Salesman. His experiences as a prisoner-of-war after being shot down over Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. Downing of bomber and capture; hostility of German civilians; interrogation at Oberusel; Stalag Luft 1, Barth; liberation by Russian troops.
Aircraft worker. His experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Childhood in Covington, Texas; joining the CCC; assignment to a soil conservation camp near Waxahachie, Texas; description of camp; life in camp; post-CCC life.
His experiences while aboard the submarines USS S-45, USS Sunfish, USS Spearfish, and USS Pogy in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Pre-war duty aboard the battleship USS California and the heavy cruiser USS Vincennes, 1935-39; Submarine School, New London, Connecticut, 1940; his responsibilities as a fireman; various patrols in the Sea of…
His experiences in combat in Philippines during World War II; presence in Yokohama Harbor during Japanese surrender; and in Tokyo during post-war U. S. occupation of Japan.
Farmer, automobile mechanic. Observations on land speculation, settlement, and development around Sinton, Texas, 1900-20. Agrarian life; President William Howard Taft’s visit to La Quinta Ranch.
His service as an aviation officer for General Olinto Barsanti, commander of the 101st Airborne Division, in Vietnam, 1968-69. Pre-Vietnam reminiscences about Barsanti; his role in facilitating the transition of the 101st Airborne Division to the use of helicopters.
Molder. His experiences in the European Theater during World War II. Infantry training in the U. S., 1943-44; troopship to England, 1944; Battle for Saint Lô, July, 1944; combat in the French hedgerow country; frontal assault on Hill 1221; leg wound from shrapnel and evacuation from combat; recuperation in England and assignment to ordnance repair…
Special agent (U. S. Army Criminal Investigation Division), member of the White House Security Detail for President Lyndon B. Johnson. His stateside experiences during World War II and his postwar military and civil service careers. Education and employment before entering the military; decision to join the Army, March 10, 1934; basic training at…
Truck driver. His experiences in the Army of Occupation in Germany, 1945-47. Assignment to Regensburg; patrols to outlying villages; relations with former SS troops; comments about black market activities; social life; physical destruction of Nazi symbols and insignia; visit to Dachau; relations between American troops and civilians; visit to…
Former professional ballplayer, bartender. His experiences as a professional baseball player in the U. S. during World War II. His semi-pro baseball career in the late 1930s and early 1940s; origins of his nickname, “Lefty”; signing of his first professional contract, 1941, and assignment to the Hagerstown (Maryland) club in the Class B Interstate…
His experiences aboard the escort carrier USS Bougainville in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Operations off Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa; typhoon off Okinawa, 1945.
Founder and Chairman of the Board, El Chico Corporation. Family background; education problems; work as barber; employment in kitchen of Adolphus Hotel; “Mama” Delilah Cuellar’s Mexican food stand at Kaufman County Fair, 1926; opening of first “Cuellar’s” restaurant, 1928; expansion to other towns; Depression; work on ranch in Mexico; first El…
UNT ROTC Instructor. Video log of military experience. Enlisted in US Army in 1983. Attended Officer Candidate School in 1985; received commission as 2nd Lieutenant; completed Airborne Jumpmaster School, assigned to Italy with 82nd Airborne Division. Work with US Border Patrol. Comparisons to being a US soldier in the 1990s to 2010s. Iraq…
His experiences aboard the battleship USS Tennessee during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; his subsequent experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. His decision to join the Navy, 1941; boot camp and assignment to the Tennessee, August 17, 1941; pre-war shipboard life and training exercises; his detailed…
Emeritus dean, College of Business Administration, University of North Texas. Family background; teaching and retail work experiences; doctoral work at University of Michigan; employment with National Bureau of Economic Research; experiences on faculty at University of Arkansas; comments on Depression; experiences on faculty at Wharton School,…
For the Weatherford Oral History Project. Longtime resident and school administrator of Weatherford, Texas. Family history; birth, childhood, and education in Collin County, Texas; farm life in the Great Depression; World War II service in U.S. Navy; education at UNT under the GI Bill; career as a teacher, administrator, and coach in various…
Her experiences while employed by the Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant, Texarkana, Texas, during World War II and the postwar years. Hiring procedures and job assignments; safety precautions; social activities; swing shifts; race relations; relationships between male and female workers; social and economic effects of the plant on Texarkana.
Businessman, Holocaust survivor. His experiences during the Holocaust. Youth in Frankfort am Main, Germany; inflation during the Weimar Republic; pre-Nazi discrimination; anti-Semitism during the early Hitler years, 1933-38; emigration to the United States, 1938; induction into the U.S. Army, 1943; experiences during the occupation of Germany;…
Clothing designer, Holocaust survivor. Her experiences during the Holocaust. Pre-Nazi discrimination in Germany; harassment by the Gestapo; Kristalnacht; evacuation to England as part of “Kinder Transport”; adjustment to life in England; emigration to the United States, 1947; meeting her future husband; career as a fashion designer; lasting…
Civil engineer. His experiences as a PBJ (B-25) co-pilot in the Southwest Pacific Theater during World War II. His early interest in aviation; enlistment in the Navy, April, 1942; and primary and secondary flight training through the Civilian Pilot Training Program, Minneapolis, Minnesota; pre-flight training, Iowa City, Iowa, 1942; designation as…
