Laurence A. Grossman Memoirs
In this 18-page memoir, Laurence Grossman describes his service as a combat surgeon with the 80th Medical Battalion of the 10th Armored Division during World War II. Grossman recounts his training, his service at Fort Benning, being sent to Normandy after the initial invasion, meeting French troops and local residents, and seeing evidence of the concentration camps. He also discusses his unit's service as the military government for western Austria, the area south of Munich, and his interviews with Nazi leader. The memoir includes two photocopies of group photographs, one taken in Motz, France on January 13, 1945 and the other taken in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on July 14, 1945.
Dates
- 1945 January 13-July 14, 2003
Conditions Governing Access
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Conditions Governing Use
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Extent
0.1 Linear Feet
Abstract
In this 18-page memoir, Laurence Grossman describes his service as a combat surgeon with the 80th Medical Battalion of the 10th Armored Division during World War II. Grossman recounts his training, his service at Fort Benning, being sent to Normandy after the initial invasion, meeting French troops and local residents, and seeing evidence of the concentration camps. He also discusses his unit's service as the military government for western Austria, the area south of Munich, and his interviews with Nazi leaders.
Biographical/Historical Note
Laurence Abraham Grossman was born to Henry and Etta (Rothstein) Grossman in Nashville, Tennessee on September 21, 1916. He completed his higher education at Vanderbilt University, earning his BS in 1937 and his MS in 1941. Grossman married Dorothy Ruth Huffine on October 17, 1942 and the couple had four children: Diane Gail (Grossman) Ely, Lisa Marie (Grossman) Garfunkel, Suzanne Segall, and Jo Ann. During World War II, Laurence Grossman served as an armored medical company commander and as a combat command surgeon. He was awarded a Bronze Star with two oak leaf clusters in 1945. Grossman returned to his family in Nashville in 1946 and began a private cardiology practice in 1947. His was the first practice to integrate fully, and he later helped to desegregate the Nashville Academy of Medicine. Grossman was also involved in the Nashville community, serving on the Board of Directors of the Nashville City Bank (1984-1987), as the President of the Tennessee Heart Association (1956-1957), as the President of the Tennessee Heart Institute (1984-1989), and as President of the Canby Robinson Society (1989-1991). Grossman died on March 1, 2006 in Nashville.
Arrangement
This collection consists of a single folder
Acquisition Note
Melvin Sturm donated this memoir to the Center for the Study of War and Society on September 29, 2009. It was later transferred to Special Collections.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository