Oral History Interview with Michael W. Deery, April 19, 2012 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Michael W. Deery, April 19, 2012

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Michael W. Deery. He discusses his family, growing up during the Great Depression and what led him to join the US Navy. He describes his experiences during bootcamp and in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.
Date: April 19, 2012
Creator: Deery, Michael W. & Misenhimer, Richard
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Al D'Agostino, April 19, 2012 transcript

Oral History Interview with Al D'Agostino, April 19, 2012

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Al D’Agostino. D’Agostino joined the Merchant Marine in 1945 and received training in Brooklyn. Upon completion, he was assigned to the SS Monterey where he worked as a butcher. His first trip to the Pacific was transporting European troops, who were unhappy about the looming invasion of Japan. The war ended while the Monterey was in transit, and the soldiers returning home were a much happier bunch. Even more joyful was the reunion of families when the Monterey picked up war brides and their babies from all over the Pacific and brought them back to the States. He transferred to a Liberty ship that brought German war criminals back to the States from South America, although he believes that the majority of the passengers were actually concentration camp survivors. D’Agostino was discharged but was drafted again during the Korean War and served as a radio relay operator atop a mountain in dangerous and harsh winter conditions. When he was discharged a second time, he applied his kitchen experience and attended Cornell’s hotel school. D’Agostino became the director of food service for Trans World Airlines. Before retiring, he moved …
Date: April 19, 2012
Creator: D'Agostino, Al
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Donaldson, April 14, 2009 transcript

Oral History Interview with Albert Donaldson, April 14, 2009

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Donaldson. Donaldson talks about how the Great Depression affected his family. He joined the Navy in 1944 and provides details of his training. He traveled aboard the USS Buckingham (APA-141). They traveled to Pearl Harbor, which he describes along with his responsibilities with work parties unloading and reloading ships. He assisted with trading out old ammunition for new ammunition. He was transferred to the John Rodgers Naval Air Station in Hawaii. He worked on the Martin Mars seaplanes, repairing and test flying them. He also flew C-54s and the J-3 Piper Cub and shares his experiences. He spent the remainder of his Navy career in Hawaii and was discharged in August of 1946 and joined the reserves. While in the service he made storekeeper 3rd class. In the 1950s he was commissioned into the Air Force.
Date: April 14, 2009
Creator: Donaldson, Albert
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Finley, April 11, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with Albert Finley, April 11, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Finley. Finley joined the Marine Corps around December of 1943. He provides vivid details of his boot camp experiences. He served with Headquarters Company, 4th Marines, as a radar mechanic on Corsairs, repairing radio and radar gear. Beginning in September of 1944 they traveled to Guam, Kwajalein, Pearl Harbor and Majuro in the Marshall Islands. Finley shares a number of anecdotal stories, including working with POWs. He was discharged in the fall of 1946.
Date: April 11, 2006
Creator: Finley, Albert
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Afton Keeton, April 5, 2003 transcript

Oral History Interview with Afton Keeton, April 5, 2003

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Afton Keeton. Keeton joined the Navy in early 1942. He completed Hospital Corps School, and served as a Pharmacist’s Mate. He volunteered for Submarine School. From 1944 through the end of the war, Keeton worked in the sick bays aboard USS Seadragon (SS-194) and USS Tilefish (SS-307). He shares numerous anecdotes of his work aboard the submarines, though does not go into detail of where they traveled through the Pacific. Keeton continued his service after World War II, and retired in February of 1972.
Date: April 5, 2003
Creator: Keeton, Afton
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Al D'Agostino, April 19, 2012 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Al D'Agostino, April 19, 2012

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Al D’Agostino. D’Agostino joined the Merchant Marine in 1945 and received training in Brooklyn. Upon completion, he was assigned to the SS Monterey where he worked as a butcher. His first trip to the Pacific was transporting European troops, who were unhappy about the looming invasion of Japan. The war ended while the Monterey was in transit, and the soldiers returning home were a much happier bunch. Even more joyful was the reunion of families when the Monterey picked up war brides and their babies from all over the Pacific and brought them back to the States. He transferred to a Liberty ship that brought German war criminals back to the States from South America, although he believes that the majority of the passengers were actually concentration camp survivors. D’Agostino was discharged but was drafted again during the Korean War and served as a radio relay operator atop a mountain in dangerous and harsh winter conditions. When he was discharged a second time, he applied his kitchen experience and attended Cornell’s hotel school. D’Agostino became the director of food service for Trans World Airlines. Before retiring, he moved …
Date: April 19, 2012
Creator: D'Agostino, Al
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Karel Dahmen, April 20, 2011 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Karel Dahmen, April 20, 2011

