[Letter from Iris R. Weymouth to Cecelia McKie - May 18, 1943] (open access)

[Letter from Iris R. Weymouth to Cecelia McKie - May 18, 1943]

Letter sent from Iris R. Weymouth to Cecelia McKie thanking her for the letter concerning the message of B. Luyendik. Envelope addressed to Mrs. William L. McKie, Sacramento, California. Envelope postmarked from Saco, Maine. Reverse side of envelope has been removed by creator.
Date: May 18, 1943
Creator: Weymouth, Iris R.
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Charles M. Kirkpatrick to Cecelia McKie - May 18, 1943] (open access)

[Letter from Charles M. Kirkpatrick to Cecelia McKie - May 18, 1943]

Letter sent from Charles M. Kirkpatrick to Cecelia McKie thanking her for the message from his son, Harlan G. Kirkpatrick, and stating they had received other messages from him. They had been informed by the Navy Department that he was a prisoner of the Japanese on May 12. He also mentions that his son had been on the U.S.S. Houston. Letter is printed on Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company stationery. Envelope addressed to Mrs. W. L. McKie, Sacramento, California from C. M. Kirkpatrick, Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, New York, New York. Reverse side of envelope has been removed by creator.
Date: May 18, 1943
Creator: Kirkpatrick, Charles M.
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Postmaster to Dr. William McKie - May 18, 1943] (open access)

[Letter from Postmaster to Dr. William McKie - May 18, 1943]

Letter from postmaster, Wichita, Kansas, to Dr. William McKie, stating that he or she is unable to locate any party by the name on his letter, though there are several 'Dwyers' and 'Dyers' but none know the addressee. Envelope addressed to Dr. William McKie, Sacramento, California from Post Office, Wichita, Kansas. Handwritten in pencil left center: "R. L. Dryer". Reverse side of envelope has been removed by creator.
Date: May 18, 1943
Creator: Postmaster
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Mary C. Ames to Cecelia McKie - May 18, 1943] (open access)

[Letter from Mary C. Ames to Cecelia McKie - May 18, 1943]

Letter sent from Mary C. Ames (Mrs. Leslie D. Ames) to Cecelia McKie thanking her for the message and stating she believes the message from her son is genuine.
Date: May 18, 1943
Creator: Ames, Mary C.
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John Baker, May 18, 2016 transcript

Oral History Interview with John Baker, May 18, 2016

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Baker. Baker joined the Army Air Forces around 1942. He completed flight school and served as a bomber pilot. He was selected to serve as a B-24 pilot instructor in Courtland, Alabama. He flew B-29s. Baker was discharged in August of 1946 and remained in the Reserves.
Date: May 18, 2016
Creator: Baker, John
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Ayoko Lefteau, May 18, 2015 transcript

Oral History Interview with Ayoko Lefteau, May 18, 2015

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ayoko Lefteau. Lefteau was born in 1935, in Japan. Her father worked at the Kadena Air Force Base. Lefteau speaks of life growing up in Naha, Okinawa during wartime. After the burning of Naha, her family was transferred to a survival camp in Nakijin. Her father disappeared searching for extended family, and Lefteau was given shelter, food and protection by the American GIs. She shares how her family re-established life in Naha, and associated with the American occupation troops after the war.
Date: May 18, 2015
Creator: Lefteau, Ayoko
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Bernice Shafer, May 18, 2012 transcript

Oral History Interview with Bernice Shafer, May 18, 2012

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bernice Shafer. Shafer joined the Army in October 1942 as a newly registered nurse. She was treated poorly at basic training and was advised repeatedly that since rape was inevitable she should try to enjoy it. Shafer's first duty was to oversee three rowdy wards at Winter General Army Hospital. To set the tone, she immediately assigned KP duty to a colonel. Deploying to a hospital near Manila in 1944, she worked in an operating room with a hot-tempered doctor whose only response to her displeasure in working with him was to kiss her on the face. She mainly tended to war casualties but occasionally treated natives who suffered from parasites. Long after the war, she was haunted by the memory of a soldier who sustained a brain injury; without a neurosurgeon on staff, she could only sit beside him until he died. When the war ended, Shafer felt unsafe amidst the celebrations as soldiers grabbed ahold of her. Even on the voyage home, she was awoken by a sailor kissing her. Shafer was discharged into the Reserves and served again in the Korean War.
Date: May 18, 2012
Creator: Shafer, Bernice
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Robert J. Rabbitt, May 18, 2011 transcript

