engineering | Oral History

engineering

OH 1166

Scientist, engineer, physicist. His role in the development of the proximity fuze in World War II. Education and technical training; employment with the Office of Scientific Research and Development, 1942; technical aspects of developing the proximity fuze; practical applications of the proximity fuze in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Mediterranean Theaters; comments about the roles of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Hopkins, and Vannevar Bush.

OH 1065

Engineer. His experiences aboard the destroyer USS McGowan in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Everyday life aboard ship; Iwo Jima; Okinawa and kamikazes; operations off northern Japan, 1945.

OH 1518

Engineer. His experiences while aboard the battleship USS Wyoming, light cruiser USS Boise, and submarine USS Mackerel during World War II. His pre-war education and employment; enlistment in the Navy, July 8, 1942; boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois; fire control school, 1942; assignment to the training battleship Wyoming, December, 1942; transfer to the Boise, April, 1943; volunteering for assignment to the U.S.

OH 0820

Civil engineer. His experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Childhood in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas; joining the CCC; assignment to Company 3802 in Littlefield, Texas; description of camp; life in camp.

OH 1601

For the Skylab Oral History Project. NASA engineer, flight controller and flight director. Childhood in Langley, Virginia; education at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; short career in U.S. Air Force; decision to join NASA; duties in Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Space Shuttle, and International Space Station programs; problem-solving on Skylab missions; team-building among members of Skylab operations shifts and flight crews; importance of “science czar” position; Skylab’s contributions to space exploration and to science more generally.

OH 1391

Mechanical engineer. His experiences with the Corps of Engineers in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Pre-war job experiences; enlistment in the Corps of Engineers Reserve, 1933; service with the Civilian Conservation Corps in Arizona and Colorado, 1933-34; active duty, December, 1941; assignment to Headquarters, 3rd Army, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, 1942; transfer to Headquarters, 6th Army, 1943; various responsibilities with the Engineers in the Southwest Pacific and the Philippines, 1943-45; rebuilding the Japanese infrastructure as part of the Army of Occupation, 1945.