Oral History Interview with Frank Fujita, November 9, 1970 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Frank Fujita, November 9, 1970

Interview with Frank Fujita, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran and POW from Abilene, Texas. Fujita recounts his experiences as a captured member of 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery (the "the Lost Battalion"), including: joining the Guard and deploying to East Asia; diversion to Brisbane and assignment to Malang, Java; repelling a Japanese infantry assault; attempted evasion of Japanese forces before being captured; and internment and labor at Surabaja, Bicycle Camp in Batavia, Changi Camp in Singapore, Nagasaki, and Omori Camp in Tokyo. Fujita recorded his POW experiences in an encrypted diary.
Date: November 9, 1970
Creator: Marcello, Ronald & Fujita Jr., Frank
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with John Breckenridge Garrison, September 18, 1970 (open access)

Oral History Interview with John Breckenridge Garrison, September 18, 1970

Interview with Brack Garrison, a Marine WWII veteran and POW from Amarillo, Texas, accompanied by Nita Boynton. Garrison details his experiences defending Guam in the Japanese invasion of December 1941, and his subsequent surrender and internment in Japanese POW camps at Zentsuji and Osaka.
Date: September 18, 1970
Creator: Marcello, Ronald & Garrison, John Breckenridge (Brack)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Harry A. Thompson, April 18, 1973 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Harry A. Thompson, April 18, 1973

Interview with Harry Thompson, an Army WWII veteran and POW from Dallas, Texas. Thompson discusses being drafted before the war and training for field artillery at Fort Sill, his assignment to the 99th Infantry Division, training in England, the Siegfried Line, the Battle of the Bulge and his capture at Büllingen, Belgium, being interrogated and transported into Germany, and his experiences in internment at Limburg.
Date: April 18, 1973
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Thompson, Harry A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Personal Diary of Frank Fujita, Jr. (open access)

Personal Diary of Frank Fujita, Jr.

A copy of Frank Fujita Jr.'s war diary, obtained by Dr. Ron Marcello to accompany Fujita's oral history interview. Fujita was an Texas National Guard WWII veteran and POW from the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery Regiment captured on Java in March 1942. Included is Fujita's original bound diary, and a rewritten version he made in a Japanese logbook in internment and continued. They contain daily activities, doodles, lists of dozens of servicemen and captives encountered, and the key to an encoded script Fujita developed for sensitive information. Also included is a postwar newspaper clipping about Fujita's unit.
Date: December 19, 1970
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Fujita Jr., Frank
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with W. Erle White, December 14, 1978 and February 1, 1979 (open access)

Oral History Interview with W. Erle White, December 14, 1978 and February 1, 1979

Transcript of an interview with W. Erle White, founder of White's Auto Stores from Wichita Falls, Texas. White discusses his family background, early work experiences and education, as well as his work in auto supply stores and garages, and starting his own business.
Date: 1978-12-14/1979-02-01
Creator: Jenkins, Floyd & White, W. Erle
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Joel K. Walker, November 11, 1971 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Joel K. Walker, November 11, 1971

Interview with Joel Walker, an employee of the Home Owners' Loan Association from Marietta, Oklahoma. Walker worked for the HOLA in Dallas during the Great Depression; he discusses working at a bank in Roswell, New Mexico, unemployment, hiring with HOLA in Dallas, how the Association operated, loan terms, mortgages, and foreclosures.
Date: November 11, 1971
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Walker, Joel K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with George Wood, November 7, 1973 (open access)

Oral History Interview with George Wood, November 7, 1973

Interview with George Wood, a former officer of the Civilian Conservation Corps from Bryan, Texas. Wood discusses his time in the CCC in the 1930s, including: his origins and education; the effects of the Depression; his entry into the CCC; the varying projects he worked; relations with other government agencies; the character of CCC workers; organization of camps; crime in the CCC; racial segregation; and relations with the Army.
Date: November 7, 1973
Creator: Galyon, Charlene O. & Wood, George
System: The UNT Digital Library