Oral History Interview with Joy Taylor, August 16, 2005 transcript

Oral History Interview with Joy Taylor, August 16, 2005

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joy (Cheatham) Taylor. Taylor begins with a summary of her siblings and provides details about an older brother who served in the Navy during World War II aboard the USS Saratoga (CV-3). Taylor reflects on rationing items like gasoline. She also mentions corresponding with her two older brothers in the Navy. Taylor's father died in 1943 and she and her mother went to live on the farm with Taylor's grandparents in Coryell County, Texas. She recalls several aspects of farm living during World War II. Taylor also mentions housing for soldiers near Fort Hood, Texas as well as gardening and canning vegetables. She talks about her having to wear homemade clothes made from feed sacks, which she disliked. Taylor recalls the end of the war and ringing the church bell all night in town. After the war, she helped her brother run a cafe in Abilene before she met her husband, Paul Taylor, and got married.
Date: August 16, 2005
Creator: Taylor, Joy
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Warren Newberry, August 3, 2000 transcript

Oral History Interview with Warren Newberry, August 3, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Warren Newberry. Newberry joined the Army Air Forces in December 1942 and received basic training at Camp Wolters. Upon completion of his training, he was shipped to England, where he served in the 26th Mobile Reclamation and Repair Squadron under the 8th Air Force. His team assembled hundreds of Waco CG-4A combat gliders per day in preparation for D-Day. His unit also was noted for constructing housing with empty glider crates. Watching the glider pilots in training, Newberry recalls brilliant flying by stunt pilot Mike Murphy. On June 6th he saw thousands of planes pass overhead on their way to Normandy, wing-to-wing. In July 1944 he was sent to France to assemble Piper L-4s. He arrived at Omaha Beach at D-Day plus 99 and was upset when he came upon 44,000 freshly dug graves with white crosses. He notes that otherwise the beach was in pristine condition. Newberry returned home and was discharged as a Staff Sergeant in November 1945.
Date: August 3, 2000
Creator: Newberry, Warren
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with George Gerards, August 11, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with George Gerards, August 11, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Gerards. Gerards joined the Army Air Forces in April of 1943. He completed pilot training and aerial gunnery school in June of 1944. He served as first lieutenant B-24 bombardier in the 380th Bomb Group, 531st Bomb Squadron, 5th Air Force. They traveled to Hawaii, Tarawa, Guadalcanal, New Guinea, Leyte and Murtha Field on Mindoro Island. He completed 33 missions over the Philippines, Okinawa, Balikpapan, French Indochina and Japan. They completed combat, weather reconnaissance and POW rescue missions. He was discharged in February of 1946.
Date: August 11, 2006
Creator: Gerards, George
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Phillip Grau, August 19, 2005 transcript

Oral History Interview with Phillip Grau, August 19, 2005

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Phillip Grau. Grau entered the Army Air Forces in October, 1941 after having studied radio and telegraph operation. He did well enough to be an instructor before going overseas. In 1944, Grau went to Dacca, India. Once there, Grau served as a radio operator aboard cargo planes flying aviation gasoline over the Himalaya Mountains to airfields in China. He had over 1500 hours flight time and shares several anecdotes about flying the Hump. Shortly after the war ended, Grau headed home and was discharged in November 1945.
Date: August 19, 2005
Creator: Grau, Phillip S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Lindsey Wilcox, August 9, 2007 transcript

Oral History Interview with Lindsey Wilcox, August 9, 2007

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lindsey Wilcox. Wilcox joined the Navy in November 1942 and received training on Treasure Island as a machinist. He was assigned briefly to the Aleutian Islands before boarding USS Indianapolis (CA-35) as a fireman, first class. He describes the Indianapolis as a beautiful ship, complete with ice cream parlor and shops. He was aboard the Indianapolis from Tarawa through Okinawa and saw components of the atomic bomb loaded aboard ship, although he didn’t know at the time what they were. While traveling from Guam to Leyte, the Indianapolis was sunk by a torpedo. Wilcox survived close encounters with sharks during the four days he waited for rescue. He was taken by USS Bassett (APD-73) to a hospital in Guam. Wilcox returned home and joined the inactive reserve. He was honorably discharged in 1951. Later in life he came to know Captain McVay personally. Although McVay was subjected to court-martial for losing the Indianapolis, Wilcox maintains that McVay was an excellent captain and an honorable person.
Date: August 9, 2007
Creator: Wilcox, Lindsey
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Ed Knipper, August 3, 2009 transcript

Oral History Interview with Ed Knipper, August 3, 2009

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ed Knipper. Knipper joined the Army Air Forces in 1942. He earned his wings in June 1944 and began training in B-17s and B-29s. After deploying to Guam in February 1945, he joined the 3rd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, whose missions included dropping propaganda leaflets. Knipper transferred to the 499th Bomb Group at Saipan. After Iwo Jima was secured, Knipper flew bombing missions over Yokohama, Kobe, Osaka and Tokyo. Following the Japanese surrender, Knipper flew humanitarian missions over POW camps, dropping food, clothing and medical supplies. He was discharged into the Reserves and earned his Master's Degree on the GI Bill.
Date: August 3, 2009
Creator: Knipper, Ed
System: The Portal to Texas History