[McLernon Autobiographic Sketch] (open access)

[McLernon Autobiographic Sketch]

Short autobiographic essay written by Eleanor McLernon on her life, family, career, and experience with the WASP program. A note paired with the paper reads, "Brief autobiographic sketch for the ALL-WASP lino graphic book Betty Turner currently working on (1999)".
Date: 1999
Creator: McLernon, Eleanor Michel
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from John Todd Willis, Jr. to Sallie L. Willis, December 6, 1944] (open access)

[Letter from John Todd Willis, Jr. to Sallie L. Willis, December 6, 1944]

Letter from John Todd Willis, Jr. to Sallie L. Willis, on December 6, 1944, thanking her for the Christmas box she sent him. He talks about the weather, and says that the food is getting bad because it's all canned, so her box is very welcome. He expresses hope that a relative made it safely to France.
Date: December 6, 1944
Creator: Willis, John Todd, Jr.
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History

Oral History Interview with John J. Clemens, May 13, 2003

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Interview with John J. Clemens. The interview includes Clemens' personal experiences about childhood and early adulthood in Houston, Texas, World War II-era service in the U.S. Navy, serving aboard USS Wren in the Pacific Theater, and piloting a ship into Tokyo Bay immediately following the Japanese surrender. Clemens speaks about convoy missions across the Atlantic Ocean, the January 4, 1944 sinking of the USS Turner while moored in New York Harbor and the court of inquiry regarding the sinking, actions in the Aleutian Islands, Attu, Okinawa, and Philippine campaigns and anti-kamikaze warfare while aboard the USS Wren, and the effects that Allied bombing had on Tokyo.
Date: May 13, 2003
Creator: Alexander, William J. & Clemens, John J., 1921-
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
[Letter from I. H. to Cecile Kempner, May 9, 1942] (open access)

[Letter from I. H. to Cecile Kempner, May 9, 1942]

Letter to Cecile from her father, wishing her a happy birthday and discussing the conflict between China and Russia. He writes about Herbert, a relative in the military, who is expected to come back from overseas and Bell Kirkland, a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy as well as Browne Baker, a civilian working for the Navy in Washington. He also says that he plans to be in New York soon.
Date: May 9, 1942
Creator: Kempner, Isaac H. (Isaac Herbert), 1873-1967
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from I. H. to Cecile Kempner, December 11, 1950] (open access)

[Letter from I. H. to Cecile Kempner, December 11, 1950]

Letter to Cecile from her father about a trip with her mother to Austin, the President's decisions, Russia, World War II, the Spanish-American War, and speculation about potential war with Russia.
Date: December 11, 1950
Creator: Kempner, Isaac H. (Isaac Herbert), 1873-1967
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from I. H. to Cecile Kempner, September 21, 1947] (open access)

[Letter from I. H. to Cecile Kempner, September 21, 1947]

Letter to Cecile from her father about Granny's condition, Russia and Nazism/Bolshevism, and World War Two.
Date: September 21, 1947
Creator: Kempner, Isaac H. (Isaac Herbert), 1873-1967
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from I. H. to Cecile Kempner, August 26, 1945] (open access)

[Letter from I. H. to Cecile Kempner, August 26, 1945]

Letter to Cecile from her father about a recent hurricane, the surrender of Japan, and local news.
Date: August 26, 1945
Creator: Kempner, Isaac H. (Isaac Herbert), 1873-1967
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Photocopied WASP Portraits] (open access)

[Photocopied WASP Portraits]

Photocopy of a page containing six Women Airforce Service Pilot portraits, all dressed in leather flight jackets with Fifinella patches. The women are Grace Putnam, Mary Ruth Rance, Virginia Raymond, Velma Saunders, Betty Scantland, and Martha Smith.
Date: unknown
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Lewis R. Hopkins, January 15, 2004 transcript

