Lecture given Monday, September 16, 2013, 4:00 PM at Abilene Christian University: "Library archives preserve troves of missionary letters, reports, and photographs. Stories of faith may be recovered from these neglected documents. How will missionary records of the digital age be preserved? Join the conversation with your ideas, strategies, and practices to rescue our future past."

This recording is a part of the radio series “Toscanini: The Man Behind the Legend,” which was a tribute to conductor Arturo Toscanini. The broadcasts consist of music performed by the NBC Orchestra as well as interviews with composers, conductors, orchestra members, and other people associated with Toscanini. This segment includes performances and rehearsal outtakes of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6.

This recording is a part of the radio series “Toscanini: The Man Behind the Legend,” which was a tribute to conductor Arturo Toscanini. The broadcasts consist of music performed by the NBC Orchestra as well as interviews with composers, conductors, orchestra members, and other people associated with Toscanini. This segment features The Eyes of the Maestro.

Sound recording of James V. Mink being interviewed by Bernard Galm about the history of the Oral History Association at Powell Library at UCLA in Los Angeles, California.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Merle Ainley. Ainley joined the Navy in September of 1944. He completed Radar School in Hawaii, and served as a Radar Specialist and navigator aboard USS Finch (DE-328). They traveled to Guam, Leyte and maneuvered along the China Coast, with a carrier task force. They transported prisoners-of-war from Taiwan and Formosa to Manila. They traveled to Saipan and completed occupation duty in Hong Kong, completing air sea rescue and charting harbors. He returned to the US and was discharged in June of 1946.

This recording is a part of the radio series “Toscanini: The Man Behind the Legend,” which was a tribute to conductor Arturo Toscanini. The broadcasts consist of music performed by the NBC Orchestra as well as interviews with composers, conductors, orchestra members, and other people associated with Toscanini. This segment features rehearsal and performance of Respighi's The Fountains of Rome.

This recording is a part of the radio series “Toscanini: The Man Behind the Legend,” which was a tribute to conductor Arturo Toscanini. The broadcasts consist of music performed by the NBC Orchestra as well as interviews with composers, conductors, orchestra members, and other people associated with Toscanini. This segment features Toscanini: The Debut Years.

