Resource Type

Language

Oral History Interview with William Horrell, May 23, 2008 transcript

Oral History Interview with William Horrell, May 23, 2008

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Horrell. Horrell completed ROTC infantry classes at Western Kentucky University, then joined the Army in May of 1943. He completed Armored Officer Candidate School at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in September of 1943. He was assigned to the 92nd Reconnaissance Squad, B Company, 66th Armored Infantry Battalion, 12th Armored Division. He had additional training at Camp Campbell in Kentucky, driving half tracks, completing maneuvers and reconnoitering the area. Horrell served as an Armored Infantry Platoon Leader in half tracks. Around June of 1944 they traveled to England, then on to Le Havre, France in November of that same year. He was then assigned to the 7th Army and they completed armored vehicle attacks and maneuvers. They participated in a battle in Stuttgart, Germany. He was discharged in 1946. He retired from the Reserves as a lieutenant colonel.
Date: May 23, 2008
Creator: Horrell, William
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Lorenzo Todd, May 23, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with Lorenzo Todd, May 23, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lorenzo Todd. Todd completed radio school through the National Youth Administration. He completed Civilian Pilot Training with the Army Air Force Reserves in mid-1943. Beginning in 1945, he flew an L-5 aircraft with the 163rd Liaison Squadron. They traveled to Hawaii, the Bikini Islands, Eniwetok, Ulithi, and evacuated wounded soldiers from Okinawa. Todd returned to the US and was discharged in November of 1945.
Date: May 23, 2013
Creator: Todd, Lorenzo
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Richard Taylor, May 23, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with Richard Taylor, May 23, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Taylor. Taylor joined the Navy in February of 1943. He served as a Marine pilot with a dive bomber squadron. In October of 1944, Taylor deployed to the Marshall Islands. He completed surveillance missions of Japanese-occupied islands. Around March of 1945, he was stationed at Engebi, on the Eniwetok Atoll. Taylor participated in the Battle of Okinawa, completing combat patrol missions and dropping napalm on the southern end of the island. He returned to the US and was discharged in November of 1945.
Date: May 23, 2013
Creator: Taylor, Richard
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with James McKinley, May 23, 2003 transcript

Oral History Interview with James McKinley, May 23, 2003

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James McKinley. McKinley was in college when the war started and in spite of serious damage to his eyes earlier in life, he was able to serve in the Army as a clerk in the Ordnance branch. He was shipped to New Caledonia and assigned to the 51st Ordnance Ammunition Company, operating an ammo dump outside of Noumea. He arrived there in 1943 and went home after the war and was discharged in early 1946. He used the GI Bill to finish schooling in pharmacy and earned a master's degree before becoming a pharmacist in Houston.
Date: May 23, 2003
Creator: McKinley, James
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Ralph Herman Seibt, May 23, 2012 transcript

Oral History Interview with Ralph Herman Seibt, May 23, 2012

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ralph Herman Seibt. Seibt joined the Army Air Corps in June 1939. A skilled typist, he worked in communications for the 52nd Squadron at Randolph Field. He took an interest in flying and in 1944 transferred to Montgomery, Alabama, as a cadet. He was hazed and got on poorly with his instructor, and after a certain point he refused to continue his training. Seibt deployed to Guam with the 501st Bombardment Group, 41st Bombardment Squadron, assigned personnel duties such as administering Purple Hearts. Initially, he lived in dangerous jungle conditions but eventually was housed in barracks. He saw natives rounded up in stockades in Agana and was instructed not to interact with them. Upon his return to the States, he crossed paths with German POWs at Fort Bliss, where he was discharged. He enjoyed having the opportunity to chat with them, and they were happily reminded by his last name of one of the great German radio manufacturers. Seibt returned home to his wife and got to know his daughter, who was born in July 1944.
Date: May 23, 2012
Creator: Seibt, Ralph
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Wayne Richards, May 23, 2012 transcript

Oral History Interview with Wayne Richards, May 23, 2012

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Wayne Richards. Richards joined the Army Air Corps in 1940 and received radio training at Scott Field. Upon completion, he was able to transmit coded messages at 20 wpm. He volunteered for gunnery school, hoping to see combat, and deployed to North Africa with the 301st Bombardment Group (Heavy), 353rd Bomb Squadron, as a B-17 radio operator. In campaigns throughout the Mediterranean and as far east as Athens, he stood out to his colonel as a keen observer. Richards alerted his group when a supposed milk run over Ibiza was rife with antiaircraft fire and was the only one to see that a targeted bridge in Anzio was still standing. He received a warm welcome in Cerignola, Italy, where civilians offered wine and laundry service to the troops. Richards flew the first mission over Rome, admonished to carefully spare the Vatican. He returned home after 50 missions and attended flight school until his discharge in September 1945. Richards completed aeronautics school on the GI Bill and became a commercial pilot.
Date: May 23, 2012
Creator: Richards, Wayne
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Robert Hand, May 23, 2004 transcript

