Oral History Interview with Melvin A. Bice, August 9, 2011

Oral History Interview with Melvin A. Bice, August 9, 2011

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Description

Transcript of an oral interview with Melvin A. Bice. When Bice finished high school in Lincoln, Nebraska he joined the Navy. The Navy called him up in February, 1943 and he took basic training in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. During training, Bice contracted the mumps. After basic training, Bice was assigned at San Diego to the USS Mataco (AT-86), an ocean-going tugboat. Their first assignement was to tow a floating drydock to New Guinea. Along the way, Bice shot down a Japanese aircraft. Upon arrival and delivery of the drydock, Bice was returned tothe US to attend aircraft gunnery school. Soon … continued below

Physical Description

34 p.

Creation Information

Bice, Melvin A. August 9, 2011.

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

Bice, Melvin A.

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

Transcript of an oral interview with Melvin A. Bice. When Bice finished high school in Lincoln, Nebraska he joined the Navy. The Navy called him up in February, 1943 and he took basic training in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. During training, Bice contracted the mumps. After basic training, Bice was assigned at San Diego to the USS Mataco (AT-86), an ocean-going tugboat. Their first assignement was to tow a floating drydock to New Guinea. Along the way, Bice shot down a Japanese aircraft. Upon arrival and delivery of the drydock, Bice was returned tothe US to attend aircraft gunnery school. Soon after, he was assigned to the USS Ommaney Bay (CVE-79). The Ommaney Bay was present for action in Leyte Gulf, where Bice describes kamikaze attacks and shooting down more Japanese aircraft from his twin 40mm anti-aircraft gun, for which he received a decoration. He also describes being bombed by a Japanese airplane in Lingayen Gulf and the Ommaney Bay sinking. Bice then provides details about abandoning ship, leaping into the water, finding an ammo can to use as a flotation device, and watching as the Ommaney bay was scuttled by an American destroyer using torpedoes. Aftr being in the water several hours, Bice was rescued and taken aboard a destroyer. From there, he was transferred to the USS Louisville (CA-28) and was aboard her when she was hit by kamikazes. From there, he was again transferred, this time to the USS West Virginia (BB-48). He finally was transferred to the USS General R.L. Howze (AP-134) where he spent the remainder of the war. At one point, Bice recalls an inspection conducted by Admirals Nimitz and Halsey onboard the ommaney bay. Bice was out of uniform and got chewed out some by Halsey while Nimitz observed and gave a slight grin. When Bice returned to the US, he was assigned to an ammunnitoin depot outside of Bremerton, Washington where he served the remainder of his term in the Navy.

Physical Description

34 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: OH03314
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1606028

Relationships

Oral History Interview with Melvin A. Bice, August 9, 2011 - ark:/67531/metapth1609835

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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