Sound recording of William Moss giving a talk titled "The Future of Oral History" during the 5th Oral History Workshop in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Don Riel. Riel joined the Navy in 1943 after working in the tool room at a Chevrolet plant. He received basic training at Camp Perry and joined the Seabees as a second class petty officer. On Kwajalein, while operating a truck, he was struck in the shoulder blade by a piece of coral during a controlled explosion. There were no medical facilities there at the time, so Riel was sewn up on the beach. He was then assigned to operate a cement mixer, which is all he could do with his arm in a sling. On Ebeye, he was tasked with maintaining water stills. When he arrived on Tinian, he was a bulldozer operator for the construction of airstrips. Although Tinian had already been secured, Riel survived attacks by snipers and bombers, hiding under his armored dozer. He then served as a fresh water well mechanic until the end of the war. Riel returned home and was discharged in December 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Steven Dittrich. Dittrich was born 15 October 1952 in Oceanside, New York. He is first generation American and grew up in an extended family that spoke German in the household. In his narrative, he relates the experiences his father and grandmother had during World War II. His father, Erwin K. Dittrich, was born in Westheim, Germany 25 March 1923. His grandmother was Jewish while his grandfather was a Christian. In March 1943 his grandmother received a deportation order sending her and her son, Erwin, to a transit camp in Bielefeld, Germany. After two months the mother and son were put aboard a train and sent to Theresienstadt concentration camp where the mother died of starvation in 1944. Erwin was sent to a camp at Trebnitz, Germany. The commandant of the camp was Franz Stuschka who was tried and found guilty of war crimes committed during the war. Erwin’s job was to clean the SS barracks. As the Russian Army advanced the camp was evacuated in February 1945 and he was sent to Theresienstadt. In May 1945 the Nazis turned over control of the camp to the Red Cross …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dorothy Rufi. Mrs. Rufi’s maiden name is Roehning. She arrived in Washington D.C. to work at the Coast Guard headquarters in 1942. She was assigned to a secretarial pool of four women who worked for Rear Admiral Harvey F. Johnson. She mentions blackouts and an air raid drill. She returned to her home to Minnesota in 1944.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ora Bull Durham. After initially volunteering for the Army Air Forces after high school and being rejected for high blood pressure, Durham was drafted in 1942 by the Navy. His basic training in Farragut was held indoors because of snow. He came down with rheumatic fever and the mumps, and upon recovery went aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6) in July 1943. He became a barrier operator for VF(N)-90, using a wheel to control one of the four barriers that stopped inbound planes that failed to latch to the arresting gear. At Okinawa he recalled seeing 70 kamikazes in the air around the time the Enterprise was hit. In Bremerton for repairs, the crew began celebrating the end of the war one week before it was officially declared, sensing its inevitability. Afterward, they traveled to San Francisco to pick up sailors bound for Hawaii. Durham stayed on for further troop transports and was soon discharged, retiring with the rank of aviation boatswain’s mate.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hans Hanneman. Hanneman was born in Gillespie County (Texas) on 16 September 1916, the oldest of eight children. Although his mother was widowed, he was able to attend Texas Lutheran College for two years. Upon graduating he began working for a Fredericksburg (Texas) businessman. His employer decided that he and Hans would begin taking flying lessons at Stinson Field in San Antonio. They received their flying licenses in 1940. Hanneman’s employer then bought an airplane and they began training pilots enrolled in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. Hanneman concludes the narrative by telling of his wedding in the Nimitz Hotel Ballroom in 1944.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Leavelle. Leavelle graduated from high school in May 1944 and on July 8, 1944 he was sworn into the US Navy in Amarillo, Texas. His high school had offered a special course in radio operating, so he enrolled in the course and learned basic radio theory as well as how to copy Morse code. On 18 July, he reported to the Navy Recruiting and Processing Station at Lubbock, Texas where he was officially sworn into the Navy for a second time and enlisted under the Navy Reserve V-6 program. After boot camp at the San Diego Naval Training Station, Leavelle went to Navy Radio Operator School, graduating in May 1945 as a Seaman First Class Radioman. From there, he went to Camp Shoemaker (outside Oakland, California) for ship assignment - the USS Tamalpais (AO-96), reporting on May 23, 1945. The Tamalpais was new construction, just built in Sausalito, California at the Marin Ship Yards. After shakedown exercises off San Diego and loading five million gallons of potable water in San Pedro, the Tamalpais sailed for Eniwetok Island in the Marshall Islands on June 23, 1945. The Tamalpais …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Sam Palermo. Palermo was born in 1924 in Melrose Park, Illinois. His parents came from Italy in 1902. He was drafted into the Navy in June 1943 and sent to Farragut, Idaho for boot training. Upon finishing, he went to Wahpeton, where he studied engineering at the North Dakota State College of Science for six months. In March 1944 he reported aboard the USS Dennis (DE-405) as a motor machinist in the engine room. The Dennis was part of Taffy 3 and participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf off Samar during which the ship was hit five times by Japanese gunfire. After the battle, the Dennis picked up 434 survivors from the USS St. Lo (CVE-63) and Palermo describes burials at sea of five shipmates and a casualty from the St. Lo. After dropping off the injured at Peleliu, the ship returned to Alameda for repairs. Returning to the Pacific, the Dennis provided support during the invasion of Iwo Jima. After twenty-seven days on station at Iwo Jima the ship went to Ulithi for provisions and to prepare for the next invasion. After participating in the invasion …

Transcript of an oral interview with Major General Yoshihiro Minamoto. Through the work of the translator, Minamoto recalls attending a military academy in Tokyo and granduating in April, 1944. From there, he was assigned to a Japanese Army shipping division in Hiroshima. Through the translator, Minamoto describes training a special squadron of suicide boat operators for deployment on Okinawa. He arrived on Okinawa in September, 1944. Minamoto never got a chance to attack with his suicide boat squadron at Okinawa, so he was folded into an infantry unit already on Okinawa. Minamoto also describes surrendering once he heard the war was finished. When he returned to Japan after the war, he volunteered for service in the Japanese Defense Forces.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Roy. Roy joined the Navy in 1939. He joined the engineering department on the USS Arkansas (BB-33). Roy practiced amphibious landings using the battleship motor launch alongside early Higgins landing craft. He was then sent to school to become a photographer’s mate. Roy was sent to the USS Yorktown (CV-5) where he operated motion picture cameras and worked in the photo lab. He mentions taking part in photo-reconnaissance missions over the Marshall and Gilbert islands. Roy describes his time on the bridge during the Battle of Coral Sea. He discusses how the captain maneuvered the ship to avoid incoming torpedoes. Roy details how the Yorktown was damaged and evacuated during the Battle of Midway. He describes how he was able to save three tins of film during the ordeal. Roy was then assigned as an instructor at the Naval School of Photography in Pensacola. He was then commissioned as an officer and went on to serve in intelligence and in the reserves.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Doreen G. Underwood. Underwood was born in England in September of 1920. She joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in August of 1940, completing clerical duties. She was stationed in England, France and Germany. Underwood was discharged in late 1945.

