Texas Oral History Collection - 135 Matching Results
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- Oral History Interview with Al Flocke, October 22, 2000
- Interview with Al Flocke, a radio operator during World War II. He discusses his flight training and being the radio operator on a B-24 bomber which did raids on Guam, Turk, Iwo Jima and other islands. He also relates anecdotes about food, rations, and living conditions on the islands.
- Oral History Interview with Alan W. Saunders, October 8, 2004
- Interview with Alan W. "Buck" Saunders, a pilot during World War II. He discusses joining the Army Air Corps, becoming an airplane mechanic, and going to flight school for pilot training. He was stationed in India and flew supplies into China over the Himalayas (known by pilots as "the Hump"). In China, he traded items such as jewelry or opium for information on Japanese troop placements in Burma. He also discusses his meetings with native Burmese and talks about later experiences he had after the war and during the Vietnam War.
- Oral History Interview with Alan W. Saunders, October 8, 2004
- Interview with Alan W. "Buck" Saunders of New Braunfels, Texas, a veteran of the Army Air Force during World War Two. The interview includes Saunders' personal experiences while in the Air Force, including the China-Burma-India Theater and memories of flying cargo to China over the Himalayas. Mr. Saunders also talks about life before and after his service.
- Oral History Interview with Albert Bouley, June 27, 2001
- Interview with Albert Bouley, a U. S. Marine during World War II. He discusses his enlistment in the Marines just after Pearl Harbor; his assignment to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Division; the battle of Guadalcanal; malaria and dysentery; the battle of Cape Gloucester; the use of Pavuvu as a base; the battle of Peleliu; his return to the United States; guard duty at the Brooklyn Naval Yard and his service as an instructor in a heavy weapons school before the end of the war. He joined the Air Force 2 1/2 years later to be able to fly and work on planes, then retire to become a teacher in California, and finally settled in Texas.
- Oral History Interview with Alf Brown Jr., March 26, 1974
- Transcript of an interview with Alf Brown Jr., an Army veteran (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard) and a member of the "Lost Battalion," concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II.
- Oral History Interview with Annie May Web, March 24, 2001
- Interview with Annie (Amy) May Webb discussing her husband's service and her experiences on the homefront during World War II. She describes delivering word of the birth of their daughter to her husband while he was aboard the USS Bennington serving with VMF-112.
- Oral History Interview with Arthur Dodge Jr., January 8, 1971
- Interview with Arthur B. Dodge, Jr., a US Army WWII veteran from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Dodge recounts his service in M Company, 350th Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division, which landed in Morocco and moved through Algeria in late-1943, before landing in Italy, where his unit took up position on the Cassino-Rapido-Garigliano front in March, 1944. Dodge describes prolonged skirmishing with German forces near Tremesuoli, Lazio, the breakout from Cassino, advancing into northern Italy, and finishing the war in the Po Valley.
- Oral History Interview with Arwin Bowden, March 9, 2000
- Interview with Arwin Bowden, a marine during World War II. He begins by discussing his training in San Diego and New Zealand before the Battle of Tarawa. He describes being wounded in the battle, the casualties he saw, and being shipped back to Pearl Harbor for treatment before joining the battle of Saipan. He describes ancedotes about Japanese killing themselves rather than surrendering, eating food from a garden watered from rainwater running down from outhouses, the wages he made, and the time he had leave.
- Oral History Interview with Billy Allen, March 1, 1976
- Interview with Billy Allen, a Marine WWII veteran and POW from Van Alstyne, Texas. Allen discusses his entry into the Marine Corps, deployment to Shanghai with the China Marines in 1940-41, arrival in the Philippines, the Japanese attack on Mariveles Navy Yard, the retreat to Corregidor, capture by the Japanese, and experiences in internment at Bilibid Prison in Manila, Cabanatuan, Osaka, and Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture.