Oral History Interview with Robert Hand, May 23, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Hand. Hand joined the Army in February of 1941. He served with the 208th Military Police Company in Brownwood, Texas. After Pearl Harbor, Hand completed Officer Candidate School, graduating in May of 1942. He was assigned to the 7th Armored Division, 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron. They landed at Omaha Beach in August of 1944. They patrolled between Saint-Lô and Caen, and Hand was wounded on his way up to Germany. Hand returned to the US, and remained hospitalized from August of 1944 through April of 1945. He was then assigned to help set up a Reconnaissance School at Fort Knox. Hand was discharged in December of 1945.
Date: May 23, 2004
Creator: Hand, Robert
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Lester Wilson, May 23, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Lester Wilson, May 23, 2001

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lester Wilson. Wilson was born on 11 April 1916 in Helix, Oregon. Upon graduating from high school in 1933, he enrolled at Indiana University and later transferred to the University of Arizona. In 1942 he enlisted in the US Navy. After six weeks of boot training he was sent to Range Finders School. Completing school, he traveled by troop train to Pier 92 in New York City. He then reported aboard the newly commissioned USS Earle (DD-635) at Charlestown Navy Yard, New York. He tells of experiences while escorting troop ships to North Africa and during the invasion of Sicily. He also recalls being part of a divisionary force during the Normandy invasion. Returning to the United States in 1945, the ship was converted to a Destroyer Mine Sweeper (DSM-42). The ship was on a shakedown cruise when Japan surrendered. Wilson was discharged soon thereafter.
Date: May 23, 2001
Creator: Wilson, Lester
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Ralph Herman Seibt, May 23, 2012 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Ralph Herman Seibt, May 23, 2012

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ralph Herman Seibt. Seibt joined the Army Air Corps in June 1939. A skilled typist, he worked in communications for the 52nd Squadron at Randolph Field. He took an interest in flying and in 1944 transferred to Montgomery, Alabama, as a cadet. He was hazed and got on poorly with his instructor, and after a certain point he refused to continue his training. Seibt deployed to Guam with the 501st Bombardment Group, 41st Bombardment Squadron, assigned personnel duties such as administering Purple Hearts. Initially, he lived in dangerous jungle conditions but eventually was housed in barracks. He saw natives rounded up in stockades in Agana and was instructed not to interact with them. Upon his return to the States, he crossed paths with German POWs at Fort Bliss, where he was discharged. He enjoyed having the opportunity to chat with them, and they were happily reminded by his last name of one of the great German radio manufacturers. Seibt returned home to his wife and got to know his daughter, who was born in July 1944.
Date: May 23, 2012
Creator: Seibt, Ralph
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Wayne Richards, May 23, 2012 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Wayne Richards, May 23, 2012

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Wayne Richards. Richards joined the Army Air Corps in 1940 and received radio training at Scott Field. Upon completion, he was able to transmit coded messages at 20 wpm. He volunteered for gunnery school, hoping to see combat, and deployed to North Africa with the 301st Bombardment Group (Heavy), 353rd Bomb Squadron, as a B-17 radio operator. In campaigns throughout the Mediterranean and as far east as Athens, he stood out to his colonel as a keen observer. Richards alerted his group when a supposed milk run over Ibiza was rife with antiaircraft fire and was the only one to see that a targeted bridge in Anzio was still standing. He received a warm welcome in Cerignola, Italy, where civilians offered wine and laundry service to the troops. Richards flew the first mission over Rome, admonished to carefully spare the Vatican. He returned home after 50 missions and attended flight school until his discharge in September 1945. Richards completed aeronautics school on the GI Bill and became a commercial pilot.
Date: May 23, 2012
Creator: Richards, Wayne
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Lorenzo Todd, May 23, 2013 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Lorenzo Todd, May 23, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lorenzo Todd. Todd completed radio school through the National Youth Administration. He completed Civilian Pilot Training with the Army Air Force Reserves in mid-1943. Beginning in 1945, he flew an L-5 aircraft with the 163rd Liaison Squadron. They traveled to Hawaii, the Bikini Islands, Eniwetok, Ulithi, and evacuated wounded soldiers from Okinawa. Todd returned to the US and was discharged in November of 1945.
Date: May 23, 2013
Creator: Todd, Lorenzo
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Richard Taylor, May 23, 2013 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Richard Taylor, May 23, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Taylor. Taylor joined the Navy in February of 1943. He served as a Marine pilot with a dive bomber squadron. In October of 1944, Taylor deployed to the Marshall Islands. He completed surveillance missions of Japanese-occupied islands. Around March of 1945, he was stationed at Engebi, on the Eniwetok Atoll. Taylor participated in the Battle of Okinawa, completing combat patrol missions and dropping napalm on the southern end of the island. He returned to the US and was discharged in November of 1945.
Date: May 23, 2013
Creator: Taylor, Richard
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with James McKinley, May 23, 2003 (open access)

