Oral History Interview with Joseph Brown, March 15, 2021 transcript

Oral History Interview with Joseph Brown, March 15, 2021

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Joseph Brown. Brown was born in 1925. In 1942, at age seventeen, he joined the US Navy. Following his training as an Electricians Mate he was assigned to USS LST-47 and he tells of participating in the Operation Overlord, at Omaha Beach, as well as Operation Dragoon. He also tells of being at Okinawa and witnessing attacks by kamikazes. Brown returned home after the war ended.
Date: March 15, 2021
Creator: Brown, Joseph
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Forrest Biard, August 15, 1984 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Forrest Biard, August 15, 1984

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Forrest Biard. Biard graduated from the Naval Academy in 1934. From 1939 through September 1941, he completed full immersion in Japanese language and culture training in Tokyo. Biard was a cryptologic linguist, serving in all three Navy codebreaking units during World War II. In September, Biard was stationed at Pearl Harbor as a senior linguist for Station HYPO, the codebreaking unit at Pearl Harbor where he served as a language officer until August 1943. From February to May 1942, he was assigned to USS Yorktown (CV-5) as the radio intelligence officer under Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher. Biard’s translation and decryption work on JN-25 contributed to Allied efforts in the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway. From August to October 1943, he was sent to the codebreaking unit OP-20-G in Washington, also known as Station Negat. From November 1943 to April 1945, he was sent to the Station Cast codebreaking unit at Melbourne, Australia. While in Melbourne he deployed on several ships operating in the South Pacific. He worked in Melbourne to decrypt and translate captured Japanese Army code books for Douglas MacArthur, then used to accelerate the island-hopping …
Date: August 15, 1984
Creator: Biard, Forrest
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Chester W. Nimitz Relieving J. O. Richardson as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation]

Photograph of an unidentified man, Rear Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, and Admiral J. O. Richardson standing together during change of command where Nimitz relieves Richardson as Chief of Bureau of Navigation. The unnamed man stands profile on the left in a dark suit, a white collared shirt, a striped tie and wire framed glasses. Chester W. Nimitz stands in the center with his hand resting on a book and wearing a light-colored suit, white collared shirt and a patterned tie. On the right holding up a book in one hand and some papers in the other is Admiral J. O. Richardson wearing a light-colored suit, white collared shirt, and a polka dot tie. Behind the men is large, framed painting of a ship.
Date: June 15, 1939
Creator: United States. Navy
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz with Battha Sisters]

Photograph of Magda Battha, Marta Battha, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Margit Battha, and Maria Battha on occasion of the Battha sisters becoming U.S. citizens. Magda is wearing a grey quarter sleeved coat and white fabric tie around her neck, a white hat with a net fascinator, a dark skirt and a white clutch in her hands. Marta wears a dark gingham dress with black hemmed sleeves and collar, a black hat and a lei around her neck. Chester W, Nimitz stands in the center wearing his dark Naval uniform with six buttons on the front, ribbon bars pinned above his pocket and a tie. Margit wears a corduroy coat, a white hat and purse and holds in her hands a pair of white gloves. Maria stands in a matching black coat, skirt and hat with a white lei around her neck.
Date: June 15, 1953
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Cecelia McKie to Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Masig - May 15, 1943] (open access)

[Letter from Cecelia McKie to Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Masig - May 15, 1943]

Copy of letter sent from Cecelia McKie to 'Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Masig (?)' of New South Wales, Australia, regarding Santo Tomas Internment Camp internee 'Eric John Byde'. Letter contains transcribed message broadcast from internee to 'Charles Gregor', asking him to forward the message to his parents in New South Wales, Australia.
Date: May 15, 1943
Creator: McKie, Cecelia, 1903-1982
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Eddie Dennis to Cecelia McKie - May 15, 1943] (open access)

[Letter from Eddie Dennis to Cecelia McKie - May 15, 1943]

