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Flying with the Fifteenth Air Force: A B-24 Pilot’s Missions from Italy during World War II
In 1944 and 1945, Tom Faulkner was a B-24 pilot flying out of San Giovanni airfield in Italy as a member of the 15th Air Force of the U.S. Army Air Forces. Only 19 years old when he completed his 28th and last mission, Tom was one of the youngest bomber pilots to serve in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Between September 1944 and the end of February 1945, he flew against targets in Hungary, Germany, Italy, Austria, and Yugoslavia. On Tom’s last mission against the marshalling yards at Augsburg, Germany, his plane was severely damaged, and he had to fly to Switzerland where he and his crew were interned. The 15th Air Force generally has been overshadowed by works on the 8th Air Force based in England. Faulkner’s memoir helps fill an important void by providing a first-hand account of a pilot and his crew during the waning months of the war, as well as a description of his experiences before his military service. David L. Snead has edited the memoir and provided annotations and corroboration for the various missions.
We Were Going to Win, or Die There: with the Marines at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Saipan
Personal accounts of U.S. marine Roy Elrod based on transcripts of oral histories about his experiences in the service, with particular emphasis on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Saipan. It includes editorial and historical notes and to provide context and clarification. Index starts on page 273.
Oral History Interview with Wallace "Tim" Duke, December 17, 2015
Transcript of an interview with Wallace "Tim" Duke, World War II Army veteran, 86th Infantry and retired Santa Fe Railroad agent. Duke shares concerning his childhood in rural North Texas; the Great Depression; war work at Consolidated Steel Shipyard; draft into infantry; training at Camp Howze and Camp Livingston; European Theater; push from Cologne to Altena, Germany; the Ruhr Pocket; push into Austria; V-E Day; reassignment to Pacific Theater; Philippines; post-war work experience; post-war life in Dallas. Appendix includes photos of Duke and his twin brother circa World War II, newspaper clippings, and a map of the fighting record of the Blackhawk Division (12 p).
Oral History Interview with H. Paul Hudgins, November 23, 2014
Transcript of an interview with Paul Hudgins, U.S. Army World War II Veteran, illustrator, and author. Hudgins discusses his childhood in Texas; family history; enlistment in U.S. Army as a medic; staged in France on V-E Day; stationed on hospital train running between Germany and France; post-war college; artistic career; writing career; Honor Flight trip. Appendix includes illustrations and short stories by Hudgins as well as photographs.
War in the Pacific: A Chronology January 1, 1941 through September 30, 1945
Text outlining major events in the Pacific Theater throughout World War II, organized by date. It also includes text for the Instrument of Surrender, appendices containing military and war data, a bibliography, and list of related Web sites.
Oral History Interview with Robert M. Bane, January 11, 2013
Interview with Robert Bane, a Army WWII veteran from Garland, Texas. Bane discusses his family background, basic training, deployment to the Battle of the Bulge, General George S. Patton, experiences in combat with the 63rd Infantry Division during the drive into Germany, his comrades, crossing the Rhine, liberating Dachau, returning to the states, and his work with the Freemasons. In appendix is a photograph of Bane with his medals.
Oral History Interview with Paul Anthony Sovik, November 8, 2010
Transcript of an interview with Paul Anthony Sovik, U.S. Marine Corps (1st Marine Division) World War II veteran. Sovik discusses his family life and childhood in Ohio, decision to enlist with the Marine Corps following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, experiences with the 1st Marine Division in the Pacific Theater during World War II, and post-war life.
Oral History Interview with Merle Timblin, June 21, 2010
Transcript of an interview with Merle Timblin, Civilian Conservation Corps worker and U.S. Army WWII Veteran. Timblin discusses his childhood in western Pennsylvania; father’s work as a farmer, coal miner, and WPA blacksmith; life on farms and in mining towns during the Great Depression; decision to enroll in CCC before eighteenth birthday; experiences at CCC camps in Arizona and Pennsylvania; lessons learned from the CCC experience; experiences in the European Theater of World War II as radio operator in the U.S. Army Fourth Armored Division, including fighting in the Battle of the Bulge; lessons learned from experience in the Army; decision to relocate to Niagara Falls, N.Y., and thence to North Texas; career as a machinist and mechanic.
