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Oral History Interview with Wilbur H. Ford, November 18, 1999
Interview with Army Air Forces veteran Wilbur H. Ford. The interview includes Ford's personal experiences about being a B-17 pilot in the European Theater during World War II, training, transferring to the Army Air Force from the Army, flight training, B-17 transition training, and crew training. Ford also talks about his assignment to the 401st Bomb Group, enemy flak, the highlights of his nine missions over Germany, battle damage to his plane, the Dresden raid, returning to the States, and transition training in B-29s for transfer to the Pacific Theater.
Oral History Interview with E. Benjamin Dunn, November 16, 1999
Interview with E. Benjamin Dunn, a Army WWII veteran and POW from Gorham, Illinois, who was captured by the Japanese on Java with the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery (the "Lost Battalion.") Dunn discusses training in the Army, transfer to 2-131 and deployment to the Pacific, the fall of Java and being captured, experiences in internment in Batavia and later Changi Prison Camp in Singapore, building the Burma-Thailand Death Railway, and liberation.
Oral History Interview with Warren D. Crumbling, November 13, 1999
Interview with Warren D. Crumbling, Army veteran, special agent, and member of the White House Security Detail for President Lyndon B. Johnson. The interview includes Crumbling's personal experiences about education and employment before entering the military, basic training, various assignments, and being appointed to the White House Security Detail at President Lyndon B. Johnson's LBJ Ranch. Additionally, Crumbling talks about relations between the military and civilian law enforcement authorities in San Antonio during World War II, his marriage, his fourth enlistment and assignment to Kobe, Japan, various stateside assignments, his retirement from the Army, President and Mrs. Johnson, and his retirement from the Secret Service.
Oral History Interview with James N. Hall, November 10, 1999
Interview with James N. Hall, a Army Air Force WWII veteran from Burkburnett, Texas. Hall discusses joining the Air Force from college, basic training, classification, flight training, the P-47, fighter tactics, deplyoment to Le Culot Airfield in Belgium, his first mission, briefings and intelligence, Air Support Parties, close air support, flak, bomber escort, air-to-air encounters, casualties, logistics, German civilians, crash landings, V-E Day, and return to civilian life.
Oral History Interview with Robert H. Flatley, October 27, 1999
Interview with business executive and Army Air Forces veteran Robert H. Flatley. The interview includes Flatley's personal experiences about being a P-38 pilot in the Pacific Theater during the World War II, basic training, flight training, P-38 training, various assignments and missions, and the destruction of forty-seven locomotives. Flatley also talks about various missions to targets in the Philippines, activities between combat missions, postwar military activities in the Philippines, and postwar adjustments to civilian life.
Oral History Interview with Harry Bradford Urey, Jr., October 14, 1999
Transcript of an interview with Harry Bradford Urey, Jr., a mechanical engineer and Army Air Forces veteran (454th Bomb Squadron, 323rd Bomb Group, 9th Air Force), concerning his experiences as a B-26 pilot in the European Theater during World War II.
Oral History Interview with Fiske Hanley, October 13, 1999
Transcript of an interview with Fiske Hanley, an aeronautical engineer and Army Air Forces veteran (398th Bomb Squadron, 504th Bomb Group, 313th Bomb Wing, 20th Air Force), concerning his experiences during World War II, including as a flight engineer aboard B-29s in the Pacific Theater and as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese.
Oral History Interview with Robert Seidel, September 7, 1999
Interview with Robert Seidel, a Army Air Force WWII veteran from Elkhart, Indiana, who served in the 763rd Bomb Squadron in the European Theater. Accompanied by his wife Helen, Seidel discusses his family, the start of the war and joining the Air Corps, training as a flight engineer, assignment to the B-24 and deployment to Spinazzola, Italy, flying combat missions, life at the base, ditching his aircraft near Salzburg and getting captured, being interrogated, internment at Stalag Luft IV, liberation, and returning to the US. In appendix are three photos of Seidel, his B-24 crew, and their aircraft, Seidel's papers from when he was a German prisoner, his POW log book, the official narrative report of the mission he was lost on, and a letter from his family while he was in Italy.
