Jazz recital presented at the UNT College of Music Kenton Hall.

A senior recital performed at the UNT College of Music Kenton Hall.

A senior recital presented at the UNT College of Music Kenton Hall.

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Master of Music (MM) degree.

A senior recital presented at the UNT College of Music Kenton Hall.

Senior jazz recital performed at Kenton Hall on September 12, 2013

A senior recital presented at the UNT College of Music Kenton Hall.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Cunningham. Cunningham joined the Army Air Forces in January of 1942. In June, he traveled to England. In November, he went to Algiers with a military police unit. He recalls a story about when he captured several German soldiers trying to sneak through the lines. He also went to Italy, arriving in Naples after the invasion and spent much time in Rome. He served in the 281st Military Police Battalion and shares several overseas anecdotes from Italy and Algeria. He had a motorcycle accident and was medically evacuated back to the US and was discharged in October, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Eleanor Hughes. Hughes was working for Pacific Co-op in Roseburg, Oregon when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. She volunteered and worked nights on the local plotting board watching for planes and ships coming near the Oregon coast. When a blip appeared in their sector, they phoned in and someone checked to see if it was enemy or friendly. Hughes enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) on 27 September 1943 at Little Rock, Arkansas and was sent to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia for training. She was stationed there for almost a year before her group was sent to Port Moresby, New Guinea. They were trucked from their quarters to a headquarters building, known as the Pentagon of the jungle; they worked there all day and were taken back to their barracks by truck at night. Hughes was a secretary to a young lieutenant. A lot of the soldiers who were there when she arrived were replaced by WACs. The weather was hot and muggy but she does not remember it bothering her too much. There were no men in her camp; however, men worked at the headquarters and drove …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harper Gruber. Gruber was an electrician's apprentice at the Charleston Navy Yard in South Carolina. He joined the Navy soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was sent to the Panama Canal Zone to join the 13th Headquarters. He was later transferred to YMS-339 where he served as an electrician's mate for the remainder of the war. He describes in detail minesweeping operations for the various types of mines. His minesweeper participated in 7 invasion operations in the Philippine Islands. Gruber was sent back to Charleston Navy Yard after the war ended, and remained there until eligible for discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Larry Parker. Parker was drafted into the Army Air Forces in 1943. He was trained and joined the crew of a B-17 as a co-pilot. He was a member of a specialized unit trained to carry wooden life boats slung under the bomb bay and to drop them by parachute when downed aircrews were discovered. Parker operated out of the Philippines and eventually was sent to Ie Shima. He details several lifeboat drops. His plane carried General Stillwell to Okinawa after the death of General Buckner. He describes Stillwell almost melting one of the plane’s guns due to continuous fire during this trip. Parker also witnessed the Japanese delegation that landed on Ie Shima at the end of the war. He left the service in December 1945.

Transcript of an oral interview with Robert W. Wood. Wood begins by discussing growing up during the Great Depression and the effect it had on him and his family. When he finished high school in 1941 in Greenville, Texas, he moved to Dallas, worked for Woolworth's and attended night school at Southern Methodist University. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, Wood had already volunteered for the Navy and was called up shortly after Christmas. Wood discusses riding the train to San Diego to attend boot camp in January, 1942. Then he describes a few experiences while in training. While in San Diego, he trained to become a radio operator before reporting to Bremerton, Washington where he boarded the USS Altamaha (CVE-18). Wood describes some of the sea trials and early voyages of the Altamaha as it delivered planes and cargo to various points in the Pacific: Brisbane, Australia, Noumea, Espiritu Santo, Pearl Harbor, Karachi, India and the Solomon Islands. He also describes some carrier-landing qualifying assignments for pilots the Altamaha had. He recalls a time when Bob Hope came aboard and performed a show for the sailors at Ulithi. He goes on to describe being caught in a typhoon in which …

