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Utter, Don (audio interview #2 of 5)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the second of five interviews that were conducted at Utter's home in Belmont Shore. The interviewer met him while serving on a LWV's committee to prepare a pamphlet about local history. Utter subsequently became a student of the interviewer as part of the Senior Citizen fee waiver program. 11/10/1980
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- 2020-10-14
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- SUBJECT BIO - Don Utter was a community activist and a teacher in local schools. He grew up in Long Beach and began his political education during the Depression when he supported Upton Sinclair's campaign for governor. He went to school in Long Beach until he was drafted at the beginning of World War II. As a conscientious objector, he served in a medical unit. He returned to finish his education and become a junior high school teacher and continued his interest in local political issues. In this series of five interviews, he talks about his decision, when he was diagnosed with cancer, to retire early and concentrate on trying to protect the environment and help elect progressive politicians. This interview was conducted as part of a project of study the impact of oil on Long Beach. TOPICS - East Side Christian Church; political activity; elections; oil industry; Spanish Civil War; radicalism; WWII; internment camps; and Upton Sinclair;WWII; overseas service; x-ray technician; and US Army field hospitals;
- *** File: cbdutter3.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-1:47)... Brief Introduction The Red Squad was established in many places in the US after WWI, and Long Beach had its own version. He knew a few genuine radicals, who felt that they were being harassed by the police, and knew they were being watched. The Red Squad was considered more of a joke than a nuisance. In those years they didn't know as much about the level of police infiltration in these organizations. Any kind of radical group of more than 2 or 3 people probably had at least one infiltrator who recorded everything they said and who the members were. (1:47-3:59)... He remembers the upsurge of radical thinking during the Depression when Uptown Sinclair ran for governor of California. The movement offered a lot of hope for people who felt that some rather drastic economic reforms were necessary to get the country going again. While they were getting the country going they could build in some social justice. The Sinclair campaign was a highly idealistic movement that had great appeal. Frank Merriam, who defeated Sinclair in the election, lived in Long Beach, and was considered an arch-reactionary. Another consequence of hat period was the election of many liberal people to the state legislature. They probably got more reform enacted in California than any time since the days of Hiram Johnson. (3:59-7:14)... The Great Depression was a fun time for a young person because politics offered some hope and there were movements based on idealism. Many good liberals from Long Beach were elected to the state legislature, and from there, some went into the courts and some into the US Congress. Although Long Beach was always considered a very conservative community, some of the most effective liberals were from the city. One of the liberal forces in Long Beach was Henry Kendall Booth, minister of the First Congregational Church, one of the most prestigious churches in the area. He became interested in the church because his grandfather, a very conservative Republican, was a member, and had great respect for Dr. Booth, both as a scholar and as an orator. Dr. Booth held Sunday evening services that were intended as educational lectures. Sometimes he spoke about travel, but most often on international and domestic affairs, and sometimes on a literary subject. These services were something of a seminar with a strongly intellectual bent, and they drew a pretty good turn out. Probably more than half of those who attended were not members of the church. Local educators encouraged their students to attend the seminars, as in those times downtown Long Beach was considered for the most part to be a relatively safe place. With the exception of some parts of Anaheim Road and the Pike, most of downtown Long Beach was considered safe. (7:14-9:17)... One of the liberal judges was John G. Clark, who was one of the attorneys that worked on his grandfather's estate for his father. The estate was very complicated because there were many properties spread across 2 different states. There was also another man who served on the state Appellate Court, and had liberals views. Very few liberals served on the City Council, which was usually very conservative. He knew councilman Clarence Wagner all his life. The Utters always did business with the Wagner Drug Store, even after they moved out of the area. He also worked at the Wagner Drug Store at Seventh and Redondo which was a political education; Wagner's political cronies gathered there on Saturdays for poker games. (9:17-12:52)... One of the most interesting political characters was Ross Millman, better known as "Reckless Ross." He was a small man who rode a tiny motorcycle inside a cylinder as a carnival attraction at the Pike. He was very interested in politics, and took an interest in the political career of Clarence Wagner. Even though he lived near the Pike, he was still active in the politics in east Long Beach. Another piece of Utter's education began when he worked in a barber shop run by a man who was also a bookie. The bookie had an old roll-top desk in the back of the shop where he kept tickets and his phone. When the phone rang, Chet , the barber, left his customers to answer and, because