Oral History Interview with Robert J. Rabbitt, May 18, 2011

Transcript of an oral interview with Robert J. Rabbitt. He discusses going to boot camp in Mississippi as part of the 69th Division, then shipping out to France via Scotland and England. He entered France through Omaha Beach in late July 1944, and was part of later Normandy Invasion action before being transferred to the 3058th Graves Registration Company where he served until fall of 1945.
Date: May 18, 2011
Creator: Rabbitt, Robert J.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Alfredo Buentello, May 18, 2000 transcript

Oral History Interview with Alfredo Buentello, May 18, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alfredo Buentello. Buentello joined the Army in September 1940 and received basic training at Fort Sam Houston. He received medical corpsman training for three years before landing on Normandy on 6 June 1944 with the 2nd Medical Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, supporting the 38th Regiment. He recalls the devastation at Normandy and remembers saving the lives of two men, one of whom was a German soldier. Buentello spent 160 days on the frontlines. He remembers Brest as being particularly bad. He was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. Buentello sustained a concussion and multiple head wounds, one of which was patched with a metal plate. He recovered at the 165th General Hospital and the 44th Evacuation Hospital. He saw men being sent from the hospital to the front lines without having fully recovered. At the end of April, Buentello rejoined his division in Pilsen. He celebrated V-E Day, complete with a parade. He had enough points to return home immediately and was discharged in June 1945.
Date: May 18, 2000
Creator: Buentello, Alfredo
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Howard Jones, May 18, 2007 transcript

Oral History Interview with Howard Jones, May 18, 2007

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an oral interview with Howard Jones. Jones was born in 1925 in Missouri. He joined the Navy in December 1942 and trained at Great Lakes, Illinois. After boot training and gunnery school, Jones was assigned to the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) as a 40mm gun crewmember. Jones was aboard the Bunker Hill from 1943 to the end of the war. He recalls being off Tarawa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He describes the kamikaze attack on the Bunker Hill off Okinawa.
Date: May 18, 2007
Creator: Jones, Howard
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Bud Rohling, May 18, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with Bud Rohling, May 18, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bud Rohling. Rohling recalls volunteering for the service shortly after Pearl Harbor was attacked. He was called up in March, 1942 and went into flight training. After training, he was assigned to the 3rd Photo Reconnaissance Squadron. Rohling's first job was to fly over the coast of northern Canada and Alaska and take photographs. He mentions also flying over the coast of Russia and taking a few photographs there as well. From there, he was assigned to Gush Kara, India. Rohling's unit ferried fuel to China and they flew photo recon missions along the coast. They did that for seven months and then went back to McDill Air Force Base, Florida. Once he returned, Rohling was assigned to B-29 bombers. His next assignment was on Saipan where he ran photo recon missions over the home islands of Japan. Rohling describes participating in some fire bombing missions over Japan. Rohling recalls photographing the atomic attack on Nagasaki. When the war ended, Rohling had enough points to rotate home, but instead made a request to join General Curtis LeMay's headquartes staff and hopefully stay in the Marianas. He ended up …
Date: May 18, 2006
Creator: Rohling, Bud
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Bob Addobate, May 18, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Bob Addobate, May 18, 2001

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bob Addobate. Addobate joined the Navy in June of 1941. Beginning in August, he served as a Signalman Second-Class aboard the USS Solace (AH-5), arriving in Pearl Harbor in October. They were docked in the Harbor when the Japanese attacked. From March to August of 1942 they traveled through the Pacific to Australia, and discharged patients. From August of 1942 through May of 1943, they cared for fleet casualties and servicemen wounded in the island campaigns. From June through August, they operated as a station hospital at Noumea, New Caledonia. In April of 1945, during a typhoon, Addobate had his leg crushed by a crane, which had to be amputated. He returned to the US and was medically discharged in January of 1946.
Date: May 18, 2001
Creator: Addobate, Bob
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Bill Barnett, May 18, 2000 transcript

Oral History Interview with Bill Barnett, May 18, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Barnett. Barnett was born in the San Joaquin Valley on 17 June 1920. Upon graduation from high school in 1937, he entered the United States Naval Academy. After graduating from the Academy in December 1941, he was assigned to the gunnery department aboard the USS Helena (CL-50) which was being repaired after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. After being repaired the ship was sent to Espiritu Santos where it operated with a task force that included other cruisers and destroyers. Barnett was involved in a battle with a Japanese naval force in which a number of ships were sunk. After undergoing repairs in Sydney, Australia, the ship participated in the battle of Guadalcanal and was sunk in Kula Gulf in July 1943. He describes the sinking of the ship and how he exited the vessel. He was picked up by the USS Radford (DD-446) while other survivors made it to the island of Vella Lavella. He and other survivors were taken to Espiritu Santos where, after three weeks, they boarded a liberty ship and returned to the United States. He was then assigned to the USS …
Date: May 18, 2000
Creator: Barnett, Bill
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with R. Sumner, May 18, 2002 transcript