Oral History Interview with William E. Cooper, September 7, 1999
Interview with business executive and Army Air Forces veteran William E. Cooper. The interview includes Cooper's personal experiences about being a B-29 pilot in the Pacific Theater, pre-flight and flight training, various assignments, and dropping supplies by parachute to prisoners-of-war. Cooper also talks about living on Guam, mechanical weaknesses of the B-29, his descriptions of Nagasaki and Hiroshima from the air after the dropping of the atomic bombs, his disappointment with not being able to fly combat missions, postwar duty as a test pilot on Guam, and his postwar civilian activities.
Oral History Interview with Thomas Richard Young, September 3, 1999
Transcript of an interview with Thomas Richard Young, artist and Army Air Forces veteran (463rd Bomb Group, 774th Bomb Squadron, 15th Air Force), concerning his experiences as a B-17 pilot and a prisoner-of-war in the European Theater during World War II. Appendix includes a photocopy of a drawing titled, "North Compound, Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany, January, 1945."
Oral History Interview with Archie Gantt, August 31, 1999
Interview with Army veteran Archie Gantt. The interview includes Gantt's personal experiences about the European Theater during World War II, boyhood in central Texas, basic training, shipping to England, combat on the Siegfried Line, and the Battle of the Bulge. Additionally, Gantt talks about leadership problems, combat living conditions, Officer Candidate School and commissioning, and his postwar war service in Europe.
Oral History Interview with James G. Turner, August 7, 1999
Transcript of an interview with James G. Turner, Marine Corps veteran (Regimental Headquarters Company, 14th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division), concerning his experiences on Saipan in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Turner discusses his decision to join the Marine Corps, December 7, 1942; boot camp, Parris Island; formation of the 4th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California, 1943; preparations on Maui for the invasion of Saipan; the amphibious landings on Saipan, June 15, 1945; his duties with the Motor Transport Section and Headquarters Company; return to Maui.
Oral History Interview with Mervin Garver, August 6, 1999
Interview with Mervin Garver. The interview includes Garver's personal experiences about education and childhood during the Great Depression, being a defense worker at Riverside Foundry, blackouts and air raid wardens, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's visits to Wrightsville by train. Garver also talks about his draft classification as 4-F due to psychoneurosis, his personal feelings about being classified as 4-F, local reactions to his 4-F status, the production of hand grenade and radar cores at Riverside Foundry, the financial and patriotic incentives to increase war production, the purchase of war bonds and stamps, employment of women and wartime shortages, rationing of food and gasoline, the "Victory Bus," effects of WW II on his personal finances and on the postwar lives of Wrightsville's citizens, the transition from wartime to peacetime production at Riverside Foundry, and his memories of post-World War II Memorial Day celebrations.
Autobiographical Narrative of Leonard A. Charpentier, June 18, 1999
Narrative of Dr. Leonard A. Charpentier. The narrative includes a monologue of Charpentier's experiences as a P-47 fighter pilot in the European Theater during World War II. Charpentier talks about basic training, flight training, fighter pilot training, his assignment to the 86th Fighter Squadron on Corsica, the P-47 Thunderbolt, various missions, his being shot down on a mission over southern France and being captured, the treatment of his wounds at a German field hospital, and his postwar medical career.
Oral History Interview with Eugene L. Crumling, May 18, 1999
Interview with Eugene L. Crumling, bartender and former professional ballplayer. The interview includes Crumling's personal experiences about being a professional baseball player in the U.S. during World War II. Crumling talks about his semi-pro baseball career in the late 1930s and early 1940s, the origin of his nickname, signing his first professional contract, life in the minor leagues during wartime, his draft classification as 4-F, his employment in defense-related work during the off-seasons, contrasts between life in the minors and life in the majors, individual Cardinals players, his first game and his first, and only, hit in the majors, the remainder of his minor league career, and his personal thoughts about the reserve clause, player strikes, modern-day salaries, and expansion.