Transcript of an oral interview with Les Caffey. He was born near Ballinger, Texas, grew up on a farm near Brady, Texas and when he finished high school in 1944, he joined the Navy because his brothers and friends had all joined the service. He had two months training in San Diego, then went aboard a troopship to Pearl Harbor. From there, Caffey was assigned and went aboard the USS Wichita (CA-45). He speaks of towing the USS Canberra (CA-70) after it suffered a torpedo hit off the coast of Formosa. Caffey also speaks of watching from the deck of the Wichita planes from VF-2 come in and land on the illuminated deck of the USS Lexington (CV-16) after operations in the Philippine Sea. As the cruiser was headed into Buckner Bay to soften up Okinawa prior to the invasion, Caffey describes near misses by a torpedo and a kamikaze. After the war ended, the Wichita sailed to Nagasaki where Caffey describes scenes of destruction. After that, the Wichita was sent to Philadelphia for decommissioning and Caffey got his discharge shortly thereafter. He made his way back to Brady and reunited with his folks.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Warren Tsuneishi. Tsuneishi was living in California when the war started and was soon evacuated to a Japanese-American detention center. He joined his family at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming. He did not stay there long as he was allowed to attend Syracuse University. In 1943, he entered the Military intelligence Language School and studied Japanese to become an interpreter. He participated in the invasion of Leyte Island and worked as a translator and interpreter. Tsuneishi also went to Okinawa as a translator. Tsuneishi provides unique insight from the Japanese American perspective of his time in the Army.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jim Romer. In 1943 he was a civilian single-engine flight instructor at an Army Primary Flying School in Helena, Arkansas. He then joined the Ferry Command in Memphis, Tennessee where he received twin-engine training and worked as a civilian pilot ferrying airplanes. He shares an anecdote about leading a flight of six airplanes from Brazil to Ascension Island. After attending four-engine flight school, he went to Mitchel Field in Long Island, New York. He describes the conversion of B-24 bombers into C-109 fuel transports. The Army gave him an appointment as a flight officer and sent him to Shamshernagar, India. He flew missions transporting fuel over ?the Hump? to Chengtu and Kunming for use by bombers and other airplanes operating out of China. He flew C-87 transport planes, which were converted B-24 bombers. He talks about the hazards involved in the transport missions over the Himalaya Mountains, such as encountering Japanese planes, adverse weather conditions, and engine failure. He relates a story about drifting off course as well a one about losing three engines. He also mentions Japanese radio propaganda. Additionally, he comments on some of the activities …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Walter Autry. Autry left the Merchant Marine and joined the Navy just after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Given his experience, he qualified for steam engineering and was sent to the University of Houston for training in diesel engineering. He briefly entertained the idea of being a Navy diver and received training at Pier 88 in New York City. Ultimately he was assigned to the crew of an LCI that laid smoke screens and made almost 100 landings in the Philippines. As part of his duty, Autry fought fires on ships and rescued the wounded. He bartered with natives on Mindanao and returned home with an intricately carved knife made of volcanic ash. He also met the natives of Luzon and describes their poisonous arrows. He recalls a treacherous typhoon at Okinawa. From there he went to China and recounts the tremendous poverty. He saw atrocious conditions for Filipino women and children at Santo Tomas. When Autry finally returned home, his daughter, who was born while Autry was at sea, was already 18 months old. He joined the Naval Reserve and was sent to the Philippines as a …

Transcript of an oral interview with Elmer Freeman. Mr Freeman graduated from high school in 1938 and joined the Navy in 1939. He had three other brothers in the service during the war. After training at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, he was assigned to Aviation Machinist Mate School in San Diego. Upon completion of that, he was sent to VP-12, a PBY squadron in San Diego for a short while then sent to Patrol Wing 4 in Seattle. He was assigned to VP-41 first and then VP-42, both PBY squadrons; he was there when the war started. On December 8, 1941, they were ordered to Tongue Point, Oregon (in the mouth of the Columbia River) and began flying anti-submarine patrols from there, flying PBY-5s. In Feb 1942, his squadron was ordered to Alaska (Sitka, Kodiak and Dutch Harbor). He was a plane captain/crew chief, flight engineer and gunner. They flew pie-shaped sector searches for around ten hours. The squadron came back to Whidbey Island in Feb 1943 for about a month and then went back to Alaska but changed over to the PVs then (PV-1 Ventura). They operated from a variety of islands in the Aleutian chain. He was …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Edwin. Edwin was born in 1932. As a young elementary school student in Houston, Texas, he volunteered with the aircraft warning services during World War II. From mid-1942 through December of 1943, Edwin served as an aircraft observer on Sunday afternoons, reporting to the 3rd Fighter Command of the 3rd Air Force.