Resource Type
Partner
Collection
National Museum of the Pacific War Oral History Collection
50
National Museum of the Pacific War Digital Archive
50
Texas Oral History Collection
44
World War Two Collection
35
UNT Oral Histories
19
Lee College Oral Histories
4
Rescuing Texas History, 2011
4
Texas Fashion Collection
2
Rescuing Texas History, 2015
1
Texas History Collection
1
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Baytown Veteran Oral Histories
4
World War II Pacific Theater Oral History Project
4
General Curtis LeMay Oral History Project
1
Tarrant County War Veterans Oral History Project
1
World War II Atlantic Theater Oral History Project
1
World War II China-India-Burma Theater Oral History Project
1
World War II Prisoners of War Oral History Project
1
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Oral History Interview with John G. Solis, March 31, 2009
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John G. Solis of Irving, Texas. He discusses enlisting in the U.S. Navy on September 17, 1942, and was sent to the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas for bootcamp. In bootcamp Mr. Solis talks about learning to shoot rifles by shooting clay pigeons and presentations held to teach how to identify enemy aircraft. While learning to fly, Mr. Solis was assigned to Bombing Squadron 1. In 1944 Mr. Solis ended up with the Torpedo Squadron 100 flying torpedo planes in Oahu, Hawaii. His squadron never saw combat, but he did witness U.S. ships getting destroyed by Kamikaze planes during the Okinawa invasion. He helped in some Naval strikes in Japan from March to June of 1945 before returning to the states for leave. Mr. Solis was still at home on leave when the war officially ended, and he was discharged on September 14th of 1948 due to signing up for a 6-year contract instead of the normal 4-year one.
Date:
March 31, 2009
Creator:
Solis, John G.
Object Type:
Sound
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Voris C. Riley, November 1, 2005
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Voris C. Riley of Kingland, Texas. He discusses enlisting in the military while living in Abilene, Texas and getting sent to civil service for the Army before being offered to join the Navy. In the Navy he went through basic training in San Diego, California, then to St. Louis Electrical School and finally through firefighting training in Rhode Island. After he completed his training Mr. Riley was assigned to the U.S.S. Lake Champain, CB 39 and went on a shakedown cruise where 16 crewmen were lost for various reasons. In the Navy he was an electrician aboard the ship and dealt with setting up electricity onshore. He also dealt with Prisoners of War, being put in charge of a group of them to build a swimming pool. He was in New York City on temporary leave when the news of the wars end was released by President Truman. Mr. Voris also talks about serving in the Civilian Conservation Corps in New Mexico.
Date:
November 1, 2005
Creator:
Riley, Voris C.
Object Type:
Sound
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with James R. Hood, June 21, 2007
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Hood of Indianapolis, Indiana. He discusses entering the U.S. Navy in September of 1942 without basic training as he was a college graduate. After being sworn in at Wabash College he was sent to Harvard Business School for Supply Corps for 4 months before being assigned to a ship in Pearl Harbor despite having no sailing training. Mr. hood was assigned to the Cummings DE643, he was supposed to be on the Samuel B. Roberts but the naval officer over him changed his mind last minute and 37 days later the Roberts sunk. While in Tulagi, Mr. Hood was involved in shooting down a Kamikaze plane, even receiving a ribbon for it after the war. He was also involved in the Battle of Okinawa and even saved two shells and years later had them signed by U.S. pilot Paul Tibbets. Mr. Hood was discharged from the Navy on February 28th, 1946, at Santa Ana, California as a Full Lieutenant. He was recalled to the Navy for the Korean War on March 2nd, 1951, and discharged for the final time on March 30th, 1953, as a Lieutenant Commander.
Date:
June 21, 2007
Creator:
Hood, James R.
Object Type:
Sound
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with David Braden, September 30, 2000
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with David Braden from Dallas, Texas. He discusses his time in the Airforce during WW2. Mr. Braden start with his time training to be a navigator before his first mission in Tokyo, Japan. David Braen describes dropping messages over Japanese cities urging Japanese people to plead for their leaders to surrender and to evacuate before the U.S. burns the cities to the ground. After the Japanese government surrendered and the war was over, Mr. Braden was flown home and kissed the ground as soon as he landed.