Oral History Interview with Wiliam Wayne Kitts, May 13, 2009
Transcript of an interview with William Wayne Kitts, U.S. Navy anti-submarine warfare veteran of World War II. Kitts shares concerning his childhood and family history in Sulphur Springs, Texas; college at the University of Texas during the Depression; musical background; enlistment in the U.S. Navy shortly after the attack at Pearl Harbor; midshipman school in New York City and selection for sonar school in Key West, Florida; assignment to USS Mason, the first ship in the navy with an integrated crew; post-war duty as commanding officer of USS Hollis and USS Tollberg; role in establishing Naval Reserve Training Center in Lubbock, Texas; reactivation to active duty during Korean War; and his post-military career at Vought Aeronautics.
Oral History Interview with William Alexander Hatcher, December 4, 2008
Transcript of an interview with William Hatcher, a World War II Army veteran (29th Bomb Group, 20th Air Force). Hatcher discusses concerning his his childhood and education; family's experiences in the Great Depression; decision to attend University of Tennessee-Knoxville and major in mechanical engineering; memories of Pearl Harbor attack; decision to join U.S. Army Enlisted Reserve Corps in 1942; 1943 call-up; basic training at Ft. Belvoir, Va.; instruction in engineering, communications, and radar repair at City College of New York and Chanute Field, Ill.; assignments to Truax Field, Wis., and Boca Raton, Fla.; meeting future wife, Jean E. Sheppard, at USO Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.; transfer to B-29 unit and bases in Neb. And Kan.; deployment to Guam with 29th Bomb Group, 20th Air Force, March 1945; details of high-altitude radar repair work; aspects of daily life for American soldiers stationed in Guam; descriptions of devastation of Japan, including Hiroshima; transfer to base on Tinian; return to U.S. in February 1946; wedding; return to UT-Knoxville using GI Bill benefits; work at Oak Ridge; decision to transfer to University of New Mexico for Mrs. Hatcher's health; career with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Convair Corp. of Fort Worth; family history; social life in Fort Worth.
Oral History Interview with Arthur Hofstein, October 30, 2007
Interview with Arthur Hofstein, a Army WWII veteran from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Hofstein discusses the lead up to war, being drafted, training to be a radio operator, departure for the European Theater, landing in France and first action at Mars-la-Tour, the Battle of the Bulge, German prisoners and civilians, advancing into Germany, the liberation of Dachau, letters, and life after the war. In appendix are various materials and photographs related to Hofstein and his service.
Oral History Interview with Anna K. Schelper, October 24, 2007
Interview with Major Anna K. Schelper, a Army WWII veteran from San Antonio, Texas. Schelper discusses her parents, growing up, her education and becoming a nurse, joining the Army Nurse Corps, experiences serving throughout the Pacific Theater, service in hospitals after the war, continued education and promoting, and reflections on her career and being a servicewoman. In appendix are Schelper's Army service record, a letter from two former patients to the 23rd Field Hospital, a scan of some of her letters which were printed in a book, and a scan of some sections from The Army Nurse Corps: Yesterday and Today by Mary M. Roberts.
Oral History Interview with Dolphus Edward Rowan, July 17, 2007
Interview with Ed Rowan, a Army Air Corps WWII veteran from Gadsden, Alabama. Rowan discusses his family background, education, work, purchasing an airplane, flying over the the wreck of the Hindenburg, joining the National Guard and flying coastal patrols, becoming a bomber pilot, his B-17 crew, the various missions they flew in the European Theater, fighters, flak, equipment, tactics, leaving the service, and working as an airline pilot. In appendix is a photo of Rowan's civilian plane, his Distinguished Flying Cross citation, his appointment to the Reserves, a list of missions, flight logs, and a fact sheet about the 381st Bomb Group,
Oral History Interview with William D. Whitson, August 13, 2006
Interview with William Whitman, a Army Air Force WWII veteran from Denton, Texas, who served with General Curtis LeMay. Whitman discusses flight training, becoming a heavy bomber pilot, service in the European theater, joining LeMay's staff, and stories about LeMay's work and personality.
