Oral History Interview with Wes Rhine, September 3, 2004

Oral History Interview with Wes Rhine, September 3, 2004

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Track One 1:33:03

Description

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Wes Rhine. He was born in Amarillo, Texas, 27 February 1928 and was enlisted in the Marine Corps on 13 February 1945. After completing recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina and Camp LeJeune, North Carolina he was transferred to Camp Pendleton, California in June 1945. He describes shipping out to Guam in August 1945 and learning, while enroute, that the war was over. He recalls being transferred to Saipan and joining C Company, 1st Battalion, Second Marines. He next describes embarking on a troopship and sailing to … continued below

Physical Description

1 sound recording (1 hr., 33 min., 2 sec.)

Creation Information

Rhine, Wes September 3, 2004.

Context

This audio recording 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 recording can be viewed below.

Interviewee

Rhine, Wes

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 Wes Rhine. He was born in Amarillo, Texas, 27 February 1928 and was enlisted in the Marine Corps on 13 February 1945. After completing recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina and Camp LeJeune, North Carolina he was transferred to Camp Pendleton, California in June 1945. He describes shipping out to Guam in August 1945 and learning, while enroute, that the war was over. He recalls being transferred to Saipan and joining C Company, 1st Battalion, Second Marines. He next describes embarking on a troopship and sailing to Japan. In late August his Battalion landed at Nagasaki. His battalion was directed to a prisoner of war camp outside ground zero and he recalls seeing the former prisoners being removed as his battalion was approaching the camp to be bivouacked. He describes his duties while at Nagasaki and Kyushu, Japan. He recalls being transferred to the 2nd Motor Transport Battalion in Sasebo and his duties while there. In July 1946 he volunteered for duty in China where he was transferred to a mortar platoon in the 1st Division Marines located in a city outside of Peking. He recalls that his platoon was assigned to guard the division ammo dump where he recalls frequent encounters with raiding Chinese communist parties, including a raid on 5 April 1947 where five Marines were killed and sixteen wounded. He relates that he was next transferred to the communications platoon as the chief of the message center with additional courier duties. He recalls his experiences as a courier especially in Peking. In July 1947 he was transferred back to the States, retiring as a major in 1971.

Physical Description

1 sound recording (1 hr., 33 min., 2 sec.)

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

Sound

Identifier

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

Accession or Local Control No: OH01214
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1608417

Relationships

Oral History Interview with Wes Rhine, September 3, 2004, [transcript] ark:/67531/metapth1604606

Collections

This recording 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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