Transcript of an oral interview with Ralph E. Donnelly. Donnelly joined th eArmy Air Corps in December, 1942. In the process of learning to fly, Donnelly was eliminated. He instead earned his wings as a navigator. Whe ntraining as a navigator, he flew with several WASPs. Donnelly was eventually sent to Tonopah, Nevada and was assigned to a B-24. When Donnelly was assigned overseas, his crew flew their B-24 to North Africa and then to Italy, where they were based. Donnelly was assigned to the 778th Squadron, 464th Bomb Group, 15th Army Air Force in Italy. Donnelly describes missions over Bulgaria, Germany and Austria. He describes being shot down in October, 1944, jumping from the plane, and using his parachute. He was captured, sent to Budapest and describes being interrogated. Eventually, he was shipped to a prisoner of war camp in Germany. He rode in a boxcar to the POW camp with a Tuskegee Airman. As a prisoner, he was marched to various camps. During one forced march, Donnelly and another prisoners escaped into the forest. They were recaptured in a village a few days later and handed back to the Wehrmacht (Luftwaffe). After another escape attempt, Donnelly and few …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with David Hoobler. Hoobler joined the Army Air Forces in December, 1941 and trained as a bombardier. He was placed in a B-24 crew in the 458th Bomb Group and went to England in January, 1944. Hoobler describes his journey to England and also a few bombing missions over Germany. Hoobler flew 30 combat missions.