Letter sent from Eddie Dennis to Cecelia McKie thanking her for the message from Jeannette Light and stating this is the first good news they have received. She mentions the wonderful service the 'Short Wave Listening Posts' are giving. Letter is typed on Denver and Intermountain Railroad Company stationery. Envelope addressed to Mrs. W. L. McKie, Sacramento, California from The Denver Tramway Corporation, The Denver and Intermountain R. R. Co., Golden, Colorado. Reverse side of envelope has been removed by creator.
Date: May 15, 1943
Creator: Dennis, Eddie
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Inhabitants of Contractors' Hotel]

Photograph a group of seven inhabitants of the Contractors' Hotel, Honolulu, HI, including two carpenters, a mechanic, and a sheet metal worker. There are four men standing in the back row, all in wrinkled collared shirts, trousers and hats except for the man center right who is shirtless and without a hat. Three men sit on the ground with their lower bodies out of view, they all wear hats and overalls and the two men on the ends wear collared shirts underneath theirs. Above each man is a number written in red ink. On the left side of the men is a small plant and two-story building. Tio their right is two other buildings and smaller groups of men roaming around.
Date: November 15, 1942
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Transcript of Letter from Chester W. Nimitz to his Grandfather, June 15, 1901] (open access)

[Transcript of Letter from Chester W. Nimitz to his Grandfather, June 15, 1901]

Transcription of letter from Chester Nimitz to his grandfather in Fredericksburg. Nimitz, writing from Annapolis, Maryland, relates news about arriving in Annapolis and settling in at the Werntz Preparatory School. He provides clues about his schedule and some thoughts on Annapolis.
Date: June 15, 1901
Creator: Nimitz, Chester W. (Chester William), 1885-1966
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Chester W. Nimitz to his Grandfather, June 15, 1901] (open access)

[Letter from Chester W. Nimitz to his Grandfather, June 15, 1901]

Handwritten letter from Chester Nimitz to his grandfather in Fredericksburg. Nimitz, writing from Annapolis, Maryland, relates news about arriving in Annapolis and settling in at the Werntz Preparatory School. He provides clues about his schedule and some thoughts on Annapolis.
Date: June 15, 1901
Creator: Nimitz, Chester W. (Chester William), 1885-1966
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Transcript of Letter from Chester W. Nimitz to his Grandfather, July 15, 1901] (open access)

[Transcript of Letter from Chester W. Nimitz to his Grandfather, July 15, 1901]

Transcription of letter from Chester Nimitz to his grandfather in Fredericksburg. Nimitz tells of other young men in his prep school from Texas and that a few of them are Germans. He also observes that some of the people there did not take a competitive exam.
Date: July 15, 1901
Creator: Nimitz, Chester W. (Chester William), 1885-1966
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Chester W. Nimitz to his Grandfather, July 15, 1901] (open access)

[Letter from Chester W. Nimitz to his Grandfather, July 15, 1901]

Handwritten letter from Chester Nimitz to his grandfather in Fredericksburg. Nimitz tells of other young men in his prep school from Texas and that a few of them are Germans. He also observes that some of the people there did not take a competitive exam. This letter is written on Robert Werntz Preparatory Academy stationery.
Date: July 15, 1901
Creator: Nimitz, Chester W. (Chester William), 1885-1966
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
Contractors' Hotel News, Volume 1, Number 1, Friday, January 15, 1943 (open access)

Contractors' Hotel News, Volume 1, Number 1, Friday, January 15, 1943

Weekly newsletter edited by war workers contracted by the Pacific Naval Base and the Pacific Bridge Company "publishing everything of interest to men of Area 3" (p. 2), including news, editorials, sports articles, and classifieds.
Date: January 15, 1943
Creator: Youtan, Art
Object Type: Journal/Magazine/Newsletter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from On Board the U. S. S. Anzio, September  15, 1945] (open access)

[Letter from On Board the U. S. S. Anzio, September 15, 1945]

Letter to the press about the USS Anzio (CVE-57) and the experiences of her crew in the Pacific Theater from her commission in August, 1943 to the end of the war in September, 1945.
Date: September 15, 1945
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History