Oral History Interview with Harlan W. Crouse, July 2, 2004
Interview with Army veteran Harlan W. Crouse, including personal experiences about combat in the Philippines during World War II, the Japanese surrender in Yokohama Harbor, and being present during the post-war U.S. occupation of Japan.
Oral History Interview with Douglas R. Crawford, February 25, 2004
Interview with Air Force veteran Douglas R. "Roy" Crawford. The interview includes Crawford's personal experiences about early family life, joining the U.S. Army Air Forces, training as a bulldozer operator, removing radioactive debris from Hiroshima, training as a radar operator at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and working as the radar tracker when Major Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 on October 19, 1947. Additionally, Crawford talks about his assignments to Clark Air Force Base, Philippines, and Korea, as a forward air observer, his role as an airborne radar operator during the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis, his various activities with the NASA Space Program, and clandestine missions with the CIA and Air America over Cambodia during the Vietnam War.
Oral History Interview with LeRoy Ellis Cox, February 5, 2004
Interview with LeRoy Ellis Cox. The interview includes Cox's personal experiences about childhood and early adulthood in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado, World War-II-era Army Air Corps training in armaments and electronics, stateside service in the 303rd Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force, aviation cadet training, serving as a B-25 instructor pilot, and as a DC-3 tow pilot for the glider program.
Oral History Interview with Clarence Kingsley, November 21, 2003
Interview with Charles Kingsley, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran from Dallas, Texas, who served in the 112th Cavalry. Kingsley discusses his upbringing, joining the Guard, the Louisiana Maneuvers, deployment to New Caledonia, his troop's machine gun section/platoon, Woodlark Island, the Battle of Arawe, New Guinea and the Battle of Drinumor River, the Battles of Leyte and Luzon, his thoughts on the generals he served, and thoughts on the 112th.
Oral History Interview with W. W. Hughes, November 17, 2003
Interview with W. W. Hughes, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran from Grand Prarie, Texas. Hughes discusses growing up in the Great Depression, joining the National Guard and equestrian service in the 112th Cavalry at Fort Clark, the start of war and deployment to New Caledonia and Australia, preparations for combat, amphibious landings at Arawe Island off New Britain, scout patrols and combat, operations in New Guinea at the Driniumor River, Japanese POWs, actions in the Philippines at Leyte and Luzon, returning to the US as an instructor, and reflections on his service.
Oral History Interview with Ben Moody, October 8, 2003
Interview with Ben Moody, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran from Kilgore, Texas, who served with the 112th Cavalry in the Pacific. Moody discusses his family, surviving the Great Depression, his jobs and education, joining the 112th and mobilization, deployment to New Caledonia, Woodlark Island, staging at Goodenough Island, the Battle of Arawe, the Battle of Driniumor River, spending the remainder of the war in the hospital, and reflections on the 112th.
Oral History Interview with John L. Bates, Jr., September 21, 2003
Interview with attorney and Army veteran John L. Bates Jr. The Interview includes Bates' personal experiences in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II, Officer Candidate School, being selected for the Counter Intelligence Corps, British Intelligence School, assignment to Kweiyang, China, the end of the war and his transfer to the War Crimes Section as an Assistant Theater Judge Advocate, his assignment to Hankow to investigate the executions of three of Jimmy Doolittle's pilots and to Formosa to investigate war crimes, dealing with Japanese military personnel accused of committing atrocities against Allied POWs on Formosa, and his postwar career in the Army Reserve.
Oral History Interview with Frank Breyer, September 20, 2003
Interview with Army veteran Frank Breyer, including personal experiences about the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II, volunteering for the draft, various assignments, his attachment to Merrill's Marauders, medical evacuation to Ledo, combat around Bhamo, Burma, the opening of the Burma Road, transfer to the 612th Artillery and to Kunming, China, for artillery training, teaching artillery tactics to Chinese troops with the Chinese Combat and Training Command, and the resumption of fighting between Chinese Nationalist and Communist forces.