Oral History Interview with Thomas A. Chipman, May 21, 1999
Interview with Thomas A. Chipman, who is a World War II veteran and restaurant business owner from Hill City, Kansas. In the interview, Chipman discusses his experiences as a medic and driver in the European Theatre during the war. He describes what basic training and his induction into the Army was like, and also talks a little bit about when he was sent to the Pennsylvania Military College to earn a degree in engineering. Chipman recollects when his battalion was transported to England and France in order to fight in several battles that included the Battle of the Bulge. He describes what it was like to stay in Europe, and includes details such as the attitudes toward battlefield carnage, the evacuation and transport of the dead and wounded, the capture of German prisoners-of-war, and civilian refugees. Chipman reminisces of the German surrender and his return to the United States, where he started a restaurant business career.
Oral History Interview with John A. Roberts, April 27, 1999
Interview with General John Roberts, a Air Force WWII veteran from Arkansas, who served for over twenty years with General Roger Ramey of Denton, Texas. Roberts discusses Ramey's background and his own, Army Air Corps pilot training, the start of the war and assignment under Ramey, changing commands and transition to the B-29, Curtis LeMay, the atomic bomb, postwar work, Ramey's health and death, his relationships with various figures, Douglas MacArthur and Harry Truman, the racial integration of the Air Force, and the Roswell UFO incident. Some additional biographical information about Ramey is provided by Colonel Terry Garland.
Oral History Interview with Gale E. Nevill, March 23, 1999
Interview with Gale E. Nevill, a Army WWII veteran from Houston, Texas. Nevill discusses his family background and upbringing, jobs in the oil business, joining the National Guard, attending Rice University, getting commissioned, overseeing a Civilian Conservation Corps camp, working through the Depression, activation and assignment to 6th Army HQ, deployment to Brisbane, 6th Army operations in the South Pacific and Philippines, the end of the war and life afterwards.
Oral History Interview with James Driver, March 21, 1999
Interview with Navy veteran James Driver. The interview includes Driver's personal experiences about being a dive-bomber and fighter pilot during the Pacific Theater during World War II, various phases of training, dive-bomber training, having convoy escort duty off New Hebrides, the neutralization of Rabaul, transferring to fighter planes, flying combat air patrol off the carrier USS Hancock, providing cover for the Marine landings on Okinawa, combat against kamikazes, engagements against enemy fighters and kamikazes on the last day of the war, locating and dropping supplies to prisoner-of-war camps in Japan, and returning to the States. The interview includes an appendix with a letter written by Driver.
Oral History Interview with Allen Stafford, March 12, 1999
Interview with Allen Stafford, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran from Kiowa County, Oklahoma, who served with the 124th Cavalry Regiment. Stafford discusses his early life, working in Texas oil fields, enlisting and training, deployment to the China-Burma-India Theater and reorganization as an infantry unit, combat operations with the Japanese around the Burma Road, and returning to the United States.
Oral History Interview with Alton O. Crawley, March 9, 1999
Interview with electrical engineer and Army veteran Alton O. Crawley. The interview includes Crawley's personal experiences about the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II, having pre-war civilian jobs in radio/communications work, training for Office of Strategic Services operations, being assigned to Wudu, China, coast watching activities and radio transmissions, and various miscellaneous accounts of his tour of duty in China. The interview includes an appendix with various letters accompanied by a list detailing them, and an itinerary for per diem claims.
Oral History Interview with George B. Andrews, March 5, 1999
Transcript of an interview withGeorge B. Andrews, Army Air Forces veteran (526th Fighter Squadron, 86th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force), concerning his experiences as a fighter pilot in the European Theater during World War II. Appendix includes thirty-six pages of recollections from the interviewee.
Oral History Interview with Leslie W. Bray, Jr., March 3, 1999
Interview with Army Air Forces veteran Leslie W. Bray, Jr. The interview includes Bray's personal experiences about the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II, youth during the Great Depression, flight training, being designated as the commander of the 16th Combat Cargo Squadron, stationing at Sylhet, India as part of his assignment to the CBI Theater, supplying the British 14th Army in Burma, flying difficulties due to weather conditions, various transfers, and flying "The Hump." Bray also talks about his early aspirations to become an aviator, initial failures to pass the Air Forces physical examination, his assignment to Troop Carrier Command, flying C-47s with the 1st Troop Carrier Group, his appointment as assistant group operations officer for the 10th Troop Carrier Group, Air Force School of Applied Tactics, the training of replacement units at various Air Force installations, the deactivation of the 16th Combat Cargo Squadron, and his postwar Air Force career and retirement as a general officer.
