Oral History Interview with William Cowden, June 28, 2011 transcript

Oral History Interview with William Cowden, June 28, 2011

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Cowden. Cowden joined the Navy in November 1944. He joined the crew of USS LST-1001 as a deck seaman. Cowden describes taking part in the second wave of the invasion of Okinawa and mentions seeing several attacks by kamikaze planes on nearby ships. He describes his battle station on a 40mm anti-aircraft gun and how it operated. Cowden also details his ship being severely damaged during two typhoons. He remained aboard until the ship was decommissioned in 1946 and he left the service a few months later.
Date: June 28, 2011
Creator: Cowden, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with William Calloway Scott, June 23, 2011 transcript

Oral History Interview with William Calloway Scott, June 23, 2011

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Calloway Scott. Scott joined the Army in October 1943 and received medical training at Camp Grant. Upon completion, he was sent to Omaha Beach with the 9th Infantry Division, arriving eight days after D-Day. Although there should have been three medics assigned to each company, they were often short-staffed, with only one medic per several hundred men. Scott participated in house-to-house fighting in Cherbourg and pushed onward into Belgium and Germany. He recalls an evening when Germans parachuted behind American lines, creating a great deal of confusion in the morning, but the Germans were taken prisoner without incident. Scott celebrated the end of the war alongside dancing Russians and returned home in October 1945.
Date: June 23, 2011
Creator: Scott, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Jean Mathis Lidiak, August 15, 2011 transcript

Oral History Interview with Jean Mathis Lidiak, August 15, 2011

Interview with Jean Mathis Lidiak, a former middle school secretary from Kerrville, Texas. Mrs. Lidiak talks about growing up in Kerrville, her family, and her work at various businesses and the Veterans Administration hospital. She also discusses her husband's education, his service in World War II, and the auto companies he worked at.
Date: August 15, 2011
Creator: Collins, Francelle Robison; Stephens, Louis; Sutton, Jeanne Schumacher & Lidiak, Jean Mathis
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Bern Ballard, November 17, 2011 transcript

Oral History Interview with Bern Ballard, November 17, 2011

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bern Ballard. Ballard joined the Army National Guard in November 1940 at Camp Mabry. He served as a truck driver in the Austin and San Antonio area and describes how he was injured during the Louisiana Maneuvers. Ballard describes driving a truck with the 36th Infantry Division in North Africa and Italy. He details having to pick up dead soldiers near the front and drive them back to cemeteries. Ballard describes taking part in the invasion of Southern France and his transfer to the 78th Division and reassignment as an infantryman. He discusses how he was wounded by mortar fire in the Hurtgen Forest and how he was treated. Ballard describes the combat conditions, in particular the cold and lack of food. He accepted the surrender of German soldiers at the end of the war. Ballard was discharged in July 1945.
Date: November 17, 2011
Creator: Ballard, Bern
System: The Portal to Texas History