Austin, Texas -- Today, Texas Land Commissioner and Veterans Land Board (VLB) Chairwoman Dawn Buckingham, M.D., is proud to introduce the next installment of the series highlighting the VLB's Voices of Veterans oral history program. In this episode, we hear the story of U.S. Army Veteran William Yoss.

William Yoss, who served in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the 45th Infantry Division, was born on December 26, 1930, in McAlester, Oklahoma. He grew up with both his parents and one brother. In his early years, he mentioned how he spent a lot of his time on the farm with his grandparents.

“My grandparents came from Switzerland and that’s how my family ended up in the United States,” Yoss said. “I spent a lot of time on that farm raising cattle and helping out.”

Yoss said he was aware of the military and what was happening during WWII because he had two uncles serving in the U.S. Army at that time. He heard their stories of service growing up although, he admitted, it didn’t play a direct correlation to him signing up the first chance he could.

“In 1948 I had just turned 17 and could join the National Guard,” Yoss said. “A bunch of us in our senior class went down and joined The National Guard because we would get ten dollars a month to do so.”

After joining the National Guard at 17, in a blink of an eye it seemed, the Korean War started in June 1950 and by August of that same year, Yoss remembered, he was called to active duty for the first time.

“We got called out to active duty on the first day of August in 1950,” Yoss explained. “What they called an activation was a form of being drafted but you were already in a reserve unit.”

Although Yoss said he was called to active duty in August 1950, he didn’t do or see anything of significance, outside of training, until he arrived in Korea on Thanksgiving Day, 1951.

“Once we arrived, we immediately went to the rifle range to check out our weapons and things like that,” Yoss recalled of that first holiday at war. “From there we went to the front lines but in the six months I spent in Korea, I was never wounded, not even a scratch that I can remember.”

Yoss proudly served his country as a member of the U.S. Army and spent 22 months on active duty followed by two years in the reserves. The Korean War Veteran said he believes the greatest honor there is, is to serve your country no matter the capacity.

“One of the greatest experiences I think that any young person can have, is to enter the military and serve their country,” he said. “And of course, come home safely.”

To listen to SSgt. William Yoss tell his story,
click the button below.

Veterans can email VoicesofVeterans@glo.texas.gov to tell their stories. Please note that the veteran must be a resident of Texas at the time of their interview.

Voices of Veterans is a state agency's first veteran oral history program. It records the stories of Texas veterans through their time in service and after returning home from combat.

The VLB records interviews with veterans over the phone or in person. Their interviews are then permanently archived in the Office of Veterans Records at the GLO, where they join the historical documents of other Texas heroes such as Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William Barret Travis.

Veterans' interviews are also available to researchers, historians, genealogists, and the public. These precious records inspire future generations and remind us of our veterans' sacrifices.

To listen to the over 500 archived stories of veterans documented through the GLO's Voices of Veterans oral history program, click the button below: