Thinking about UNT?
It's easy to apply online. Join us and discover why we're the choice of over 46,000 students.
Apply nowOral History List
BERRY, Cassandra F. (b. 1961). University of North Texas Associate Vice President for Equity and Diversity
For the Quakertown Oral History Project. Denton resident and UNT employee with personal interest in the history of Denton’s historic all-black Quakertown neighborhood. Career at UNT as Associate Vice President for Equity and Diversity; service to Denton African American Museum, which led to interest in history of Quakertown. Filed Under: City of Denton (TX) History.
Date of Interview: November 29, 2006
BEVILL, Claudia (b. 1944). Braniff International Airways Flight Attendant
Bevill, Claudia: Flight Attendant. The in-flight and ground experiences of Braniff International Airways by Abra Schnur through a collection of former Braniff employee interviews. Interviewees include flight attendants, pilots, ticket agents, ground crew, executives and family members. Content includes personal reflections of Braniff’s impact on the DFW area and the airline industry as a whole with the “End of the Plain Plane” campaign brought in by Harding Lawrence. Discussions on being a part of the Braniff family and Braniff’s rise to the top of preferred airlines to its bankruptcy on May 12, 1982. Filed Under: Airlines.
Date of Interview: May 25, 2013
BIARD, Forrest (b. 1912). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
His experiences as a cryptanalyst during World War II. U.S. Naval Academy, 1930-34. Qualities of a good cryptanalyst; Japanese language training in Tokyo, 1939-40; evacuation from Tokyo, August, 1941; assignment to HYPO, Pearl Harbor; impressions of Commander Joseph Rochefort; comments about Lieutenant Commander Thomas Dyer, Lieutenant Commander Joseph Finnegan, Lieutenant Wesley (“Ham”) Wright, Jasper Holmes; description of “The Dungeon” (Combat Intelligence Office); breaking of JN-25; relations between Rochefort and Fleet Intelligence Officer, Captain Edwin Layton; comments about “Magic” and “Winds Message”; evaluation of intelligence data; relations between HYPO and Office of Naval Intelligence; comments about Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner; Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor; Battle of the Coral Sea and Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher; comments about the Battle of Midway; off-duty activities; Rochefort’s transfer to CAST (Melbourne, Australia), November, 1943; Japanese withdrawal from Rabaul; ambush of Admiral Isoruko Yamamoto’s plane; return to HYPO; interrogation of Japanese POWs; H-bomb test at Eniwetok Atoll, 1952; retirement. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: June 11, 1992
BIBI, Rula Walid (b. 1962).
For the DFW Metroplex Immigrants Oral History Project. Palestinian-born immigrant to Plano, Texas. Family history and childhood in Kuwait City; discrimination of Palestinians in the Middle East; first impressions of U.S.; education at the University of Kuwait and Midwestern State University; family experiences during the First Gulf War and circumstances surrounding her immigration to Texas in 1990; Career in medical technologies; thoughts on religion; experiences as a single mother; experiences living in Wichita Falls, Dallas, Richardson, Garland, and Plano; marriage to an American man and his conversion to Islam; involvement with political organizations; thoughts on American education and foreign policy. Filed Under: Palestinian Immigrant History.