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Karel Dahmen. Dahmen was born in the Netherlands and witnessed the bombing of Rotterdam in May 1940. He recalls the chaos of fires burning and people being shot. With two friends he quickly manned a vacant boat and carried 45 Jews across the North Sea to England, using only a compass and school atlas for navigation. He joined the Dutch Navy in February 1941 and was assigned to HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck as a radar operator. He went in convoy to Iceland to dismantle a German weather station. Dahmen recalls picking up Germans who were eager to turn themselves in and become prisoners-of-war. At the end of the year he attended officer school and became an engineer officer. He was then assigned to the Dutch Naval Liaison office in England, where he received messages and delivered news of the attack on Pearl Harbor to the Dutch prime minister. After the war he was sent for training at Camp Lejeune and Camp Endicott to work with Marines and Seabees in preparation for deployment to Indonesia. With the Dutch Marine Corps, he facilitated Indonesia’s transition to independence. Dahmen was reunited …
Date: April 20, 2011
Creator: Dahmen, Karel
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Donaldson, April 14, 2009 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Albert Donaldson, April 14, 2009

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Donaldson. Donaldson talks about how the Great Depression affected his family. He joined the Navy in 1944 and provides details of his training. He traveled aboard the USS Buckingham (APA-141). They traveled to Pearl Harbor, which he describes along with his responsibilities with work parties unloading and reloading ships. He assisted with trading out old ammunition for new ammunition. He was transferred to the John Rodgers Naval Air Station in Hawaii. He worked on the Martin Mars seaplanes, repairing and test flying them. He also flew C-54s and the J-3 Piper Cub and shares his experiences. He spent the remainder of his Navy career in Hawaii and was discharged in August of 1946 and joined the reserves. While in the service he made storekeeper 3rd class. In the 1950s he was commissioned into the Air Force.
Date: April 14, 2009
Creator: Donaldson, Albert
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Finley, April 11, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Albert Finley, April 11, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Finley. Finley joined the Marine Corps around December of 1943. He provides vivid details of his boot camp experiences. He served with Headquarters Company, 4th Marines, as a radar mechanic on Corsairs, repairing radio and radar gear. Beginning in September of 1944 they traveled to Guam, Kwajalein, Pearl Harbor and Majuro in the Marshall Islands. Finley shares a number of anecdotal stories, including working with POWs. He was discharged in the fall of 1946.
Date: April 11, 2006
Creator: Finley, Albert
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Afton Keeton, April 5, 2003 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Afton Keeton, April 5, 2003

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Afton Keeton. Keeton joined the Navy in early 1942. He completed Hospital Corps School, and served as a Pharmacist’s Mate. He volunteered for Submarine School. From 1944 through the end of the war, Keeton worked in the sick bays aboard USS Seadragon (SS-194) and USS Tilefish (SS-307). He shares numerous anecdotes of his work aboard the submarines, though does not go into detail of where they traveled through the Pacific. Keeton continued his service after World War II, and retired in February of 1972.
Date: April 5, 2003
Creator: Keeton, Afton
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Ethel Blaine, April 24, 2000 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Ethel Blaine, April 24, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ethel ""Sally"" Blaine Millett. Millett grew up in Missouri and went to nurses training in San Diego, California. She volunteered for the Philippines in 1941. She witnessed the bombing at Clark Field. She took care of the soldiers wounded by Japanese strafing. When the bombing got too bad, the nurses left Statsenberg for Manila. Because of continued Japanese bombing all over the Philippines, the nurses had to keep moving as the hospitals moved. She describes having malaria and then having to evacuate from Bataan to Corregidor. Then they went to Mindanao where they were formally captured by the Japanese. They were moved to Davao and then to Santo Tomas. She describes losing her possessions. She describes life in the internment camp: the food, the work required, the sanitary conditions, the self-government, the birthrate, and the entertainment. Millett has to have an operation while at Santo Tomas. She also describes executions. Finally, the American soldiers arrived, and she took a plane home in February 1945. Her brother met her in San Francisco.
Date: April 24, 2000
Creator: Millett, Ethel Blaine
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with W. G. (Bill) Campbell, April 21, 2000 (open access)

Oral History Interview with W. G. (Bill) Campbell, April 21, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with W. G. (Bill) Campbell. Campbell grew up in Texas, attended Texas A&M, and married in 1939 before joining the Army in 1943. After training, he went to Australia, Dutch New Guinea, Palu, Leyte, and Mindanao. He describes riding in amphibious vehicles and interacting with the natives. He discusses various illnesses he had during the war and his interactions with his brother, an engineer. He also describes surveying work in some detail. After the war, Campbell eventually became a public school teacher.
Date: April 21, 2000
Creator: Campbell, W. G. (Bill)
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Transcript of Letter from John E. Harrington to Lt. Comdr. Robert W. Copeland - April 17, 1945] (open access)

[Transcript of Letter from John E. Harrington to Lt. Comdr. Robert W. Copeland - April 17, 1945]

Transcription of letter from John E. Harrington to Lt. Comdr. Robert W. Copeland discussing the USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413).
Date: April 17, 1945
Creator: Harrington, John E.
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from John E. Harrington to Lt. Comdr. Robert W. Copeland - April 17, 1945] (open access)

[Letter from John E. Harrington to Lt. Comdr. Robert W. Copeland - April 17, 1945]