he was hard of hearing and talked loud, it was very easy to hear him out front. Years later, the bookie was arrested for taking bets, which put him out of business. It seemed that book makers in Long Beach operated under a system of protection, and were seldom arrested. The bookie in the barber shop ran his business for 20 years without a bust, and no one thought his business challenged the community's morals. (12:52-14:56)... There was carnival type gambling on the Pike, like Bingo and similar games, plus all the regular scams found at carnivals. There was casino-type gambling in the Long Beach area, although he's not sure where. He knew a professional gambler who worked on the gambling ships for a few years, and also worked around Palm Springs and in the Long Beach area. St. Matthew's Church at 7th and Temple had an annual carnival. One of the most exciting things for kids was to go into the gambling rooms that they setup. Many of the typical gambling games were there (roulette and craps, for example), and all of it was professional equipment. It was very impressive for boys, and was very elegant. It was brought from a professional establishment somewhere in the area. (14:56-17:07)... There was quite a bit of poker playing around. Usually it consisted of just community games, but every pool hall had a poker game associated with it, or a Pinochle where people played for cash. It was all illegal, and everybody knew about it, but nothing happened as long as no one was too blatant about it. Possibly the police were being paid off as well. He believes that all of the big operations engaged in pay offs. There was prostitution in Long Beach as well, being a Navy town and a port, and also a big industrial city in WWII. There were many single men around and consequently, the trade flourished. The principle areas were the West Pike and the West Side, Daisy Ave north to 4th or 5th St. He remembers driving around in high school looking for and recognizing the "ladies of the evening." (17:07-18:58)... The Townsend movement that began in California during the Depression appealed mostly to the elderly. His Republican father felt that his plan was flat out insane. It was roundly criticized by most liberals as well. In retrospect, it looks better now than it did at the time, when it was thought it had no redeeming economic value whatsoever. Now that economic pump priming and Keynesian theory are better known and used, Townsend's plan might have been an economic stimulus, and therefore a good idea. (18:58-21:42)... He was aware that Uptown Sinclair had lived in Long Beach, and that he had, in fact, lived in several places throughout southern California, where he was well known. His books were read in high school by young liberals. He was an extremely lovable person, and was consumed by social concerns. Because he was such a kindly, publicly spirited man, it was amazing that he terrified conservatives. They had it in their minds that he was a wild man, out to destroy the nation, probably because he had a good deal of appeal. Many were disappointed by his election loss. There is no doubt that his campaign completely changed the Democratic Party, and the results still linger on. Earlier, reform minded organizations were all Republican; they all went Democratic at the time of the Sinclair campaign, and have largely remained within that party. (21:42-24:25)... Many children were involved with Upton Sinclair's campaign for governor of California, as they were with many other things. They were allowed to participate. He passed out handbills for Sinclair as a youngster, and one time horrified his father by allowing some men to put up a Sinclair banner on their front lawn, visible to parishioners on their way to Church. As mentioned, his father was not a supporter, and he was under his father's influence. Both his father and grandfather considered Sinclair a dangerous man, and were quite proud to have Frank Marriam living in their town. Utter argued with his father quite a bit over politics, and sometimes grew quite heated. Many young people were involved with campaigns, and in those years campaigns were quite inexpensive, and relied heavily on the participation of volunteers. Volunteers went door to door and there were not nearly so many signs; campaigners didn't "deface the entire community" as they do now with all of their signs. (24:25-26:33)... There were many liberals among church members, and many supported Sinclair. The Crain family had very liberal members; two brothers were in construction, and Carl Crain was very active in labor organizing in Long Beach. He was a kind of a focus for respectable liberalism as he was an elder of the church. The East Side Christian Church was part of the Disciples of Christ which is now quite conservative. Nationally, this church has become much more conservative over the last 20 years at the time of the interview. (26:33-31:10)... Oil activity on Signal Hill dominated the economic life of Long Beach for many years, and Shell Oil Company was a major economic institution in East Long Beach and Signal Hill. There were many good paying jobs in the oil fields. The work was very labor intensive, even later with the advent of specialized machinery. The peculiar nature of the oil discovery on Signal Hill led to a fragmentation of ownership of oil wells, as the land had been divided into many different plots and sold to many different people. Many people got rich off of oil in Long Beach, not just the big oil companies. These oil discoveries established a group of well-off, prominent people who probably became the core of the Long Beach establishment and basically ran Long Beach for many years. Jergen's Oil Company was a very large company, but most companies were not as big and did not have nationally known names. These small oil companies were