Jimmy Gentry's life story will be archived in Library of Congress

Jimmy Gentry spent Friday morning sharing an oral history of his famed life, a story that includes growing up in Franklin, serving as a foot solider during World War II and stumbling upon a concentration camp.

The memories of Franklin's well-known hero were recorded for the Veterans History Project and will eventually find a home in the Library of Congress. 

The hour-long interview, conducted by historian Ray Hughes, was recorded on video. 

Hughes learned of Gentry's story through John Purvis, a Franklin resident and veteran. Purvis recently met Gentry while eating at Puckett's in town.

Purvis contacted his longtime friend Hughes and encouraged him to travel from his home in Kentucky to interview Gentry, 92.

"I got involved because of the need to give (veterans) the respect that they deserve, because they usually don’t get it," Purvis said. 

Inside Gentry's farmhouse, Hughes led Gentry through the casual interview, asking him about his parents, his life in Franklin as a teen and his time overseas in the Army.

Gentry joined the Army immediately after graduating high school in 1944.

"The first thing I knew, I was on a ship going across the ocean (to England). I'd never been out of Tennessee before in my life.

"I'd never seen the ocean before, and I thought, 'Golly, it's bigger than the Harpeth River,'" he said, drawing chuckles from the small crowd gathered in his home.

Gentry set out on foot with the 42nd Infantry, walking through France and eventually into Czechoslovakia.

April 29, 1945, is a day that he will never forget.

"I can tell you what I was doing every inch of that day," Gentry said.

A strong smell wafted over the infantry causing many of the men to become sick. Soon, 19-year-old Gentry and others stumbled upon Dachau concentration camp in Germany. The smell was emanating from more than 3,000 decaying bodies.

"We found prisoners who were skin and bone," Gentry said. "I'll never forget that. I don't like to even think about it or talk about it," Gentry said. 

Many of the prisoners had typhus fever, so after leaving the camp, the infantry was forced to strip down, shave off all their hair and get sprayed with DDT.

Gentry's raw honesty about the incident stood out to Hughes, who has conducted 150 interviews for the Veterans History Project. 

"I had never heard that before, and you don't read that in the history books," Hughes said.

Gentry shared with Hughes that he later made contact with some of the people who were held at Dachau. He has also traveled with his family back to many places he saw during the war, including the camp.

After the war ended, Gentry returned home to Franklin and married his high school sweetheart. 

He built his first home, a three-bedroom place, with money he made selling cigarette and liquor rations to Russian soldiers. He would send the money overseas to his mother, who diligently put it in the bank for him.

Gentry went on to earn a college degree on the G.I. bill and taught biology in Franklin schools.

Related: Rep. Steve Cohen regrets Purple Heart remarks, vets call them ‘insult to every service member'

He's known to many in the area as "Coach Gentry" following his 66-year career as a football coach at three schools: Franklin High School, Battle Ground Academy and Brentwood Academy.

Gentry hopes the interview will serve as a reminder that freedom comes with the price of human lives, including his own brother who died during World War II.

"Adolf Hitler would have taken over the world had the United States not stopped him. We have a free world because of the deaths of people who sacrificed their lives," he said.

At the conclusion of the interview, Gentry was presented with a hand-carved cane made by fellow veteran David Hunt. The work of art featured a painted eagle's head and Army logo.

"I don't have a store, and I don't sell them. I only make them one at a time for people like you," Hunt said as he presented Gentry with the gift.

Read on: At 90, Jimmy Gentry continues to teach

About the Veterans History Project 

Stories like Gentry's are shared through the Veterans History Project, which captures first-hand accounts from veterans of nearly 20 wars. 

The U.S. Congress authorized the project through legislation in 2000.

Anyone can submit an interview with a veteran to be considered for the project. 

Reach Amelia Ferrell Knisely at aferrell@tennessean.com, 615-210-8286 or follow @ameliaknisely on Twitter.