Resource Type

Oral History Interview with Ruth Simons (Kerr) Ray, December 6, 1996 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Ruth Simons (Kerr) Ray, December 6, 1996

Interview with Ruth Simons (Kerr) Ray, the great-great granddaughter of James Kerr, from Canyon Lake, Texas. Mrs. Ray discusses her ancestor's life and his history in the Hill Country, as well as the Historical Marker Dedication Ceremony at the Kerr County Courthouse.
Date: October 6, 2000
Creator: Bethel, Ann; Snodgrass, Clarabelle & Ray, Ruth Simons
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Jerell E. Crow, August 24, 2002 transcript

Oral History Interview with Jerell E. Crow, August 24, 2002

Interview with Jerell E. Crow. He entered the Coast Guard in 1940 and trained in Florida and New York City. He served aboard a Landing Ship, Tank (LST) when those ships were first introduced. He traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the Neville Island Shipyard operated by the Dravo Corporation as part of a crew that brought an LST down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. From there, the crew practiced operations at Biloxi, Mississippi. Eventually, Crow travelled to San Diego aboard the LST through the Panama Canal. From there, he went to Guadalcanal and unloaded tanks. Eventually, his ship was hit at Saipan and he was wounded. He also served aboard an LST during the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Afterwards, Crow's LST was present in Tokyo Bay for the surrender. He visited Hiroshima while on occupation duty after the atomic bomb was dropped. Eventually, his LST made its way back to San Francisco where he was discharged.
Date: August 24, 2002
Creator: Rabalais, Larry & Crow, Jerell E.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History