World War II | Oral History

World War II

OH 1061

Historian. His experiences with the Intelligence Section of the 14th naval District, Pearl Harbor, during World War II. Education and appointment to faculty at U.S. Naval Academy; U.S. Navy Communications School, Westport Connecticut; assignment to Pearl Harbor; activities with RPIO, PEARL (Registered Publications Issuing Office, Pearl Harbor); comments about Commander Joseph Rochefort, Admiral Robert Ghormley, and Admiral Chester A. Nimitz; observations on Roosevelt-Nimitz-MacArthur Conference, July-August, 1944; Leyte invasion, knowledge of and distribution of codes.

OH 0503

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; Changi Jail, 1944-45; liberation.

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 0580

Survivor of the sinking of the USS Houston. His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Sinking of Houston, 1942; capture and imprisonment at Serang, Java; Bicycle Camp, Batavia, 1942; Changi Prison Camp, Singapore, 1942; building the Burma-Thailand Death Railway, 1942-44; Kanchanaburi, Thailand, 1944; Changi Jail, 1944-45.

OH 1676

For the Tarrant County War Veterans Oral History Project. World War II veteran. Childhood and education in Fort Worth; decision to drop out of high school to play professional softball; decision to enlist in Women’s Army Corps in 1944; basic training at Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia; clerical training at Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, and Ft.

OH 1293

His experiences concerning his association with General Roger Ramey, 1937-57. Operations against Rabaul in the Pacific Theater during World War II; atomic bomb tests at Kwajalein and Eniwetok, 1946 (Project CROSSROADS); relationship between Ramey and Fort Worth, Texas, promoter Amon Carter; his personal and professional relations with Ramey; Ramey’s relationship with General Douglas A. MacArthur; Ramey’s relationship with President Harry S Truman; establishment of a separate, independent Air Force.

OH 0147

Businessman. His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Germans after being shot down over Nazi Germany during World War II. Shooting down of bomber, 1944; capture and interrogation near Frankfurt; Heidekruge, East Prussia, 1944; prison camp near Berlin, 1944; forced march from Nurnberg to Moosberg, 1945; prison camps at Nurnberg and Barth; liberation.

OH 1169

His experiences while aboard the submarine USS Sailfish in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Submarine School, New London, Connecticut, 1942; his responsibilities as a motor machinist’s mate; qualification examinations; various patrols off the Aleutian Islands and in the South China Sea; lifeguard duty off the Mariana Islands for downed airmen.

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.