- Oral History Interview with Blanche DuPlantis, February 9, 1976
- Interview with Blanche DuPlantis, a resident of Baytown, Texas since approximately 1920. Topics include 1923 through post World War II: Baytown in the 1920's and 1930's, the effect of World War II, banking business, the founding of Trinity Episcopal Church.
- Oral History Interview with Boyd K. Miller, January 21, 2003
- Interview with Boyd K. Miller, a draftsman and pilot during World War II. He discusses being drafted out of college and working as an artist and draftsman. Since he studied art in college, he worked on diagrams and charts. He then transferred to the Air Corps to become a pilot and trained in Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Alabama, New York, Georgia, Florida and Texas.
- Oral History Interview with Bryghte D. Godbold, April 7, 1972
- Interview with Bryghte D. Godbold, a Marine WWII veteran and POW from Coy, Alabama. A brigadier general at retirement after the war, Godbold discusses his time in the Marine Corps before the war, his duties on Wake Island shortly before December 7th, 1941, his experiences during the Battle of Wake, the Japanese landing and American surrender, his internment at Woosung and Kiang Wang in China, and his last internment at Ashibetsu (Hakodate #4) in Japan.
- Oral History Interview with Buck Gibson, October 19, 2002
- Interview with Buck Gibson of Waco, Texas, a veteran from the United States Navy during World War Two. The interview includes some of Mr. Gibson's background before and after the war as well as his personal experiences while in the Navy, including memories of his training, life in the Navy, the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, and what happened after he was rescued.
- Oral History Interview with Buck Gibson, October 19, 2002
- Interview with Buck Gibson of Waco, Texas, a veteran from the United States Navy during World War Two. The interview includes some of Strauss' background before and after the war as well as his personal experiences while in the Navy, including memories of his training, life in the Navy, the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, and what happened after he was rescued.
- Oral History Interview with C. L. Permenter, October 25, 1972
- Interview with C. L. Permenter, a Marine WWII veteran and POW from Dallas, Texas. Permenter discusses his pre-war service with the North China Marines at Tientsin (Tianjin) and Peking (Beijing), the situation in Japanese-occupied China, his capture, and his experiences in internment at Woosung, Kiangwang, and Fengtai.
- Oral History Interview with C. N. Swain, April 26, 1986
- Interview with C. N. Swain, a Navy WWII veteran from Kernes, Texas. Swain discusses his experiences aboard the USS Vestal at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, as well as his entry into the service and training, life and work aboard the Vestal, operations before December 7th, being knocked overboard by a Japanese torpedo and the destruction of the USS Arizona, and service afterwards.
- Oral History Interview with Carl Peltier, March 4, 2001
- Interview with Carl Peltier, a U. S Marine during World War II. He begins by discussing his reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor. He then joined the Marines when he was old enough. He trained in San Diego before shipping out to Hawaii where he joined the 2nd Marine Division. Further training included heavy weapons and mortars. Later, he landed on Saipan and describes his small arms and rations. He witnessed General Simon Buckner getting killed on Okinawa. He was later wounded on Okinawa. After the war ended, Peltier served in the Pentagon during the Korean War.
- Oral History Interview with Carlton J. Killgo, March 23, 1972
- Interview with Carlton J. Killgo, a Army Air Corps WWII veteran and POW from Slocum, Texas, who was shot down and captured by German forces. Killgo discusses enlisting in the Air Corps before the war, training and becoming a B-17 crewmember, deployment to England, his missions, getting shot down, capture by German civilians, transfer to Stalag Luft #4, experiences in internment there, liberation by the Soviet Army, and return to the United States.
- Oral History Interview with Charles A. Cates, March 14, 1974
- Interview with Charles A. Cates, a businessman, U.S. Army veteran (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard), and a member of the "Lost Battalion," concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Cates talks about the fall of Java and his capture, Bicycle Camp in Batavia (1942), Changi Prison Camp in Singapore (1942), building the Burma-Thailand Death Railway (1943-1944), Kanchanaburi, Thailand (1944), Bangkok, Thailand (1945), and his liberation.
