1944 | Oral History

1944

OH 1313

Educator. His experiences in the European Theater during World War II. Family life and growing up around Groesbeck, Texas, during the Great Depression; his education through Westminster Junior College and Bible Institute; thoughts about Franklin D.

OH 0955

His experiences as a naval officer in the Pacific Theater during World War II. New York State Merchant Marine Academy, 1941; assignment to USS Sheridan (APA-51); Tarawa landing, 1943; Marshall Islands landings, 1944; Saipan landing, 1944; assignment to Newport, Rhode Island; assignment to USS Dutchess for amphibious landings; Korean War experiences.

OHB 0021

Owner and operator of Joe’s Cleaners, Denton, Texas. Family background; early work experiences; education; work as youth in cleaning shop; opening Joe’s Cleaners, 1944; decline of dry cleaning business; his unique credit system; importance of self-employment; other business ventures; dealings with City of Denton; history of his business.

OH 0802

His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Struggle for Corregidor; surviving the Palawan massacre, 1944.

OH 1745

His experiences while aboard the submarines USS Batfish and USS Parche in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Submarine School, San Diego, California, 1942; early torpedo problems; his responsibilities as a fire controlman; assignment to the Batfish, 1944; various patrols in the Luzon Strait and Makassar Strait; lifeguard duty off Palau for downed airmen; transfer to the Parche, 1945.

OH 1498

Grain elevator operator. A personal diary of his experiences as a B-24 navigator in the European Theater during World War II. Preparations at McCook, Nebraska, for overseas duty, February, 1944; description of flight overseas to Pantanella, Italy, April, 1944; missions to Wiener Neustadt, Toulon, Vienna, Budapest, Munich, Friedrichshafen, Ploesti, Krakow (all in 1944-45); enemy flak and fighter opposition; American fighter escorts.

OH 0162

Horticulturalist, 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; Tamarkan, Thailand, 1944; liberation.