able to expand their operations into many other areas such as Kern County. Some of the money was put back into Long Beach in the form of houses, although few were very elegant. Many of the newly rich were of relatively humble origins and their homes never took on a look of rich elegance. (31:10-33:58)... Many people followed the Spanish Civil War; it was one of the great liberal causes. Liberals wanted to protect the Spanish Republic from the Fascists. Utter didn't know many people who went to the Spain at the time, but has met many since. The Spanish Civil War was one of the focal points around which radical groups in the US were drawn together, and there was a good deal of support as well for Franco among many conservatives. Tensions between camps created a split within the US. It was interesting that the local Catholic community, even those that held liberal views, were pro-Franco. This was shocking, because it demonstrated the "evils of the Papacy," which staunchly supported Franco. The real power of Spain was the Church, and Franco "their Creature." (33:58-35:36)... Whenever liberal activities arose, there would be concerns of danger from radicals in the country, and activity would increase, especially on the part of the local Red Squad. Conservatives would give off cries of alarm that the poison was spreading into the US. Liberals were disappointed that Franklin Roosevelt shut off the supply of arms to the Republican government, ensuring Franco's victory. The Franco win and the intervention of Italian and German Fascists on his side, seemed to be a strong impetus for later military activity by Germany and Italy. In hindsight, from a Machiavellian point of view, the US made a serious mistake. (35:36-38:00)... There was a tremendous anti-Nazi movement in southern California. He went to rallies in Los Angeles of the Hollywood anti-Nazi League which was one of the earliest and more vocal of the groups in the country. It included prominent motion picture people like Ronald Reagan and other good Hollywood liberals who all had a lot of of political sex appeal. There was a great deal of anti-Nazi propaganda available in southern California in the Los Angeles area. Among several centers of activity, Los Angeles and New York were probably the leaders. He read the Nation and the New Republic and these magazines were continuously analyzing the situation. They were frankly partisan magazines. (38:00-41:10)... Just before the US became involved in WWII, political interest continued as strongly as it had before, but the war and possible US involvement in the war were first in people's minds. He received military notification papers prior to the Pearl Harbor bombing, and was drafted about a month later. He was living in Belmont Shore at the time of Pearl Harbor, and was newly married. One morning on a walk, a friend told him of the bombing. It was a shocking thing, and after going home, he heard the news on the radio. There was a great deal of fear about a Japanese attack on the west coast. He was not in Long Beach at the time of the "battle of Los Angeles," when anti-aircraft guns fired after a false alarm, probably at some clouds mistaken for aircraft. There were a whole line of anti-aircraft guns on the bluff line in Long Beach to protect the area from invasion. This was back in the days when there was still a Coast Artillery Division of the US Army. This was always a joke and, when it became recognized as a joke, it was disbanded. (41:10-44:57)... He was a student at Wilson High School when the Japanese were put in camps. He had Japanese school friends and there were quite a few Japanese living in Belmont Shore and east Long Beach. At the time, he felt, as did many other people, that internment was a horrible injustice. He didn't realize the extent of the injustice until he got to Camp Grant, Illinois which was a medical training center where he was sent to train. The government had shipped a great many young Japanese, who had been drafted, to this camp because it was secure and was in the heart of the country, and was where "potential subversives" could not do any damage. In his training battalion, there were many Japanese, mostly from California, some from Hawaii. One fellow was a Japanese national who had been drafted because he'd lived in the US for a long time. He was a very forlorn young man, and told stories about the rather brutal treatment that some of his family had received in the camps and about the tremendous financial losses they had suffered. A friend of Utter's lived on Terminal Island near the Japanese community of Fish Harbor, and talked about the tremendous suffering and injustice the Japanese faced as they were moved to relocation camps. He preferred to call them concentration camps. This was one of the most stupid mistakes that was made in the early war years, but people were really frightened. He thinks the area was part of the Ninth Corps of the US Army, and the commanding general of the unit was a real hard rock reactionary and not a very bright man. He's forgotten the man's name, but doesn't think that he rose to an elevated position in WWII because he was a plodding horse type. But this army command was one of the least imaginative and least aware of the army commands in the United States. End of tape *** File: cbdutter4.mp3 (0:00-3:42)... The Army trained him as an x-ray technician. The field hospital, where he was put to work, was sent to the Middle East. His camp experience was interesting. Many thought Patton was an idiot or a maniac. Patton deliberately inflicted pain; it was suppose to be character building. They were attached to an evacuation hospital unit. (3:42-11:32)... He was among the first American troops to go through Durbin, South Africa and they got a big welcome. He had a day ashore where he met a South African