Letter from John E. Harrington to Lt. Comdr. Robert W. Copeland discussing the USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413).
Date: April 17, 1945
Creator: Harrington, John E.
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Virginia Margaret Brady to Lt. Comdr. E. E. Roberts, Jr., - April 14, 1945] (open access)

[Letter from Virginia Margaret Brady to Lt. Comdr. E. E. Roberts, Jr., - April 14, 1945]

Handwritten letter from Virginia Margaret Brady to Lt. Comdr. E. E. Roberts, Jr., discussing her husband's (Norbert Francis Brady) death.
Date: April 14, 1945
Creator: Brady, Virginia Margaret
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Transcript of Letter from Virginia Margaret Brady to Lt. Comdr. E. E. Roberts Jr. - April 14, 1945] (open access)

[Transcript of Letter from Virginia Margaret Brady to Lt. Comdr. E. E. Roberts Jr. - April 14, 1945]

Transcription of letter from Virginia Margaret Brady to Lt. Comdr. E. E. Roberts, Jr., discussing her husband's (Norbert Francis Brady) death.
Date: April 14, 1945
Creator: Brady, Virginia Margaret
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Transcript of Letter from C. H. Cronin to Lt. Comdr. Robert W. Copeland - April 6, 1945] (open access)

[Transcript of Letter from C. H. Cronin to Lt. Comdr. Robert W. Copeland - April 6, 1945]

Typed letter from C.H. Cronin to LCDR Robert W. Copeland, dated April 6, 1945. C.H. Cronin served on board the U.S.S. Samuel B. Roberts and he is replying to a letter from Copeland. He writes about his life and what other survivors of the U.S.S. Samuel B. Roberts are doing. He mentions Copeland might write a book about the sinking of the U.S.S. Samuel B. Roberts.
Date: April 6, 1945
Creator: Cronin, C. H.
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from C. H. Cronin to Lt. Comdr. Robert W. Copeland - April 6, 1945] (open access)

[Letter from C. H. Cronin to Lt. Comdr. Robert W. Copeland - April 6, 1945]

Typed letter from C.H. Cronin to LCDR Robert W. Copeland, dated April 6, 1945. C.H. Cronin served on board the U.S.S. Samuel B. Roberts and he is replying to a letter from Copeland. He writes about his life and what other survivors of the U.S.S. Samuel B. Roberts are doing. He mentions Copeland might write a book about the sinking of the U.S.S. Samuel B. Roberts.
Date: April 6, 1945
Creator: Cronin, C. H.
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Press Release: Gun Crew on Coast Guard Cutter Campbell Aided in Attack That Sank Sub] (open access)

[Press Release: Gun Crew on Coast Guard Cutter Campbell Aided in Attack That Sank Sub]

Text of press release dated April 20, 1963 listing the names of eleven service members enlisted in the United States Coast Guard who participated in an attack that resulted in the sinking of a German submarine.
Date: April 20, 1943
Creator: United States. Department of the Navy.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History

[U.S. Gun Crew Aboard the United States Coast Guard's Cutter Campbell]

Photograph and press release of U.S. gun crew about the cutter Campbell that participated in the sinking of a German submarine. The photograp shows U.S. soldiers, some operating a large gun on the ship, surrounded by other crew members, all looking in the direction the gun is firing. A large American flag is flying from a mast above them.
Date: April 20, 1943
Creator: United States. Coast Guard
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rhythm Review (open access)

Rhythm Review

Booklet outlining the program for a concert entitled "Rhythm Review" presented by staff and students at Manzanar Elementary School, Manzanar War Relocation Center, on April 26, 1943. The program lists the school's staff and briefly outlines the curriculum for rhythmic activities that combine both musical and physical education.
Date: April 26, 1943
Creator: Manzanar Education Department
Object Type: Pamphlet
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Six-Piece Band in Military Uniform Playing at Acorn 39 Party]

Photograph of a six-piece band playing at an Acorn (military air base) 39 party. Pictured seated from left to right is a saxophone player, a trumpet player, and a guitarist all sitting in front of a drummer and a double bass player standing behind the seated players. Behind them, a piano can be see with the hat of the piano player visible over the top of the piano.
Date: April 27, 1944
Creator: Anderson, Frederick Nels
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Mary Steele Leon, April 15, 1997 transcript

Oral History Interview with Mary Steele Leon, April 15, 1997

Interview with Mary Steele Leon, a secretary for the U. S. Navy during and after World War II. She joined the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) and was trained as a secretary. Her first assignment was in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) during World War II. The CNO at the time was Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King. After the war, she served as personal secretary for Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz while he was CNO. She was discharged in 1946.
Date: April 15, 1997
Creator: Alexander, Bill & Leon, Mary Steele
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Floyd Mumme, April 12, 2002 transcript

Oral History Interview with Floyd Mumme, April 12, 2002

Interview with Floyd Mumme, a medic during World War II. He discusses boot camp, being deployed to Saipan, Japanese trying to steal food, working in the Army Medical Corps, and treating wounds in combat.
Date: April 12, 2002
Creator: Misenhimer, Richard & Mumme, Floyd C.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History