Oral History Interviews with Curtis J. Smith, 1990

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Interview with Curtis J. Smith, a airline industry worker and community organizer from Longview, Texas. Smith discusses his family history, his education, working for his father, moving to Dallas, service in the Navy during WWII, getting married, working for Braniff International and American Airlines, living in Hamilton Park, his children, church activities, work with the Interorganizational Council and the Civic League, and development of the neighborhood.
Date: 1990-02/1990-03
Creator: Wilson, William H. & Smith, Curtis J.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Frank H. Bigelow, June 13, 2002

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Interview with Navy veteran Frank H. Bigelow, survivor of the siege of Corregidor. The interview includes Bigelow's personal experiences about being a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II, boyhood in North Dakota, various jobs during the Great Depression, and enlisting in the Navy. Additionally, Bigelow speaks about volunteering for duty in the Philippines and his assignment to the submarine tender USS Canopus, pre-war military life in the Philippines, the Japanese bombing of Cavite Navy Yard and the destruction of the Canopus, retreating to Bataan and to Corregidor, the fall of Corregidor, his confinement in the 92nd Garage area, the forced march down Dewey Boulevard in Manila and confinement at Cabanatuan, hell ship to Japan, coal mining for Mitsui Heavy Industries, the amputation of his leg by fellow prisoners after a mining accident, liberation, and the destruction in Nagasaki due to the atomic bomb. The interview includes an appendix with an article titled "A Soldier's Story."
Date: June 13, 2002
Creator: Alexander, William J. & Bigelow, Frank H., 1921-
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interviews with Willie B. Johnson, February, 1990

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Interview with Mrs. Willie B. Johnson, a nurse from Kaufman, Texas. Johnson discusses growing up in a sharecropping family, racism in the community, work on the farm, her education, becoming a nurse and working at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, moving to Hamilton Park, unfair access to utilities, her children's education and difficulties with the school system, the Civic League, her husband, her children, other places she's lived, police harassment, the NAACP, and life in Hamilton Park. An addendum includes additional biographical information about Mrs. Johnson.
Date: {1990-02-09,1990-02-22}
Creator: Wilson, William H. & Johnson, Willie B.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with John W. Bruce, December 4, 1982 (open access)

Oral History Interview with John W. Bruce, December 4, 1982

Interview with Army Air Corps veteran John W. Bruce. The interview includes Bruce's personal experiences at Hickam Field with the 36th Bombardment Squadron during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date: December 4, 1982
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Bruce, John W.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Eugie Jones Thomas transcript

Oral History Interview with Eugie Jones Thomas

Interview with Eugie Jones Thomas about the history of Grapevine, Texas.
Date: unknown
Creator: Thomas, Eugie Jones
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Donald C. Brain, March 11, 1981 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Donald C. Brain, March 11, 1981

Interview with Donald C. Brain, a United States Navy veteran from Long Beach, California. Brain discusses his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II after his cruiser, the USS Houston, was sunk off the coast of Java in 1942.
Date: March 11, 1981
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Brain, Donald C.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Frederick R. Freeman, March 31, 2000

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Interview with accountant and Army veteran Frederick R. Freeman. The interview includes Freeman's personal experiences about the European Theater during the World War II, basic training, advanced infantry training, initial combat on the front lines in France, survival techniques under combat conditions, the Ardennes Offensive, and the Battle of the Bulge. Freeman also talks about the effects of combat losses and acclimation of individual replacements, his bout with combat exhaustion and reassignment to a replacement depot as a clerk, his participation in the Army of Occupation, and postwar adjustments to civilian life.
Date: March 31, 2000
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Freeman, Frederick R.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Thomas Spencer, February 5, 1979 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Thomas Spencer, February 5, 1979

Interview with Thomas Spencer, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran and POW from Joplin, Texas. Spencer discusses his experiences with the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, the "Lost Battalion" captured on Java in March 1942, including: joining the service; training; deployment to East Asia; diversion to Brisbane and Malang; the Japanese attack on Java; the American surrender; experiences in internment and labor at Tanjong Priok and Bicycle Camp in Batavia, several camps on the Burma Railway, and Saigon; liberation.
Date: February 5, 1979
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Spencer, Thomas
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Eddie Griffin, January 31, 2014

