Oral History Interview with James F. Sansom, October 8, 2004 transcript

Oral History Interview with James F. Sansom, October 8, 2004

Interview with James F. Sansom, an officer in the U. S. Army during World War II. Sansom joined the Army in 1940 and began training on anti-aircraft guns in Florida. He was selected for Officer Candidate School (OCS) and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1942. He was assigned to the 843rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Air Warning Battalion, which made its way to India via the Panama Canal and Australia. Shortly after reaching Calcutta, the unit moved to Myitkyina, Burma. After the war, Sansom was assigned to Sagumo Prison outside Tokyo where Japanese war criminals were being held while on trial for war crimes. He describes some of the routines and residents in the prison. Sansom taught Hideki Tojo how to play card games like gin rummy. Sansom also describes the process of executing convicted prisoners as he carried out some sentences. In all, he executed nine convicted war criminals.
Date: October 8, 2004
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Sansom, James F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with E. R. Dolinar, April 5, 2003 transcript

Oral History Interview with E. R. Dolinar, April 5, 2003

Interview with E.R. (Ed) Dolinar, a serviceman with the U. S. Navy during World War II. He discusses going to boot camp, torpedo school and submarine school. He was on the SSN Stingray as a torpedo crewman that offloaded supplies and guerillas in the Philippines. It picked up stranded Japanese sailors and transported them to Australia. The Stingray was then decomissioned. He was then part of a crew that studied and stripped captured German submarines, and he discusses the differences between the U-boats and the US submarines. He also discusses the Bolomen, Filipino guerillas who fought the Japanese during the occupation. He also talks briefly about his experience of being hit with depth charges and gives his opinions on General MacArthur and President Truman.
Date: April 5, 2003
Creator: Bryk, Clarence & Dolinar, E. R.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Ed Carseth, August 6, 2003 transcript

Oral History Interview with Ed Carseth, August 6, 2003

Interview with Ed Carseth, a pilot during World War II. He discusses an early interest in aviation and earned his pilot's license through the Civilian Pilot Training program. He spent a year as an instructor before joining the Air Transport Command. Through 1944 he delivered aircraft to Australia before being assigned to Myitkyina, Burma. He speaks of living conditions at Myitkyina. He flew materials over the Himalaya Mountains (the Hump) from Burma to Kunming, China. Carseth relates anectdotes about General Claire Chennault, Lord Louis Mountbatten, and a squadron mate who kept a baboon.
Date: August 6, 2003
Creator: Metzler, Ed & Carseth, Ed
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Richard Bennett, November 15, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Richard Bennett, November 15, 2001

Interview with Richard (Dick) Bennett, a pilot during World War II. He discusses his enlistment in the Army Air Corps, basic training and flight school. He then went to a base in South Carolina to learn to fly B-25s. At Fort Myers, Florida he flew B-26 bombers and trained to fly them off of aircraft carriers so they could drop torpedos on the Japanese fleet during naval battles. He traveled across the Pacific to Brisbane only to be told that they didn't have B-26s for the crews; the colonel there knew nothing about the plan to launch B-26s from aircraft carriers, so they were sent to New Guinea to fly B-17s and supplement the crews for those bombers. From there they made bombing runs or "Washing Machine Charlie"-type runs to keep people awake at night on various Japanese targets in the islands, particularly the base at Rabaul. In fall of 1943, the Army grounded the B-17s due to the damage they had incurred and replaced them with B-24s. The men received manuals and were given only a few days to familiarize themselves with the new planes. They were then sent on bombing runs. He finished his tour of duty at …
Date: November 15, 2001
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Bennett, Richard
System: The Portal to Texas History