Oral History Interview with Lloyd V. Willey, March 3, 1999
Interview with Lloyd V. Willey, U.S. Marine Corps WWII veteran and survivor of the sinking of the USS Houston, concerning his experiences as as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Appendix includes poems written by the interviewee and photocopied picture of the interviewee.
Oral History Interview with Rudy Kiehne, March 3, 1999
Interview with Rudy Kiehne, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences while aboard the battleship USS Maryland during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Oral History Interview with Daniel Thomas, February 26, 1999
Transcript of an interview with Daniel Thomas, a Navy veteran (4th Marine Division), concerning his experiences while attached to the 4th Marine Division as a medic in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Thomas discusses his decision to join the Navy in 1943; Hospital Corps School, San Diego, 1943; assignment to the Fleet Marine Force; Field Medical School, 1944; assignment to the 4th Marine Division, 1944; Iwo Jima, February, 1945; detailed description of casualties and their treatment during the battle for Iwo Jima; and the postwar effects of his Iwo Jima experience.
Oral History Interview with Dave C. Sanford, February 25, 1999
Interview with Dave C. Sanford, a Army WWII veteran from Carter, South Dakota, who served as a mortarman in the 37th Infantry Division. Sanford discusses growing up, his experiences in the Great Depression, being drafted and training, the New Georgia, Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and Philippine campaigns, being wounded and discharged, and life afterwards.
Oral History Interview with Richard L. Johnston, February 17, 1999
Interview with William J. Alexander, a Army WWII veteran from Universal, Pennsylvania, who served as an officer of the 382nd Engineer Battalion (Separate), a unit of black enlisted troops. Alexander discusses growing up, joining the Civilian Conservation Corps, joining the Army and commissioning through OCS, training, deployment to India, building the Ledo Road, General Joseph Stilwell, constructing the 20th Bomber Command HQ, working in a steelmill, the atomic bomb, returning home, and postwar service.
Oral History Interview with William J. Lesko, February 17, 1999
Interview with William J. Lesko, a Army Air Corps WWII veteran from New Kensington, Pennsylvania, who served with the 14th Combat Cargo Group in the China-Burma-India Theater. Lesko discusses his family background, enlisting and training to be a radar and radio technician, deployment to India, flying supplies to British troops in Burma, the end of the war, returning to the United States, and life postwar.
Oral History Interview with Frederick J. Holland, Jr., February 16, 1999
Transcript of an interview with Frederick J. Holland, Jr., an Army Air Forces veteran, concerning his experiences in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II. Holland discusses his early employment with REA Express; basic training, Fort Miles Standish, Massachusetts, 1942; his transfer to the Air Force and assignment to Patterson Field, Dayton, Ohio, 1942; Officer Candidate School, Miami, Florida, 1943; assignment to India; assignment to Dum Dum Airport, Calcutta, 1943; his role in supervising and shipping cargo over "The Hump" (Himalaya Mountains) to China; assignment to Baruipur Airport, Calcutta; his role in the development and operation of the first mobile conveyor unit to load and unload cargo; awarding of the Bronze Star for his invention. Appendix includes one leaf that gives history of the mobile conveyor and one leaf that shows four images of the mobile conveyor.
Oral History Interview with Nick Sanchez, February 16, 1999
Interview with Nick Sanchez, a Army Air Force WWII veteran from Laredo, Texas. Sanchez discusses working in radio when the war began, becoming a radio technician in the Army Air Force, deployment to India and operations there, going missing in China after surviving a plane crash, and the end of the war. In appendix are an autobiographical sketch of Sanchez's service, a copy of a diary recording his experience "bailing-out," and his official military statement of the event.
Oral History Interview with Tom Peays, February 6, 1999
Transcript of an interview with Thomas "Tom" Peay, a rancher and Army Air Forces veteran (Air Transport Command), concerning his experiences in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II. Peay discusses his enrollment in the Civilian Pilot Training Program, 1942; tenure as a primary flight training instructor of Aviation Air Cadets, Harmon Training Center, Ballinger, Texas, 1942-43; Air Ferry Command, 1943; induction into the Army Air Forces, 1943; assignment to the Air Transport Command, 1943; stationing at Tezgaon-Kurmitola, India, 1944; flying C-109s loaded with gasoline over "The Hump" into China; weather problems over the Himalaya Mountains; and his separation from the military, 1946.