Date:
September 30, 2000
Creator:
Braden, David
Object Type:
Sound
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John G. Solis, March 31, 2009
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John G. Solis of Irving, Texas. He discusses enlisting in the U.S. Navy on September 17, 1942, and was sent to the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas for bootcamp. In bootcamp Mr. Solis talks about learning to shoot rifles by shooting clay pigeons and presentations held to teach how to identify enemy aircraft. While learning to fly, Mr. Solis was assigned to Bombing Squadron 1. In 1944 Mr. Solis ended up with the Torpedo Squadron 100 flying torpedo planes in Oahu, Hawaii. His squadron never saw combat, but he did witness U.S. ships getting destroyed by Kamikaze planes during the Okinawa invasion. He helped in some Naval strikes in Japan from March to June of 1945 before returning to the states for leave. Mr. Solis was still at home on leave when the war officially ended, and he was discharged on September 14th of 1948 due to signing up for a 6-year contract instead of the normal 4-year one.
Date:
March 31, 2009
Creator:
Solis, John G.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Voris C. Riley, November 1, 2005
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Voris C. Riley of Kingland, Texas. He discusses enlisting in the military while living in Abilene, Texas and getting sent to civil service for the Army before being offered to join the Navy. In the Navy he went through basic training in San Diego, California, then to St. Louis Electrical School and finally through firefighting training in Rhode Island. After he completed his training Mr. Riley was assigned to the U.S.S. Lake Champain, CB 39 and went on a shakedown cruise where 16 crewmen were lost for various reasons. In the Navy he was an electrician aboard the ship and dealt with setting up electricity onshore. He also dealt with Prisoners of War, being put in charge of a group of them to build a swimming pool. He was in New York City on temporary leave when the news of the wars end was released by President Truman. Mr. Voris also talks about serving in the Civilian Conservation Corps in New Mexico.
Date:
November 1, 2005
Creator:
Riley, Voris C.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with James R. Hood, June 21, 2007
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Hood of Indianapolis, Indiana. He discusses entering the U.S. Navy in September of 1942 without basic training as he was a college graduate. After being sworn in at Wabash College he was sent to Harvard Business School for Supply Corps for 4 months before being assigned to a ship in Pearl Harbor despite having no sailing training. Mr. hood was assigned to the Cummings DE643, he was supposed to be on the Samuel B. Roberts but the naval officer over him changed his mind last minute and 37 days later the Roberts sunk. While in Tulagi, Mr. Hood was involved in shooting down a Kamikaze plane, even receiving a ribbon for it after the war. He was also involved in the Battle of Okinawa and even saved two shells and years later had them signed by U.S. pilot Paul Tibbets. Mr. Hood was discharged from the Navy on February 28th, 1946, at Santa Ana, California as a Full Lieutenant. He was recalled to the Navy for the Korean War on March 2nd, 1951, and discharged for the final time on March 30th, 1953, as a Lieutenant Commander.
Date:
June 21, 2007
Creator:
Hood, James R.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with David Braden, September 30, 2000
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with David Braden from Dallas, Texas. He discusses his time in the Airforce during WW2. Mr. Braden start with his time training to be a navigator before his first mission in Tokyo, Japan. David Braen describes dropping messages over Japanese cities urging Japanese people to plead for their leaders to surrender and to evacuate before the U.S. burns the cities to the ground. After the Japanese government surrendered and the war was over, Mr. Braden was flown home and kissed the ground as soon as he landed.
Date:
September 30, 2000
Creator:
Braden, David
Object Type:
Text
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Al Jowdy, September 21, 2008
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Al Jowdy. Jowdy enlisted in the Navy in July 1942 at the age of 15, with his parents’ consent. His first assignment was pulling bodies out of sunken ships in Pearl Harbor. At Guadalcanal, his ship was torpedoed. Due to the presence of enemy subs, he could not be rescued initially and spent two weeks floating in a raft. Then he joined a rescue effort to aid the USS Wasp (CV-7), only to be torpedoed again, spending another four days in the water. Jowdy was then assigned to the USS Salt Lake City (CA-25), patrolling the Bering Sea and participating in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands as a second loader on a 40-millimeter. After witnessing the Marianas Turkey Shoot and also seeing MacArthur film his famous return, Jowdy participated in the bombardment of Iwo Jima, amidst kamikazes and suicide boats. After the war, he survived a typhoon and served occupation duty in Japan, later transporting troops as part of the demobilization effort before being discharged in January 1946.
