This is a conversation about the start and development of the UN Academy, Kokrajhar. Dialect: Standard Boro

This is a conversation about the future plans of the UN Academy, Kokrajhar. Dialect: Standard Boro

This is a description of the cultural life of the Boros in Kokrajhar during the 1950s. Dialect: Standard Boro

This is a personal narrative on ealry life of Mr. Ghana Kanta Basumatary, the first folk song singer to be broadcast on All India Radio, Guwahati. Dialect: Standard Boro

This is a personal narrative about early life. Dialect: Standard Boro

This is a folk song along with its background that was first sung and broadcast on All India Radio, Guwahati. Dialect: Standard Boro

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas Moore. Moore joined the Army through the Selective Service and was assigned to Camp Shelby in January 1941. In 1944 he transferred to the Army Air Forces and learned to fly B-17s at Ardmore Army Air Field. He flew 14 missions in Germany as a pilot with the 359th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, in a 12-plane formation. During a bomb run over Hamburg on 20 March 1945, Moore was flying in the lead position and had been informed of a German jet sighting. Moore never saw the jet, but his plane was hit and caught fire immediately. He went into a flat spin and bailed out, waiting to pull the rip cord on his parachute so that he wouldn’t be shot by Germans on the ground. He crash-landed in a pond, all alone, and walked into a ravine, where he was captured by two Germans. One of the men knocked him to the ground, and Moore remembered from his training to stay down and not fight back, lest he be shot. He marched four miles to a jail and was later transferred to a prisoner-of-war camp. …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lawrence Sykora. Sykora joined the Army Air Forces in May of 1943. He completed schooling in Radio, Mechanics and Aerial Gunnery by February of 1944. He was assigned to the 14th Air Force, 308th Bomb Group, 374th Bomb Squadron. He deployed to China, serving as a radio operator and top turret gunner aboard B-24s. They made numerous trips over the Himalaya Mountains. They supported Chinese ground forces by attacking airfields, coal yards, docks, oil refineries and fuel dumps in French Indochina and Burma. Sykora completed 39 missions, returned to the US and was discharged in late September 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack Frank. Frank joined the Navy in January 1943 and received basic training at Sampson. After yeoman training and amphibious duty at Little Creek, he was sent to Dartmouth to commission an LCT flotilla. From there he was deployed to England for the invasion of Normandy. His landing at Omaha Beach on D-Day was delayed by several hours due to weather, and when he approached the Easy Red Sector in LCT(6)-542, his flotilla launched and lost several tanks in the high waves. Operating under heavy fire, Frank made several supply trips to the beach. The day after it was secured, there was a memorial service held, complete with an organist. Frank spent the rest of the war stationed in England, where he played trumpet with a local big band while on liberty. He was sent home in August 1945 after the military learned that his father had died; however, it was a mix-up with a different Jack Frank whose father had died, so Frank simply enjoyed a nice visit home. He was stationed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard until his discharge in April 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Keith Selvey. Selvey joined the Army in June 1941. He served with the 40th Infantry Division, 185th Infantry Regiment, and was stationed in California in December 1941. They served on guard duty on outposts. In January of 1943, they relocated to Fort Lewis, Washington. In the fall, they were deployed to Hawaii, where they fortified Oahu and Selvey was promoted to sergeant. In early 1944, they participated in the New Britain campaign, and later landed on Luzon. He lost over 25 men in his platoon, due to heavy fighting on Luzon and Negros islands. By war’s end, Selvey was promoted to lieutenant with a field commission and sent to Korea. After a couple of months, he received orders to return home and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harvey Webb. Webb joined the Army in July of 1943. He served with Company A, 1st Battalion, 382nd Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division. He provides details of his basic training. The 382nd participated in the Battle of Leyte from October to December of 1944 and the Battle of Okinawa from April to June of 1945. Webb returned to the US and was discharged in January of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arthur G Whitehead. Whitehead joined the Navy in October 1942, attending boot camp and receiving hospital corpsman training. Upon completion, he was assigned as a pharmacist’s mate, tending to wounded Marine fighter pilots. Whitehead was stationed in Ewe, Hawaii, before traveling to American Samoa, where he slept in a wooden hut plagued by mosquitos. Moving next to the Ellice Islands, Funafuti, his ship became stuck on the coral reef at low tide, in danger of Japanese submarine attack. He then was sent to Kwajalein, where he remained for nine months. On his first night, enemy planes struck a loaded bomber on the air strip, causing a massive explosion. Whitehead declined the Purple Heart he was offered for the resulting burn across his back. Whitehead transferred back to the States, where he began training on the relief of wounded during landing operations. The war ended as Whitehead arrived on Okinawa, which was surrounded by debris from a recent typhoon. He also visited Nagasaki. After a stay in Sasebo and Guam, Whitehead returned home and was discharged in February 1946.

Recording of John Gilliland interviewing Ray Charles in Los Angeles for the Pop Chronicles radio program series.

A recording of Dawar Muneeb reciting “The Juniper Tree of Boyo,” in the Hunza dialect. This story tells of a Big Juniper Tree before Islam came to the region. Under the tree lived creatures that were a mix of a puppy and a penguin, and they were fed to bring good luck to families. When people would cut the tree, it was thought that the tree would take revenge, either by killing the criminal, or by driving them crazy.

Recording of Lionel Hampton and band, performing at a benefit for the Junior Citizens and Police Corps at the Howard Theater.

Conclusion of the concert by Lionel Hampton and his band, performing at a benefit for the Junior Citizens and Police Corps at the Howard Theater. The recording consists mainly of a drum solo.

Recording of John Gilliland interviewing John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas in Bel Air, California for the Pop Chronicles radio program series.

Interview with Burton Alvin Fowler, Jr., a Sergeant in the united States Army during the Vietnam War. Fowler answers questions and elaborates about his experiences during training prior to being sent to Vietnam as well as memories he has of fighting the war and the opinions he brought back with him.