Collections: Browse By Last Name. | Oral History

Collections: Browse By Last Name.

TUPPER, Charles (b. 1942)

Texas House of Representatives. Democrat.

Interview ID: OH 0280

Attorney, member of the Texas House of Representatives from El Paso, Democrat. His experiences and personal views as a member of the Regular and First Special Session of the Sixty-second Texas Legislature. Revenue bills; corporate profits tax; Sharpstown stock-fraud scandal; legislative ethics; “Dirty Thirty”; appropriations; redistricting; personal legislation; comments about Governor Preston Smith.
Date of Interview: 12/08/1971

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TURBEVILLE, Clarence S. (b. 1912)

Bomber Bait Company.

Interview ID: OHB 0054

One of the founders of Bomber Bait Company, Gainesville, Texas. Family background; employment by father selling appliances, butane gas systems, and sporting goods in Gainesville, 1934; sale of butane business, 1944; experimentation with fish baits; partnership with Ike Walker in founding Bomber Bait Company; growth and increase in personnel; sales through manufacturing representatives; sale of company to Van Ellis, 1968; comments on bait production; views on attempt to organize union; development of plant in Mexico; employment of workers in rehabilitation hospital; factors in developing successful business; civic activities; contributions of Ike Walker, Van Ellis, and Mrs. Case in building successful business; views on trends in bait production.
Date of Interview: 17/06/1981

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TURCOTTE, Louis E., Jr. (b. 1926)

Interview ID: OH 0774

Cattle rancher, entrepreneur. His reminiscences and experiences as a long-time rancher and foreman for the Kennedy ranch in South Texas, 1926-88.
Date of Interview: 04/02/1988

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TURKETT, Warren B. (b. 1922)

Interview ID: OH 0934

His experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Childhood in South Carolina; joining the CCC; assignment to Company 1417 near Rodman, South Carolina; company move to Lancaster, South Carolina; description of camps; life in camps.
Date of Interview: 13/10/1993

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TURNER, James G. (b. 1922)

U.S. Marine Corps WWII Veteran. Regimental Headquarters Company. 14th Marine Regiment. 4th Marine Division.

Interview ID: OH 1306

His experiences on Saipan in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Decision to join the Marine Corps, December 7, 1942; boot camp, Parris Island; formation of the 4th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California, 1943; preparations on Maui for the invasion of Saipan; the amphibious landings on Saipan, June 15, 1945; his duties with the Motor Transport Section and Headquarters Company; return to Maui.
Date of Interview: 07/08/1999

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TURNER, Joseph C. (b. 1921)

U.S. Navy WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 0783

His experiences while aboard the destroyer tender USS Dobbin during the Japanese attack at Pearl on December 7, 1941.
Date of Interview: 19/09/1989

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TURNER, Ocie R. (b. 1921)

Interview ID: OH 0977

Pastor. His experiences as a resident of Hamilton Park, Texas, 1954-91. Youth in South-central Texas; Marine Corps experience in World War II; early employment in Dallas; African-American housing problems in Dallas; decision to buy home in Hamilton Park; home improvements; shopping; social activities; church activities; Hamilton Park School; Civic League; zoning problems; recent changes in the community.
Date of Interview: 14/09/1991, 05/12/1991

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TURNER, Tom (b. 1950)

Interview ID: OH 1544

Civil Servant. His experiences while attending the Texas International Pop Festival, Lewisville, Texas, August 30-September 1, 1969. Influence of World War Two on his father’s outlook; clashes with his parents over the Vietnam War; his introduction to the music of the Beatles, 1964; his high school experiences; influence of Jim Morrison and the Doors music; his first use of drugs while in high school; weekends spent hanging out with the hippie culture at Lee Park, Dallas Texas; his two-month sojourn in England after graduation from high school, June-July, 1969; his decision to attend the Texas International Pop Festival; the “free stage” at the festival; skinny-dipping; activities of the Hog Farm; drug use at the festival; crowd behavior; activities on the campgrounds; security inside and outside the festival grounds; his job experiences following the festival.
Date of Interview: 21/02/2004

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TYLER, Desmond R. (b. 1908) and Rose G. (b. 1916)

U.S. Army WWII Veteran. Quartermaster Corps.

Interview ID: OH 1318

Veteran and his wife. Their experiences with German prisoners-of-war while stationed at Fort Francis E. Warren, Wyoming, during World War II. Their courtship and marriage, 1942; Camp Callan, California, 1942-43; birth of their first child, August 2, 1943; Camp Davis, North Carolina, 1943-44; assignment to Fort Francis E. Warren, 1944; wartime rationing and housing shortages; his job as head of the Training Aids Branch and the use of POW labor; Nazi activities inside the POW compound; use of POW labor as household domestic help; POW living conditions; recreational and social activities for the base personnel; birth of their second child, February 11, 1946; his discharge from the Army, June, 1946.
Date of Interview: 09/06/1999

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TYSON, J. D. (b. 1903)

Singer Sewing Company.

Interview ID: OH 0064

Former representative of the Singer Sewing Machine Company in Baguio, Luzon, Philippine Islands; speech therapist at Texas Woman's University. The experiences of him and his family while civilian internees of the Japanese during World War II. Japanese arrival in Baguio; incarceration at Camp John Hay, 1942; Camp Holmes, 1942-44; Bilibid Prison, Manila, 1944-45; liberation.
Date of Interview: 05/12/1970, 23/01/1971, 06/02/1971

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ULATOWSKA, Hanna K. (b. 1933)

Interview ID: OH 0859

College professor, Holocaust survivor. Her experiences as a non-Jewish survivor of the Holocaust. Family background; German conquest of Poland, 1939; life under German occupation; Warsaw Uprising, 1944; deportation to Auschwitz-Birkenau; life in the concentration camp; escape from Auschwitz-Birkenau; postwar life in Poland under Russian occupation and communist government; emigration to United States; lasting effects of Holocaust experience.
Date of Interview: 16/02/1990

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UREY, Harry B., Jr. (b. 1923)

U.S. Army Air Forces WWII Veteran. 454th Bomb Squadron. 323rd Bomb Group. 9th Air Force.

Interview ID: OH 1339

Mechanical engineer. His experiences as a B-26 pilot in the European Theater during World War II. His pre-service work experiences assembling the B-26 for the Glenn L. Martin Company in Baltimore, Maryland; flying characteristics of the B-26; basic training, Miami Beach, Florida, 1942; enlistment in the Aviation Cadet Program; primary flight training, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 1943; basic flight training, Independence, Kansas, 1943-44; advanced flight training, Pampa, Texas, 1944; B-26 training, Dodge City, Kansas, 1944; formation of his crew, Barksdale Army Air Field, Shreveport, Louisiana, 1944-45; assignment to the 454th Bomb Squadron at Valenciennes, France, 1945; his first mission, March 24, 1945; German flak; his encounter with Me-262 fighter jets on April 4, 1945; postwar career.
Date of Interview: 14/10/1999

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UTTAL, Jordan R. (b. 1915)

U.S. Army Air Forces WWII Veteran. 2nd Air Division Headquarters. 8th Air Force.

