Oral History Interview with Orland J. ""Bud"" Harris, August 22, 2000 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Orland J. ""Bud"" Harris, August 22, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Orland Harris. Harris went to Santa Anna, California for Aviation Cadet training in the Army Air Corps in 1942. He went to primary flying school in Visalia, California and then went to LaeMoore, California for more training. From there he went to replacement training units, flying the P-38, P-322 and P-39. Harris had take civilian pilot training for one year at college before he went into the service. He received his wings at Williams Field in Arizona 3 Nov 1943 and became an officer that day. He went to the South Pacific in a C-54, along wih about 30 other pilots, ending up in Nadzab, New Guinea with the 8th Fighter Group (part of the 5th Air Force). His P-38 missions included targets of opportunity around New Guinea, a cave on Corregidor and straffed ships on the way to Borneo, and the Philippines. Normally they flew cover missions for B-17s and B-24s but on occasion covered B-25s and A-20s. Harris was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) when he was flying out of Mindoro in the Philippines on a night mission (26 Dec 1944) attacking a Japanese task …
Date: August 22, 2000
Creator: Harris, Orland J.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History

Oral History Interview with Ernest Kelley, February 20, 2003

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Interview with Ernest Kelley, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran from Antioch, Texas (now the Red River Army Depot), who served with the 112th Cavalry. Kelley discusses growing up in the Depression, joining the Guard, mobilization and training, horses, the Louisiana Maneuvers, deployment to New Caledonia, landing on Woodlark island and action there, the Battle of Arawe, redeployment to Australia, the Battle of Driniumor River in New Guinea, the Battles of Leyte and Luzon, returning to the United States, and reflections on his time in the Army. In appendix is a list of people and places named in the interview with lat/long coordinates, descriptions of military equipment, and the 112th's WWII service chronicle.
Date: February 20, 2003
Creator: Johnston, Glenn & Kelley, Ernest L.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Lloyd F. Hudson, August 12, 2003

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Interview with Lloyd F. Hudson, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran from Fort Worth, Texas. Hudson discusses his family background, joining the 124th Cavalry and transfer to the 112th, work as a cavalryman before activation, activation and the Louisiana Maneuvers, deployment to Townsville, Australia, amphibious assault on Arawe, New Britain, falling ill and returning to the States, the character of troops, equipment, rivalry with the Marine Corps, and acts of bravery. In appendix is a list of Hudson's fellow soldiers, the places he served, descriptions of the equipment mentioned in the interview, and the 112th's service chronicle.
Date: August 12, 2003
Creator: Johnston, Glenn T. & Hudson, Lloyd F.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Richard Bennett, November 15, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Richard Bennett, November 15, 2001

Interview with Richard (Dick) Bennett, a pilot during World War II. He discusses his enlistment in the Army Air Corps, basic training and flight school. He then went to a base in South Carolina to learn to fly B-25s. At Fort Myers, Florida he flew B-26 bombers and trained to fly them off of aircraft carriers so they could drop torpedos on the Japanese fleet during naval battles. He traveled across the Pacific to Brisbane only to be told that they didn't have B-26s for the crews; the colonel there knew nothing about the plan to launch B-26s from aircraft carriers, so they were sent to New Guinea to fly B-17s and supplement the crews for those bombers. From there they made bombing runs or "Washing Machine Charlie"-type runs to keep people awake at night on various Japanese targets in the islands, particularly the base at Rabaul. In fall of 1943, the Army grounded the B-17s due to the damage they had incurred and replaced them with B-24s. The men received manuals and were given only a few days to familiarize themselves with the new planes. They were then sent on bombing runs. He finished his tour of duty at …
Date: November 15, 2001
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Bennett, Richard
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History