Resource Type

3 Matching Results

Results open in a new window/tab.

Oral History Interview with Alan Pilot, August 10, 2010 transcript

Oral History Interview with Alan Pilot, August 10, 2010

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alan Pilot. Pilot joined the Army in January 1943 and received basic training at Camp Howze. He received further training in Louisiana for the European Theater and then in California for the Pacific Theater. In January he left for Camp Old Gold at La Havre, where he served as a combat medic, supporting Companies E, G, and H of the 343rd Infantry, 86th Division. His unit relieved the 8th Division and fought in Cologne, where he was stationed at the top of the cathedral while it was being shelled. In the Ruhr Pocket a defective shell landed 10 feet away from him. He recalls seeing 100,000 Germans surrender there. He describes the Bavarian people as friendly as he passed through Austria on VE Day. He was then sent to the Pacific as part of Operation Coronet. VJ Day came while he was still crossing the Pacific. He spent the last five months of his service in the Philippines at a quiet outpost while the rest of his unit prepared the Philippines for independence. Pilot returned home and was discharged in January 1946.
Date: August 10, 2010
Creator: Pilot, Alan
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Vaughn Bercaw, April 22, 2002 transcript

Oral History Interview with Vaughn Bercaw, April 22, 2002

Interview with Vaughn Bercaw, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force from East Lansing, Michigan who served in Germany during the Cold War and Thailand in the early days of the Vietnam War. Bercaw describes his training in basic aircraft weapon systems and experiences on various missions in both wars, including life upon returning to the United States.
Date: April 22, 2002
Creator: Brown, Chambra & Bercaw, Vaughn
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Dimminger, July 5, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with Albert Dimminger, July 5, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Dimminger. Dimminger worked for Hammond Aircraft and Consolidated in 1939, building aircraft. He joined the Navy in March of 1942. Beginning in mid-June Dimminger served as Aviation Metalsmith Third Class aboard the USS Hornet (CV-8). From August through October they operated around the Solomon Islands. On 26 October, during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, the ship was struck and sank by a dive bomber and torpedo plane attack. He was transferred to the USS Bougainville (CVE-100), and they transported aircraft to the Marshall, Admiralty and Mariana islands. In February of 1944 he was stationed in Honolulu for shore duty and worked as First Class Petty Officer in charge of the supply depot for plane parts. He was discharged in 1945.
Date: July 5, 2006
Creator: Dimminger, Albert
System: The Portal to Texas History