Date:
September 21, 2008
Creator:
Jowdy, Al
Object Type:
Sound
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Acencion Fernandez, February 19, 2005
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Acencion Fernandez. Fernandez, a Texas farm boy born in 1924, was drafted when he was 18 years old. He was based in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was assigned to the USS LCI-80 where he served as a loader on a 40-inch gun. At the Mariana Islands of Saipan and Tinian and at Iwo Jima, he was involved in strafing the beaches to enable Marines to land. Later his LCI landed Marines on Okinawa. He briefly mentions the presence of Navajo code talkers on the ship.
Date:
February 19, 2005
Creator:
Fernandez, Acencion
Object Type:
Sound
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Day, February 23, 2004
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Albert Day. Day was born in Olney, Texas 23 September 1921 and graduated from high school in Vivian, Louisiana in 1942. Upon joining the Navy 4 June 1942, he was sent to The Great Lakes Naval Training Station for boot training. Afterwards, Day was assigned to the Amphibious Forces at Solomons, Maryland for training where he learned navigation and signal communications. Completing the course in October 1942 he went to Redwood City, California for further training. Assigned to LCT(5)-62, he describes the size, propulsion, crew compliment and purpose of the craft. Day tells of breaking the LCT into sections that were put aboard an AKA and sailing to New Caledonia arriving in December 1942. On a trip to Guadalcanal he witnessed a Japanese plane dropping a bomb on the USS De Haven (DD-469). He recalls a night trip to New Georgia when he saw St. Elmo’s fire on the railing of his ship. At Tulagi on 7 April 1943, Day personally shot down an attacking Japanese plane. He participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima and tells of being on the USS Estes (ACG-12) and describes an intense …
Date:
February 23, 2004
Creator:
Day, Albert
Object Type:
Sound
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Abel Ortega, July 15, 2002
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Abel Ortega. Ortega was drafted into the Army in March, 1941 and was in the Philippines by November. Ortega was with a tank battalion on Luzon and recalls the retreat to and subsequent surrender on Bataan. Ortega also recalls how his Christian faith served him, and others around him, during captivity. He describes his experiences on the Bataan Death March. Ortega remained in the Philippines for over two years before being shipped to Japan to perform more slave labor. After the war, Ortega was repatriated and describes his return home to his parents.
Date:
July 15, 2002
Creator:
Ortega, Abel
Object Type:
Sound
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Al Jowdy, September 21, 2008
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Al Jowdy. Jowdy enlisted in the Navy in July 1942 at the age of 15, with his parents’ consent. His first assignment was pulling bodies out of sunken ships in Pearl Harbor. At Guadalcanal, his ship was torpedoed. Due to the presence of enemy subs, he could not be rescued initially and spent two weeks floating in a raft. Then he joined a rescue effort to aid the USS Wasp (CV-7), only to be torpedoed again, spending another four days in the water. Jowdy was then assigned to the USS Salt Lake City (CA-25), patrolling the Bering Sea and participating in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands as a second loader on a 40-millimeter. After witnessing the Marianas Turkey Shoot and also seeing MacArthur film his famous return, Jowdy participated in the bombardment of Iwo Jima, amidst kamikazes and suicide boats. After the war, he survived a typhoon and served occupation duty in Japan, later transporting troops as part of the demobilization effort before being discharged in January 1946.
Date:
September 21, 2008
Creator:
Jowdy, Al
Object Type:
Text
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Acencion Fernandez, February 19, 2005
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Acencion Fernandez. Fernandez, a Texas farm boy born in 1924, was drafted when he was 18 years old. He was based in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was assigned to the USS LCI-80 where he served as a loader on a 40-inch gun. At the Mariana Islands of Saipan and Tinian and at Iwo Jima, he was involved in strafing the beaches to enable Marines to land. Later his LCI landed Marines on Okinawa. He briefly mentions the presence of Navajo code talkers on the ship.