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Interview with Eddie Griffin, an African-American historian and activist from Fort Worth, Texas. Griffin discusses his family origins, growing up in segregated Fort Worth, the Fort Worth economy and discrimination, white neighborhoods, attending I. M. Terrell High School, black newspapers and histories, JFK's visit, attending Arlington State College, being drafted into the Army and stationed in Germany, becoming a revolutionary, robbing a series of banks, being incarcerated, activism in prison and political prisoners, returning to civilian life, the rediscovery of his faith, and his career as a local historian. In appendix are several photographs of Griffin and his family, and selections of literature featuring Griffin.
Date: January 31, 2014
Creator: Moye, Todd & Griffin, Eddie
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Burlyce Logan, March 14, 2006 and February 6, 2017

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Interview with Burlyce Logan, one of the first African American students at North Texas, and UNT alumna whose college education began in 1956 and concluded in 2011. She recalls her childhood and education in Dallas and New York City; love of piano and musical education; decision to become one of the first African American students at North Texas; experiences as a college student, including racist incidents on campus, and as a boarder in Southeast Denton; decision to drop out in 1958; marriage to Raymond Logan, move to California, and return to Denton; decision to return to UNT as a student in 2005 and experiences on campus in the 21st century; 2011 graduation.
Date: 2006-03-14/2017-02-06
Creator: Thompson, Mark; Stallings, Chelsea & Logan, Burlyce
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Herbert Young, October 1, 1989 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Herbert Young, October 1, 1989

Interview with Herbert Young, a United States Navy veteran from Forest Hill, Louisiana, regarding his experiences and memories of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor of December 7, 1941 while aboard the destroyer USS Worden.
Date: October 1, 1989
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Young, Herbert W.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Estelle Adams, July 5, 2014

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Interview with Estelle Adams discussing her life growing up in Wheelock, Texas as well as her grandparents who left Georgia and other extended family members. She also talks about her experiences teaching in various Texas towns, including a segregated school in Bryan, Texas and being transferred to a school in Dallas, Texas during integration.
Date: July 5, 2014
Creator: Smith, Tiffany & Adams, Estelle Mitchell
Object Type: Book
System: The Portal to Texas History

Oral History Interview with Sadye Gee, May 28, 1990

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Interview with Sadye Gee, a teacher from Dallas, Texas. Gee discusses her family background, working a laundry service during the Great Depression, education, teaching at B. F. Darrell School, marriage, her husband's career, the Black Chamber of Commerce in Dallas, black Dallas communities, buying a home in Hamilton Park and life in the area as an African-American, raising her daughter, discrimination, schools, the growth of the area, and "buy outs" and relocation. In appendix is a sheet of Gee's biographical information.
Date: May 29, 1990
Creator: Wilson, William H. & Gee, Sadye
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

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

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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

Oral History Interview with Archie Gantt, August 31, 1999

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Interview with Army veteran Archie Gantt. The interview includes Gantt's personal experiences about the European Theater during World War II, boyhood in central Texas, basic training, shipping to England, combat on the Siegfried Line, and the Battle of the Bulge. Additionally, Gantt talks about leadership problems, combat living conditions, Officer Candidate School and commissioning, and his postwar war service in Europe.
Date: August 31, 1999
Creator: Lane, Peter B. & Gantt, Archie
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Shuford M. Alexander, Jr., December 2, 1999

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Interview with engineer and Army Air Forces veteran Shuford M. Alexander, Jr. The interview includes Alexander's personal experiences about being a fighter pilot in Italy during World War II, basic training, flight training, various assignments and transfers, Operation STRANGLE, being shot down by flak over Piacenza, and being rescued by Italian partisans. Additionally, Alexander talks about his link-up with a British A-4 Mission and his attempt to reach Allied lines, his betrayal by a German agent and his subsequent capture, escaping and continuing his search for Allied lines, his observations and opinions about the partisans, a second encounter with a British A-4 Mission, the Martani family in the village of Tosca, his group's trek through mountain snow to reach Allied lines, meeting with British paratroopers and with African-American soldiers from the 92nd Infantry Division, and his reunion with his squadron in Pisa. The interview includes an appendix with a narrative by Alexander.
Date: December 2, 1999
Creator: Alexander, William J. & Alexander, Shuford M., Jr.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Charles A. Cates, March 14, 1974 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Charles A. Cates, March 14, 1974

Interview with Charles A. Cates, a businessman, U.S. Army veteran (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard), and a member of the "Lost Battalion," concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Cates talks about the fall of Java and his capture, Bicycle Camp in Batavia (1942), Changi Prison Camp in Singapore (1942), building the Burma-Thailand Death Railway (1943-1944), Kanchanaburi, Thailand (1944), Bangkok, Thailand (1945), and his liberation.
Date: March 14, 1974
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Cates, Charles A., 1908-
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
[Oral History Interview with Edward Langley and Mary Virginia Simmons, May 4, 1993] captions transcript