communist teacher. He met many of the local radicals who were survivors of war. People came down to meet the troops and show them around town. There were, of course, feelings of racial tension in South Africa. Those who spoke English had the political power. In the Middle East he worked with South African units; they refused to discuss racial tensions. There were many black units in the British Army from various African countries; it was a racially segregated army. Black units were mostly service units; there was no black infantry. (11:32-17:39)... Two ships went to Africa; one was for troops and the other for hospital equipment. The ship with equipment was sunk. They landed in Egypt while the Battle of El Alemein was being fought. About 24 hours later, the Germans and Italians retreated. Because they had no equipment, they were shipped to a British rest camp in Palestine and spent several weeks there. He ran the dispensary one day a week in the camp. He put in 24 hours on duty one day a week. He had 6 days a week off to see Tel Aviv. He was a sergeant. There were only 200 Americans in Palestine at the time. Tel Aviv was considered the best leave town in the Mediterranean. He enjoyed the attractions. A nearby Arab city was out of bounds to American soldiers. Arabs were considered enemies because they were pro-Nazi. Jews were trusted because they were anti-Nazi. People were extremely generous. Many European Jews settled in Palestine and spoke English. (17:39-21:50)... When enough equipment was assembled, one third of the unit was sent into the field. He was sent out with the first unit as an x-ray technician. They operated a 100 bed hospital. They were the only American hospital in the Middle East. They served as a hospital support group attached to the British Army. They were issued British uniforms and picked up equipment and vehicles. Their Colonel was a warmhearted Irishman but a poor doctor and the only person with military experience in the unit. He did not know how to run a hospital. It was an informal outfit that ran like a civilian hospital; it was sort of like the television show, MASH. His group was called the "slovenly intellectuals" because they refused to wear proper military uniforms. The Colonel was often drunk. The hospital had an excellent reputation. (21:50-25:25)... He later served with the different platoon in a hospital that served American bomber groups. There was also a third unit in Tripoli and he spent six months there. They traveled by truck through the desert. The Mediterranean coast was beautiful but the African dessert was ugly. It was mostly rock with little vegetation. (25:25-28:26)... Next he went to Tunisia which was the staging point for the invasion of Italy. They were setup as an air evacuation hospital in Italy. They moved early casualties to general hospitals in North Africa. In Salerno, the hospital setup outside of Naples and he spent 6 months there. A fleet of American supply ships was sunk by a German air raid and some hospital ships went down; there was a desperate need for equipment. Because his unit was experienced, they were sent to the Adriatic Coast; he spent the rest of the war there. They were scheduled for duty on the line but were diverted as an Air Corps support unit. The unit traveled to 3 different locations. (28:26-33:24)... The ground Commander in Italy was General Mark Clark and he was a real jerk. Combat forces were kept on the line until they were exhausted. Troops did not enjoy rehabilitation time and would ask to go back on the line. Air Corps personnel were treated well. There was informality between officers and enlisted men. The Air Corps was better organized and did not treat people like slaves. His unit worked with Canadians, South African and the Royal Hellenic Air Force, the Polish Legion, and British units. They always served any allied units; most hospitals only served their own troops. He made many friends and was treated well by other commands. They received extra food, alcohol, equipment and vehicles. They were not forced to scrounge; the British provided them with many luxury items (33:24-37:18)... They had standard American equipment. It was modest but adequate. They had a lot of Italian medical equipment and a couple tons of drugs. They couldn't use the drugs because it was not government issue; they gave it to civilian hospitals. They were heroes because drugs were in such short supply. Then it was Victory in Europe Day. He was married and had a child at that time. He was the high point man and eligible for return to the US. The unit was broken up. He left for Naples while others went on to Northern Italy. He spent 3 months there and was sent home after Victory in Japan Day. He came home on a freighter and it was a terribly uncomfortable trip. (37:18-40:33)... He had a furlough while he was in Italy during WWII. The rotation program only lasted 2 months. He spent a month at home from the war. Most people did not want a furlough because they did not want to return to war. It took a whole month to travel home. He returned to his unit after his furlough. His Colonel did not want him to sign up for rotation because he was needed on the field. (40:33-44:57)... He took nice little vacations. He was the only x-ray technician in the unit. He worked for 3 to 4 months, and then he got a week off. He worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He visited Alexandria where he stayed at a Red Cross hospital. He also got to see pyramids and palaces. The Egyptians would have accepted Germans with open arms during WWII. The Egyptians thought the Germans could free them from British colonial rule. Egypt was a miserable area and poor. He met missionaries when he was on the Mauritania. The poverty in Cairo was beyond belief. End of tape
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