Transcript of an oral interview with Ivan E. Davies. Born in 1921, he joined the Navy and was assigned to the B-2 hangar deck division on USS Enterprise (CV-6) in 1943. He describes the flight deck after the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. He discusses his subsequent assignment to the mess deck as well as his assignment as aircraft elevator operator. He describes a shooting accident on the hangar deck; an aircraft landing accident; and a fire on the flight deck. He talks about kamikazes and the damage sustained by the USS Enterprise. He shares an anecdote about clearing the stacks of the USS Enterprise. He also shares stories about Edward “Butch” O’Hare, pilot and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. After the war Davies was assigned to Alameda Naval Air Station, California. He was discharged in 1945. The interview also includes information about his childhood during the Depression.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Boone Kemp. Kemp joined the Navy in August 1942 and received training for electricians in ships’ engineering departments. He served aboard the USS Doherty (DE-14) at the Aleutian Islands, running the movies aboard ship. He wrote to Admiral Nimitz and asked to be transferred, and so began correspondence that would lead to Kemp naming his firstborn son Chester. Kemp was transferred to the USS Dyson (DD-572) and went to the Philippines, where he survived a typhoon. He recalls seeing a long canoe filled with native warriors near Mindanao. At Okinawa, he saw a kamikaze plane disintegrated by antiaircraft fire just before it would have crashed into the Dyson. During the occupation of Japan, his ship was stationed at sea to rescue troop planes that might crash. Kemp returned home and was discharged in March 1946. He joined the Reserves and was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. He claims to have witnessed Russian missiles being brought into Cuba while aboard the USS Saratoga (CVA-60). His service ended with his participation in the Vietnam War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Wilson Allmand. Allmand joined the Marine Corps in May 1942 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division as a BAR rifleman. He served in Guadalcanal, which was swarming with mosquitos. Despite being administered antimalarial pills, Allmand and many others came down with malaria. He was also stricken with dengue fever and jaundice during his tour of duty. On Tarawa, he waded to the beach in chest-high water in one of the first waves of attack. Casualty rates were so high that he recalls having to move bodies out of his way during the landing. On Saipan he witnessed the destruction of Garapan as a response to Japanese soldiers firing from within the previously off-limits city. On Tinian, Allmand was deeply disturbed by suicide jumpers, who were not convinced of the interpreter’s promise that American troops would not harm them. After Tinian, Allmand was sent to naval hospitals in Hawaii and Tennessee to be treated for malaria. He finished his service as a recruiter in Jackson, Tennessee, and was discharged in May 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harold Collins. Collins was a student at UCSB when he witnessed the bombardment of Ellwood. He was drafted soon after and sent to the University of Colorado. Upon course completion, he was assigned to USS LST-476 as a navigator and gunnery officer. His ship generally transported Marines from secured islands to rest points such as Ulithi. After landing troops on the beach at Okinawa, he pulled back to defend a heavy cruiser. Afterward, he shared a bunk with a Marine major suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Collins brought troops to Tokyo Bay and drove into Nagasaki, which was full of civilian casualties and stunned survivors at the time. He returned home and was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. Collins was sent to an aviation electronics school and later founded an electronics company that employed 350 people.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Edward Sandini. Sandini was born in June 1925 into a Hungarian immigrant family and grew up in Philadelphia during the Great Depression. Upon joining the Army Air Forces in 1943, he was accepted into the flight training program. Sandini was assigned to the 369th Bombardment Squadron, 30th Bomb Group, 40th Bomb Wing, 1st Air Division, 8th Air Force. He tells a comprehensive tale of the experiences he encountered during World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He flew twenty-four B-17 missions during World War II as well as numerous AC-47 gunship missions over Vietnam. He also tells of his involvement in the development of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile program. He retired as a colonel in 1970.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Dorwin Lamkin. Lamkin joined the Navy in 1940. He completed Hospital Corps Training School and served as a corpsman and hospital apprentice aboard the USS Nevada (BB-36), where he was stationed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Nevada was torpedoed and bombed during the surprise attack. Lamkin later served aboard the USS President Jackson (APA-18) and the USS San Francisco (CA-38). In early 1945, he was assigned to a Naval Hospital in the Philippines. He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Garvin O. Suggs. Suggs was in C Company, 1st Battalion, 21st Marines, 3rd Marine Division. He joined them at the time the Marines were mopping up on Guam. On the third day of the battle, Suggs landed on Iwo Jima and was transferred to A Company where he was a squad leader in a rifle platoon. Suggs details several of his experiences fighting on Iwo Jima with many anecdotes. He also recounts a few of his experiences on Guam. In May, 1946, Suggs was discharged, but re-enlisted a few weeks later figuring he could use some more training. He made a career of the Marine Corps and served in Korea and Vietnam. He shares an anecdote about his time in Vietnam that illustrated the contrast in morale between the Vietnam War and World War II.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lester McClanahan. McClanahan joined the Navy in 1944. He was assigned to the USS Algol (AKA-54) in June of 1944 and served as a deck hand and gunner. He provides some detail of the ship and the equipment it carried. They traveled to Eniwetok, Ulithi and Saipan, carrying supplies for troops after the invasions. They were at the invasion of Lingayen Gulf in early 1945, and later at Okinawa. He recalls the kamikaze plane attacks while at Okinawa. They also provided towing services for ships to the Philippines. They traveled to Qingdao, China and he discusses his experiences there. He was discharged in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Billy Hill. Hill joined the Navy around 1941. He completed Medical Tech School and Pharmacy School. Beginning in March of 1944, Hill served as a Pharmacist Mate aboard the hospital ship USS Bountiful (AH-9). They traveled to Honolulu, the Marshall Islands, Saipan, the Mariana Islands, Peleliu, Leyte and Iwo Jima, evacuating and caring for the wounded. He continued his service after the war ended, retiring in 1966.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frank C. Smith. Smith was born in Houston, Texas on 7 August 1921. Graduating from high school in 1939, he enrolled in Williams College. After three years he transferred to and graduated from Caltech in 1944. Smith joined the Navy in 1944 and trained in electronics at several universities and Navy bases before being trained in electronic countermeasures, including the IFF (identification friend or foe) set. Just prior to concluding training at San Clemente Island, the Japanese surrendered. Upon completion of the advanced training he was shipped to Guam and assigned to CASU F-12. He went aboard Navy aircraft carriers to service the electronic equipment on various fighter planes that were on board.