; Orders; Parachute school; Parachute training; Physical condition; Physical training; Reactions; Security; Trucks; Units; Weather

Subjects: Cairo (Egypt); United States. Army--Military life; United States. Army. Infantry; World War, 1939-1945--Regimental histories--United States; World War, 1939-1945--Secret service; Yugoslavia.

Partial Transcript: Now you, you, uh, uh--before you went up to, to Italy, um--I wonder if you might just, you know--you're, you're still in, in Egypt but you're about ready to go...

Segment Synopsis: Houlihan describes what was going on in World War II during 1944, focusing specifically on the Balkans.

Keywords: Americans; Balkans; Bari (Italy); British; Eastern Europe; Egypt; Germans; Germany; Headquarters; Italy; Occupied territory; Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.); Russia; Russians; Salerno (Italy); Sicily; Vis (Croatia)

Subjects: Balkan Mountains (Bulgaria); Balkan Peninsula.; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Europe

Partial Transcript: Uh, tell me a, a little bit about, uh, Bari and, and, um, what it was like and, and, and what you did the first time that you were there.

Segment Synopsis: Houlihan talks about traveling to Bari, Italy ahead of the rest of his battalion because he was the commander. He talks about his trip to the O.S.S. headquarters in Bari, and talks more about their orders to split their battalion into two groups. He talks about how they prepared for their missions. He talks about meeting celebrities during his time in the military, including Sterling Hayden who was enlisted as a U.S. Marines Captain under the name John Hamilton.

Keywords: Actors; Adjutants; Alexandria (Egypt); C-47 (DC-3); C-rations; Cairo (Egypt); Captains; Celebrities; Commanders; Commandos; Communism; Communists; Dangers; Decisions; Dividing; Division; Equipment; Equipped; Films; Flights; Food; Germans; Headquarters; Italian army; John Hamilton; Manfredonia; Marine officers; Mediterranean; Military transport; Movies; Objectives; Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.); Operational groups (O.G.); Operations officers; Orders; Preparations; Safety; Salerno (Italy); Separation; Ships; Split; Sterling Hayden; Troops

Subjects: Bari (Italy); Greece; United States. Army--Military life; United States. Army. Infantry; Vis (Croatia); World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Europe; World War, 1939-1945--Regimental histories--United States; World War, 1939-1945--Secret service

Partial Transcript: But what made me think about Sterling Hayden was that, uh, we left, uh, uh, we left, uh, Bari on an LCI.

Segment Synopsis: Houlihan talks about going with the half of the battalion that was being sent to the island of Vis. He talks about meeting another celebrity, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. during their journey. The interview is concluded.

Keywords: Beach jumpers; Commandos; Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.; Landing Craft Infantry (LCI); Leaving; Lieutenant Commander; Manfredonia; Morale boosters; Navy officers; Orders; Raids; Skipper Barney Greg; Solta Island; United States; Vis (island)

Subjects: Bari (Italy); United States. Army--Military life; United States. Army. Infantry; Vis (Croatia); World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Europe; World War, 1939-1945--Regimental histories--United States; World War, 1939-1945--Secret service