Interview ID: OH 1330

Business executive. His experiences as a statistics control officer in the European Theater during World War II. Pre-war education and business experience in the dairy industry; entry into the Army, December 29, 1941; Air Forces Administrative Officer Candidate School, 1942; training as a statistical control officer at Harvard Business School under Robert McNamara, 1942-43; application of business methods to Air Force operations; assignment to the 14th Bomb Wing, MacDill Field, Florida, 1943; description of the functions of a statistical control officer; assignment to the Statistical Control Section, 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force, 1943; temporary transfer to the Photo-Analysis Section, 2nd Air Division; his courtship and marriage to Joyce Christie King on December 29, 1944; influence of his wartime experiences on his postwar business career.
Date of Interview: 27/09/1999

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VAESSEN, John (b. 1916)

U.S. Navy WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 0587

His experiences while trapped inside the overturned target battleship USS Utah during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date of Interview: 05/12/1982

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VALENTA, Marcus (b. 1905)

U.S. Army WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 0416

Catholic chaplain. His experiences at the post chapel at Schofield Barracks during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date of Interview: 20/04/1978

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VALENTINE, Jeffrey (b. 1975)

Interview ID: OH 1617

For the Arms Along the Border Oral History Project. Instructor for Outward Bound wilderness program in Redford, Texas. Experiences growing up in Midwest; love of outdoors; career in Peace Corps; interactions with people of Redford; opinions regarding shooting of Esequiel Hernandez, Jr., and activities of U.S. Border Patrol.
Date of Interview: 29/10/2006

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VAN NOSTRAND, Stephen E. (b. 1918)

Caltex Petroleum Corporation.

Interview ID: OH 0702

Former executive, Caltex Petroleum Corporation. Service during World War II; initial employment with Caltex (China); aviation representative, South China; Chinese Revolution, 1949; manager, Caltex Okinawan operation, 1957-59; relationswith military government on Okinawa; formation of Ryuku Oil Corporation; head of marketing, Caltex (Japan), 1960; president, Caltex (Japan), 1964; joint ventures with Nippon Oil Company and Koa Oil Company; increasing refining capacity from 60,000 bbls. to 900,000 bbls. per day; crude oil contracts; Nippon Petroleum Refining Company; refinery rehabilitation and construction; Shun Nomura, his role in Caltex operations in Japan; Caltex relations with MITI; Nippon Oil Staging Terminal Company; relations between Caltex (Japan) and New York headquarters; OPEC and its effects upon Caltex (Japan); character sketches of Neal Lilley, Alec Singleton, and James Voss (former chairmen of the board, Caltex); comments about various Japanese oil executives.
Date of Interview: 20/04/1987

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VARNELL, Lawrence (b. 1922)

U.S. Navy WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 0717

His experiences while aboard the battleship USS Maryland during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date of Interview: 12/11/1987

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VEGA, Paola (b. 1991)

Interview ID: OH 2011

For the DFW Metroplex Immigration Oral History Project. High school teacher. Her experiences immigrating from Mexico to Carrollton, Texas in the 1990s at the age of three; her parents’ immigration experience; being a Mexican immigrant student in American public schools; learning English; ESL and Bilingual programs; stigma associated with being an immigrant and Spanish-speaking student; her parents’ work experiences in the U.S.; realities of being an illegal immigrant; the citizenship process; challenges of being a Mexican immigrant during college; treatment and perceptions of Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants; feeling ostracized and isolated from peers and colleagues; how experiences influence her approach to teaching; discrimination in education system; cultural ties to Mexico; identity crisis experienced by immigrants; Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)/Dreamer program; experiencing poverty, oppression, insecurity due to immigrant status.
Date of Interview: 27/02/2021

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VELA, Dr. Gerard Roland (b. 1927)

Interview ID: OH 1628

UNT Professor Emeritus of Microbiology. Family history; childhood and early education in Crystal City and San Antonio, Texas; service in World War II-era U.S. Navy; undergraduate education at San Antonio College and University of Texas-Austin; love of chemistry, genetics, and microbiology; graduate education at UT-Austin; fellowship at Harvard University; decision to join North Texas faculty in 1965; growing pains involved with transitioning North Texas into a research university; construction of research program; relationship with students; involvement in Faculty Senate with emphasis on increasing faculty governance; service on Denton City Council.
Date of Interview: 21/07/2004

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VENABLE, James C. (b. 1921)

U.S. Marine Corps WWII Veteran. E Battery. 1st Defense Battalion.

Interview ID: OH 0073

Security administrator. His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Fall of Wake Island and capture, 1942; Wusong Prison Camp, Shanghai, 1942; Kiangwang Prison Camp, 1942-45; Pusan, Korea, 1945; coal mining at Hakodate, Hokkaido, 1945; liberation.
Date of Interview: 13/04/1971

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VINADO, Daniel (b. 1959)

Interview ID: OH 1690

For the DFW Metroplex Immigrants Oral History Project. Venezuela-born immigrant to suburban Lewisville, Texas. Family history; parent's immigration from Spain to Venezuela; childhood and education in Caracas, including Simon Bolivar University; career with Schlumberger oil services company and as an industrial business owner; marriage; election of Hugo Chavez; decision to open a small business; importance of family; efforts to integrate self into local business community.
Date of Interview: 05/10/2009

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VINCENT, Richard (b. 1924)

Interview ID: OH 1615

Founding pastor of Metropolitan Church of Christ of Dallas. Family religious history; childhood in Missouri; creation of Circle of Friends congregation and Metropolitan Community Church in Dallas, and Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches denomination; prison ministry; challenges of establishing a Christian church in Dallas with a special outreach to the gay community; political activism.
Date of Interview: 14/03/2006

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VISAGE, William A. (b. 1922)

U.S. Army WWII Veteran. 2nd Battalion. 131st Field Artillery. Texas National Guard.