Oral History Interview with Robert Hoe, September 20, 2003
Interview with Robert Hoe, a Navy WWII veteran of the China-Burma-India theater from Le Roy, New York. Hoe discusses growing up, the reaction to Pearl Harbor, attending college, enlisting in the Navy, training and becoming an officer, joining the Navy Scouts and Raiders, deployment to China and assignment to the Sino-American Cooperative Organization, supplying their forces, operations with guerilla fighters against the Japanese occupation, intelligence gathering, his reaction to the atomic bomb, the end of the war, service in China and discharge, and life as a civilian.
Oral History Interview with Robert O. Andrews, September 20, 2003
Interview with Robert O. Andrews, businessman and an Army Air Forces veteran, concerning his experiences in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II. Andrews discusses his pre-war education and farming activities in Olney, Texas; enlistment in the Army Air Forces, c. 1941; assignment to Chanute Field, Illinois, c. 1941-42; Officer Candidate School, Miami Beach, Florida, c. 1942; assignment to Perrin Field, Sherman, Texas, c. 1942-44; overseas transport to India; assignment to Warazup, Burma, 1944-45; his reaction to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and postwar career in business.
Oral History Interview with Barton B. Wallace, Jr., September 19, 2003
Interview with Barton B. Wallace, Jr., engineer and Army veteran (Quartermaster Corps Graves Registration Service-China Zone), concerning his experiences with Recovery Team No. 4 in the recovery of the remains of American military personnel in China, 1945-46. Appendix consists of letters, chronology, Separation Qualification Record, and extracts from various forms.
Flight Diary of Donald Fleming, 781st Bomb Sqadron, 465th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force
Scan of the flight diary kept by Donald Fleming, a B-24 navigator in WWII from Kansas, documenting the missions he flew in the European Theater from February to August, 1944.
Oral History Interview with Lloyd F. Hudson, August 12, 2003
Interview with Lloyd F. Hudson, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran from Fort Worth, Texas. Hudson discusses his family background, joining the 124th Cavalry and transfer to the 112th, work as a cavalryman before activation, activation and the Louisiana Maneuvers, deployment to Townsville, Australia, amphibious assault on Arawe, New Britain, falling ill and returning to the States, the character of troops, equipment, rivalry with the Marine Corps, and acts of bravery. In appendix is a list of Hudson's fellow soldiers, the places he served, descriptions of the equipment mentioned in the interview, and the 112th's service chronicle.
Oral History Interview with John J. Clemens, May 13, 2003
Interview with John J. Clemens. The interview includes Clemens' personal experiences about childhood and early adulthood in Houston, Texas, World War II-era service in the U.S. Navy, serving aboard USS Wren in the Pacific Theater, and piloting a ship into Tokyo Bay immediately following the Japanese surrender. Clemens speaks about convoy missions across the Atlantic Ocean, the January 4, 1944 sinking of the USS Turner while moored in New York Harbor and the court of inquiry regarding the sinking, actions in the Aleutian Islands, Attu, Okinawa, and Philippine campaigns and anti-kamikaze warfare while aboard the USS Wren, and the effects that Allied bombing had on Tokyo.
Oral History Interview with Robert E. Yerger, April 12, 2003
Transcript of an interview with Robert E. Yerger, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences as a flying boat pilot in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Yerger discusses his decision to enlist in the Navy, May, 1942; basic flight training, Naval Air Station, Grand Prairie, Texas, 1942; advanced flight training, Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas, 1942; PBY flying boat training at Corpus Christi, 1942-43; his tenure as a flight instructor, Chase Field, Beeville, Texas, 1943; assignment as a base personnel officer at Chase Field, 1943-45; flying PB2Y flying boats with cargo and personnel in the Pacific, 1945; activities on Majuro Island; his experience flying the Martin Mars flying boat; mustering out of the service, August, 1946.
