Cpl Ozell Webb Barksdale Oral History

title:

Cpl Ozell Webb Barksdale Oral History

creator:

Barksdale, Ozell Webb (1947 August 3 - )

subject:

Marine Corps

description:

Ozell Webb Barksdale was born in Bryan, Texas on August 3, 1947, and was the youngest of three daughters. While in seventh grade, her family moved to Los Angeles, California and she graduated from high school while there in June 1965. A friend of hers from school had been planning on entering the Navy, and was looking for someone else to enter with her. They decided to enlist in the Marine Corps instead, and after waiting for Barksdale to turn 18 they signed up under the buddy-buddy program so they would be stationed together after basic training. After basic at Parris Island, South Carolina, both of them were sent to California, with Barksdale going to El Toro while her friend went to Camp Pendleton. They lost contact at some point in the next year, and Barksdale still had not been able to reach her since then. Her first year at El Toro, she worked in the mail room at the supply depot. The following year, she was moved to payroll, which she found more interesting in part because she was able to talk to Marines on their way out to and in from Vietnam. She remembers one young man who joined the Marines to be in the Marine Corps band and his recruiter led him to believe he could do that without focusing on combat training, so he asked Barksdale if there was anything he could do to stay in the States. After being promoted to corporal, she was put in charge of one of the bays in the barracks. She left the Marine Corps in 1967, but she stayed around the base since her first husband was a Marine she had met at El Toro. He had already done a tour in Vietnam and was sent back in 1968. On this tour, her husband was seriously wounded and sent to Camp Pendleton for treatment. He returned home in a full body cast in the summer of 1969 and Barksdale couldn’t believe he survived. Although he was told he’d never walk again, he regained a remarkable amount of mobility. They had three children together and got divorced when the kids were in elementary school. Barksdale returned to school, enrolling in San Bernardino Valley College to study data processing and transferring to Cal Poly to continue her studies. She worked in data processing for 22 years before retiring in 1999, filling her time with volunteer work with several different organizations. Some of this work left her considering returning to school to get a Master’s degree to become a teacher, although as of the interview she hadn’t decided either way. Barksdale served in the Marine Corps from 1965-1967 and left with the rank of corporal. In that time, she received a Good Conduct Medal and National Defense Medal. A transcript of his interview is available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Wilson, Eleanor M.

date:

2004-09-06

type:

Audio

format:

Cassette

identifier:

046; 2004.046

source:

MCHC | CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

006106

coverage:

Vietnam War (1964-1975) | 1965-67

rights:

Unrestricted