Interview ID: OH 0698

Accountant, former member of the "Lost Battalion." His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Fall of Java and capture; Surabaja, Java, 1942; Changi Prison Camp, Singapore, 1942; hell ship to Japan, 1942; Nagasaki shipyards, 1942-45; Orio, Kyushu; liberation; observations of Nagasaki after dropping of the A-bomb.
Date of Interview: 15/07/1987, 16/07/1987

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VIVIAN, Joseph (b. 1911)

Interview ID: OH 1006

His experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Childhood in Central Texas; joining the CCC; assignment to Company 1803 at F-4-T near Ratcliff, Texas; description of camp; life in camp.
Date of Interview: 17/02/1994

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VO, David (b. 1970)

Interview ID: OH 2072

For DFW Immigration Oral History Project. Vietnamese immigrant. Childhood in wartime and immediate post-war Vietnam; Communist persecution and flight from the country; Vietnamese boat people; experiences in refugee camps in Japan and the Philippines; immigration to the United States and subsequent challenges; careers with Ryobi and Bosch; move from California to Oklahoma; importance of family; thoughts on contemporary Vietnamese immigrants.
Date of Interview: 05/03/2023

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VOERTMAN, Paul (b. 1929)

Voertman's Bookstore.

Interview ID: OHB 0013

President, Voertman’s Book Store, Denton, Texas. Founding of Voertman’s by his father; early years of store; Depression; opening of store near Texas Woman’s University; effects of North Texas State University opening its own bookstore; education; early work experience; growth in merchandise lines; problems of book business.
Date of Interview: 24/06/1977

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VOGEL, Donald Stanley (b. ca. 1920)

Interview ID: OH 1493

Artist, art dealer. His recollections concerning painter Perry Nichols. His early years as a painter after coming to Dallas from Chicago, 1942; comments about the “Dallas Nine”; building a clientele for his paintings; his relationship with John Rosenfield, the arts and music critic for the Dallas Morning News; his business partnership with Betty McLean in the Betty McLean Art Gallery, 1951-54; his criticism of Nichols’s work habits; comments about Nichols’s personal life; his role in Nichols’s mural painted for the Belo Corporation; his critique of the Belo mural; the importance of self-discipline to the successful artist.
Date of Interview: 12/02/2003

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VOGEL, Fred (b. 1912)

U.S. Army WWII Veteran. 136th Infantry Regiment. 33rd Infantry Division.

Interview ID: OH 1423

Attorney. His experiences in the Southwest Pacific Theater during World War II. His educational background; law school at Drake University and marriage; his pre-war law practice; enlistment in the Army, January, 1942; basic training, Camp Robinson, Arkansas, 1942; Officer Candidate School, Camp Robinson and Fort Benning, Georgia, 1942-43; various assignments at other military installations, 1943-44; transfer to the 136th Infantry Regiment and assignment to the Southwest Pacific Theater, 1944; various administrative assignments on New Guinea; invasion of Morotai, 1944; his work as an S-2 officer with PT boats; Philippine operations and his duties as a staff officer, 1945; occupation duty in Japan, 1945.
Date of Interview: 13/06/2001

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VOGT, John (b. 1947)

Interview ID: OH 1051

Physician. His experiences concerning the Kaiser Permanente-Prudential Insurance Company joint venture in providing health care.
Date of Interview: 24/02/1995

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VOHS, James A. (b. 1928)

Interview ID: OH 1050

Businessman. His experiences concerning the Kaiser Permanente-Prudential Insurance Company joint venture in providing health care.
Date of Interview: 14/03/1995

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VOSS, James (b. 1916)

Caltex Petroleum Corporation.

Interview ID: OH 0680

Former chairman of the board and chief executive officer, Caltex Petroleum Corporation. Education; military service in China during World War II; employment with Caltex, 1946; assignment to Shanghai as legal officer; land titles and property claims in China; postwar marketing strategies in the Far East; competition from Shell and Standard Vacuum; formation of Caltex, his version; Chinese inflation; fall of the Kuomintang, 1949; postwar movement of crude oil, its significance; hostage of radical students at National Chaotung University; character sketches of Phil Lefevre, J. M. Hansen, Hans Bieling, and George Rockholtz; evolution of fuel oil as under boiler fuel; purchase of T-2 tankers, their significance; Caltex hostages in Red China; development of the Japanese and Okinawan markets by Caltex; Nippon Oil company and Koa, joint ventures; Tokyo Tanker Company; Shun Nomura, his significance; joint ventures in refineries in Japan; Nippon Petroleum Refining Company; Indonesia and the Minas field; development of the Korean market; Lucky Chemical and Goldstar, joint ventures; Yosu refinery; development of the Okinawan market; military fuel oil contracts; development of the Filipino market; Batangas refinery; development of the Australian market; ALOR, Ampol, Sleigh; Kurnell refinery; financing refinery expansion; purchase by Caltex of Texaco’s European and North African operations, 1947; Bahrain and Bapco during the immediate postwar period; formation of ARAMCO; reorganization into Caltex East, Caltex West, Caltex Services Company; assignment to New York, 1961; European operations; spin-off of European operations to Texaco and Socal, 1967; comments about Alec Singleton, Neal Lilley; evolving relationship between Caltex (New York) and its subsidiaries; OPEC and its effects on Caltex; his policies and style as president and chairman of the board; expropriation and nationalization; reentry of Caltex into People’s Republic of China; evolution of Caltex operations in South Africa; transfer of Caltex headquarters from New York to Dallas; review of significant trends and influences in Caltex operations; pricing policies; changes in Caltex relations with Japan; evolving relationship between Caltex and parent companies (Texaco and Socal).
Date of Interview: 09/01/1986, 04/04/1986, 20/06/1986

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VRACIU, Alex (b. 1918)

U.S. Navy WWII Veteran. VF-3 and Fighter Squadron 16.

Interview ID: OH 1037

His experiences as a naval aviator in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Assignment to VF-3 as wingman for "Butch" O'Hare; assignment to the carrier Essex; Wake Island raids, 1943; becoming an Ace at Kwajalein, 1944; Truk raid, 1944; assignment to Fighter Squadron 16 on the carrier Lexington; second Truk raid, 1944; "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot," 1944; raids on Clark Field, Philippines; shot down on Luzon and subsequent operations with Filipino guerrillas.
Date of Interview: 09/10/1994

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WADSWORTH, Chip (b. 1949)

Interview ID: OH 1857

For the American History: Voluntary Simplicity Oral History Project. Homesteader and simple life advocate. Childhood; early experiences with the outdoors; discovering the Nearings and the Simple Life; decision to homestead in Maine; memories of the Nearings and the Good Life Center.
Date of Interview: 01/08/2015

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WALDRON, Russell (b. 1910)

U.S. Army Air Forces WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 0523

His experiences with the 31st Bomb Squadron at Hickam Field during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date of Interview: 07/12/1980

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WALKER, Ike (b. 1905)

Bomber Bait Company.