Date of Interview: April 24, 2011
BIERSCHWALE, William (b. 1921). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
His experiences while aboard the battleship USS Maryland during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: August 24, 1974
BIGELOW, Frank H. (b. 1921). survivor of the siege of Corregidor U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
Survivor of the siege of Corregidor. His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Boyhood in North Dakota; various jobs during the Great Depression; enlistment in the Navy, 1939; volunteering for duty in the Philippines and assignment to the submarine tender USS Canopus, 1940; pre-war military life in the Philippines; the Japanese bombing of Cavite Navy Yard and the destruction of the Canopus, December, 1941; retreat to Bataan, January, 1942; retreat to Corregidor; the fall of Corregidor; confinement in the 92nd Garage area; forced march down Dewey Boulevard in Manila; confinement at Cabanatuan, 1942-43; hell ship to Japan, July, 1943; coal mining for Mitsui Heavy Industries, Omuta, Kyushu; amputation of his leg by fellow prisoners after a mining accident, January, 1945; liberation; his description of the destruction in Nagasaki due to the atomic bomb. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: June 13, 2002
BIGGER, B. W. (b. 1922). U.S. Army Air Corps WWII Veteran, 31st Bombardment Squadron
His experiences at Hickam Field with the 31st Bombardment Squadron during the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: December 6, 1980
BILLINGSLEY, Mynila (b. 1903). Navy wife
Navy wife. Her experiences while living at Kaneohe Naval Air Station with her husband, Lieutenant Commander Oliver Billingsley, during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: October 13, 1977
BILLINGSLEY, Tyrel James (b. 1987). U.S. Air Force OIF-era Veteran
For the Tarrant County War Veterans Oral History Project. Operation Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom era veteran. Childhood in Illinois and Dallas, Texas; decision to enlist in Air Force; basic training and tech school; life in the Air Force Reserves; acceptance into ROTC; future plans. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: October 18, 2007
BINION, Jack (b. 1914). Educator
Educator. His experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Childhood near Pilot Grove, Texas; joining the CCC; assignment to Company 857 near Denison, Texas; company move to Karnack, Texas after completion of Loy Lake Dam; company move to Paris, Texas after completion of Caddo Lake State Park; disbandment of company after completion of city park and reassignment to Company 878 in Waxahachie; description of camps; life in camps; post-CCC life. Filed Under: The New Deal.
Date of Interview: August 5, 1998
BISHOP, Rebecca H. (b. 1982). U.S. Marine Corps OIF Veteran
For the Women Veterans Oral History Project. U.S. Marine Corps Captain, Logistics Officer (0402), Naval Academy History Instructor, Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran. Reasons for joining the Marines and attending the Naval Academy; experiences at the Naval Academy as a female cadet; attending basic infantry officer course in Quantico, Virginia; experiences at first duty station in Okinawa, Japan; deployment to Al Asad, Iraq; thoughts on deploying again; attending Army airborne school; experiences as a history instructor at the Naval Academy; thoughts on changes at the Naval Academy, since attending as a student; advice for future officers; thoughts on the military’s impact on life; post-active duty plans; advice for future generations of women in the military; thoughts on the cultural obstacles to the full acceptance of women in the military. Filed Under: U.S. Marine Corps.
Date of Interview: April 4, 2013
BLACK, Evelyn J. (b. 1933). Schoolteacher, Community Activist
Schoolteacher, community activist. Her experiences concerning the activities of the Denton Christian Women’s Inter-Racial Fellowship during the 1960s and 1970s. Early relationships with African-Americans in rural Georgia; decision to join the Fellowship; early meetings; Fellowship’s leaders; street paving in the African-American section of Denton; desegregation of public accommodations; involvement of husbands in Fellowship activities; Fellowship’s demise. Filed Under: City of Denton (TX) History.
Date of Interview: May 10, 1988
BLACK, Evelyn J. (b. 1933). Schoolteacher, Community Activist
For the Denton Women’s Interracial Fellowship Oral History Project. Texas State Fair; childhood; experiences with segregation and discrimination; educational and professional background; Brown v Board decision; importance of education and educators; Denton Women’s Interracial Fellowship; interracial relationships; state of contemporary civil rights and activism; Civil Rights Movement in Texas; Denton desegregation; contemporary discrimination, segregation, and race relations; contemporary politics. Filed Under: .