- Oral History Interview with Charles Pase, April 12, 2001
- Interview with Charles Pase, a marine during World War II. He discusses joining the Marines and training on New Zealand and other Pacific islands. He describes landing on Tarawa, the battle of Tarawa itself, and locating and burying the dead bodies after the battle. He also talks about going to Hawaii for more training before going to Saipan, various guns and artillery he used, encountering natives on Saipan and being in Nagasaki after the bomb was dropped. He relates ancedotes about having tonsillitis during the Tarawa attack, fights that some Marines got into with local Hawaiians while training there and prejudices against Japanese-Americans, mistaking a land crab that pinched the back of his neck for a bayonet, getting Dengue Fever, and faking a landing on April Fools' Day.
- Oral History Interview with Charles Timlin, July 8, 1978
- Interview with Charles Timlin, a Navy WWII veteran from Fort Worth, Texas. Timlin discusses his experiences aboard the USS Vestal during the attack on Pearl Harbor, including is entry into the service, assignment to the Vestal, training and life on the ship, the night before the attack, events during the morning of the attack, and some details about service in the war afterwards.
- Oral History Interview with Chris Walker, February 11, 2003
- Interview with Chris Walker, a carpenter during World War II. He discusses working as a carpenter in the Marines at Camp Pendleton and on Tinian and Saipan. He was present at Okinawa and in Nagasaki after Japan surrendered. He also tells stories about generals, his colonel, rations, and friendly fire. He describes some of the memorabilia he kept.
- Oral History Interview with Clay H. Musick, May 14, 1976
- Interview with Clay Musick, a Navy WWII veteran from Weslaco, Texas. Musick discusses his experiences aboard the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, including joining the Navy in 1940, training, life and work aboard the Arizona, the bombing and sinking of the ship, his wounding and recovery, and work after discharge.
- Oral History Interview with Cleatus A. LeBow, May 2, 2006
- Interview with Cleatus A. LeBow, a serviceman in the U. S. Navy during World War II. LeBow joined the navy in 1943 and went from Lubbock, Texas to San Diego for recruit training. He shipped out to Pearl Harbor aboard an LST from San Francisco. At Pearl Harbor, he was assigned to a work detail aboard the USS Oklahoma, which had just been righted. Shortly thereafter, he boarded the USS Indianapolis to serve as a range finder operator on one of the gun turrets. Upon leaving Hawaii, the Indianapolis went to Tarawa and then the Marshall Islands. LeBow witnessed Japanese civilian suicides on Saipan. He also witnessed the flag-raising on Iwo Jima from his range finder position aboard the ship. LeBow describes being hit by a kamikaze off Okinawa. He also discusses delivering atomic bomb components to Tinian and being torpedoed on the way to the Philippines. He describes abandoning the ship and spending five days in the water, including his faith in God, hallucinations, rescue, and his recovery.
- Oral History Interview with Crayton R. Gordon, January 31, 1977
- Transcript of an interview with Crayton Gordon, an Army veteran (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard) and a member of the "Lost Battalion," concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II.
- Oral History Interview with Dale R. Walker, October 4, 2007
- Interview with Dale R. Walker, a U. S. Marine during World War II. He joined the Marine Corps in 1944 and was trained in mortars at Camp Pendleton, California. He then went to Camp Tarawa at Hawaii for further training with the Fifth Marine Division. Walker landed with the sixth wave on D-day at Iwo Jima. While working with mortars supporting the infantry, he was called on to be a stretcher-bearer on occasion. Walker spent 36 days on Iwo Jima. After the Japanese surrendered, Walker served in the occupation of Japan.
- Oral History Interview with Dale R. Walker, October 4, 2007
- Interview with Dale R. Walker of Kingsville, Texas, a United States Marine Corps veteran from World War Two. The interview includes Hill's memories about growing up as well as his personal experiences while in the Marines, including details from his involvement in the Iwo Jima attacks, 3rd Battalion, and the occupation of Nagasaki.