Interview ID: OHB 0065

One of the founders of Bomber Bait Company, Gainesville, Texas. Family background; farming during Depression in Olton, Texas; employment as a gasoline retailer in Olton and tire repair operator in Gainesville; interest in designing fish baits; development of Bomber Bait Company with Clarence Turbeville; problems obtaining supplies at end of World War II; designing hard baits; expansion of market; sale of company; views on success of Bomber Bait and failures of other bait companies.
Date of Interview: 16/09/1981

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WALKER, Joel (b. 1908)

Interview ID: OH 0094

Banker. His experiences as an employee of the Dallas regional office of the Home Owners Loan Corporation during the New Deal. Mortgage buying; loan amortization; insurance; home improvements; accounting procedures; politics and patronage; taxes and appraising; foreclosures; loan servicing.
Date of Interview: 11/11/1971

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WALL, Willard (b. 1918)

U.S. Army WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 0379

His experiences with the 1st Separate Chemical Battalion at Schofield Barracks during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date of Interview: 11/07/1977

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WALLACE, Barton B., Jr. (b. 1925)

U.S. Army WWII Veteran. Quartermaster Corps Graves Registration Service-China Zone.

Interview ID: OH 1513

His experiences with Recovery Team No. 4 in the recovery of the remains of American military personnel in China, 1945-46. Texas A&M College, 1943-45; being drafted into the Army and basic training at Camp Wolters, Mineral Wells, Texas, 1945; Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Georgia, 1945; preparations for the invasion of Japan; reaction to the dropping of the atomic bombs; volunteering for overseas duty; assignment to Shanghai with the Graves Registration Service, January, 1946; activities as a search-and-recovery officer around Shanghai; duties and personnel of search-and-recovery teams; relationships with Chinese personnel and civilians; comments about the politics and economy of postwar China; reassignment to Graves Registration sub-headquarters as officer in charge of Team No. 4 in Kunming, July, 1946; the journey from Shanghai to Kunming; search-and-recovery activities around Kunming; his description of driving on the Burma Road; separation from the service, January, 1947.
Date of Interview: 19/09/2003

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WALLER, George E. (b. 1919)

U.S. Navy WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 0455

His experiences while aboard the battleship USS Maryland during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date of Interview: 05/08/1978

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WANG, Chunxiao (b. 1968)

Interview ID: OH 1711

For the DFW Metroplex Immigrants Oral History Project. Chinese-born immigrant to Denton, Texas. Childhood in Sichuan Province; family life; marriage; decision to give up high-powered, well-paying job to immigrate to U.S.; difficulties of immigration process; life in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois; relocation to Denton; perceptions of American culture; learning English; return to school to study accounting; family’s acculturation.
Date of Interview: 09/12/2009

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WARDEN, B. F., Jr. (b. 1895)

B. F. Warden Grocery Store.

Interview ID: OHB 0086

Owner and operator, B. F. Warden Grocery Store, Bertram, Texas. Family background; work on family farm in Bertram; educational experiences in Bertram schools; employment as a teller in A. B. McGill’s bank and D. C. Reed’s bank, Bertram;comments concerning D. C. Reed’s business activities; employment as cashier with Briggs State Bank, Burnet County; explanation of charging exchange on checks; entry into grocery business, Marble Falls, 1924; description of store inventory; move of business to Bertram, 1925; effects of addition of refrigeration, 1926; comments on construction of new store, 1935; effects of Depression in Bertram; prices of grocery items during World War II; comments on cash versus credit business; demise of grocery wholesalers in Austin; computerization of business, 1975; comments on business competitors; civic activities.
Date of Interview: 14/03/1984

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WARNER, Alton (b. 1918)

U.S. Navy WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 0614

His experiences while aboard the destroyer USS Worden during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date of Interview: 22/10/1983

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WARREN, Steve P. (b. 1921)

U.S. Navy WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 0573

His experiences while aboard the converted yacht USS Elvida during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date of Interview: 16/05/1982

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WASHINGTON, Craig A. (b. 1941)

Texas Legislature. Democrat.

Interview ID: OH 0294

Attorney, member of the Texas Legislature from Houston, Democrat. His experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixty-fourth Legislature. Decision to enter politics; personal political philosophy; House speakership race; committee appointments; criminal Jurisprudence Committee; rape reform bill; personal legislation; public school financing; public utilities legislation; constitutional revision.
Date of Interview: 18/07/1975

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WATSON, Ruby (b. 1928) and Streetman (b. 1926)

Interview ID: OH 0825

Their experiences as residents of Hamilton Park, Texas, 1956-90. Early years in East Texas; African-American housing in Dallas; decision to buy a home in Hamilton Park; transportation problems; social life; school activities; Hamilton Park Civic League; church activities, desegregation of the Hamilton Park School; Christian Action Layman’s League; Pacesetter; zoning problems; flooding problems; crime; the “Buy Out.”
Date of Interview: 14/03/1990, 16/03/1990

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WAY, Bob (b. 1937)

Interview ID: OH 0654

College instructor. His experiences as a member of the football team during the desegregation of athletics at North Texas State College, 1956.
Date of Interview: 13/12/1984

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WAYBOURN, William (b. 1947)

Interview ID: OH 1808

For the Dallas LGBT Oral History Project. Businessman and pioneering Dallas LGBT activist. Childhood in West Texas; journalism career; coming out; Resource Center of Dallas; Dallas gay community; Dallas Gay Political Caucus; Crossroads Market and the “gayborhood;” gay rights activism; 1979 March on Washington; Dallas Gay Alliance and off-shoot organizations; Dallas Gay Alliance name change to Dallas Gay & Lesbian Alliance; Texas Penal Code 21.06 (“homosexual conduct”); AIDS epidemic; move to Washington D.C.; continued activism and philanthropic work; Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund; current LGBT movement.
Date of Interview: 22/05/2013

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WEBB, David A. (b. 1917)

Interview ID: OH 0850

Librarian, former director of libraries at North Texas State University. His experiences concerning the development of the libraries and the Department of Library Services at North Texas State University, 1953-78.
Date of Interview: 15/05/1991

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Interview ID: OH 1044

Librarian. His experiences as Director of Libraries, Director of Library Service, and Professor of Library Service at North Texas State College and North Texas State University, 1953-82.
Date of Interview: 19/12/1991

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WEBB, Leonard (b. 1920)

U.S. Navy WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 0773

His experiences at Staff Headquarters, 14th Naval District, Honolulu, Hawaii, during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date of Interview: 16/09/1988

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WEBB, Wade (b. 1919)

U.S. Army WWII Veteran. 2nd Battalion. 131st Field Artillery. Texas National Guard.

