Oral History Interview with Jim Humphries, February 18, 2005

Oral History Interview with Jim Humphries, February 18, 2005

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Description

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jim Humphries. He joined the Army Air Corps as a reserve cadet at 17, but was discharged a year later for less than 20/20 vision and a heart murmur. He enlisted in the Navy in Louisiana in June, 1944. He went to Basic Training at Camp Wallace, Texas. After training he boarded USS LSM-140 at San Diego and served in the Amphibious Forces as a fireman 2nd class in the engine room. Humphries continued training in Hawaii with the LSM and a Marine Pioneer battalion. Prior to heading … continued below

Physical Description

33 p.

Creation Information

Humphries, Jim February 18, 2005.

Context

This text is part of the collection entitled: National Museum of the Pacific War Oral History Collection and was provided by the National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. More information about this text can be viewed below.

Interviewee

Humphries, Jim

Interviewers

Publisher

National Museum of the Pacific War
Place of Publication: Fredericksburg, Texas

Audiences

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Provided By

National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Established in 1967, the Museum honors the 8 million Americans who served in WWII in the Pacific Theater by sharing their stories with the world. Located in Fredericksburg in the restored Nimitz "Steamboat" Hotel, the Museum partners with the Texas Historical Commission to preserve the historical resources of the era.

Description

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jim Humphries. He joined the Army Air Corps as a reserve cadet at 17, but was discharged a year later for less than 20/20 vision and a heart murmur. He enlisted in the Navy in Louisiana in June, 1944. He went to Basic Training at Camp Wallace, Texas. After training he boarded USS LSM-140 at San Diego and served in the Amphibious Forces as a fireman 2nd class in the engine room. Humphries continued training in Hawaii with the LSM and a Marine Pioneer battalion. Prior to heading for Iwo Jima, the LSM took aboard the Marines and a load of airfield construction equipment: a bulldozer, a cherry-picker, a crane, a big 6x6 truck (all of which proved useless beacuse it all sank in the sand on the beach). Humphries describes making suppply runs back and forth from cargo ships offshore to the Marines on the beach. He describes bringing them food, ammunition, clothing, etc. as well as recieving incoming enemy fire that wounded and killed several sailors. He lauds the weasel - a small tracked vehicle that made running supplies over the beaches at Iwo Jima a less difficult job. He witnessed both flag raisings on Mt. Suribachi. After the invasion, LST-140 was shipped back to California for repairs - the facilities in Guam and Pearl Harbor were too full repairing other ships. When the war ended, he was discharged and returned to Louisiana.

Physical Description

33 p.

Subjects

Keywords

Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms

Library of Congress Subject Headings

World War, 1939-1945

University of North Texas Libraries Browse Structure

Language

English

Item Type

Text

Identifier

Unique identifying numbers for this text in the Portal or other systems.

Accession or Local Control No: OH01361
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1604744

Relationships

Oral History Interview with Jim Humphries, February 18, 2005 - ark:/67531/metapth1608557

Collections

This text is part of the following collections of related materials.

National Museum of the Pacific War Oral History Collection

This oral history collection depicts an instrumental era in American history. In these transcripts of interviews with World War II veterans are personal experiences with the war, from the Doolittle Raid and D-Day to the Battle for Bataan.

National Museum of the Pacific War Digital Archive

The Digital Archive presents digitized collections from the Center for Pacific War Studies collections at the National Museum of the Pacific War. Collections and material are continuously being added and represent only a small portion of the archives' physical holdings.

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