- Oral History Interview with David Braden, September 30, 2000
- Interview with David Braden, a member of the U.S. Air Force during World War II. He discusses his training in the U.S. to become a navigator; his deployment to Saipan with the 870th Squadron, 497th Bomb Group, 73rd Wing; initial attacks on Tokyo in a B-29 bomber at high altitude (during which the jet stream interfered with the bombing raids); a low-altitude fire-bombing mission over Tokyo in March, 1945; living conditions on base at Saipan; a mission in which the B-29 he was on ditched in the ocean and his subsequent rescue; Victory in Europe (V-E) Day on Saipan; completing 35 missions; and going home.
- Oral History Interview with David Lee Hill, September 20, 2003
- Interview with David Lee "Tex" Hill of San Antonio, Texas, a veteran from the United States Navy during World War II in the China-Burma-India Theater. The interview includes Hill's personal experiences while in the Navy, including memories of pre-war flight training in Florida, the Flying Tigers, and the Salween River Gorge attack.
- Oral History Interview with David Lee Hill, September 20, 2003
- Interview with David Lee "Tex" Hill of San Antonio, Texas, a veteran from the United States Navy during World War II in the China-Burma-India Theater. The interview includes Hill's personal experiences while in the Navy, including memories of pre-war flight training in Florida, the Flying Tigers, and the Salween River Gorge attack. There is a photograph and a short biography of Hill after the interview transcription.
- Oral History Interview with David Straus, September 17, 2001
- Interview with David Straus of San Antonio, Texas, a veteran from the United States Marine Corps during World War Two in the Pacific Theater as well as the Korean War. The interview includes some of Straus' background before the war and his personal experiences while in the Marines, including memories of Okinawa, various weapons, what happened at the end of World War Two, and his assignment in Korea.
- Oral History Interview with David Straus, September 17, 2001
- Interview with David Straus of San Antonio, Texas, a veteran from the United States Marine Corps during World War Two in the Pacific Theater as well as the Korean War. The interview includes some of Straus' background before the war and his personal experiences while in the Marines, including memories of Okinawa, various weapons, what happened at the end of World War Two, and his assignment in Korea.
- Oral History Interview with E. R. Dolinar, April 5, 2003
- Interview with E.R. (Ed) Dolinar, a serviceman with the U. S. Navy during World War II. He discusses going to boot camp, torpedo school and submarine school. He was on the SSN Stingray as a torpedo crewman that offloaded supplies and guerillas in the Philippines. It picked up stranded Japanese sailors and transported them to Australia. The Stingray was then decomissioned. He was then part of a crew that studied and stripped captured German submarines, and he discusses the differences between the U-boats and the US submarines. He also discusses the Bolomen, Filipino guerillas who fought the Japanese during the occupation. He also talks briefly about his experience of being hit with depth charges and gives his opinions on General MacArthur and President Truman.
- Oral History Interview with Earl Smyth, Jr., October 20, 2003
- Interview with Earl Smyth, Jr., a serviceman during World War II. He discusses his time aboard the USS Saratoga at the Battle of Midway and at Guadalcanal, where the ship sustained two torpedo attacks. He saw Pearl Harbor three days after the attack.
- Oral History Interview with Ed Carseth, August 6, 2003
- Interview with Ed Carseth, a pilot during World War II. He discusses an early interest in aviation and earned his pilot's license through the Civilian Pilot Training program. He spent a year as an instructor before joining the Air Transport Command. Through 1944 he delivered aircraft to Australia before being assigned to Myitkyina, Burma. He speaks of living conditions at Myitkyina. He flew materials over the Himalaya Mountains (the Hump) from Burma to Kunming, China. Carseth relates anectdotes about General Claire Chennault, Lord Louis Mountbatten, and a squadron mate who kept a baboon.
