Oral History Interview with Norbert Fritz, November 29, 2012 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Norbert Fritz, November 29, 2012

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Norbert Fritz. Fritz joined the Army in 1941 and was sent to radio school in San Antonio and the University of Texas. He received basic training in Amarillo and was reassigned to the Army Air Forces. He completed a radio operator course in Sioux Falls but could not get his Morse code up to speed; so, he was sent to Florida for top-secret radar training and arrived on New Guinea in the spring of 1944. There he serviced B-25 radio equipment, after removing radar equipment so the planes would be light enough for low altitude missions. He continued his work in the Netherlands East Indies, the Philippines, and Okinawa. He sailed through two typhoons on his way back to the States and was discharged in January 1946. Fritz opened a radio repair shop, became a broadcast engineer, and founded several radio stations.
Date: November 29, 2012
Creator: Fritz, Norbert
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Paul Evans, April 27, 2016 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Paul Evans, April 27, 2016

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Paul Evans. Evans joined the Marchant Marine in the summer of 1944. He was assigned as a radio operator on the SS Charles M. Russel. Evans describes life aboard ship and details the ceremony when they crossed the equator. He discusses his role as a loader for a 20mm anti-aircraft gun and coming under attack during the landings on Leyte. Evans also describes receiving an SOS while on watch and how the senders were too far away to help. His next voyage was on the SS Fort Stevenson, which was a tanker. Evans describes a stopover on Tinian and an opportunity to explore the airfield and parked B-29 bombers. He returned to the US in September of 1945 and enlisted in the US Army for three years.
Date: April 27, 2016
Creator: Evans, Paul
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Norbert Fritz, November 29, 2012 transcript

Oral History Interview with Norbert Fritz, November 29, 2012

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Norbert Fritz. Fritz joined the Army in 1941 and was sent to radio school in San Antonio and the University of Texas. He received basic training in Amarillo and was reassigned to the Army Air Forces. He completed a radio operator course in Sioux Falls but could not get his Morse code up to speed; so, he was sent to Florida for top-secret radar training and arrived on New Guinea in the spring of 1944. There he serviced B-25 radio equipment, after removing radar equipment so the planes would be light enough for low altitude missions. He continued his work in the Netherlands East Indies, the Philippines, and Okinawa. He sailed through two typhoons on his way back to the States and was discharged in January 1946. Fritz opened a radio repair shop, became a broadcast engineer, and founded several radio stations.
Date: November 29, 2012
Creator: Fritz, Norbert
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Barton, November 6, 2010 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Albert Barton, November 6, 2010

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Albert Barton. Barton joined the Navy and was trained as a radioman. He became a crewman on an Avenger torpedo bomber in October 1943. Barton flew off of the USS Mission Bay (CVE-59) and the USS Tripoli (CVE-64) and performed anti-submarine patrols in the North Atlantic. He describes how depth charges were dropped, the armament of the plane, and how they were trained to skip-bomb. Barton was then sent to the Pacific where he flew off of the USS Anzio (CVE-57) for the remainder of the war. He describes an incident where his plane had a failed landing and ended upside-down in the water. Barton had to break some glass in the cockpit to escape. He flew ground support missions over Okinawa. Barton discusses how the radio and radar functioned on his plane. He was discharged several months after the surrender.
Date: November 6, 2010
Creator: Barton, Albert
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Bernard Hollander, June 18, 1997 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Bernard Hollander, June 18, 1997

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an interview with Bernard Hollander. Hollander was commissioned in the Naval Reserve in May 1942. His first assignment was aboard the USS SC-1065 before he switched ships to command the USS SC-1066 and headed for the Western Pacific. There, he was involved in the invasions of the Marshall Islands and the Mariana Islands before being assigned to the USS Medea (AKA-31) as navigator. He participated in the invasion of Okinawa and transported troops ashore at Tokyo Bay during the surrender. Hollander recalls several anecdotes about his experiences in the Navy aboard small vessels. He received his discharge in February, 1946.
Date: June 18, 1997
Creator: Hollander, Bernard
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Paul Evans, April 27, 2016 transcript

Oral History Interview with Paul Evans, April 27, 2016

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Paul Evans. Evans joined the Marchant Marine in the summer of 1944. He was assigned as a radio operator on the SS Charles M. Russel. Evans describes life aboard ship and details the ceremony when they crossed the equator. He discusses his role as a loader for a 20mm anti-aircraft gun and coming under attack during the landings on Leyte. Evans also describes receiving an SOS while on watch and how the senders were too far away to help. His next voyage was on the SS Fort Stevenson, which was a tanker. Evans describes a stopover on Tinian and an opportunity to explore the airfield and parked B-29 bombers. He returned to the US in September of 1945 and enlisted in the US Army for three years.
Date: April 27, 2016
Creator: Evans, Paul
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History