Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 60, No. 42, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 19, 2006 (open access)

Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 60, No. 42, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 19, 2006

Weekly Jewish newspaper from Fort Worth, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with extensive advertising.
Date: October 19, 2006
Creator: Wisch, Rene & Wisch-Ray, Sharon
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John Hotova, October 19, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with John Hotova, October 19, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Hotova. Hotova was born in November 1918. He describes conditions during the Great Depression. He left high school at 15 years of age and joined the National Guard in 1939. He was assigned to the 242nd Coast Artillery. Hotova applied for flight training in the Army Air Corps in 1942. He did not qualify for advanced flight training and was assigned to aircraft mechanics school at Keesler Field, Mississippi. After four months of training, he was sent to Laredo, Texas for gunnery training. He was assigned as a waist gunner on a B-24. While four members flew their plane to England, he and five other crewmen boarded RMS Queen Mary. Landing in Scotland they were assigned to the 8th Air Force, 389th Bomb Group, 567th Bomb Squadron based at Hethel, England. On his first bombing mission, in May 1944, he flew to Brussels and recounts the discomfort of being at a waist gun position at high altitudes. Having flown 29 combat missions during his tour, he describes several of the missions, during which German fighters and heavy flak were encountered. He also witnessed other aircraft being shot …
Date: October 19, 2006
Creator: Hotova, John
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 124, No. 84, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 19, 2006 (open access)

Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 124, No. 84, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 19, 2006

Semi-weekly newspaper from Livingston, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.
Date: October 19, 2006
Creator: White, Barbara
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History