Resource Type

Oral History Interview with Cleatus A. LeBow, May 2, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with Cleatus A. LeBow, May 2, 2006

Interview with Cleatus A. LeBow, a serviceman in the U. S. Navy during World War II. LeBow joined the navy in 1943 and went from Lubbock, Texas to San Diego for recruit training. He shipped out to Pearl Harbor aboard an LST from San Francisco. At Pearl Harbor, he was assigned to a work detail aboard the USS Oklahoma, which had just been righted. Shortly thereafter, he boarded the USS Indianapolis to serve as a range finder operator on one of the gun turrets. Upon leaving Hawaii, the Indianapolis went to Tarawa and then the Marshall Islands. LeBow witnessed Japanese civilian suicides on Saipan. He also witnessed the flag-raising on Iwo Jima from his range finder position aboard the ship. LeBow describes being hit by a kamikaze off Okinawa. He also discusses delivering atomic bomb components to Tinian and being torpedoed on the way to the Philippines. He describes abandoning the ship and spending five days in the water, including his faith in God, hallucinations, rescue, and his recovery.
Date: May 2, 2006
Creator: Misenhimer, Richard & Lebow, Cleatus A.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with J. Glen Cleckler, November 24, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with J. Glen Cleckler, November 24, 2006

Interview with J. Glen Cleckler, a U. S. Marine during World War II. He discusses his background, including the day he and seven of his friends skipped school to see a movie. In order to provide a believable excuse for their absence to their principal, they went to a recruiting office to get informational forms. The principal then gave them permission to graduate early to join the Marines. He discusses his experiences in boot camp and other training programs and the Battle of Iwo Jima, including hygiene during the battle and the famous flag-raising there. He shares some stories about one of the flag-raisers, Harlan Block, who had been part of the group that enlisted in the Marines with him. He also recalls returning to the United States on a ship full of Section-8 soldiers (PTSD victims), meeting German prisoners of war, and living with Jim Crow laws.
Date: November 24, 2006
Creator: Misenhimer, Richard & Cleckler, J. Glen
Object Type: Sound
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