Oral History Interview with Wilburn Snyder, April 16, 2002 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Wilburn Snyder, April 16, 2002

Interview with Wilburn Snyder, a POW of the Japanese in the Philippines. He answers questions about his time in the military and as a POW in the Philippines.
Date: April 28, 2004
Creator: Stroble, Brandy & Snyder, Wilburn L.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Wilburn Snyder, April 16, 2002 transcript

Oral History Interview with Wilburn Snyder, April 16, 2002

Interview with Wilburn Snyder, a POW of the Japanese in the Philippines. He answers questions about his time in the military and as a POW in the Philippines.
Date: April 28, 2004
Creator: Stroble, Brandy & Snyder, Wilburn L.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with William R. Sanchez, June 24, 2011 (open access)

Oral History Interview with William R. Sanchez, June 24, 2011

Transcript of an oral interview with William R. Sanchez. Born in Texas in 1918, Sanchez joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1938. He was drafted into the Army in 1940 and elected to serve in the Philippines. He was assigned to the 59th Regiment, Coast Artillery, Battery D and later Battery H at Fort Mills (Corregidor). He was then assigned to Army Intelligence in the Harbor Defense Headquarters. He recounts how the Army Intelligence at Corregidor provided advance notification of the Japanese force on its way to attack Pearl Harbor. He describes participating in the battle for Corregidor, being taken prisoner in the Malinta Tunnel, and his role in disposing of an American flag after the surrender to the Japanese. He discusses the treatment and living conditions he experienced as a prisoner of war. He was held captive at Bilibid Prison and Cabanatuan in the Philippines. He was transported aboard the Totorri Maru, a hell ship, to Formosa. He was then relocated to Camp Omori near Tokyo, Japan where he befriended Gregory “Pappy” Boyington and Louis Zamperini; was beaten by “the Wiley Bird” (Mutsuhiro Watanabe); and encountered Premier Tojo. He discusses his release when the war ended, return to …
Date: August 2012
Creator: Sanchez, William R.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History

Oral History Interview with William E. Painter, December 21, 1998

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Interview with William Painter, a UNT professor and Army WWII veteran from New Bloomfield, Missouri. Painter discusses growing up in the Depression, being a conscientious objector and feeling pressure to join the war, getting drafted into the infantry and training at Camp Hood and Fort Ord, deployment to the Pacific with the 32nd Infantry Division, operations on Luzon and the Villa Verde Trail, the end of the war, occupation duty in Japan, and returning home. In appendix is a letter to Marcello with a correction for the interview.
Date: December 21, 1998
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Painter, William E.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
[Scrapbook: Mary Jean Kempner, Year 1934 To Year 1946] (open access)

[Scrapbook: Mary Jean Kempner, Year 1934 To Year 1946]

Mary Jean Kempner's personal scrapbook, covering the years 1934-1946, with the items glued to or placed between the pages. Included are letters, cards, and telegrams addressed to Ms. Kempner; newspaper clippings and news releases about her; scripts from radios shows; paraphernalia related to her time as a war correspondent; illustrated magazine pages related to World War II; original copies and negative copies of checks and receipts; and photographs of Ms. Kempner. There is a large group of blank pages in the middle of the book.
Date: 1934/1946
Creator: Kempner, Mary Jean
Object Type: Book
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with William R. Sanchez, June 24, 2011 transcript

Oral History Interview with William R. Sanchez, June 24, 2011

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with with William R. Sanchez. Born in Texas in 1918, Sanchez joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1938. He was drafted into the Army in 1940 and elected to serve in the Philippines. He was assigned to the 59th Regiment, Coast Artillery, Battery D and later Battery H at Fort Mills (Corregidor). He was then assigned to Army Intelligence in the Harbor Defense Headquarters. He recounts how the Army Intelligence at Corregidor provided advance notification of the Japanese force on its way to attack Pearl Harbor. He describes participating in the battle for Corregidor, being taken prisoner in the Malinta Tunnel, and his role in disposing of an American flag after the surrender to the Japanese. He discusses the treatment and living conditions he experienced as a prisoner of war. He was held captive at Bilibid Prison and Cabanatuan in the Philippines. He was transported aboard the Totorri Maru, a hell ship, to Formosa. He was then relocated to Camp Omori near Tokyo, Japan where he befriended Gregory “Pappy” Boyington and Louis Zamperini; was beaten by “the Wiley Bird” (Mutsuhiro Watanabe); and encountered Premier Tojo. He discusses his …
Date: June 24, 2011
Creator: Sanchez, William R.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History