- Oral History Interview with Eddie L. Hornsby, November 8, 1979
- Interview with Eddie Hornsby, a Navy WWII veteran from Coleman County, Texas. Hornsby discusses his experiences aboard the USS San Francisco during the attack on Pearl Harbor, including jobs worked in the 1930s, joining the Navy, boot camp, assignment to the San Francisco, operations aboard the ship and exercises, the morning of the attack, and events of the following night.
- Oral History Interview with Elliott Ross, May 1, 2001
- Interview with Elliott Ross who joined the U.S. Navy during World War II. He discusses being a landing craft coxswain carrying troops and supplies from ships to the shore in seven invasions: Guam, Leyte, Luzon, Santacristo, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and as an occupation force in Japan after the surrender. He talks mostly about Guam, Leyte, Luzon, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan, but also mentions burials at sea and on the beachs, seeing his brother's ship get hit by torpedoes, and the emotional toll of the war.
- Oral History Interview with Ethel Reisberg Schectman, March 24, 2001
- Interview with Ethel Reisberg Schectman regarding her experiences during World War II. She begins by discussing her family background: her parents were Jews born in Poland and emigrated to the United States. Ethel's European aunts, uncles and grandparents all likely died in the Holocaust. As a first grade student, she taught her mother, a Polish immigrant, how to read and write English. She recalls, wartime rationing, Victory Gardens, scrap drives, and antisemitism among her school-aged classmates in Dallas, Texas, and the end of the war.
- Oral History Interview with Ethel Reisberg Schectman, March 24, 2001
- Interview with Ethel Reisburg Schectman of Fort Worth, Texas, who was born in New York City during the Great Depression to Jewish Polish immigrant parents. The interview includes Hill's personal experiences of World War II on the home front, including memories of D-Day, iron metal scrap drives, victory gardens, rationing, V-E and V-J Days, and what it was like being Jewish in Dallas during that time.
- Oral History Interview with Eugene R. Cronin, February 1, 1972
- Interview with Eugene Cronin, a US Army Air Corps WWII veteran and POW from Kansas City, Missouri. Cronin discusses his time as a B-24 crewmember stationed at Cerignola, Italy, the kinds of missions flown, his being shot down over Hungary and captured by the German Army, and his experiences in captivity at Vienna, Frankfurt, and Stalag Luft #1 near Barth in Western Pommerania.
- Oral History Interview with Floyd Mumme, April 12, 2002
- Interview with Floyd Mumme, a medic during World War II. He discusses boot camp, being deployed to Saipan, Japanese trying to steal food, working in the Army Medical Corps, and treating wounds in combat.
- Oral History Interview with Floyd R. Thomas, February 18, 2009
- Interview with Floyd R. Thomas, a serviceman in the U. S. Army during World War II. He discusses his childhood and education at Peacock Military Academy. He then joined the army and spent time in Okinawa during and after the war. He recalls being a surgical technician and working with Japanese civilians after the surrender, meeting his wife, and working for saw mills as a salesman and a pilot. He remembers stealing pineapples on Hawaii and getting diarrhea, being treated for jungle rot, selling old Japanese army blankets to civilians, and shipping silk bolts and sabers back home.
- Oral History Interview with Floyd R. Thomas, February 18, 2009
- Interview with Floyd R. Thomas of El Paso, Texas, who is a veteran of the United States Armed Forces during World War II. In the interview, Mr. Thomas recalls memories from before the war as well as his time in the military, including his training in Oregon and Hawaii, attacks on Okinawa, and various battle scenes.
