Guitarist Kirk Tatom discusses his career with the alternative rock band Deep Blue Something, including the band’s formation at the University of North Texas in the early 1990s, their growing fanbase in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the recording of their song “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, their signing to Interscope Records, his eventual split with…
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 and Tamarkan, Thailand, 1944, and American air raids; Bangkok; 1945; liberation.
Surgeon. His experiences as a surgeon in North Africa, Italy, and France during World War II. Induction into the U.S. Army Medical Department and assignment to the Surgical Hospital, Fort Meade, 1941; three-month assignment to the Mayo Clinic, 1942; assignment to the Massachusetts General Hospital and the forming of the 2nd Auxiliary Surgical…
Interview by the Denton County Historical Commission. Childhood memories growing up during the Depression; Veteran, military service, occupations and marriage; reflections on Bonnie & Clyde; donating his family’s log cabin to Denton County, TX.
Executive, Caltex Petroleum Corporation. Educational and military background; employment with Caltex, 1946; marketing assistant, Philippines, 1947; market expansion in Philippines; living conditions and social life in Philippines; major contracts; Huk rebellion; expansion of Philippine district offices; assignment to Davao; competition with Shell…
His experiences while aboard the submarine USS Sculpin in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Assignment to the Sculpin, 1941; his responsibilities as a radioman; various patrols off the Netherlands East Indies and in the South China Sea, 1942-44; lifeguard duty off Japan for downed airmen, 1944-45.
His experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Childhood in Arkansas; joining the CCC; assignment to Company 5702 at Camp North Fork (F-123) near Pierce, Idaho; transfer to Company 229 at F-188 near Emida, Idaho; description of camps; life in camps.
Protestant chaplain, survivor of the Bataan campaign. His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Fall of Bataan and capture; Bilibid Prison, Manila, 1942; Cabanatuan, 1942-44; American air raids at Manila, 1944; hell ship to Japan, 1944; Fukuoka Prison Camp, Kyushu, 1945; Mukden, Manchuria, 1945; liberation by Soviet…
Kirk Teske’s interest in the built environment began with a love of drawing and a high school apprenticeship with a local architecture firm in his hometown, Longview, Texas. He began his career with HKS in Dallas in 1984 working with cost-driven developer clients who did not share his passion for passive design strategies. In the late 1990’s he…
Test pilot, aviation executive, and Deputy Secretary of Defense. Childhood in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Illinois; work as a young man in the oil fields; family’s experience in the Great Depression; matriculation at Kansas University; enrollment in Civilian Pilot Training program; enlistment in Naval Air Cadet training program; training at Jacksonville…
His experiences while attached to the 4th Marine Division as a medic in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Decision to join the Navy, 1943; Hospital Corps School, San Diego, 1943; assignment to the Fleet Marine Force; Field Medical School, 1944; assignment to the 4th Marine Division, 1944; Iwo Jima, February, 1945; detailed description of…
Geophysicist. His recollections and experiences as a geophysicist in the oil industry. Employment with Geophysical Service, Inc., 1936-55; seismic crews and oil field contract operations; comments about Everett DeGolyer, Clarence Karcher, Eugene McDermott, Erik Jonsson; formation of Texas Instruments, 1952; technological developments in oil…
Educator. His experiences in the European Theater during World War II. Family life and growing up around Groesbeck, Texas, during the Great Depression; his education through Westminster Junior College and Bible Institute; thoughts about Franklin D. Roosevelt; his reaction to prewar world events in Europe and Asia; induction into the Army, February…
His experiences as a naval officer in the Pacific Theater during World War II. New York State Merchant Marine Academy, 1941; assignment to USS Sheridan (APA-51); Tarawa landing, 1943; Marshall Islands landings, 1944; Saipan landing, 1944; assignment to Newport, Rhode Island; assignment to USS Dutchess for amphibious landings; Korean War…
For the Skylab Oral History Project. NASA flight controller, communications officer, and manager. Childhood in Lufkin, Orange, and Huntington, Tex.; education at Stephen F. Austin State University and Lamar State College of Technology; career as mathematics teacher at Port Neches-Groves High School and in U.S. Air Force; decision to apply for a…
State legislator. His experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Childhood in Fort Worth, Texas; joining the CCC; assignment to Company 812 near Cache, Oklahoma; description of camp; life in camp.
Businessman. His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Germans after being captured during the Battle of the Bulge. Action on Siegfried Line, 1944; capture on December 17, 1944, and interrogation; imprisonment at Bonn, 1945; Nürnberg, 1945; Hammelburg Prison Camp, 1945, and abortive rescue attempt by U. S. 3rd Army troops; Nürnberg, 1945, and…