Interview ID: OH 1181

Member of the "Lost Battalion." His experiences as a prisoner-of- war of the Japanese during World War II. Fall of Java and capture; Bicycle Camp, Batavia, 1942; Changi Prison Camp, Singapore, 1942; building the Burma-Thailand Death Railway, 1942-44; Kanchanaburi, Thailand, 1944-45; liberation.
Date of Interview: 07/02/1997

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WEBER, Lee (b. 1919)

U.S. Marine Corps WWII Veteran. F Company. 2nd Battalion. 8th Marine Regiment. 2nd Marine Division.

Interview ID: OH 1315

Businessman. His experiences at Guadalcanal and Tarawa in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Prewar work experience with the United Fruit Company in Honduras; decision to join the Marine Corps Reserve, 1939, and assignment to a machine gun company in the 15th Battalion; call to active duty, October, 1940, and assignment to H Company at San Diego; his work as H Company armorer; posting to American Samoa, 1942; living conditions on Samoa; his promotion from the enlisted ranks to second lieutenant and assignment to E Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines; Guadalcanal Campaign, 1942-43; living conditions on Guadalcanal; personal attitudes toward the Japanese; rest and recuperation in New Zealand; forming of the 2nd Marine Division in New Zealand, 1943; his transfer to F Company, 8th Marines; his comments about and personal relationship with then Major Henry P. ("Jim") Crowe, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines; the Tarawa Campaign, 1943; the assault on Tarawa at "Red Beach 2"; his battle wound and evacuation.
Date of Interview: 23/09/1999

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WEDDINGTON, Sarah (b. 1945)

Texas Legislature. Democrat.

Interview ID: OH 0303

Attorney, member of the Texas Legislature from Austin, Democrat. Her experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixty-fourth Legislature. Decision to enter politics; personal political philosophy; House speakership race; committee appointments; constitutional revision; Equal Rights Amendment; public school financing; public utilities legislation; personal legislation; comments about Governor Dolph Briscoe.
Date of Interview: 08/07/1973

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Interview ID: OH 0403

Attorney, member of the Texas Legislature from Austin, Democrat. Her experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixty-fifth Legislature. Budget surplus; highway appropriations; public school financing; Peveto Bill and property taxation; personal legislation.
Date of Interview: 11/07/1977

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WEEKS, Betty Jo (b. 1934)

Interview ID: OH 1595

For the Eastland County African American Women Oral History Project. Longtime resident of Cisco, Texas. Memories of childhood in the Humble Town community of Cisco; experience in all-black public schools; marriage to Robby Jones and decision to move to California and experiences there; decision to move back to Cisco following an earthquake; divorce from Jones and marriage to Oscar Weeks, owner of a popular barbecue restaurant; career as a factory worker, beautician, nurse’s aide, and physical therapist’s assistant; social life among blacks in Cisco; experiences with racial discrimination.
Date of Interview: 20/10/2006

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WEGER, Laura Nevada (b. 1979)

U.S. Navy OIF Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 1763

For the Women Veterans Oral History Project. U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class, Cryptologic Technician, Technical, Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran. Childhood moving around the United States; family history of military service; reasons for joining the Navy; reaction of family to enlistment; training as a cryptological technician; first duty station at Whidbey Island, Washington; lack of women in unit; rate of pregnancy among unit; sexual assault in the Navy; being a sexual assault victim advocate at SPAWAR, Chantilly, Virginia; deployments aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson; thoughts on integrated barracks; Shellback Ceremony and hazing; thoughts on women on submarine duty; thoughts on lifting of combat exclusion ban on women; separation from active duty; thoughts on Naval medical system; activity in veterans groups; civilian reaction to service; reflections on military service; second duty station at SPAWAR, Chantilly, Virginia; thoughts on working at a joint command; thoughts on grandmother’s service in the Women’s Army Corp during the Korean War; advice for future female service members.
Date of Interview: 31/03/2013

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WEHNER, Robert J. (b. 1941)

U.S. Army Vietnam Veteran. Nurse Corps.

Interview ID: OH 0940

His experiences as an Army nurse in Vietnam, 1968-70. Assignment to 22nd Surgical Medical Battalion, Chu Lai; treatment of battle casualties and illnesses; camp life; treatment of civilian casualties and illnesses; lasting effects of Vietnam experience.
Date of Interview: 22/08/1992

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WEHRELL, William "Jake" (b. 1935)

U.S. Marine Corps Veteran; Air America Pilot.

Interview ID: OH 2020

For the Air America Oral History Project. Marine Corps veteran and Air America pilot. Childhood and education in New Jersey and Central College; decision to enlist in the Marine Corps during the Korean War; experiences while stationed at El Toro, California, Japan, Cherry Point, NC, Parris Island, SC, and Beaufort, SC, and aboard an aircraft carrier; decision to join Air America; experiences while stationed in Taiwan, Bangkok, Saigon, and Phnom Penh; opinions on the Vietnam War and Air America’s role in it.
Date of Interview: 23/04/2013

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WEINBERG, Robert (b. 1922)

U.S. Army Air Forces WWII Veteran. 776th Bomb Squadron. 464th Bomb Group. 15th Air Force.

Interview ID: OH 1402

His experiences as a B-24 navigator; also his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Germans in the European Theater during World War II. Enlistment in the Aviation Cadet Program, 1942; Cadet Classification Center, San Antonio, Texas, 1943; basic training, Lackland Field, San Antonio, 1943; pre-flight training, Ellington Field, Houston, Texas, 1943; navigation school, Hondo Army Air Field, Hondo, Texas, 1943; crew assignment and bomber transition training, Pocatello, Idaho, 1943; assignment to the 464th Bomb Group at Gioia del Colle, Italy, 1944; transfer to Patanella, Italy, June 1, 1944; mission to Wiener Neustadt, Austria, May 10, 1944; comments about the Tuskegee Airmen (99th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group); mission to the Pardubice, Czechoslovakia, synthetic oil facility and the downing of his plane, August 24, 1944; his capture by the Hitler Youth; initial incarceration in Czechoslovakia; harassment by German civilians; interrogations at Oberursel, Germany;Stalag Luft III, Labor Day, 1944; prison camp routine; forced march and train trip to Stalag Luft VII-A, Moosburg, Germany, January 27-February 12, 1945; living conditions at Stalag Luft VII-A; excerpts from his prison camp diary; liberation, April 25, 1945.
Date of Interview: 14/06/2000

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WELHAUSEN, Philip. (b. ca. 1900)

Tex-Tan Western Leather Company.