- Oral History Interview with Garvin Kowalke, January 23, 2001
- Interview with Garvin Kowalke, a pilot during World War II. He discusses joining the Army Air Corps, going to Air Cadet training to become a pilot, and training on various aircraft (AT-17, UC-78, P-36, P-33, T-6, BT-13, B-17, B-29) before becoming a B-29 pilot; he shipped out to Guam and flew standard and fire bombing runs over Japan. He discusses having to ditch the plane on the way back to Guam once when the engines failed, seeing another B-29 crew have to bail out over Toyko Bay and get picked up by a U.S. submarine that was in the Bay, getting pulled down to the fires when they were trying to hide in the smoke to avoid Japanese fighter planes, and getting caught in a storm by Mount Fujiyama, as well as collecting data such wind direction, speed, and temperature over Hiroshima for future bombing runs, which turned out to be for the bombers who dropped the atomic bomb. He also talks about flying over Hiroshima two days after the bombing and gauging how high the radiation levels were at different altitudes. He also talks about being in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, becoming a B-57 pilot, and adopting a baby boy from Germany after the war, then a little girl while he was stationed in Hawaii after the Korean War.
- Oral History Interview with George Burlage, November 18, 1970
- Interview with George Burlage, a Marine WWII veteran and POW from Visalia, California. Burlage was stationed in the Philippines before the war and fought at Corregidor in 1942 before his capture by the Japanese, after which he was interned at Camp Cabanatuan #3 in Central Luzon, Las Pinas airfield near Manila, and Moji, Japan.
- Oral History Interview with George Burns, March 12, 1974
- Interview with George Burns, a postal worker, farmer, U.S. Army WWII veteran (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard), and a member of the "Lost Battalion," about his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Burns talks about the fall of Java and his capture, Bicycle Camp in Batavia (1942), Changi Prison Camp in Singapore (1942), building the Burma-Thailand Death Railway (1942-1944), Kanchanaburi, Thailand (1944), Bangkok, Thailand (1945), and his liberation.
- Oral History Interview with George P. Lawley, November 3, 1973
- Interview with George P. Lawley, an Army WWII veteran and POW from Odessa, Texas. Lawley discusses his time with the so-called "Lost Battalion" on Java and his experiences as a Japanese prisoner-of-war, including: joining the National Guard in 1940 and training, deployment for East Asia with 2nd Battallion, 131st Field Artillery Regiment; diversion to Java at the start of the war; the Japanese attack and his unit's capture; and his experiences in internment and labor at Tanjong Priok in Batavia, Changi Camp in Singapore, Thanbyuzayat and several camps on the Burma Railway, and near Nagasaki.
- Oral History Interview with Gilberto S. Trevino, February 18, 2005
- Interview with Gilberto S. Trevino, a U. S. Marine during World War II. He attended Texas A&M before serving in the Marine Corps. He was in the 28th Replacement Battalion when he was assigned to the 3d Marine Division and deployed to Iwo Jima. He discusses his first impressions of landing on the island. He describes the constructed Japanese defenses on the island and the use of Japanese Nisei interpreters to convince defenders to surrender. He returned to Texas A&M where he was in the Corps of Cadets (ROTC) and accepted his commission in the Army in time to serve in Korea. He eventually earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Texas A&M and a doctorate degree in pathology from Michigan State University. He retired from service in 1976 with the rank of colonel.
- Oral History Interview with Glenn E. McDuffie, January 21, 2008
- Interview with Glenn E. McDuffie, an Armed Guard in the U. S. Navy during World War II. He discusses lying about his age in order to join the navy at 15 and his experience in boot camp. He served as an Armed Guard on merchant ships that transported supplies across the Atlantic and remembers being in London while German bombers flew overhead. He transported German prisoners out of Marseilles and Naples shortly after the liberation of those cities. He remembers going to Times Square upon hearing that the Japanese had surrendered. He claims to have been the sailor in the iconic photo of the sailor kissing the nurse in Times Square on V-J Day. He describes how he proved he was the sailor in the photo, what he did after the war, and how he learned that his brother survived the Bataan Death March.
- Oral History Interview with Glenn G. Morgan, February 17, 2005
- Interview with Glenn G. Morgan, a bugler in the U. S. Navy during World War II. He was a bugler aboard the USS Indianapolis and experienced a kamikaze attack during the Okinawa campaign. He also describes transporting the crate that contained the first atomic bomb to Tinian, the ship's sinking, and the four days and five nights he spent in a life raft waiting to be rescued.