Oral History Interview with R. Sumner, May 18, 2002

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with R. Sumner. Sumner was born in Portland, Oregon on 15 November 1921. He participated in the ROTC training program at Multnomah College in Portland and was commissioned a second lieutenant in May 1942. Soon after being commissioned he was assigned to the 31st Infantry Division, 167th Infantry. In 1944 the regiment was sent to New Guinea. Soon after arriving he was selected to be a member of the Alamo Scouts (United States Army 6th Special Reconnaissance Unit) and began training at the Alamo Scouts Training Center. He describes the duties of the unit and tells of working in New Guinea, the Admiralty Islands and the Philippines. He recalls the use of Navy PT boats in landing and extricating during various recon missions. He also was involved in reconnoitering the area prior to the raid on the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in January 1945. Sumner returned to the United States and was training for Operation Coronet when Japan surrendered. He concludes the interview by briefly telling of his career up until he retired in 1972.
Date: May 18, 2002
Creator: Sumner, R.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Lester Tenney, May 18, 2002 transcript

Oral History Interview with Lester Tenney, May 18, 2002

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lester Tenney. Tenney joined the Army National Guard and B Company, 192nd Tank Battalion in Illinois. His unit was mobilized and shipped out to the Philippines, arriving in November 1941. He was captured in April after the fall of Bataan and became a prisoner of war. He was eventually shipped to Japan and was encamped near Nagasaki. He recalls seeing the cloud from the atomic bomb attack. Tenney was liberated shortly thereafter, returned to the US and went to college.
Date: May 18, 2002
Creator: Tenney, Lester
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Andy Miller, May 18, 2002 transcript

Oral History Interview with Andy Miller, May 18, 2002

The National Museum of the Pacific Ware presents an oral interview with Andy Miller. Miller was born in Miller, South Dakota 15 March 1924. He graduated from high school in 1938 and enlisted in the US Army Air Corps 23 July 1941. He arrived at Manila, Philippine Islands on 28 August 1941 where he was assigned to the 19th Airbase Squadron stationed at Nichols Field. Starting on 9 December 1941, Nichols Field was bombed by the Japanese daily throughout the month. On 24 December Miller boarded the inter-island steamer MS McTane and went to Mariveles Harbor at Bataan. There he was given an infantry assignment in the Reserve Resistance Line as a member of a machinegun team. He recalls the lack of adequate food supplies as well as the shortage of medical supplies. He recalls taking a small boat to flee the area and of being picked up by a US Navy patrol boat and taken to Corregidor on 10 April 1941. Upon his arrival he was assigned to the 4th Marine Regiment 3rd Battalion for beach defense. He remembers on 7 May 1942 he was told to report to the 92nd Garage Area near Manila Hill. There he became …
Date: May 18, 2002
Creator: Miller, Andy
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John Cook, May 18, 2002 transcript

Oral History Interview with John Cook, May 18, 2002

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John M Cook. Cook joined the Army in September of 1940. In October of 1941, he traveled to the Philippines. He was assigned to Fort William McKinley in Manila, to receive training in field operations for the Medical Corps. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Cook was captured by the Japanese and interned from January of 1942 in Cabanatuan prison camp through his liberation in early 1945. After the war, he continued medical services in the Army and was discharged in August of 1961.
Date: May 18, 2002
Creator: Cook, John M
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John Baker, May 18, 2016 (open access)

Oral History Interview with John Baker, May 18, 2016

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Baker. Baker joined the Army Air Forces around 1942. He completed flight school and served as a bomber pilot. He was selected to serve as a B-24 pilot instructor in Courtland, Alabama. He flew B-29s. Baker was discharged in August of 1946 and remained in the Reserves.
Date: May 18, 2016
Creator: Baker, John
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Ayoko Lefteau, May 18, 2015 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Ayoko Lefteau, May 18, 2015

