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OH 1452

About the Interviewee

IntervieweeWILLIAMS, R. Murphy (b. 1920)
ProfessionsPastor
Military ServiceU.S. Navy WWII Veteran

About this oral history

Interview ID #OH 1452
Date(s) of interview
DescriptionPastor. His experiences as a Navy chaplain in the Pacific Theater during World War II. His early education; Davidson College, 1937-1941; Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia, 1941-44; his decision to enlist in the Navy, 1944; chaplaincy school, William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Virginia, 1944; assignment to Quonset Point, Rhode Island, and Naval Aviation Air Facility, Groton, Connecticut, 1944-45; condolence visits to families of deceased servicemen; assignment to Tinian, July, 1945; his observation of aviation activities on Tinian; the arrival of the Army Air Force’s 509th Composite Group; his thoughts concerning the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; postwar duty in the Southwest Pacific; his discharge and civilian pastoral career.
Interviewer(s)William J. Alexander
Physical Description49 pp.
Terms of UseOpen