Interview ID: OHB 0041

President, Tex-Tan Western Leather Company, Yoakum, Texas. Father’s development of leather tanning business in Yoakum; line of leather products; comments on effects of Depression and World War II on business; tanning processes; saddletree production; sale of business assets, 1956; merger with Tandy Corporation; saddle promotions; expansion into Canada and Mexico; experiences with labor unions in Yoakum; views on pay systems, motivation, and piece work; development of Western Sales stores; retirement.
Date of Interview: 14/05/1980

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WELLS, Thelma (b. 1941)

Interview ID: OH 0903

Schoolteacher, secretary. Her experiences as a resident of Hamilton Park, Texas, 1963-79. Education; decision to buy home in Hamilton Park; substitute teaching at Hamilton Park School; church activities; desegregation and closing of Hamilton Park High School; Pacesetter; Interorganizational Council; president of Civic League; traffic access problems; flooding problems; deed restrictions; zoning controversies; decision to move out of Hamilton Park.
Date of Interview: 19/10/1990, 27/12/1990

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WENDELL, Jan (b. 1932)

Interview ID: OH 101

Schoolteacher, homemaker. Her observations concerning the cultural development of Aransas County, Texas, 1967-71. Rockport Art Association; impact of art on Aransas County; prominent local artists; art buyers.
Date of Interview: 02/10/1971

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WENDELL, John D. (b. ca. 1925)

Interview ID: OH 0121

Attorney, county judge. His observations on the development of the Coastal Bend area of South Texas, 1950-70. Operations of county government; the construction of a new courthouse for Aransas County; economy of Aransas County; boundary disputes between Aransas and Nueces Counties; Gulf Intracoastal Waterway; Aransas county Navigation District; controversy over school and county tax revaluation in the early 1950s; views on conservation; Conservation Reclamation District; private subdividing of property; Aransas County Airport.
Date of Interview: 01/10/1971

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WENRICH, Wesley (b. 1932)

Interview ID: OH 1271

Professor. His experiences at the University of North Texas while building a clinical psychology program. Recruitment by the University; development of the Behavioral Medicine Program; comments on the incorporation of behavioral medicine into clinical psychology; comments on the future of behavioral medicine.
Date of Interview: 28/07/1998

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WENTRCEK, Dan (b. 1922)

U.S. Navy WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 0353

Painter. His experiences while aboard the battleship USS Nevada during the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date of Interview: 14/12/1976

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WENTWORTH, Gerald E. (b. 1918)

U.S. Navy WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 0760

His experiences while aboard the battleship USS Tennessee during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date of Interview: 12/02/1989

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WEST, David (b. 1950)

Interview ID: OH 1542

Businessman. His experiences while attending the Texas International Pop Festival, Lewisville, Texas, August 30-September 1, 1969. His parents’ reactions to the cultural changes of the Sixties; his opposition to the Vietnam War, 1968-69; his high school experiences in the mid-Sixties; influences of the Beatles on his musical tastes; his college experiences at Texas A & I university, Kingsville, Texas, 1968-1971; his decision to attend the Texas International Pop Festival; drug use at the festival; his experience with psilocybin at the festival; the activities of the Hog Farm at the festival; comments about the festival performances of the Grand Funk Railroad, Led Zeppelin, Chicago Transit Authority, Santana, Rotary Connection, and Sweetwater; dropping out of college and being drafted into the Army, October, 1971; service in Vietnam as a truck driver; his return to civilian life in 1973 and graduation from Texas A & I, 1977.
Date of Interview: 04/02/2004

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WEST, Rev. Carol (b. 1949)

Interview ID: OH 1658

Pastor of Celebration Community Church in Fort Worth. Childhood in Greenville and Irving, Tex.; early years in a Unitarian Church congregation; education at NTSC and Texas Christian University; career as a public school English teacher; experience of “coming out” to self, friends, and family; experience as a member of MCC Fort Worth; decision to enter ministry; training in suicide prevention, trauma debriefing, and hostage negotiation; ordination at MCC Dallas; political activism during AIDS crisis, particularly at Parkland Hospital; work as associate pastor and AIDS chaplain at MCC Dallas; work with AIDS Outreach Center of Fort Worth and AIDS Interfaith Network of Dallas; receiving “call” to pastor Celebration Community Church; demographics of congregation.
Date of Interview: 29/05/2008

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WESTERN, Weldon (b. 1914)

U.S. Army WWII Veteran. 2nd Battalion. 131st Field Artillery. Texas National Guard.

Interview ID: OH 0692

His experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression.
Date of Interview: 18/02/1987

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Interview ID: OH 0693

Member of the "Lost Battalion." His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Fall of Java and capture; Bicycle Camp, 1942; Changi Prison Camp, Singapore, 1942; building the Burma- Thailand Death Railway, 1942-44; Kanchanaburi, Thailand, 1944; Saigon, French Indo-China, 1944-45, and American air raids; liberation.
Date of Interview: 16/02/1987

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WHEELER, Raymond (b. 1913)

McClurkan Properties. Industrial Credit Corporation.

Interview ID: OHB 0020

Manager, McClurkan Properties; manager, Industrial Credit Corporation; owner and operator of insurance company, Denton, Texas. Family background; education; credit manager for wholesale grocery; organizing personal (merchant endorsed) loan company, 1938, and its growth, problems, strengths; McClurkan Properties; views on local ownership vs. chain ownership; views concerning community growth; establishment and operation of insurance agency; sale of McClurkan Properties; sale of his own business; desegregation of Denton public schools during his presidency of school board; reasons for his business success.
Date of Interview: 01/06/1978

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WHITAKER, Dr. Leroy (b. 1929)

Interview ID: OH 1235

Attorney, chemist. His experiences as an undergraduate and master's student in the Chemistry Department at North Texas State College, 1948-52 Influence of Professor Dewey Mark as his chemistry teacher at Paris (Texas) Junior College; influence of Professor Price Truitt of North Texas State College on his decision to pursue the PhD in organic chemistry at the University of Illinois; employment with the Shell Chemical Company and later with the Jefferson Chemical Company; decision to enter law school at the University of Houston; employment with Eli Lilly as a patent attorney, 1967-93; comments about various fellow students at North Texas who went on to successful careers in science.
Date of Interview: 14/04/1998

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WHITE, Andrew (b. 1944)

Interview ID: OH 0683

Business executive, president of the local chapter of the NAACP in Sherman, Texas. His comments concerning race relations and the development of African American businesses in Sherman, Texas, during the 1980s.
Date of Interview: 24/09/1986

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WHITE, Eugene (b. 1950)

Braniff International Airways.