Oral History Interview with Roy D. Much, February 3, 1999
Transcript of an interview with Roy D. Much, Army veteran (987th Field Artillery Battalion), concerning his experiences in the European Theater during World War II. Much discusses his pre-war education and employment; basic training in the artillery, Camp Bowie, Brownwood, Texas, 1942; and general comments about his experiences at Normandy, Saint-Lô, liberation of Paris, Huertgen Forest, Remagen Bridge, Battle of the Bulge, and the liberation of Czechoslovakia.
Oral History Interview with John R. Leber, January 15, 1999
Interview with John R. Leber, a Army Air Corps WWII veteran from Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, who flew with the 317th Troop Carrier Squadron in the China-Burma-India Theater. Leber discusses enlisting in the Air Corps, training as an aircraft mechanic and becoming a crew chief, the C-46 and the C-47, deployment to India, flying over the Himalayas, living conditions, and continued service postwar. In appendix are handwritten letters of Leber from his time overseas.
Oral History Interview with William H. Haugh, January 12, 1999
Interview with William H. Haugh, a Army WWII veteran from Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. Haugh discusses growing up in Wrightsville, getting his own farm, the wartime economy, being drafted into the Army, becoming a machine gunner in the 35th Infantry Division, arrival in Metz and advancing to the Battle of the Bulge, artillery, experiences in combat, the Rhineland Campaign, the Ruhr Valley, being wounded, the German surrender and the Army of Occupation, reflections on combat, and returning to civilian life.
Oral History Interview with Howard L. Patton, January 5, 1999
Interview with Howard L. Patton, a Army WWII veteran from Flora, Illinois. Patton discusses his family background, commissioning into the Army through ROTC, training with anti-air artillery, his marriage, deployment to New Guinea, the assault on Wakde Island, the battle of Leyte, operations at Zamboanga, and the end of the war.
Sketches from the Hintok POW Camp, 1943-1944
Postwar sketches of life as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese at Hintok, Thailand, 1942-44, created by John Wisecup, Marine Corps veteran and a survivor of the sinking of the cruiser USS Houston. Bridge-building details; "Pack of Cards" bridge; Japanese cruelties and atrocities; tropical diseases; burial details. Includes six leaves of a poem titled, "Saga of Bamboo Jim," an introduction, and a foreword.
Oral History Interview with William E. Painter, December 21, 1998
Interview with William Painter, a UNT professor and Army WWII veteran from New Bloomfield, Missouri. Painter discusses growing up in the Depression, being a conscientious objector and feeling pressure to join the war, getting drafted into the infantry and training at Camp Hood and Fort Ord, deployment to the Pacific with the 32nd Infantry Division, operations on Luzon and the Villa Verde Trail, the end of the war, occupation duty in Japan, and returning home. In appendix is a letter to Marcello with a correction for the interview.
Oral History Interview with George Charland, December 7, 1998
Transcript of an interview with George E. Charland, a Native American Marine Corps veteran, concerning his experiences during World War II. Charland discusses his experiences with the 3rd Marine Defense Battalion during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; his experiences with the 2nd Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, at Guadalcanal, 1942; his experiences with E Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, at Tarawa, 1943; his experiences with the 4th Marine Division at Saipan and Tinian, 1944, and Iwo Jima, 1945; medical discharge in April, 1945.
Oral History Interview with Robert E. Galer, August 27, 1998
Interview with General Robert E. Galer, a Marine Corps veteran (VMF-224) and recipient of the Medal of Honor, concerning his experiences concerning the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; the Guadalcanal Campaign as commander of VMF-224; and as head of the 584 Radar units during the campaigns for the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Navy ROTC at the University of Washington, 1931-35; pilot training at Sand Point, Pensacola, and Quantico, 1935-38; assignment to amphibian squadron on Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands, 1938-40, and his minor role in the "destroyers-for-bases" deal with Great Britain, 1940; assignment as commander of VMF-224, 1942; description of the Grumman Wildcat fighter plane; assignment to Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, 1942; episodes involving aerial combat against the Japanese; aerial combat tactics; living conditions at Henderson Field; shot down for the first time on September 12, 1942; shot down for a second time on October 2, 1942; personnel problems with dysentery and malaria; reassignment to COMAIRPAC, November, 1943; Command and Staff College, 1943; awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for twenty-nine consecutive days of combat and eleven-and-one-half kills; meeting President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the Oval Office; development of the 584 Radar for close-air support; Iwo Jima, Philippines, and Okinawa campaigns, 1945; comments about Charles Lindbergh as his tentmate on Guadalcanal.