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ayoko Lefteau. Lefteau was born in 1935, in Japan. Her father worked at the Kadena Air Force Base. Lefteau speaks of life growing up in Naha, Okinawa during wartime. After the burning of Naha, her family was transferred to a survival camp in Nakijin. Her father disappeared searching for extended family, and Lefteau was given shelter, food and protection by the American GIs. She shares how her family re-established life in Naha, and associated with the American occupation troops after the war.
Date: May 18, 2015
Creator: Lefteau, Ayoko
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Bernice Shafer, May 18, 2012 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Bernice Shafer, May 18, 2012

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bernice Shafer. Shafer joined the Army in October 1942 as a newly registered nurse. She was treated poorly at basic training and was advised repeatedly that since rape was inevitable she should try to enjoy it. Shafer's first duty was to oversee three rowdy wards at Winter General Army Hospital. To set the tone, she immediately assigned KP duty to a colonel. Deploying to a hospital near Manila in 1944, she worked in an operating room with a hot-tempered doctor whose only response to her displeasure in working with him was to kiss her on the face. She mainly tended to war casualties but occasionally treated natives who suffered from parasites. Long after the war, she was haunted by the memory of a soldier who sustained a brain injury; without a neurosurgeon on staff, she could only sit beside him until he died. When the war ended, Shafer felt unsafe amidst the celebrations as soldiers grabbed ahold of her. Even on the voyage home, she was awoken by a sailor kissing her. Shafer was discharged into the Reserves and served again in the Korean War.
Date: May 18, 2012
Creator: Shafer, Bernice
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Robert J. Rabbitt, May 18, 2011 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Robert J. Rabbitt, May 18, 2011

Transcript of an oral interview with Robert J. Rabbitt. He discusses going to boot camp in Mississippi as part of the 69th Division, then shipping out to France via Scotland and England. He entered France through Omaha Beach in late July 1944, and was part of later Normandy Invasion action before being transferred to the 3058th Graves Registration Company where he served until fall of 1945.
Date: May 18, 2011
Creator: Rabbitt, Robert J.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Alfredo Buentello, May 18, 2000 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Alfredo Buentello, May 18, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alfredo Buentello. Buentello joined the Army in September 1940 and received basic training at Fort Sam Houston. He received medical corpsman training for three years before landing on Normandy on 6 June 1944 with the 2nd Medical Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, supporting the 38th Regiment. He recalls the devastation at Normandy and remembers saving the lives of two men, one of whom was a German soldier. Buentello spent 160 days on the frontlines. He remembers Brest as being particularly bad. He was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. Buentello sustained a concussion and multiple head wounds, one of which was patched with a metal plate. He recovered at the 165th General Hospital and the 44th Evacuation Hospital. He saw men being sent from the hospital to the front lines without having fully recovered. At the end of April, Buentello rejoined his division in Pilsen. He celebrated V-E Day, complete with a parade. He had enough points to return home immediately and was discharged in June 1945.
Date: May 18, 2000
Creator: Buentello, Alfredo
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Howard Jones, May 18, 2007 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Howard Jones, May 18, 2007

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an oral interview with Howard Jones. Jones was born in 1925 in Missouri. He joined the Navy in December 1942 and trained at Great Lakes, Illinois. After boot training and gunnery school, Jones was assigned to the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) as a 40mm gun crewmember. Jones was aboard the Bunker Hill from 1943 to the end of the war. He recalls being off Tarawa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He describes the kamikaze attack on the Bunker Hill off Okinawa.
Date: May 18, 2007
Creator: Jones, Howard
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Bud Rohling, May 18, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Bud Rohling, May 18, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bud Rohling. Rohling recalls volunteering for the service shortly after Pearl Harbor was attacked. He was called up in March, 1942 and went into flight training. After training, he was assigned to the 3rd Photo Reconnaissance Squadron. Rohling's first job was to fly over the coast of northern Canada and Alaska and take photographs. He mentions also flying over the coast of Russia and taking a few photographs there as well. From there, he was assigned to Gush Kara, India. Rohling's unit ferried fuel to China and they flew photo recon missions along the coast. They did that for seven months and then went back to McDill Air Force Base, Florida. Once he returned, Rohling was assigned to B-29 bombers. His next assignment was on Saipan where he ran photo recon missions over the home islands of Japan. Rohling describes participating in some fire bombing missions over Japan. Rohling recalls photographing the atomic attack on Nagasaki. When the war ended, Rohling had enough points to rotate home, but instead made a request to join General Curtis LeMay's headquartes staff and hopefully stay in the Marianas. He ended up …
Date: May 18, 2006
Creator: Rohling, Bud
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History