Oral History Interview with Jean Balch, October 12, 1996

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Description

Interview with Navy veteran Jean Balch, including Balch's personal experiences about the Pacific theater, being a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II, boot camp, radio, radar, and gunnery school, operations during the Leyte invasion, missions over Luzon, and raids on Japanese installations on Formosa and Saigon, French Indo-China. Additionally, Balch talks about his plane being shot down on a raid to Hong Kong and his capture on January 16, 1945, interrogations and beatings by the Kempei-tai, imprisonment at Ofuna, Honshu, solitary confinement for six months and continued interrogation, beatings by Japanese prison guards, starvation diet, the end of … continued below

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85 p. ; 28 cm.

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Alexander, William J. & Balch, Jean October 12, 1996.

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Affiliated with the UNT Department of History, the Oral History Program records, transcribes, and archives oral history interviews in order to preserve local, state, and U.S. history. The program also trains UNT students in the theory and methods of oral history, conducts workshops for community members, and maintains partnerships with related institutions and organizations.

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Interview with Navy veteran Jean Balch, including Balch's personal experiences about the Pacific theater, being a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II, boot camp, radio, radar, and gunnery school, operations during the Leyte invasion, missions over Luzon, and raids on Japanese installations on Formosa and Saigon, French Indo-China. Additionally, Balch talks about his plane being shot down on a raid to Hong Kong and his capture on January 16, 1945, interrogations and beatings by the Kempei-tai, imprisonment at Ofuna, Honshu, solitary confinement for six months and continued interrogation, beatings by Japanese prison guards, starvation diet, the end of the war and liberation, and his participation in the war crimes trials held by the International Military Tribunal.

Physical Description

85 p. ; 28 cm.

Notes

Summary: Interview with Jean Balch, a Navy veteran (Bombing Squadron 3, USS Yorktown), concerning his experiences in the Pacific Theater; and his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Boot camp at San Diego, California, 1942; radio school, San Diego, California, 1942; radar school, Memphis, Tennessee, 1943; gunnery school, Yellow Water, Florida, 1944; assignment as a radioman-gunner on a SBD with Bombing Squadron 3, USS Yorktown, October, 1944; operations during the Leyte invasion, November, 1944; missions over Luzon, December, 1944; Task Force 38, the Yorktown, and the typhoon off northwest Luzon, December, 1944; raids on Japanese installations on Formosa and Saigon, French Indo-China, January, 1945; his plane shot down on a raid to Hong Kong and his capture on January 16, 1945; interrogations and beatings by the Kempei-tai; trip from Hong Kong to Japan via Formosa; imprisonment at Ofuna, Honshu; solitary confinement for six months and continued interrogation; beatings by Japanese prison guards; starvation diet; end of the war and liberation; his participation in the war crimes trials held by the International Military Tribunal, Far East, in Tokyo, 1947-48.

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UNT Oral Histories

The UNT Oral History Collection in the UNT Digital Library contains a selection of oral history transcripts covering World War II, politics, community activism, desegregation, recollections of life in Texas, and more. Access to some of these items is restricted to the UNT community.

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Texas Oral History Collection

The Texas Oral History Collection is a group of oral history interviews from a variety of people discussing their lives in Texas.

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World War Two Collection

These materials focus on World War II and the immediate postwar period of the late 1940s. In addition to materials created during the time period, materials may include modern studies and commemorative works about the era.

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  • October 12, 1996

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Alexander, William J. & Balch, Jean. Oral History Interview with Jean Balch, October 12, 1996, book, October 12, 1996; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc306673/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Oral History Program.

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