Oral History Interview with Lanson B. Ditto, October 11, 1996

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Interview with Lanson B. Ditto, clothier and Navy veteran regarding personal experiences about the Pacific, Atlantic, and Mediterranean Theaters during World War II. Ditto talks about his education, enlistment in the Navy V-7 Program, midshipman training, assignment to the USS Langley, pre-war duty in the Philippines, coming of war and combat around the Philippines and Netherlands East Indies, the sinking of the Langley and his transfer to the USS Pecos, the sinking of the Pecos and his rescue by the USS Whipple, various naval battles and assignments, antisubmarine patrols off the Solomons, various escort duties, and his promotion to captain of the O'Toole.
Date: October 11, 1996
Creator: Alexander, William J. & Ditto, Lanson B.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with David Braden, October 8, 1994

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Interview with David Braden, an Army Air Force WWII veteran from Dallas, Texas. Braden served as a navigator/radar-bombardier on a B-29 Superfortress in the Pacific; he recounts being in ROTC at North Texas Agricultural College and signing up for the Air Corps Reserves, flight training, the B-29, his crewmates, assignment to Saipan, organization of a bombing mission, the jetstream, flak and fighters, being shot down, switching crews, targets, briefings, recreation, Japanese holdouts on Saipan, fighter escorts, returning stateside, and leaving the service. In appendix is a letter sent to Dr. Marcello by Braden containing some corrections for the interview.
Date: October 8, 1994
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Braden, David, 1924-
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Jean Balch, October 12, 1996

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Interview with Navy veteran Jean Balch, including Balch's personal experiences about the Pacific theater, being a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II, boot camp, radio, radar, and gunnery school, operations during the Leyte invasion, missions over Luzon, and raids on Japanese installations on Formosa and Saigon, French Indo-China. Additionally, Balch talks about his plane being shot down on a raid to Hong Kong and his capture on January 16, 1945, interrogations and beatings by the Kempei-tai, imprisonment at Ofuna, Honshu, solitary confinement for six months and continued interrogation, beatings by Japanese prison guards, starvation diet, the end of the war and liberation, and his participation in the war crimes trials held by the International Military Tribunal.
Date: October 12, 1996
Creator: Alexander, William J. & Balch, Jean
System: The UNT Digital Library

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

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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
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Ernest Brown, October 2, 1996

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Transcript of an interview with Ernest A. Brown, an Army Air Corps veteran, concerning his experiences at Bellows Field with the 72th Bomb Squadron at Bellows Field during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Includes appendix of various military documents.
Date: October 2, 1996
Creator: Rouh, Peggy & Brown, Ernest A., 1916-
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with John A. McVean, October 25, 1995

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Transcript of an interview with John McVean, a Marine Corps veteran, concerning his experiences aboard the battleship USS West Virginia during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date: October 25, 1995
Creator: Maynard, Stephen Ronald & McVean, John A., 1919-
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Luther G. Strange, October 16, 1996

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Interview with Luther Strange, an Army Air Corps veteran, concerning his experiences at Hickam Field with the Headquarters Squadron during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date: October 16, 1996
Creator: Blanchette, Scott & Strange, Luther G., 1913-
System: The UNT Digital Library