World War II | Oral History

World War II

OH 1167

Member of the "Lost Battalion." His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Fall of Java and capture; imprisonment in Surabaya, 1942; Changi Prison Camp, Singapore, 1942; hell ship to Japan, 1943; Nagasaki shipyards, 1943-45; Orio, Kyushu, 1945, and American air raids; liberation; description of damage at Nagasaki after the dropping of the atomic bomb.

OH 0693

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, 1942; Changi Prison Camp, Singapore, 1942; building the Burma- Thailand Death Railway, 1942-44; Kanchanaburi, Thailand, 1944; Saigon, French Indo-China, 1944-45, and American air raids; liberation.

OHB 0041

President, Tex-Tan Western Leather Company, Yoakum, Texas. Father’s development of leather tanning business in Yoakum; line of leather products; comments on effects of Depression and World War II on business; tanning processes; saddletree production; sale of business assets, 1956; merger with Tandy Corporation; saddle promotions; expansion into Canada and Mexico; experiences with labor unions in Yoakum; views on pay systems, motivation, and piece work; development of Western Sales stores; retirement.

OH 1402

His experiences as a B-24 navigator; also his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Germans in the European Theater during World War II.

OH 1181

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, Thailand, 1944-45; liberation.

OHB 0086

Owner and operator, B. F. Warden Grocery Store, Bertram, Texas. Family background; work on family farm in Bertram; educational experiences in Bertram schools; employment as a teller in A. B. McGill’s bank and D. C. Reed’s bank, Bertram;comments concerning D. C.

OH 1513

His experiences with Recovery Team No. 4 in the recovery of the remains of American military personnel in China, 1945-46. Texas A&M College, 1943-45;

OHB 0065

One of the founders of Bomber Bait Company, Gainesville, Texas. Family background; farming during Depression in Olton, Texas; employment as a gasoline retailer in Olton and tire repair operator in Gainesville; interest in designing fish baits; development of Bomber Bait Company with Clarence Turbeville; problems obtaining supplies at end of World War II; designing hard baits; expansion of market; sale of company; views on success of Bomber Bait and failures of other bait companies.

OH 1037

His experiences as a naval aviator in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Assignment to VF-3 as wingman for "Butch" O'Hare; assignment to the carrier Essex; Wake Island raids, 1943; becoming an Ace at Kwajalein, 1944; Truk raid, 1944; assignment to Fighter Squadron 16 on the carrier Lexington; second Truk raid, 1944; "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot," 1944; raids on Clark Field, Philippines; shot down on Luzon and subsequent operations with Filipino guerrillas.