Oral History Interview with James McKinley, May 23, 2003

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James McKinley. McKinley was in college when the war started and in spite of serious damage to his eyes earlier in life, he was able to serve in the Army as a clerk in the Ordnance branch. He was shipped to New Caledonia and assigned to the 51st Ordnance Ammunition Company, operating an ammo dump outside of Noumea. He arrived there in 1943 and went home after the war and was discharged in early 1946. He used the GI Bill to finish schooling in pharmacy and earned a master's degree before becoming a pharmacist in Houston.
Date: May 23, 2003
Creator: McKinley, James
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Lester Wilson, May 23, 2001 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Lester Wilson, May 23, 2001

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lester Wilson. Wilson was born on 11 April 1916 in Helix, Oregon. Upon graduating from high school in 1933, he enrolled at Indiana University and later transferred to the University of Arizona. In 1942 he enlisted in the US Navy. After six weeks of boot training he was sent to Range Finders School. Completing school, he traveled by troop train to Pier 92 in New York City. He then reported aboard the newly commissioned USS Earle (DD-635) at Charlestown Navy Yard, New York. He tells of experiences while escorting troop ships to North Africa and during the invasion of Sicily. He also recalls being part of a divisionary force during the Normandy invasion. Returning to the United States in 1945, the ship was converted to a Destroyer Mine Sweeper (DSM-42). The ship was on a shakedown cruise when Japan surrendered. Wilson was discharged soon thereafter.
Date: May 23, 2001
Creator: Wilson, Lester
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Robert Hand, May 23, 2004 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Robert Hand, May 23, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Hand. Hand joined the Army in February of 1941. He served with the 208th Military Police Company in Brownwood, Texas. After Pearl Harbor, Hand completed Officer Candidate School, graduating in May of 1942. He was assigned to the 7th Armored Division, 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron. They landed at Omaha Beach in August of 1944. They patrolled between Saint-Lô and Caen, and Hand was wounded on his way up to Germany. Hand returned to the US, and remained hospitalized from August of 1944 through April of 1945. He was then assigned to help set up a Reconnaissance School at Fort Knox. Hand was discharged in December of 1945.
Date: May 23, 2004
Creator: Hand, Robert
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with William Horrell, May 23, 2008 (open access)

Oral History Interview with William Horrell, May 23, 2008

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Horrell. Horrell completed ROTC infantry classes at Western Kentucky University, then joined the Army in May of 1943. He completed Armored Officer Candidate School at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in September of 1943. He was assigned to the 92nd Reconnaissance Squad, B Company, 66th Armored Infantry Battalion, 12th Armored Division. He had additional training at Camp Campbell in Kentucky, driving half tracks, completing maneuvers and reconnoitering the area. Horrell served as an Armored Infantry Platoon Leader in half tracks. Around June of 1944 they traveled to England, then on to Le Havre, France in November of that same year. He was then assigned to the 7th Army and they completed armored vehicle attacks and maneuvers. They participated in a battle in Stuttgart, Germany. He was discharged in 1946. He retired from the Reserves as a lieutenant colonel.
Date: May 23, 2008
Creator: Horrell, William
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Adolph Krchnak, May 23, 2015 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Adolph Krchnak, May 23, 2015

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Adolph Krchnak. Krchnak joined the Army in December of 1944. He completed parachute school. In late 1944, early 1945 he was stationed in the Philippines with the 11th Airborne Division. They served in a traditional infantry role in the Philippines. His division participated in the Liberation of Manila in the spring of 1945. In August of 1945 they traveled into southern Japan as part of the occupation force. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
Date: May 23, 2015
Creator: Krchnak, Adolph
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Adolph Krchnak, May 23, 2015 transcript

Oral History Interview with Adolph Krchnak, May 23, 2015

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Adolph Krchnak. Krchnak joined the Army in December of 1944. He completed parachute school. In late 1944, early 1945 he was stationed in the Philippines with the 11th Airborne Division. They served in a traditional infantry role in the Philippines. His division participated in the Liberation of Manila in the spring of 1945. In August of 1945 they traveled into southern Japan as part of the occupation force. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
Date: May 23, 2015
Creator: Krchnak, Adolph
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History