Oral History Interview with Robert L. Cook, January 30, 2013 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Robert L. Cook, January 30, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert L Cook. Cook was accepted into the Naval ROTC program at Rice University. Upon his graduation with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in April of 1943, Cook was commissioned into the Navy as an ensign. He became active in major ship repairs, and assigned to Mare Island, California, Pearl Harbor and Guam. In 1944, Cook helped outfit USS Baltimore (CA-68) to accommodate President Franklin Roosevelt in his travels to Pearl Harbor and Alaska. He was discharged in June of 1946.
Date: January 30, 2013
Creator: Cook, Robert L
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Frank Rancloes, October 30, 2013 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Frank Rancloes, October 30, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frank Rancloes. Rancloes was drafted into the Marine Corps in April 1943. Upon completion of pontoon bridging school, he was sent to Camp Pendleton to train officers. His unit, the 7th Service Engineers, was typically split up to provide support where needed. Rancloes landed in the second wave on Saipan, operating heavy machinery. After the island was secured, he managed a lumberyard with an African-American crew, many of whom outranked him. Recognizing the unfairness of that arrangement, he appointed one of the crewmen as a liaison so that they would not have a white corporal giving orders. After bringing supplies to Okinawa, Rancloes stayed there in a sugarcane hut. When his unit became ill from mold toxicity, the village was condemned and burned to the ground. Rancloes suffered from respiratory problems for the rest of his life. Before returning home in 1946, Rancloes's final duty was supervising Japanese laborers in China.
Date: October 30, 2013
Creator: Rancloes, Frank
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Robert L. Cook, January 30, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with Robert L. Cook, January 30, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert L Cook. Cook was accepted into the Naval ROTC program at Rice University. Upon his graduation with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in April of 1943, Cook was commissioned into the Navy as an ensign. He became active in major ship repairs, and assigned to Mare Island, California, Pearl Harbor and Guam. In 1944, Cook helped outfit USS Baltimore (CA-68) to accommodate President Franklin Roosevelt in his travels to Pearl Harbor and Alaska. He was discharged in June of 1946.
Date: January 30, 2013
Creator: Cook, Robert L
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Richard Dykstra, January 30, 2013 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Richard Dykstra, January 30, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Dykstra. Dykstra joined the Navy in January of 1943, at the age of seventeen. He served as a Radarman aboard USS Lunga Point (CVE-94), and saw combat in the Pacific at Iwo Jima, Okinawa and the Philippines. In August of 1945, their ship conducted minesweeping operations west of Okinawa. Dykstra returned to the US in November of 1945 and was discharged.
Date: January 30, 2013
Creator: Dykstra, Richard
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Frank Rancloes, October 30, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with Frank Rancloes, October 30, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frank Rancloes. Rancloes was drafted into the Marine Corps in April 1943. Upon completion of pontoon bridging school, he was sent to Camp Pendleton to train officers. His unit, the 7th Service Engineers, was typically split up to provide support where needed. Rancloes landed in the second wave on Saipan, operating heavy machinery. After the island was secured, he managed a lumberyard with an African-American crew, many of whom outranked him. Recognizing the unfairness of that arrangement, he appointed one of the crewmen as a liaison so that they would not have a white corporal giving orders. After bringing supplies to Okinawa, Rancloes stayed there in a sugarcane hut. When his unit became ill from mold toxicity, the village was condemned and burned to the ground. Rancloes suffered from respiratory problems for the rest of his life. Before returning home in 1946, Rancloes's final duty was supervising Japanese laborers in China.
Date: October 30, 2013
Creator: Rancloes, Frank
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Richard Dykstra, January 30, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with Richard Dykstra, January 30, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Dykstra. Dykstra joined the Navy in January of 1943, at the age of seventeen. He served as a Radarman aboard USS Lunga Point (CVE-94), and saw combat in the Pacific at Iwo Jima, Okinawa and the Philippines. In August of 1945, their ship conducted minesweeping operations west of Okinawa. Dykstra returned to the US in November of 1945 and was discharged.
Date: January 30, 2013
Creator: Dykstra, Richard
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Doyle Ebel, July 30, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with Doyle Ebel, July 30, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Doyle Ebel. Ebel was drafted into the Army Air Forces in March, 1943 and trained at Miami Beach before going to radio operator school in Missouri. He also attended gunnery school before becoming a crewmember on a B-24 and shipping overseas in July 1944. He was assigned to the 26th Bomb Squadron, 11th Bomb Group at Saipan in October. Ebel recalls an emergency landing on Iwo Jima. He flew 37 combat missions before the war ended and returned to the US in November, 1945.
Date: July 30, 2013
Creator: Ebel, Doyle
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History