Oral History Interview with Thomas W. Nance, March 24, 2003
Interview with Thomas W. Nance, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran from Dallas, Texas, who served with the 112th Cavalry in the Pacific. Nance discusses growing up and joining the 112th, working with horses, equipment used and organization, maneuvers at Fort Bliss, deployment to New Caledonia, operations on Woodlark Island, staging at Goodenough Island and the landing at Arawe, being wounded and evacuated, recovery and discharge, continued disability and experiences with VA hospitals, and reflections on the 112th as a unit. In appendix is the poem "Fiddler's Green," a list of places Nance served, descriptions of military equipment mentioned, and the 112th's service chronicle.
Oral History Interview with Ernest Kelley, February 20, 2003
Interview with Ernest Kelley, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran from Antioch, Texas (now the Red River Army Depot), who served with the 112th Cavalry. Kelley discusses growing up in the Depression, joining the Guard, mobilization and training, horses, the Louisiana Maneuvers, deployment to New Caledonia, landing on Woodlark island and action there, the Battle of Arawe, redeployment to Australia, the Battle of Driniumor River in New Guinea, the Battles of Leyte and Luzon, returning to the United States, and reflections on his time in the Army. In appendix is a list of people and places named in the interview with lat/long coordinates, descriptions of military equipment, and the 112th's WWII service chronicle.
Oral History Interview with Frank H. Bigelow, June 13, 2002
Interview with Navy veteran Frank H. Bigelow, survivor of the siege of Corregidor. The interview includes Bigelow's personal experiences about being a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II, boyhood in North Dakota, various jobs during the Great Depression, and enlisting in the Navy. Additionally, Bigelow speaks about volunteering for duty in the Philippines and his assignment to the submarine tender USS Canopus, pre-war military life in the Philippines, the Japanese bombing of Cavite Navy Yard and the destruction of the Canopus, retreating to Bataan and to Corregidor, the fall of Corregidor, his confinement in the 92nd Garage area, the forced march down Dewey Boulevard in Manila and confinement at Cabanatuan, hell ship to Japan, coal mining for Mitsui Heavy Industries, the amputation of his leg by fellow prisoners after a mining accident, liberation, and the destruction in Nagasaki due to the atomic bomb. The interview includes an appendix with an article titled "A Soldier's Story."
Oral History Interview with Willie Fred Sander, May 22, 2002
Interview with Willie Fred Sander, a Navy WWII veteran from Brenham, Texas. Sander discusses his background and life before the war, joining the Navy and aviator training, flying PBM patrol bombers throughout the Pacific, and his family life after the war.
Oral History Interview with Bruce Gordon Elliot, May 17, 2002
Interview with Bruce Elliot, a Navy veteran and POW from Montezuma, Kansas. Elliot discusses his family, joining the Navy and volunteering for Asiatic service, the start of war and the bombing of Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines, retreat to Corregidor, capture by the Japanese, escaping internment on Palawan and joining Moro guerillas, sabotage, linking up with Australian forces, evacuation to Australia and returning to the United States, becoming a deepsea diver, and Korean War service. In appendix are a photo of Elliot, a map of the Philippines, two photos of a POW camp on Palawan, and a photo of three of his comrades.
Oral History Interview with Travis Womack, Jr., May 10, 2002
Interview with Travis Womack Jr., a Army WWII veteran from Marshall, Texas, who served with the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division. Womack discusses his family, education, basic and airborne training, deployment to Morocco and movement through North Africa, the invasion of Sicily, the Battle of San Pietro, the Anzio campaign, going to England, marrying, fighting in Operation Market Garden, the Battle of the Bulge, disguised German troops, and the end of the war. In appendix is a detailed account of the Italian campaign written by Womack.