Date of Interview: April 5, 2017
BLACKWELL, Herschel (b. 1922). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
His experiences at Kaneohe Naval Air Station with VP-14 during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: April 26, 1986
BLAIR, Janet (b. 1918). Red Cross WWII Volunteer Homemaker
Homemaker. Her experiences as a Red Cross volunteer in the European Theater during World War II. Pre-war German language education in Europe; her activities with “Bundles for Britain” in New York City, 1940-41; employment at the San Antonio, Texas, Air Depot, 1942-43; her patriotic motivation; her decision to join the Red Cross, May, 1943; orientation at American University, Washington, DC, 1943; stateside assignments in North Carolina and Virginia; assignment to England, September, 1943; the trans-Atlantic voyage aboard a troopship; her description of wartime conditions in England, 1943-44; her description of the preparation of donuts and coffee for distribution to American troops in England; rationing and air raids in England; her selection as a clubmobiler; the formation of a lifelong friendship with Diana Marvin and Peggy Bell; the use of Greenliners; relationships between Red Cross women and U.S. military personnel; her account of D-Day; her assignment to XII Corps, Rear in France, September, 1944; donut-making in France; relations between Red Cross women and French civilians; leave time in Paris; living conditions in France; her experiences serving troops during the Battle of the Bulge, December, 1944-January, 1945; looting; end of the war and her return to the States. Filed Under: Military History.
Date of Interview: June 25, 2001
BLAIR, Roy D. (b. 1921). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
His experiences while aboard the battleship USS California during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Filed Under: Military History.
Date of Interview: June 6, 1980
BLALOCK, Tom (b. 1918). Survivor of Bataan Death March U.S. Army Air Corps WWII Veteran
Survivor of the Bataan Death March. His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Fall of Bataan and capture; Bataan Death March; Camp O’Donnell, 1942; Bilibid Prison, Manila, 1942; Cabanatuan, 1942-44; hell ship to Japan, 1944; Onomichi, Honshu, 1944-45; liberation. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: March 22, 1971
BLANTON, Burt (b. 1897). Independent business and industry consultant, economic surveyor
Independent business and industry consultant, economic surveyor. Family background; education and early work experience leading to survey business; comments concerning many individual surveys; comments about personal associations with prominent local, state, and national individuals; observations about community attitudes toward industrialization; service in Washington during World War II and comments about federal bureaucracy; views on revival of railroads and other forms of public transportation. Filed Under: survey business.
Date of Interview: April 6, 1978
BLANTON, Jack (b. 1921). Texas House of Representatives Businessman Democrat
Businessman, member of the Texas House of Representatives from Carrollton, Democrat. His experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixty-first Legislature. Personal political philosophy; one-year versus two-year budget; Caveness Plan; social legislation; establishment of University of Texas at Dallas; creation of new four-year colleges; college campus unrest; revenue legislation; beer and liquor lobby; comments about Governor Preston Smith; personal legislation. Filed Under: Texas Political History.
Date of Interview: June 30, 1970
BLANTON, Jack (b. 1921). Texas House of Representatives Businessman Democrat
His experiences and personal views as a member of the Regular and First Special Session of the Sixty-second Legislature. Revenue bills; corporate profits tax; Sharpstown stock-fraud scandal; legislative ethics; “Dirty Thirty”; appropriations; redistricting; personal legislation. Filed Under: Texas Political History.
Date of Interview: June 29, 1971
BLANTON, Jack (b. 1921). Texas House of Representatives Businessman Democrat
His experiences and personal views as a member of the Second, Third, and Fourth Special Sessions of the Sixty-second Legislature. House speakership race; House rules reform; appropriations bill; insurance legislation; comments about Governor Preston Smith. Filed Under: Texas Political History.
Date of Interview: December 6, 1972
BLAZ, Ben (b. 1928). U.S. Marine Corps WWII Veteran
His experiences as a teenager during the Japanese occupation of Guam during World War II. Filed Under: Military History.
Date of Interview: October 8, 1994
BLOCK, Albert B. (b. 1921). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
His experiences aboard the battleship USS West Virginia during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: April 27, 1990
BLOCKER, Carol (b. 1938).
For the Postpartum Depression and Maternal Mental Health Oral History Project. Carol Blocker is an advocate for sufferers of postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. She discusses the life and illness of her daughter Melanie Blocker-Stokes who died by suicide amid postpartum psychosis in 2001, including her interactions with psychiatric professionals. Then Blocker discusses her advocacy work, through her Melanie Blocker-Stokes foundation, her testimony before Congress, and her activism around infanticide cases.
Filed Under: . Date of Interview: October 14, 2022
BLOCKLINGER, James A. (b. 1921). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
His experiences while aboard the heavy minelayer USS Ogallala during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: April 22, 1994