Interview ID: OH 1968

Flight Attendant to National Recruiter and Recurrent flight attendant trainer. 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.
Date of Interview: 26/05/2013

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WHITE, Jack J. (b. 1921)

U.S. Navy WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 0301

University purchasing agent. His experiences while aboard the cruiser USS New Orleans during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date of Interview: 03/06/1976

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WHITE, James F. (b. 1932)

Interview ID: OH 0607

Theologian, environmentalist. His experiences as leader of the COST group, which opposed the building of the Trinity Barge Canal; general views on water use and planning.
Date of Interview: 10/11/1977

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WHITE, Roger (b. 1919)

U.S. Army WWII Veteran. 2nd Battalion. 131st Field Artillery. Texas National Guard.

Interview ID: OH 1167

Member of the "Lost Battalion." His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Fall of Java and capture; imprisonment in Surabaya, 1942; Changi Prison Camp, Singapore, 1942; hell ship to Japan, 1943; Nagasaki shipyards, 1943-45; Orio, Kyushu, 1945, and American air raids; liberation; description of damage at Nagasaki after the dropping of the atomic bomb.
Date of Interview: 07/01/1997, 08/01/1997

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WHITE, W. Erle (b. 1907)

White’s Auto Stores.

Interview ID: OHB 0023

Founder, White’s Auto Stores. Family background; early work experiences; education; work in auto supply stores, garages; starting own business in Clinton, Oklahoma, during Depression; location of home office in Wichita Falls; expansion and growth through franchising and company-owned stores; diversification of merchandise lines in auto stores; effects of growth on organizational structure; employee relations; views toward unions; selling out to Household Finance, 1969; comments about family-operated businesses; other business interests with Mercantile Credit Corporation, Beacon National Insurance Company, Eureka Life Insurance Company, White Fuel Corporation, ranching.
Date of Interview: 14/12/1978, 01/02/1979

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WHITE, Walter (b. 1906)

Interview ID: OH 0278 BOH 0005

Retired federal labor mediator and conciliator. Experiences and reminiscences from his thirty-year career with the U.S. Conciliation Service and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; early boyhood; employment with the International Harvester Company; comments about the Depression and New Deal; Kansas employment Service; employment with U.S. Potash company and experiences with the Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers Union; employment with U.S. Conciliation Service, 1942; labor-management relations during World War II; personal experiences in the Omaha and Des Moines offices; Taft-Hartley Act and formation of Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; post-World War II labor unrest; transfer to Texas; personal philosophy concerning labor-management relations; personal experiences with and comments about James Hoffa, Sid Richardson, John Connally, and Eugene Debs. Also as OHB 0005.
Date of Interview: 16/04/1975, 18/04/1975, 21/04/1975, 23/04/1975, 12/05/1975, 14/05/1975, 15/05/1975, 19/05/1975, 20/05/1975, 21/05/1975

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WHITEHEAD, Thomas A. (b. 1920)

U.S. Army WWII Veteran. 2nd Battalion. 131st Field Artillery. Texas National Guard. U.S. Air Force Retiree.

Interview ID: OH 0366

Member of the "Lost Battalion." His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Fall of Java and capture; Bicycle Camp, Batavia, 1942; Changi Prison Camp, 1942; building the Burma-Thailand Death Railway, 1942-44; Kanchanaburi and Tamarkan, Thailand, 1944; Non Pladuk, Thailand, 1944-45; Ubon, Thailand, 1945; liberation.
Date of Interview: 02/02/1977

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WHITING, George W. B. (b. 1921)

U.S. Navy WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 1509

His experiences aboard the motor torpedo boat tender USS Jamestown in the Southwest Pacific Theater during World War II. Enlistment in the Navy, 1938; boot camp, Newport, Rhode Island, 1938; electrician’s school and assignment to the battleship USS Texas, 1939; transfer to the destroyer USS Simpson, 1940; assignment to the Ship Repair Unit, Philadelphia Navy Yard, 1940-41; transfer to the Jamestown, 1941; Motor Torpedo Boat Training Station, Melville, Rhode Island, 1942; assignment to the Solomon Islands, September, 1942; convoying supply ships to the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal, 1942-43; various vignettes about shipboard life in a war zone; return to the States for overhaul and repairs, February, 1944; return to the Southwest Pacific; reassignment to the States, 1945; mustering out of the service.
Date of Interview: 03/10/1996

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WHITMORE, Becca (b. 1994)

Interview ID: OH 2078

UNT graduate and Associate Director of the Baptist Student Ministry. Discussion on the impact the COVID pandemic and student life.
Date of Interview: 16/02/2023

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WHITSON, Warren (b. 1918)

WW II Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 1926

His life story of living in Denton, TX with his childhood family; going to school; local businesses and community; WWII Veteran experiences; successful businessman—canning company, plastic molding company; marriage and children; Denton Mayor and city government experience.
Date of Interview: 23/10/2012

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WHITSON, Warren, Jr. (b. 1918)

U.S. Army Air Forces WWII Veteran. 493rd Bomb Group. 860th Bomb Squadron. 8th Air Force.

Interview ID: OH 1109

Businessman. His experiences as a B-17 pilot in the European Theater during World War II. Pre-flight and flight training, 1943; assignment to 493rd Bomb Group, 860th Bomb Squadron, at Stone, England; characteristics of the B-17G; first mission, Berlin; problems with flak; tactics to counter German radar; engine trouble and crash landing in eastern Germany; rescue by Soviet troops; trip by C-47 back to England via Poltava, Teheran, Cairo, Tripoli, Dijon; assignment to new crew; shot down by German fighter planes on seventeenth mission; brief experience as POW; liberation by British troops.
Date of Interview: 22/11/1995

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WHITSON, William D. (Bill) (b. 1920)

8th Air Force. 365th & 305th Bomb Squadron. U.S. Army Air Force. U.S. Army Air Force WWII Veteran. 8th Air Force. 365th & 305th Bomb Squadron.

Interview ID: OH 1932

World War II Veteran. Recollections of military service under General Curtis LeMay; military pilot training; 305th Bomb Group.
Date of Interview: 31/08/2006

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Interview ID: OH 1107

Businessman. His experiences as a B-17 pilot in the European Theater during World War II. Flight training; flight from the U. S. to Grafton-Underwood, England; personal relationship with General Curtis LeMay; missions and German defenses; nineteenth mission and crash landing; twenty-fifth mission.
Date of Interview: 15/11/1995

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WHYTE, Edna Gardner (b. 1902)

Aero Valley Flying School.

