Oral History Interview with Arlie Ray Horn, February 19, 2016 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Arlie Ray Horn, February 19, 2016

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arlie Ray Horn. Horn was drafted into the Army in July 1943 and trained at Camp Wolters before being shipped overseas to England where he trained with the Special Forces and was attached to the 29th Infantry Division. He landed at Omaha Beach on 6 June 1944 (D-Day). Horn was wounded three different times. After the war ended, Horn returned to the US in October, 1945.
Date: February 19, 2016
Creator: Horn, Arlie Ray
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Arlie Ray Horn, February 19, 2016 transcript

Oral History Interview with Arlie Ray Horn, February 19, 2016

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arlie Ray Horn. Horn was drafted into the Army in July 1943 and trained at Camp Wolters before being shipped overseas to England where he trained with the Special Forces and was attached to the 29th Infantry Division. He landed at Omaha Beach on 6 June 1944 (D-Day). Horn was wounded three different times. After the war ended, Horn returned to the US in October, 1945.
Date: February 19, 2016
Creator: Horn, Arlie Ray
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Everett Smith, January 19, 2007 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Everett Smith, January 19, 2007

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Everett Smith, Jr. Smith was born in Bloomington, Indiana on 23 June 1926 and after graduating from high school was drafted into the Army in September 1944. Following basic training, he embarked on the Queen Mary and arrived in Glasgow, Scotland on 1 January 1945. He crossed the English Channel to Normandy with the 63rd Infantry Division. When the war ended in Europe, Smith was in Germany training with the 63rd ID for the invasion of Japan. Following the Japanese surrender, he was transferred to the Signal Corps where his responsibilities included maintaining telephone lines along the Autobahn highway during the ensuing twelve months. He was discharged from the Army on July 24, 1946.
Date: January 19, 2007
Creator: Smith, Everett
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Edward H. Vaughan, December 19, 2011 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Edward H. Vaughan, December 19, 2011

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Edward H. Vaughan. Vaughan went into the Army in January 1943. He relates a few amusing stories from his basic training days and at radio operator school. After training, Vaughan was attached to the 574th Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion. When he went overseas, he boarded trhe SS Cape Newenham (1943) and headed for New Guinea in 1944 arriving on Biak. Eventually, his unit headed for Palawan, Philippines. When the war was over, Vaughan was mustered out in a hurry because his father had had a bad heart attack and his mother sent for him. He rode a liberty ship back to San Francisco from the Philippines. When he was discharged, Vaughan elected to stay in the Army Reserve and eventually joined the Texas National Guard.
Date: December 19, 2011
Creator: Vaughan, Edward H.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Ralph Nelson Smith, April 19, 2012 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Ralph Nelson Smith, April 19, 2012

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ralph Nelson Smith. Smith joined the Merchant Marines in the spring of 1945 at the age of 17. Upon completion of training at Catalina Island, which included hand-to-hand combat and jumping into flaming gasoline-covered water, he was assigned to the SS H. Weir Cook (1944) as a messman and storekeeper. In August 1945, he sailed out of San Francisco in blackout conditions but soon learned of the Japanese surrender. Despite that, the ship was targeted by torpedoes that narrowly missed. One night, Smith awoke to find the ship engulfed in flames, which threatened to detonate their 690 tons of dynamite on board until the fire was put out. For his return to the States, Smith boarded a freighter packed with 5,280 men. Rather than waiting in the four-hour chow lines, Smith subsisted off peanuts and fruit, losing 20 pounds in two weeks. He was disappointed that although the Merchant Marines suffered such high casualties rates, survivors were essentially not considered true servicemen, receiving no benefits such as clothing, transportation, or medical care upon their return.
Date: April 19, 2012
Creator: Smith, Ralph
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History