Oral History Interview with Melvin R. Baird, 1998
Interview with Navy veteran Melvin R. "Pancho" Baird. It includes a combination of interviewing and reading from Baird's personal correspondence about his pre-World War II experiences with the U.S. Asiatic Fleet and his later experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Baird talks about his stationing aboard the destroyer USS Alden as a radioman, the grounding of the SS President Hoover off of Hoishito Island, the Sino-Japanese War, liberty ashore various Asian port cities, events on the South China Patrol, civilian activities after his discharge, activities as a radio technician on Blue Beach during the Okinawan Campaign, kamikaze actions on Okinawa, and typical shipboard routine.
Oral History Interview with Elmer Wulf, August 17, 1998
Interview with Elmer Wulf, businessman and U.S. Army Air Forces WWII veteran (535th Squadron, 381st Bomb Group, 1st Air Division, 8th Air Force), about his experiences as a B-17 pilot in the European Theater during World War II. Appendix includes two photocopies from an unknown book and two photocopies giving information on the B-17.
Oral History Interview with John Hargrove, August 12, 1998
Interview with John Hargrove, a Army Air Corps WWII veteran from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Hargrove discusses growing up and his family background, being drafted into the Air Corps, training, assignment to the 18th Reconnaissance Squadron, 22nd Bomb Group at Langley Field as a radio operator, life and work at Langley, transition to the B-26, the start of the war, submarine patrol, deployment to Townsville, Australia via Hawaii, flying his first mission, liberty and recreation, bombing and close air support missions, the crew being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, losses, returning to the US, work as a radio instructor, meeting his wife, postwar service, and reflections on the atomic bomb. In appendix is a manuscript for an autobiography written by Hargrove, an addendum to the interview, and a letter to Ron Marcello making corrections to the interview.
Oral History Interview with Donald W. Peters, August 6, 1998
Transcript of an interview with Donald W. Peters, Army veteran (C Company, 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion), concerning his experiences in the Italian Campaign and experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Germans in the European Theater during World War II. Peters discusses his entry into the Army and basic training, 1943; transit across the Atlantic to North Africa and then to Naples; assignment as a replacement to the 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion; Monte Cassino; Anzio landing and being wounded by shrapnel when his ship sank; recuperation in Naples and return to his unit; murder of German POWs; Rome-Arno Campaign, 1944; invasion of southern France, 1944; transfer of the unit to the French Alps and his capture, 1944; initial incarceration in Torino (Turin); permanent POW camp at Stalag VII-A in Moosburg, Germany; POW life at Stalag VII-A; liberation; and postwar adjustments to civilian life.
Oral History Interview with Glenn C. Blouse, August 3, 1998
Interview with Glenn C. Blouse, a Army WWII veteran from Long Level, Pennsylvania. Blouse discusses his family life, being drafted, basic training, deployment to the European Theater via North Africa, assignment to the 135th Infantry, 34th Infantry Division in Italy, duties as a machine gunner, first combat experiences, fighting on the Monte Cassino front, foxhole life, shelling, tactics, taking prisoners, Italian civilians, the Anzio landing, assaulting a hill, liberating Rome, the Apennines Campaign, nightwatch and a firefight which earned him the Bronze Star, breaking into the Po Valley, Mussolini's corpse, the end of the war. In appendix is Blouse's Bronze Star citation.
