Resource Type

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 Anna K. Schelper, October 24, 2007

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Interview with Major Anna K. Schelper, a Army WWII veteran from San Antonio, Texas. Schelper discusses her parents, growing up, her education and becoming a nurse, joining the Army Nurse Corps, experiences serving throughout the Pacific Theater, service in hospitals after the war, continued education and promoting, and reflections on her career and being a servicewoman. In appendix are Schelper's Army service record, a letter from two former patients to the 23rd Field Hospital, a scan of some of her letters which were printed in a book, and a scan of some sections from The Army Nurse Corps: Yesterday and Today by Mary M. Roberts.
Date: October 24, 2007
Creator: Quick, Janice & Schelper, Anna K.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Caleb H. Canby, III, August 5, 1997

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Transcript of an interview with Caleb H. Canby, III, a Marine Corps veteran (Scout-Bomber 243, 1st Marine Air Wing), concerning experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Canby discusses his family background and education; decision to join the Marine Corps, 1942; boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina; advanced training at Quantico, Virginia, 1943-44; assignment to Scout-Bomber Squadron 243 at Emirau, Solomon Islands, 1944-45; his work in the flight department processing pilots' flight logs; transfer to Mangaldan, Luzon, 1945; assignment to Mindanao in March, 1945; contraction of hepatitis and return to the U. S.
Date: August 5, 1997
Creator: Jackson, Sarah C. & Canby, Caleb H., III
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with L. B. Smith, February 20, 1989 (open access)

Oral History Interview with L. B. Smith, February 20, 1989

Interview with L. B. Smith, a Army WWII veteran from Magnolia, Mississippi, who was present at the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Smith discusses entering the Army and training, events prior to the attack, the morning of December 7th and the bombing of Schofield Barracks, the aftermath and defensive preparations, and his later service in the Pacific Theater.
Date: February 20, 1989
Creator: Cruse, Stephen & Smith, L. B.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with General Robert E. Galer, March 14, 1998

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Transcript of an interview with General Robert E. Galer, a Marine Corps veteran (VMF-224) and recipient of the Medal of Honor, concerning his experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Galer discusses his pre-war training at Pensacola and Quantico; assignment to Saint Thomas and reminiscences about the "destroyers-for bases" deal, 1940; experiences at Ewa during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; assignment to Guadalcanal as commander of VMF-224, August 30, 1942-December 31, 1942; air combat around Guadalcanal; his receiving the Medal of Honor; reassignment to the States for war bond drives; experiences on Iwo Jima, February-March, 1945, as commander of a 584 Radar Team; and assignment to the Philippines and Okinawa, 1945.
Date: March 14, 1998
Creator: Alexander, William J. & Galer, Robert E., 1913-2005
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Robert E. Galer, August 27, 1998

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Interview with General Robert E. Galer, a Marine Corps veteran (VMF-224) and recipient of the Medal of Honor, concerning his experiences concerning the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; the Guadalcanal Campaign as commander of VMF-224; and as head of the 584 Radar units during the campaigns for the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Navy ROTC at the University of Washington, 1931-35; pilot training at Sand Point, Pensacola, and Quantico, 1935-38; assignment to amphibian squadron on Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands, 1938-40, and his minor role in the "destroyers-for-bases" deal with Great Britain, 1940; assignment as commander of VMF-224, 1942; description of the Grumman Wildcat fighter plane; assignment to Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, 1942; episodes involving aerial combat against the Japanese; aerial combat tactics; living conditions at Henderson Field; shot down for the first time on September 12, 1942; shot down for a second time on October 2, 1942; personnel problems with dysentery and malaria; reassignment to COMAIRPAC, November, 1943; Command and Staff College, 1943; awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for twenty-nine consecutive days of combat and eleven-and-one-half kills; meeting President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the Oval Office; development of the 584 Radar for close-air support; Iwo Jima, …
Date: August 27, 1998
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E.; Lane, Peter B. & Galer, Robert E., 1913-2005
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Dave C. Sanford, February 25, 1999

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Interview with Dave C. Sanford, a Army WWII veteran from Carter, South Dakota, who served as a mortarman in the 37th Infantry Division. Sanford discusses growing up, his experiences in the Great Depression, being drafted and training, the New Georgia, Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and Philippine campaigns, being wounded and discharged, and life afterwards.
Date: February 25, 1999
Creator: Alexander, William J. & Sanford, Dave C.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Captain Victor Delano, March 13, 1998

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Transcript of an interview with Captain Victor Delano, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Delano discusses his first assignment to the battleship USS West Virginia and his experiences during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; assignment to the antiaircraft cruiser USS San Juan, 1942; naval battles around Guadalcanal; Battle of Savo Island; assignment to the destroyer USS Wedderburn, 1944; Battle of Leyte Gulf, 1944; Pacific typhoons; Iwo Jima and Okinawa operations, 1945.
Date: March 13, 1998
Creator: Alexander, William J. & Delano, Victor
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with William Coffey, May 20, 1996

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Interview with William Coffey, a Navy WWII veteran from Hopkins County, Texas. Coffey discusses joining the Navy in 1937, boot camp in San Diego, service aboard the USS Oklahoma (BB-37), transfer to submarines in the Philippines, the bombing of Cavite Navy Yard at the start of the war, assignment to the S-41 as a cook, combat around the Solomon Islands, attaining submarine qualifications, patrolling the northern Pacific, the character of the crew, transfer to the USS Sterlet (SS-392), patrols, medical leave, and service postwar.
Date: May 20, 1998
Creator: Maglaughlin, Barry & Coffey, William
System: The UNT Digital Library