The Wartime Diary of Sigismund Koperniak
The personal diary of Sigismund Koperniak, a Navy veteran, detailing his experiences aboard the destroyer USS Spence during World War II. Launching of the Spence and sea trials off Portland, Maine, January, 1943; shakedown cruise to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, February, 1943; escort duty in the Atlantic and Caribbean, March, 1943; convoy duty in the Casablanca, French Morocco, area, April-May, 1943; passage through the Panama Canal, June, 1943; escort duty for the carriers Princeton and Belleau Wood en route to Baker Island, September, 1943; attachment to Destroyer Division 23 in the Solomon Islands, September, 1943; patrols off Kolombangara and Vella Lavella Islands; interdiction of Japanese shipping and the Spence's role in sinking of twenty barges off of Vella Lavella; bombardment of Buka-Bonis airfields, November 1, 1943; Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, November 2, 1943; support for landings on Bougainville, November 3, 1943; capture of a Japanese sailor; continued attacks by Japanese aircraft; gun battles with Japanese cruisers and destroyers in the Buka-Rabaul route, November 24, 1943; shore bombardments of Tiaraka, Bougainville, Kavieng, and New Ireland, January-February, 1944; shore bombardment of Emirau, Aitape, Humboldt Bay, and Caroline Islands, March 1-24, 1944; shore bombardment during the invasions of the Marianas Islands, June 19-27, 1944; return to the States for overhaul, August, 1944; extensive details about liberties, daily shipboard routines, general quarters drills, combat stress, watches, and rest and recreation.
Oral History Interview with Alan A. Fouts, December 6, 2001
Interview with Navy veteran Alan A. Fouts. The interview includes Fouts' personal experiences while assigned to the Submarine Base during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and his subsequent service aboard the submarine USS Pogy in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
Oral History Interview with Elijah Collins, Jr., December 6, 2001
Interview with Navy veteran Elijah Collins Jr. The interview includes Collins' personal experiences while aboard the destroyer USS Blue during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Collins also talks about the Battle of Savo Island and the sinking of the Blue.
Oral History Interview with Herb Elfering, December 6, 2001
Interview with electrical engineer and Army veteran Herb Elfering, The interview includes Elfering's personal experiences with a searchlight/radar battery, 251st Coast Artillery Regiment, at camp Malekole during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Elfering also gives brief descriptions of his later experiences at Bougainville and Luzon.
Oral History Interview with Maj. Gen. Frederick E. Haynes, September 19, 2001
Interview with Major General Frederick Haynes, a Marine WWII veteran from Dallas, Texas. Haynes discusses growing up, becoming an officer in the Marine Corps, being a small arms instructor, assignment to the 28th Marines and training for combat, various experiences fighting the Battle of Iwo Jima, and reflections on battle.
Oral History Interview with Richard E. Cole, August 8, 2000
Interview with Army Air Forces veteran Richard E. Cole describing personal experiences about being Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot during the Tokyo Raid on April 8, 1942, pre-war education, flight training, volunteering for a secret mission and meeting Colonel Doolittle, being assigned as Doolittle's co-pilot, mission training, various B-25 missions against Japanese targets in China and Burma, flying supplies over "The Hump." transferring to the states and volunteering for service in Burma with the 1st Air Commandos to support Wingate's Chindits and Merrill's Marauders, and reunions of Doolittle's Raiders the following war.
Oral History Interview with Fred Vogel, August 8, 2001
Interview with Fred Vogel, a Army WWII veteran from Austin, Minnesota. Vogel discusses his family and upbringing, football and college, working as a lawyer, joining the Army and basic training, attending Officer Candidate School, infantry training, deployment to New Guinea with the 33rd Infantry Division, the invasion of Morotai, combat around Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines, and occupation duty in Japan.
Oral History Interview with James Hudson, May 30, 2001
Transcript of an interview with James Hudson, Army veteran (3rd Platoon, 36th/83rd Quartermaster Trucking Company, 470th Quartermaster Regiment), concerning his experiences in the European Theater during World War II. Hudson discusses his youth in segregated Yalobusha County, Mississippi; his reaction to being drafted, December, 1942; basic training, Camp McCain, Grenada, Mississippi, 1942-43; segregated training facilities; maneuvers at Camp Polk, Louisiana, 1943; training in truck maintenance and operation; relations between white officers and black enlisted men; entertainment on and off base for black soldiers; illiteracy among black troops; voyage to Europe, February, 1944; pre-invasion training around Cardigan, Wales; transfer of the unit to Swansea for further pre-invasion training; his observations of the Normandy landings, June 6, 1944; the landing of his unit on June 7 at Omaha Beach; establishment of beach supply depots; his participation in the activities of the "Red Ball Express," August-September, 1944; his description of war damage in German towns and cities; postwar adjustments to segregated society in Mississippi. Appendix consists of photocopy of "Honorable Discharge" (1 page).