Interview ID: OHB 0028

Aviatrix and owner, operator, and instructor of Aero Valley Flying School. Family background; Army, Navy, and civilian nursing careers; early flying, competition; comments about Amelia Earhart and other pioneers of aviation; early planes, equipment; early teaching experiences; views concerning women in aviation, other professions; attempts to become airlines pilot; selling for Channelchrome (aircraft engine parts); founding her own business; Aero Valley Flying School; financing methods; government regulations; competition with municipal airports.
Date of Interview: 08/02/1979

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WIDMER, Robert J., Sr. (b. 1921)

U.S. Army Air Forces WWII Veteran. 738th Squadron. 454th Bomb Group. 304th Bomb Wing. 15th Air Force.

Interview ID: OH 1568

His experiences as a B-24 pilot in the European theater during World War II; also his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Germans. His youth during the Great Depression in Toledo, Ohio; college at the University of Toledo and Columbia University; his decision to enlist in the Aviation Cadets, December, 1941; basic training, Santa Ana, California, August, 1942; primary flight training, Oxnard, California, September, 1942; basic flight training, Taft, California, January, 1943; advanced flight training, Stockton, California, March, 1943; B-25 training, Mathers Field, Sacramento, California, June, 1943; B-17 training, Hobbs, New Mexico, July, 1943; B-24 training, Tucson, Arizona, August, 1943; B-24 crew training, McCook, Nebraska, fall, 1943; assignment to Italy, December, 1943; reminiscences about various missions; his bomber being shot down on a mission to Budapest, Hungary; Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany; evacuation and forced march to Moosburg, Germany; liberation by General George S. Patton’s troops.
Date of Interview: 11/06/2004

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WIESE, Francis (b. 1922)

U.S. Army Air Forces WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 1586

North Texas business owner. Remembrances about childhood in Lindsay, St. Joe, and Gainesville, Texas; being drafted into U.S. Air Force; training at various stateside bases and overseas service in China-Burma-India and Pacific theaters as top-gunner in a B-29 crew; decision to enter jewelry business and purchase Kinne’s Jewelers in Gainesville, Texas.
Date of Interview: 16/06/2006

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WILCOX, Norbert John (b. 1924)

U.S. Navy WWII Veteran. Patrol Squadron VPB-44.

Interview ID: OH 1279

Podiatrist. His experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Civilian Pilot Training, the University of Chicago, 1942; pre-flight training, University of Iowa, 1942-43; basic flight training, Livermore, California, 1943; advanced flight training, Corpus Christi, Texas, 1943; assignment to flying the PBY; navigation and bombardier training, Banana River Naval Air Station, Florida, 1943; assignment to VPB-44 on Green Island, Solomons, 1944-45; living conditions on Green Island; anti-submarine patrols; evolution of the "Black Cat" squadrons; night patrols in conjunction with PT boats; open-sea rescues and "Dumbo" missions; flying characteristics of the PBY; Leyte Gulf preparations, 1944; rotation back to the States, 1945; postwar adjustments to civilian life.
Date of Interview: 15/02/1999

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WILDE, Earle (b. 1919)

U.S. Army Air Forces WWII Veteran. 612th/615th Bomb Squadrons. 401st Bomb Group. 8th Air Force.

Interview ID: OH 1419

His experiences as a B-17 bombardier in the European Theater during World War II. Service in the U.S. Navy, 1936-40; employment with the Cincinnati Police Department, 1940-42; enlistment in the Aviation Cadet Program, October 15, 1942; basic training, Fresno, California, 1943; College Training Detachment, University of Montana, 1943; pre-flight training, Santa Ana, California, 1943; his decision to volunteer for bombardier school, 1943; flexible gunnery training, Kingman, Arizona, 1943; bombardier school, Victorville, California, 1943; bomber transition training, Pyote, Texas, 1943-44; his assignment to the 401st Bomb Group, Deenethorpe, England, July, 1944; his first mission to Cologne; his descriptions of various missions; German flak; social life in England; meeting and courting his future wife; intricacies of bombing under combat conditions; his postwar career.
Date of Interview: 15/06/2001

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WILKERSON, Archie (b. 1924)

U.S. Navy WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 0368

Realtor. His experiences with VP-23 at Ford Island Naval Air Station during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date of Interview: 28/01/1977

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WILKINSON, Claude (b. 1918)

U.S. Navy WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 0615

His experiences while aboard the seaplane tender USS Tangier during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date of Interview: 22/10/1983

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WILLETT, Hollis J. (b. 1919)

Interview ID: OH 1001

His experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Childhood in Pauline, Texas; joining the CCC; assignment to a forestry camp near Flagstaff, Arizona; reenlistment to Company 4842 at DG-41-N in Lake Arthur, New Mexico; company move to Carlsbad, New Mexico; description of camps; life in camps.
Date of Interview: 18/10/1993

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WILLEY, Lloyd (b. 1914)

U.S. Marine Corps WWII Veteran.

Interview ID: OH 1295

Survivor of the sinking of the USS Houston. His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Sinking of the Houston, 1942; capture and imprisonment at Serang, Java; Bicycle Camp, Batavia, 1942; Changi Prison Camp, Singapore, 1942; building the Burma-Thailand Death Railway, 1942-44; Tamarkan, Thailand, 1944; Nakhon Pathom and Phet Buri, Burma, 1944-45; liberation.
Date of Interview: 03/03/1999

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WILLIAMS, Charles (b. 1955)

Interview ID: OH 1637

For the Quakertown Oral History Project. Son of residents of Denton’s historic all-black Quakertown neighborhood and long-time Denton resident. Early childhood and education in Denton, including experiences with racial segregation and experiences with integrating Denton public schools; interest in radical black politics; influence of uncle, Fred Hill; career in U.S. Navy; family’s historical memories of Quakertown.
Date of Interview: 23/10/2006

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WILLIAMS, Joseph R. (b. 1920)

Interview ID: OH 0871

Physician. His experiences as a resident of Hamilton Park, Texas, in 1950s and 1960s. Childhood and education in Dallas; medical school at Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, 1942-45; Army career; segregated housing in Dallas; discrimination against African-American physicians; dealing with the white power structure in Dallas; civil rights activities; decision to build home in Hamilton Park; Hamilton Park School and quality of education; comments about Karl Hoblitzelle; zoning problems; school desegregation; Pacesetter; decision to leave Hamilton Park.
Date of Interview: 24/08/1990, 30/08/1990

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WILLIAMS, Kenneth C (b. 1922)

Interview ID: OH 1143

His experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Childhood in Oklahoma; joining the CCC; assignment to a camp in Clinton, Oklahoma; description of camp; life in camp.
Date of Interview: 27/09/1996

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WILLIAMS, Norman F. (b. 1916)

Interview ID: OH 0935

Geologist. His recollections concerning the Crater of Diamonds and diamond mining around Murfreesboro, Arkansas; activities of De Beers interests.
Date of Interview: 16/03/1993

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