[Oral History Interview with Edward Langley and Mary Virginia Simmons, May 4, 1993]

Interview with Edward Langley and Mary Virginia Simmons about the history of Grapevine, Texas.
Date: May 4, 1993
Creator: Langley, Edward L. & Simmons, Mary Virginia
Object Type: Video
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Karl A. Bugbee, December 8, 1971 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Karl A. Bugbee, December 8, 1971

Interview with Karl Bugbee, a Marine WWII veteran and POW from New Orleans, Louisiana. Bugbee discusses his time in the Philippines at Cavite Naval Yard before the war, the Japanese invasion, the Battle of Bataan, the Battle of Corregidor, his capture, and his internment at Bilibid Prison, Cabanatuan, and the Ashio Copper Mine in Japan.
Date: December 8, 1971
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Bugbee, Karl A.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Marvin B. Edwards, March 6, 1971 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Marvin B. Edwards, March 6, 1971

Interview with Marvin B. Edwards, chemist and Army Air Corps veteran (95th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force), concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Germans after being shot down over Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. Edwards discusses his rescue by the Belgian underground, his capture and interrogation (1944), solitary confinement, Stalag Luft 3, Sagan, Germany, Nürnberg (Stalag 13-D) and Moosburg (Stalag 7-A) (1945), and his liberation by American troops. Appendix includes Edwards' dossier at Oflag Luft Three, Excerpts from Edwards' prison diary, and Edwards' escape map.
Date: March 6, 1971
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Edwards, Marvin B., 1923-
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Michael Flight, 2009-2010

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Interview with Michael Flight, Argentinian-born immigrant to Roanoke, Texas, as part of the DFW Metroplex Immigrants Oral History Project. The interview includes Flight's personal experiences of childhood and education in Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo, Brazil, being a university student, and the September 11, 2001 attacks and aftermath. Additionally, Flight discusses his parents' backgrounds, life under military dictatorship, perspectives on the Cold War, the Argentinian government's inability to manage the economy, the Falkland Islands War, Argentinian politics, effects of hyperinflation, his work in import-export and manufacturing fields, his wife's work in the information technology field, the 2001 economic collapse and ensuing constitutional crisis, the "cacerolazo" and "choripan and a coka" protests, his decision to emigrate, acculturation struggles, the difficulty finding work in the midst of recession, his perspectives on various aspects of American culture and politics, and his participation in the North Texas Caledonian Pipes and Drums Band.
Date: November 2, 2009
Creator: Park, David & Flight, Michael
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Clyde J. Shelton, July 27, 1987 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Clyde J. Shelton, July 27, 1987

Interview with Clyde J. Shelton, a United States Army veteran from Mexia, Texas, regarding his experiences and memories as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II after being captured when his artillery unit, the "Lost Battalion," was captured off the coast of java in 1942.
Date: July 27, 1987
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Shelton, Clyde J.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with P. J. Smallwood, October 1973 (open access)

Oral History Interview with P. J. Smallwood, October 1973

Interview with P. J. Smallwood, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran and POW from Sherman, Texas. Smallwood recounts his experiences with the "Lost Battallion" which was captured on Java in March, 1942, and his subsequent time as a POW, including: joining the National Guard; mobilization and deployment to East Asia; diversion to Java at the start of the war; the Japanese attack and the unit's capture; and his internment and labor at the Bicycle Camp in Batavia (Jakarta), Changi Camp in Singapore, the "15 Kilo Camp" in Malaysia, where he worked on the Death Railway, Kanchanaburi in Thailand, and Saigon.
Date: {1973-10-11,1973-10-25}
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Smallwood, P. J.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Wilfred Bain, December 12, 1978 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Wilfred Bain, December 12, 1978

Interview with Wilfred Bain, dean of the North Texas State University School of Music from 1938-1947, concerning his experiences in the establishment of the NTSU School of Music as one of national prominence. Bain discusses his education and musical background, his appointment as chairman of the Department of Music, the establishment of the NTSU School of Music and his appointment as dean, the establishment of the jazz program, and his appointment as dean of the School of Music at Indiana University. He also comments on President W. Joseph McConnell, Silvio Scionti, Floyd Graham, Mary McCormic, Helen Hewitt, Walter Robert, Ralph Daniel, and the "Aces of Collegeland."
Date: December 12, 1978
Creator: Myers, Marceau & Bain, Wilfred C. (Wilfred Conwell), 1908-1997
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library