Date:
February 19, 2005
Creator:
Fernandez, Acencion
Object Type:
Text
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Day, February 23, 2004
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Albert Day. Day was born in Olney, Texas 23 September 1921 and graduated from high school in Vivian, Louisiana in 1942. Upon joining the Navy 4 June 1942, he was sent to The Great Lakes Naval Training Station for boot training. Afterwards, Day was assigned to the Amphibious Forces at Solomons, Maryland for training where he learned navigation and signal communications. Completing the course in October 1942 he went to Redwood City, California for further training. Assigned to LCT(5)-62, he describes the size, propulsion, crew compliment and purpose of the craft. Day tells of breaking the LCT into sections that were put aboard an AKA and sailing to New Caledonia arriving in December 1942. On a trip to Guadalcanal he witnessed a Japanese plane dropping a bomb on the USS De Haven (DD-469). He recalls a night trip to New Georgia when he saw St. Elmo’s fire on the railing of his ship. At Tulagi on 7 April 1943, Day personally shot down an attacking Japanese plane. He participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima and tells of being on the USS Estes (ACG-12) and describes an intense …
Date:
February 23, 2004
Creator:
Day, Albert
Object Type:
Text
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Abel Ortega, July 15, 2002
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Abel Ortega. Ortega was drafted into the Army in March, 1941 and was in the Philippines by November. Ortega was with a tank battalion on Luzon and recalls the retreat to and subsequent surrender on Bataan. Ortega also recalls how his Christian faith served him, and others around him, during captivity. He describes his experiences on the Bataan Death March. Ortega remained in the Philippines for over two years before being shipped to Japan to perform more slave labor. After the war, Ortega was repatriated and describes his return home to his parents.
Date:
July 15, 2002
Creator:
Ortega, Abel
Object Type:
Text
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with William C. Beyer, March 14, 2001
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William C. Beyer. Beyer grew up in Texas and joined the Marines in January 1942. After training, he was assigned to the third division in artillery. He departed on the USS Mount Vernon for New Zealand. He anecdotes about meeting with some Maori people. Then he departed on the Cresent City for Guadalcanal in May 1943. From Guadalcanal he left for Bougainville in November 1943. He describes being caught in a foxhole for two days without communication. He also listened to Tokyo Rose on the radio. The Army relieved the Marines January 15, 1944, and his unit returned to Guadalcanal. On July 21, 1944, they landed on Guam and went into battle. Next Beyer left for Iwo Jima. The Third Marine Division was assigned to the central area of the island. He witnessed the raising of the flag. On the 50th anniversary of the war, Beyer and his wife returned to New Zealand and Guam.
Date:
March 14, 2001
Creator:
Beyer, William C.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with R. Bruce Porter, September 30, 2000
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with R. Bruce Porter. After a few years of college at the University of Southern California, Porter joined the Marines as an aviation cadet. After training on the F4F, Porter was assigned to Squadron 111 and shipped out on the USS Garfield to American Samoa. Porter mentions training with and talking with Joe Foss when his squadron passed through Apia. Porter then went to Turtle Bay, New Caledonia. He next flew F4F's in Guadalcanal in 1943. Their squadron then switched to the Corsair plane. Porter then started moving ""up the slot"" toward Japan gradually moving north with his squadron. Later, Porter returned to the states to train on F6F's and joined a night fighter squadron. He was assigned as a squadron commander in Okinawa. He discusses blowing up a plane with a ""baka"" bomb on it. Porter's record is an ace, with five official kills and one probable. Porter witnessed the surrender party preparing for the official surrender. He stayed in Japan for four months after the occupation.
