OH 1444 | Oral History

OH 1444

His experiences while aboard the destroyer USS Phelps during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; his subsequent experiences aboard the Phelps in the Pacific and Atlantic Theaters during World War II. His decision to enlist in the Navy, July 16, 1940; boot camp, San Diego, California, 1940; assignment to the Phelps and stationing at Pearl Harbor, November, 1940; his training as a radarman; pre-war training exercises; his detailed description of the Pearl Harbor attack; his activities in the days immediately following the attack; escort duty for the carrier USS Lexington; the Battle of Coral Sea, and the Phelps’s role in sinking the Lexington, May 8, 1942; escort duty for the carrier USS Enterprise; the Battle of Midway, June 3-6, 1942; offshore bombardment during the Aleutians Campaign, August, 1943; offshore bombardment during the Marianas Campaign, June, 1944, and battle damage to the Phelps by Japanese shore batteries; troopship escort duties in the Atlantic, 1944-45; decommissioning of the Phelps, November, 1945.

About this Oral History

Physical Description 44 pp.
Terms of Use Open
Interviewer(s) William J. Alexander
Date of Interview December 8, 2001

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