Resource Type

Oral History Interview with Arwin Bowden, March 9, 2000 transcript

Oral History Interview with Arwin Bowden, March 9, 2000

Interview with Arwin Bowden, a marine during World War II. He begins by discussing his training in San Diego and New Zealand before the Battle of Tarawa. He describes being wounded in the battle, the casualties he saw, and being shipped back to Pearl Harbor for treatment before joining the battle of Saipan. He describes ancedotes about Japanese killing themselves rather than surrendering, eating food from a garden watered from rainwater running down from outhouses, the wages he made, and the time he had leave.
Date: March 9, 2000
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Bowden, Arwin J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with James M. Bowen, March 27, 2000 transcript

Oral History Interview with James M. Bowen, March 27, 2000

Interview with Dr. Bowen, beginning with the origins of his interest in science. He discusses influential educational experiences and then chronicles the evolution of M. D. Anderson during the presidencies of Dr. R. Lee Clark and Dr. Charles LeMaistre. Dr. Bowen fondly compares the leadership styles of Dr. Clark and Dr. LeMaistre and how both men facilitated his own professional growth.
Date: March 27, 2000
Creator: Bowen, James M. & Marchiafava, Louis J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Eleanor MacDonald, May 19, 2000 transcript

Oral History Interview with Eleanor MacDonald, May 19, 2000

Interview with Eleanor MacDonald discussing her early life and education in New England; her early career in the Cancer Division in the American College of Surgeons; her recruitment and subsequent work at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute; her work in developing the biostatistics coding in the early years of the institution; and her relationship with various physicians and luminaries of the Texas Medical Center.
Date: May 19, 2000
Creator: MacDonald, Eleanor & Marchiafava, Louis
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Joe Van Dyke, June 16, 2000 transcript

Oral History Interview with Joe Van Dyke, June 16, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joe Van Dyke. Van Dyke was drafted into the Army Air Forces in March 1943. Upon completion of basic training at Sheppard Field, he was assigned to the nearby aircraft mechanic school. He then attended gunnery school and became a top turret gunner on a B-24, also doubling as assistant engineer. In August 1944 his crew joined the 466th Bombardment Group, 787th Bombardment Squadron in England. While stationed there, Van Dyke survived V-1 and V-2 rocket attacks. His initial missions involved transporting fuel to France. Moving onto strategic bombing operations, he flew 32 missions, mostly over Germany. He also provided ground support over France and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. In all of his missions, he never once had to fire his gun. After Germany surrendered, Van Dyke was reassigned to B-29s and trained for the Pacific. He had accumulated enough points, however and was discharged in July 1945.
Date: June 16, 2000
Creator: Van Dyke, Joe
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with James Grumman, July 18, 2000 transcript

Oral History Interview with James Grumman, July 18, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Grumman. Grumman joined the Army Air Corps in 1940 and earned his wings and commission in March, 1942. On one of his first assignments, he met General Patton in California. He went overseas to England in 1944 and was assigned to the 401st Bomb Group, 614th Bomb Squadron where he flew combat mission from May to September. Grumman flew 30 missions over France and Germany before coming home in November 1944. Upon his return and after some leave, Grumman served as an instrument-flying instructor. Grumman stayed in the reserves after the war, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
Date: July 18, 2000
Creator: Grumman, James
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 Arwin Bowden, September 9, 2000 transcript

Oral History Interview with Arwin Bowden, September 9, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arwin Bowden. He begins by discussing his training in San Diego and New Zealand before the Battle of Tarawa. He describes being wounded in the battle, the casualties he saw and being shipped back to Pearl Harbor for treatment, then joining the battle of Saipan. He ancedotes about Japanese killing themselves rather than surrendering, eating food from a garden watered from rainwater running down from outhouses, the wages he made and the time he had leave.
Date: September 9, 2000
Creator: Bowden, Arwin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Frederick Chevalier, September 30, 2000 transcript

Oral History Interview with Frederick Chevalier, September 30, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frederick Chevalier. Chevalier grew up in Texas and was drafted into the Army Air Force in 1941. Once he finished training, he became an instructor. He was told he had a foot condition and offered to stay as an instructor. He turned down the offer. He boarded a tanker at San Francisco in 1944 and took it to New Guinea. From there, he went up to Biak and then Mindoro where he fly 15 missions with the Jolly Rogers. He did radar counter measures. His missions were mostly mid-level with some high enough to use oxygen. From Mindoro Chevalier moved to Luzon. He was part of the 5th Air Force, VBC, 5th Bomber Command. He describes how the teams would verify that they were jamming the signals of the Japaneses. Finally, he moved up to Okinawa. He boarded the Hobo Queen, a B-32, for the Tokyo mission.
Date: September 30, 2000
Creator: Chevalier, Frederick
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with George Medcalf, December 27, 2000 transcript

