William J. Alexander | Oral History

William J. Alexander

OH 1354

Radio/TV engineer. His experiences as a radio operator on a C-46 in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II.

OH 1400

Rancher. His experiences in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II. Enrollment in the Civilian Pilot Training Program, 1942; tenure as a primary flight training instructor of Aviation Air Cadets, Harmon Training Center, Ballinger, Texas, 1942-43; Air Ferry Command, 1943; induction into the Army Air Forces, 1943; assignment to the Air Transport Command, 1943; stationing at Tezgaon-Kurmitola, India, 1944; flying C-109s loaded with gasoline over "The Hump" into China; weather problems over the Himalaya Mountains; separation from the military, 1946.

OH 1301

His experiences aboard the PT boat tender USS Jamestown and the rocket launching ships LCIR-74 and LCIR-34 in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

OH 1304

His experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Induction and stateside training, Camp Hulen, Palacios, Texas, and Camp Cook, Lompoc, California, 1942-43; operations in New Guinea, 1943-44; invasion of Toem, 1944; invasion of Leyte, 1944; invasion of Mindoro, 1944; eyewitness accounts of kamikaze attacks; operations around Zamboanga, Mindanao.

OH 1258

Survivor of the Bataan Death March. His experiences as a prisoner-of- war of the Japanese during World War II. Education at the U. S. Military Academy, 1935-39; assignment to the Philippines with the 57th Infantry, 1939; preparations for war with Japan and evacuation of dependents; opening days of the war; defense of Bataan and surrender; Bataan Death March; Camp O' Donnell, 1942; Cabanatuan, 1942; hell ship to Japan; prison camp at Osaka, Honshu; American B-29 raids; liberation; postwar Army career.

OH 1569

His experiences as an instructor pilot and ferry pilot, and missions flying cargo over “the Hump” (the Himalayas) during World War II.

OH 1307

His experiences as a B-24 gunner in the European Theater during World War II. Enlistment in the Aviation Cadet Program, 1942; gunnery school, Tindall Field, Florida, and Biggs Field, El Paso, Texas, 1943; assignment to the 493rd Bomb Group, 1943; stationing at Debach, England, April, 1944; operations on D-Day; mission to Merseberg, Germany, November 2, 1944; bombing of V-1 and V-2 sites; encounters with German jet aircraft; ground-support missions; return to the States.