Oral History Interview with Harve D. King, May 22, 2001
Interview with Harve D. King, a Army WWII veteran from Copeville, Texas, who served in the 350th Engineer Regiment. King discusses his upbringing on a cotton farm, school in Farmersville, discrimination as an African-American, attending Texas College, joining the Army, training, assignment at Camp Shelby, deployment to New Guinea, operations at Hollandia, building a hospital, recreation, visiting Australia, returning to the United States and discharge, and life after the war.
In God's hands: a posthumous autobiography of Stephen Lloyd Smith
A portion of missionary Stephen Lloyd Smith's unpublished autobiography, "In God's Hands," depicting the experience of his family as civilian internees of the Japanese in the Philippines during World War II.
Oral History Interview with Lloyd Gossell, March 21, 2001
Transcript of an interview with Lloyd Gossell, a Marine Corps veteran (A Company, 1st Battalion, 28th Regiment, 5th Marine Division), concerning his experiences during the assault on Iwo Jima, February-March, 1945. Gossell discusses his enlistment and boot camp, San Diego, California, 1942; assignment to the 3rd Marine Parachute Battalion, 1942; jungle training on New Caledonia, 1942-43; transfer to Guadalcanal, 1943; combat on Bougainville, 1943-44; return to the States to help form the 5th Marine Division; final training, Camp Tarawa, Hawaii, 1944-45; briefings and meetings en route to Iwo Jima; the pre-invasion bombardment of Iwo Jima; the initial assault on February 17, 1945; conditions on Green Beach; the assault across terraces to the base of Mount Suribachi; isolating Mount Suribachi from the rest of the island; transfer to the north end of Iwo Jima and combat on Hill 362-A; combat in "Death Valley"; occupation of Japan. Appendix includes a map of the landings for the invasion of Iwo Jima.
Oral History Interview with William J. Bates, February 7, 2001
Interview with Navy veteran William J. Bates including personal experiences about the Pacific Theater during World War II, youth and education, the Navy Aviation Cadet Program, flight training, leaving naval aviation and attending Midshipman's School, being assigned to APc-21, operations off the coast of New Guinea with the VII Amphibious Force, providing escort duty for LCTs during assaults along the coast of New Guinea, the sinking of APc-21 by Japanese planes off New Britain Island, recuperating in New Guinea, returning to the States and being assigned to ATR-22, transferring to fleet tug ARA-182 as commanding officer, having convoy duty in the South Pacific, riding out a typhoon, disposing of Navy equipment after the war, and returning to the States.
Oral History Interview with Raymond Schneider, December 8, 2000
Transcript of an interview with Raymond Schneider, attorney and Army Air Forces veteran (710th Bomb Squadron, 447th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force), concerning his experiences as a B-17 pilot in the European Theater during World War II.
Oral History Interview with Charles M. Lagow, October 11, 2000
Interview with Charles M. Lagow, a Army WWII veteran from Dallas, Texas. Lagow discusses his family history, attending Texas A&M, joining the CCC, the lead up to war, activation and training with the 352nd Engineer Battalion, deployment to Khorramshahr, Iran, building roads, delivering supplies to the Soviets, crash landing in a B-17 in Palestine, returning to the States and transfer to the 1346th Eng. Bat., deployment to Okinawa, occupation duty and Japanese holdouts, thoughts on Hideki Tojo, attitudes towards the Japanese, shell shock and mental breakdowns, the atomic bomb, and life after the war.
Oral History Interview with Arthur B. Clark, September 29, 2000
Interview with Arhtur B. Clark, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran and POW from Abilene, Texas, who was captured with the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery. Clark discusses joining the National Guard, training and maneuvers, deployment to the Pacific, the fall of Java and surrender to the Japanese, experiences in internment at Tanjong Priok in Batavia, internment at Changi Camp in Singapore, labor on the Burma "Death" Railway, and liberation. The interview includes an appendix with a reference page and a written flight log by Col. Tom Sledge.
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