Oral History Interview with George Medcalf, December 27, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Medcalf. Medcalf grew up in Georgia and was drafted into the Army. Once he finished training, he departed on a ship to the North Atlantic. He was in the Second Infantry Division, 38th Regiment, Company C. He landed in Ireland, went to Wales, and then left for the invasion at Normandy. He landed on June 7, 1944. He describes advancing at Omaha Beach and confrontations with Germans. He continues advancing and assumes command when his superiors until he is injured by shrapnel. After four months in England, he returned to Belgium after the Battle of the Bulge. From Belgium, he went into Germany and then Czechoslovakia. Then the war ended, and he returned to the United States where he married his wife.
Date: December 27, 2000
Creator: Medcalf, George
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Garvin Kowalke, January 23, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Garvin Kowalke, January 23, 2001

Interview with Garvin Kowalke, a pilot during World War II. He discusses joining the Army Air Corps, going to Air Cadet training to become a pilot, and training on various aircraft (AT-17, UC-78, P-36, P-33, T-6, BT-13, B-17, B-29) before becoming a B-29 pilot; he shipped out to Guam and flew standard and fire bombing runs over Japan. He discusses having to ditch the plane on the way back to Guam once when the engines failed, seeing another B-29 crew have to bail out over Toyko Bay and get picked up by a U.S. submarine that was in the Bay, getting pulled down to the fires when they were trying to hide in the smoke to avoid Japanese fighter planes, and getting caught in a storm by Mount Fujiyama, as well as collecting data such wind direction, speed, and temperature over Hiroshima for future bombing runs, which turned out to be for the bombers who dropped the atomic bomb. He also talks about flying over Hiroshima two days after the bombing and gauging how high the radiation levels were at different altitudes. He also talks about being in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, becoming a B-57 pilot, and adopting a …
Date: January 23, 2001
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Kowalke, Garvin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Garvin Kowalke, January 23, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Garvin Kowalke, January 23, 2001

Transcript of an oral interview with Garvin Kowalke. He discusses joining the Army Air Corps, going to Air Cadet training to become a pilot, training on various aircraft (AT-17, UC-78, P-36, P-33, T-6, BT-13, B-17, B-29) before becoming a B-29 pilot. He shipped out to Guam and flew standard and fire bombing runs over Japan. He discusses having to ditch the plane on the way back to Guam once when the engines failed, seeing another B-29 crew have to bail out over Toyko Bay and get picked up by a US submarine that was in the Bay, getting pulled down to the fires when they were trying to hide in the smoke to avoid Japanese fighter planes, getting caught in a storm by Mount Fujiyama, collecting data such wind direction, speed and temperature over Hiroshima for future bombing runs, which turned out to be for the bombers who dropped the atomic bomb, then flying over the city two days after the bombing and gauging how high the radiation levels were at different altitudes. He also talks about being in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, becoming a B-57 pilot, and adopting a baby boy from Germany after the war, then a …
Date: January 23, 2001
Creator: Kowalke, Garvin
System: The Portal to Texas History
The Witness of Welcome: Rediscovering Biblical and Theological Foundations for the Practice of Christian Hospitality transcript

The Witness of Welcome: Rediscovering Biblical and Theological Foundations for the Practice of Christian Hospitality

Lecture given Monday, February 19, 2001, 8:30 AM at Abilene Christian University: "Early Christians announced the in-breaking of God's kingdom as good news, not only in the message they proclaimed, but in the lives they lived. God's welcome in Jesus Christ became the welcome they extended to each other and to the world. Practicing Christianity in a contemporary culture characterized by individualism and competition will not be easy."
Date: February 19, 2001
Creator: Johnson, Gayna
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Jess Williams, March 16, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Jess Williams, March 16, 2001

Interview with Jess Williams, a pilot at the inception of the US Air Force. He answers questions about his life prior to joining the service and describes his missions while he was in the Air Force.
Date: March 16, 2001
Creator: Williams, Debra & Williams, Jess
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Ethel Reisberg Schectman, March 24, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Ethel Reisberg Schectman, March 24, 2001

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ethel Reisberg Schectman. She begins by discussing her family background: her parents were Jews born in Poland and emigrated to the United States. Ethel's European aunts, uncles and grandparents all likely died in the Holocaust. As a first grade student, she taught her mother, a Polish immigrant, how to read and write English. She recalls, wartime rationing, Victory Gardens, scrap drives, and antisemitism among her school-aged classmates in Dallas, Texas, and the end of the war.
Date: March 24, 2001
Creator: Schectman, Ethel
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Ethel Reisberg Schectman, March 24, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Ethel Reisberg Schectman, March 24, 2001

Interview with Ethel Reisberg Schectman regarding her experiences during World War II. She begins by discussing her family background: her parents were Jews born in Poland and emigrated to the United States. Ethel's European aunts, uncles and grandparents all likely died in the Holocaust. As a first grade student, she taught her mother, a Polish immigrant, how to read and write English. She recalls, wartime rationing, Victory Gardens, scrap drives, and antisemitism among her school-aged classmates in Dallas, Texas, and the end of the war.
Date: March 24, 2001
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Schectman, Ethel Reisberg
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Joseph B. Brown, March 24, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Joseph B. Brown, March 24, 2001