The Letters of Captain Edward P. Jaeger to Mr. and Mrs. Edward F. Jaeger 1968-1969
Transcript of recorded letters sent by Captain Edward P. Jaeger (Ed) to his parents while stationed in South Vietnam as part of the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He discusses both personal and military topics including a chronicle of his departure for Vietnam; description of Vietnamese village life and culture; assignment to the 17th Field Hospital at An Khe; physical description of facilities at 17th Field Hospital; his responsibilities as medical supply officer; descriptions of and comments about unit personnel; problems in procuring medical supplies; problems with drunkenness among personnel; enemy mortar attacks; discipline problems; his institution of reforms in the medical supply operations; effects of constant changeovers in unit command; remodeling of the Officer's Club; leisure time and recreational activities; racial tensions; comments about U S domestic politics; personal financial matters; planning for a leave in Hawaii with his wife, Elizabeth, and parents; drug problems among personnel; comments about the anti-war movement in the States; description of Cam Ranh Bay and the military facilities there; medical supplies and black marketeering; description of the medical depot supply system; future civilian employment plans; transfer to Qui Nhon to the 67th Evacuation Hospital; comments about the Paris peace negotiations for ending the war; interest in stateside sports; comments about the doctors and nurses; comments about the Army's decorations and commendations policies; plans for leaving Vietnam and separation from the Army.
The Letters of Captain Edward P. Jaeger to Mrs. Elizabeth Pierce Jaeger 1968-1969
Transcript of recorded letters sent by Captain Edward P. Jaeger (Ed) to his wife, Elizabeth Jaeger (Libby) while stationed in South Vietnam as part of the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He discusses both personal and military topics including plans for having children; future personal financial planning; racial tensions and Black Power activities; shopping for civilian consumer goods; renovation of the Officer's Club; physicians’ negative attitudes about serving in Vietnam; procurement of medical supplies; holiday celebrations; planning for a post-Vietnam cross- country vacation in the U.S. and Canada; personnel problems; comments about various senior officers; procurement of captured enemy equipment for use as trading items and gifts; comments about the Paris peace negotiations for ending the war; planning for a leave in Hawaii with his wife and parents; personnel morale problems; discipline problems among enlisted personnel; preparation for leaving Vietnam and the Army; comments about student unrest and anti-war demonstrations in the U.S.
Oral History Interview with General Alexander R. Bolling, Jr., July 15, 1998
Interview with General Alexander R. Bolling, Jr., concerning his experiences as an infantry platoon leader (3rd Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 302nd Regiment, 94th Infantry Division) in the European Theater during World War II.
Oral History Interview with Floyd Taylor, June 26, 1998
Interview with Dr. Floyd Taylor, a surgeon and World War II Army veteran. In the interview, Dr. Taylor discusses his experiences as a member of the 2nd Auxiliary Surgical Group, with which he traveled to North Africa, Italy, and France during the war. He recalls several memorable happenings concerning his career, including his induction into the U.S. Army Medical Department, his assignment to the Surgical Hospital, the formation of the Auxiliary Surgical Group, his encounter with Time correspondent Jack Belden, and the Winter Line Campaign. Dr. Taylor also discusses several of his assignments while serving in the war, including the Mayo Clinic, the Massachusetts General Hospital, the invasion of Italy and Salerno, the Anzio-Nettuno invasion, and his travels across the Atlantic to Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. He explains his role in the compilation and publication of the War Department publication entitled, Surgery in World War II (Volume II): General Surgery. Dr. Taylor goes into more detail about the many procedures he practiced as a surgeon on the battlefield, and discusses penicillin use, the value of penicillin on the black market, the use of colostomies, field X-ray facilities, blood replacement treatment, and the treatment of specific injuries such as abdominal and flesh wounds.
Oral History Interview with John C. Reas, June 23, 1998
Interview with John Reas, a Navy WWII veteran and POW from New Albany, Indiana, who survived the sinking of the USS Houston (CA-30). Reas discusses his assignment to the Houston and prewar operations in the Pacific, the start of the war and convoy duty, being bombed by 54 Japanese planes, the Battle of Sunda Strait, the sinking, capture by the Japanese, experiences in internment at Bicycle Camp in Batavia, transfer to Thanbyuzayat, work on the Burma Railway, the USS Houston Survivors List, liberation, and life after the war. In appendix is the USS Houston Survivors list, letters of his regarding the list, brief accounts written by Reas of different experiences in the war, a letter by Lanson H. Harris confirming how the list was given to OSS officers, and a photo of Reas' wallet that he carried through the war.
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