Oral History Interview with Grover Reichle, January 22, 1979 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Grover Reichle, January 22, 1979

Interview with Grover Reichle, an 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. Reichle 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 (1942-1944), Kanchanaburi, Thailand (1944-1945), Bangkok, Thailand (1945), and his liberation.
Date: February 22, 1979
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Reichle, Grover, 1920-
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Orland Seeley, January 11, 1977 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Orland Seeley, January 11, 1977

Interview with Orland Seeley, U.S. Navy WWII veteran, concerning his experiences aboard the cruiser USS Honolulu during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date: January 11, 1977
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Seeley, Orland
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Torpedoes in the Gulf: Galveston and the U-Boats, 1942-1943 (open access)

Torpedoes in the Gulf: Galveston and the U-Boats, 1942-1943

Book detailing the experience of those in Galveston during the time of World War II and the German U-Boats.
Date: 1995
Creator: Wiggins, Melanie, 1934-
Object Type: Book
System: The Portal to Texas History

Oral History Interview with Commander Alex Vraciu, October 9, 1994

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Interview with Cmdr. Alex Vraciu, a Navy WWII veteran and Navy Cross recipient from East Chicago, Indiana. Vraciu discusses his family and educational background, naval flight training, Edward "Butch" O'Hare, the F6F Hellcat, various combat operations throughout the Pacific, his actions at the "Marianas Turkey Shoot," being awarded the Navy Cross and time stateside, and returning to combat. In appendix is an autobiographical sketch by Vraciu, including a picture of him and his Hellcat with visible victory markings on the fuselage.
Date: October 9, 1994
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Vraciu, Alexander
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
VRF Pilot Exam-O-Grams (open access)

VRF Pilot Exam-O-Grams

Book of brief explanations for important aeronautical knowledge, such as basic concepts and procedures for proper aviation and common misconceptions among pilots.
Date: unknown
Creator: United States. Federal Aviation Administration.
Object Type: Book
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Clipping: Pilot Amelia Earhart] (open access)

[Clipping: Pilot Amelia Earhart]

Newspaper clipping discussing the life of Amelia Earhart, her adventures flying, and the records she set as a woman pilot. The clipping also includes puzzles and games related to remembering the pilot.
Date: July 23, 1997
Creator: Debnam, Betty
Object Type: Clipping
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Pamphlet: The Story Behind the Medal of The Month] (open access)

[Pamphlet: The Story Behind the Medal of The Month]

Pamphlet from the Medal of the Month Club with a cartoon and short biography about the life of Amelia Earhart. A short introduction paragraph explains the purpose of the Club is to teach children about American aviation heroes.
Date: 1941~
Creator: Sullivan, Ralph & Buranelli, Felicity
Object Type: Pamphlet
System: The Portal to Texas History

Flying with the Fifteenth Air Force: A B-24 Pilot’s Missions from Italy during World War II

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
In 1944 and 1945, Tom Faulkner was a B-24 pilot flying out of San Giovanni airfield in Italy as a member of the 15th Air Force of the U.S. Army Air Forces. Only 19 years old when he completed his 28th and last mission, Tom was one of the youngest bomber pilots to serve in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Between September 1944 and the end of February 1945, he flew against targets in Hungary, Germany, Italy, Austria, and Yugoslavia. On Tom’s last mission against the marshalling yards at Augsburg, Germany, his plane was severely damaged, and he had to fly to Switzerland where he and his crew were interned. The 15th Air Force generally has been overshadowed by works on the 8th Air Force based in England. Faulkner’s memoir helps fill an important void by providing a first-hand account of a pilot and his crew during the waning months of the war, as well as a description of his experiences before his military service. David L. Snead has edited the memoir and provided annotations and corroboration for the various missions.
Date: October 2018
Creator: Faulkner, Tom & Snead, David L.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
[WASP Newspaper Clippings Scrapbook] (open access)

[WASP Newspaper Clippings Scrapbook]

Scrapbook of various WASP newspaper clippings and pamphlets belonging to former Women Airforce Service Pilot instructor, Rigdon Edwards Jr.
Date: August 2000
Creator: Spears, Sandra Edwards
Object Type: Book
System: The Portal to Texas History
Student Pilot Handbook (open access)

Student Pilot Handbook

Handbook for student pilots, detailing procedures, maneuvers, and judgement criteria for learning how to fly planes. The book includes numerous illustrations, some humorous and others instructional, to aid the student. There are several handwritten notes on the front page from grateful students of the WASP class 44-W-3.
Date: March 1943
Creator: Hunt, Jack & Fahringer, Ray
Object Type: Book
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Clipping: Indio aviatrix put stamp on history] (open access)

[Clipping: Indio aviatrix put stamp on history]

Newspaper clipping from the Daily Sun, "Indio aviatrix puts stamp on history" by Jan Curran discussing the new Jacqueline Cochran Pioneer Pilot stamp that will be issues in a public ceremony on March 9, 1996 in Indio, California. It also discusses Cochran's career and accomplishments.
Date: February 24, 1996
Creator: Curran, Jan
Object Type: Clipping
System: The Portal to Texas History
War in the Pacific: A Chronology January 1, 1941 through September 30, 1945 (open access)

War in the Pacific: A Chronology January 1, 1941 through September 30, 1945

Text outlining major events in the Pacific Theater throughout World War II, organized by date. It also includes text for the Instrument of Surrender, appendices containing military and war data, a bibliography, and list of related Web sites.
Date: March 2014
Creator: Hyland, George O., III
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Charles Pase, April 12, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Charles Pase, April 12, 2001

Interview with Charles Pase, a marine during World War II. He discusses joining the Marines and training on New Zealand and other Pacific islands. He describes landing on Tarawa, the battle of Tarawa itself, and locating and burying the dead bodies after the battle. He also talks about going to Hawaii for more training before going to Saipan, various guns and artillery he used, encountering natives on Saipan and being in Nagasaki after the bomb was dropped. He relates ancedotes about having tonsillitis during the Tarawa attack, fights that some Marines got into with local Hawaiians while training there and prejudices against Japanese-Americans, mistaking a land crab that pinched the back of his neck for a bayonet, getting Dengue Fever, and faking a landing on April Fools' Day.
Date: April 12, 2001
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Pase, Charles
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
1941: Texas Goes to War (open access)

1941: Texas Goes to War

This book is a collection of essays discussing the role of Texans in World War II. It examines both the Texas soldiers fighting in the European and Pacific theaters as well as the Texans on the Homefront. The essays describe both the military and social aspects of the war. Index starts on page 241.
Date: 1991
Creator: Lee, James Ward; Barnes, Carolyn N.; Bowman, Kent A. & Crow, Laura
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library