Interview with Joseph Brown, who was in the Marine Corps during World War II. He discusses going to Guadalcanal, various guns and artillery he used, the battle of Tarawa and getting malaria just before it, then going to Hawaii for more training before returning to the South Pacific and fighting on Saipan and Tinian. He also discusses being wounded on Saipan, having a bayonet run through his forearm and keeping the bayonet as a souvenir after the war, and he talks about some of his experiences and travels after the war.
Date: March 24, 2001
Creator: Cox, William G. & Brown, Joseph B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Joseph B. Brown, March 24, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Joseph B. Brown, March 24, 2001

Transcript of an oral interview with Joesph B. Brown. He discusses going to Guadalcanal, various guns and artillery he used, the battle of Tarawa and getting malaria just before it, then going to Hawaii for more training before returning to the South Pacific and fighting on Saipan and Tinian. He also discusses being wounded on Saipan, getting a bayonet run through his forearm and keeping the bayonet as a souvenior after the war and talks about some of his experiences and travels after the war.
Date: March 24, 2001
Creator: Brown, Joseph B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Gene Moody, April 1, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Gene Moody, April 1, 2001

Interview with Gene Moody, a staff sergeant in charge of medical dispensary during the Korean War. He answers questions about his military service and his experiences abroad.
Date: April 1, 2001
Creator: Reitmeier, Sara & Moody, Gene
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with J. O. Horn, April 11, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with J. O. Horn, April 11, 2001

Interview with Master Sergeant J. O. Horn, a veteran of World War II in the Pacific Theater. Horn answers questions and goes into great detail about his training and experience overseas including living conditions during his time on Saipan. Horn also discusses his like back home once he was discharged from the service after the war was over.
Date: April 11, 2001
Creator: York, Ann Marie & Horn, J. O.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Bouley, June 27, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Albert Bouley, June 27, 2001

Interview with Albert Bouley, a U. S. Marine during World War II. He discusses his enlistment in the Marines just after Pearl Harbor; his assignment to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Division; the battle of Guadalcanal; malaria and dysentery; the battle of Cape Gloucester; the use of Pavuvu as a base; the battle of Peleliu; his return to the United States; guard duty at the Brooklyn Naval Yard and his service as an instructor in a heavy weapons school before the end of the war. He joined the Air Force 2 1/2 years later to be able to fly and work on planes, then retire to become a teacher in California, and finally settled in Texas.
Date: June 27, 2001
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Bouley, Albert
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Bouley, June 27, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Albert Bouley, June 27, 2001

Transcript of an oral interview with Albert Bouley. He discusses joining the Marines just after Pearl Harbor, being in the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Division, the battle of Guadalcanal, getting malaria and dysentery, the battle of Cape Gloucester, using Pavuvu as a base, the battle of Peleliu, shipping back to the States, doing guard duty at the Brooklyn Naval Yard, becoming an instructor in a heavy weapons school before then end of the war. He joined the Air Force 2 1/2 years later to be able to fly and work on planes, then retiring and becoming a teacher in California before settling in Texas.
Date: June 27, 2001
Creator: Bouley, Albert
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Tom Sledge, July 11, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Tom Sledge, July 11, 2001

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Tom Sledge. Sledge volunteered for service as a bombadier and anvigator in the Army Air Corps and earned a commission. In November, 1942, Sledge received orders to go to India. Once there, his crew was attached to the 10th Air Force and flew bombing missions mainly into Burma. Sledge recalls an incident in which he bombed Japanese ships. Unbeknownst to him, the ships contained Allied prisoners of war. Sledge recalls years later making contact with POWs aboard the ships he bombed. He also mentions briefing General LeMay later in his career. He also participated in the atmoic tests at Bikini with an aerial photography unit. During the Korean War, Sledge flew a few combat missions using guided bombs. For the remainder of his career, Sledge worked with guided missiles.
Date: July 11, 2001
Creator: Sledge, Tom
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with James Werner, December 6, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with James Werner, December 6, 2001

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Werner. Werner joined the Army in January of 1940. He served as a gun mechanic with the 64th Coast Artillery Antiaircraft. Additionally, he worked as an assistant mail censor. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor during the 7 December 1941 attack. Werner provides vivid details of his experiences on the night before and during that fateful day. In early 1943 he joined the Army Air Forces, and was sent to radio school with specialty training in direction finding. From there he traveled to New Guinea to set up a direction finding station near a military landing strip. He continued on to Hollandia, Australia and the Philippines. He was discharged around January of 1946.
Date: December 6, 2001
Creator: Werner, James
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Raymond Wiesmann, December 6, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Raymond Wiesmann, December 6, 2001

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Raymond Wiesmann. Wiesmann joined the Navy in June of 1939. He served aboard the USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Wiesmann recalls being ashore waiting for a church service to begin when the first Japanese planes attacked. Beginning August of 1942, he was transferred to the USS Boston (CA-69), and served on the deck force. He speaks of his shellback initiation, crossing the equator. Wiesmann also recalls their participation in the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
Date: December 6, 2001
Creator: Wiesmann, Raymond
System: The Portal to Texas History