Date:
September 30, 2000
Creator:
Porter, R. Bruce
Object Type:
Text
System:
The Portal to Texas History
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
Oral History Interview with Dwight Pendleberry, June 21, 2000
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dwight Pendleberry. Pendleberry joined the Army with his brother prior to the outbreak of war with Japan. After training as an ordnance man in the artillery, Pendleberry's company was sent to the Philippines in September, 1941. Pendleberry describes the Japanese attack on the Philippines and the subsequent fall of Bataan. He escaped to Corregidor with a few other people only to be captured there one month later. After being taken to Manila, Pendleberry was sent to Cabanatuan. By that time, he had contracted malaria. From there, he was selected to be on a work detail loading and unloading Japanese ships in Manila. Pendleberry also describes executions, genral mistreatment and outright torture at the hands of the Japanese captors. Eventually, Pendleberry and many other POWs were shipped aboard the Noto Maru to Taiwan, then Japan. Pendleberry wound up at Omori prison camp in Tokyo Bay. He describes the low-level fire bombing mission over Tokyo, which took place one night in March, 1945. After that, Pendleberry was moved to northern Japan to work at a coal mine. After the war, Pendleberry was liberated and repatriated back to the US through …
Date:
June 21, 2000
Creator:
Pendleberry, Dwight
Object Type:
Text
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Bill Brown, June 26, 2000
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Brown. Brown was studying at the University of Texas at El Paso whe nhe joined the Army Air Force in 1942. Brown discusses his flight training, which occurred throughout Texas. With training cmplete, Brown was sent to Hawaii where he continued training with the 45th Fighter Squadron, 7th Air Force. Soon his unit was shipped to Iwo Jima where they flew bomber escort for bombing missions over the home islands of Japan. Brown was shot down over Yokahama and bailed out over the Tokyo Bay, where he was resuced by the USS Pipefish (SS-388). Brown was taken to Hawaii to recover and was eventually shipped back to the US, where he was discharged in September, 1945.
Date:
June 26, 2000
Creator:
Brown, Bill
Object Type:
Text
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Trenton Fowler, January 17, 2001
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Trenton Fowler. Fowler grew up in Corpus Christi and enlisted into the Marine Corps in 1943. Once he finished training, he was assigned to the 4th Marine Raider Battalion and shipped out on the French transport ship Rochambeau to New Caledonia. From there he went to Guadalcanal for training and then to the Emirau, Guam, and Okinawa campaigns, with stops at Guadalcanal in between each campaign. Fowler discusses the pros and cons of the Browning Automatic Rifle versus the M-1 Garand. He tells of the change of his unit's name from the 4th Battalion Raiders to the 6th Marine Division, before he went to Okinawa. He relates the experience of finding out his brother, a fellow Marine, had died at Iwo Jima.
Date:
January 17, 2001
Creator:
Fowler, Trenton
Object Type:
Text
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with James Koger, July 14, 2006
Access:
Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Interview with James Koger, Army veteran, concerning his memories of childhood in Des Moines, Iowa, Peoria, Illinois, San Antonio, Texas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; decision to enroll at University of Oklahoma; being drafted in 1945; training in Army Corps of Engineers; service in postwar occupation of Japan; decision to return to University of Oklahoma; career as aviation engineer with General Dynamics in Fort Worth, Texas. Appendix includes photo of interviewee.
Date:
July 14, 2006
Creator:
Moye, J. Todd & Koger, James
Object Type:
Book
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with William Alexander Hatcher, December 4, 2008
Access:
Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Transcript of an interview with William Hatcher, a World War II Army veteran (29th Bomb Group, 20th Air Force). Hatcher discusses concerning his his childhood and education; family's experiences in the Great Depression; decision to attend University of Tennessee-Knoxville and major in mechanical engineering; memories of Pearl Harbor attack; decision to join U.S. Army Enlisted Reserve Corps in 1942; 1943 call-up; basic training at Ft. Belvoir, Va.; instruction in engineering, communications, and radar repair at City College of New York and Chanute Field, Ill.; assignments to Truax Field, Wis., and Boca Raton, Fla.; meeting future wife, Jean E. Sheppard, at USO Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.; transfer to B-29 unit and bases in Neb. And Kan.; deployment to Guam with 29th Bomb Group, 20th Air Force, March 1945; details of high-altitude radar repair work; aspects of daily life for American soldiers stationed in Guam; descriptions of devastation of Japan, including Hiroshima; transfer to base on Tinian; return to U.S. in February 1946; wedding; return to UT-Knoxville using GI Bill benefits; work at Oak Ridge; decision to transfer to University of New Mexico for Mrs. Hatcher's health; career with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Convair Corp. of Fort Worth; …
Date:
December 4, 2008
Creator:
Hegi, Benjamin & Hatcher, William Alexander, 1923-
Object Type:
Book
System:
The UNT Digital Library