Oral History Interview with Lewis R. Hopkins, January 15, 2004

Interview with Lewis R. Hopkins, a pilot during World War II. He describes growing up on a farm in Georgia, going to college at Berry, and working for Sears, Roebuck, and the Royal Typewriter Company before joining the U. S. Navy. He tells an anecdote about joining the navy so he could go to New York to see the World's Fair, since he had heard the Atlanta Reserve would be making a trip to the Fair. He began flight training in Florida in December 1940, finished the next September, then drove cross-country to San Francisco after the Pearl Harbor attack. He eventually joined the USS Enterprise in April 1942 and saw the B-25 bombers in the Doolittle Raid take off. He was part of Bombing Squadron Six and trained under Commander Best to learn how to do scouting flights, navigation, and dive bombing. He then describes his participation in the Battle of Midway, the hours before take-off, his first view of the Japanese fleet, and his bombing mission. He was later assigned to the USS Hornet and had to fly off to a little island so that planes from the USS Wasp could land on the Hornet after their ship …
Date: January 15, 2004
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Hopkins, Lewis R.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Bouley, June 27, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Albert Bouley, June 27, 2001

Interview with Albert Bouley, a U. S. Marine during World War II. He discusses his enlistment in the Marines just after Pearl Harbor; his assignment to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Division; the battle of Guadalcanal; malaria and dysentery; the battle of Cape Gloucester; the use of Pavuvu as a base; the battle of Peleliu; his return to the United States; guard duty at the Brooklyn Naval Yard and his service as an instructor in a heavy weapons school before the end of the war. He joined the Air Force 2 1/2 years later to be able to fly and work on planes, then retire to become a teacher in California, and finally settled in Texas.
Date: June 27, 2001
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Bouley, Albert
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Boyd K. Miller, January 21, 2003 transcript

Oral History Interview with Boyd K. Miller, January 21, 2003

Interview with Boyd K. Miller, a draftsman and pilot during World War II. He discusses being drafted out of college and working as an artist and draftsman. Since he studied art in college, he worked on diagrams and charts. He then transferred to the Air Corps to become a pilot and trained in Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Alabama, New York, Georgia, Florida and Texas.
Date: January 21, 2003
Creator: Misenhimer, Richard & Miller, Boyd K.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Richard Bennett, November 15, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Richard Bennett, November 15, 2001

Interview with Richard (Dick) Bennett, a pilot during World War II. He discusses his enlistment in the Army Air Corps, basic training and flight school. He then went to a base in South Carolina to learn to fly B-25s. At Fort Myers, Florida he flew B-26 bombers and trained to fly them off of aircraft carriers so they could drop torpedos on the Japanese fleet during naval battles. He traveled across the Pacific to Brisbane only to be told that they didn't have B-26s for the crews; the colonel there knew nothing about the plan to launch B-26s from aircraft carriers, so they were sent to New Guinea to fly B-17s and supplement the crews for those bombers. From there they made bombing runs or "Washing Machine Charlie"-type runs to keep people awake at night on various Japanese targets in the islands, particularly the base at Rabaul. In fall of 1943, the Army grounded the B-17s due to the damage they had incurred and replaced them with B-24s. The men received manuals and were given only a few days to familiarize themselves with the new planes. They were then sent on bombing runs. He finished his tour of duty at …
Date: November 15, 2001
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Bennett, Richard
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Glenn E. McDuffie, January 21, 2008 transcript

Oral History Interview with Glenn E. McDuffie, January 21, 2008

Interview with Glenn E. McDuffie, an Armed Guard in the U. S. Navy during World War II. He discusses lying about his age in order to join the navy at 15 and his experience in boot camp. He served as an Armed Guard on merchant ships that transported supplies across the Atlantic and remembers being in London while German bombers flew overhead. He transported German prisoners out of Marseilles and Naples shortly after the liberation of those cities. He remembers going to Times Square upon hearing that the Japanese had surrendered. He claims to have been the sailor in the iconic photo of the sailor kissing the nurse in Times Square on V-J Day. He describes how he proved he was the sailor in the photo, what he did after the war, and how he learned that his brother survived the Bataan Death March.
Date: January 21, 2008
Creator: Misenhimer, Richard & McDuffie, Glenn E.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[World War II Memories: Mercedes McCaleb] (open access)

[World War II Memories: Mercedes McCaleb]

Autobiographical text describing Mercedes Laverne McCaleb's time in the U.S. Navy during World War II, including her enlistment, training, and assignment to Kansas City, Missouri.
Date: unknown
Creator: McCaleb, Mercedes Laverne
Object Type: Pamphlet
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Cpt. Edwards Drew to Mickey McLernon, April 14, 1944] (open access)

[Letter from Cpt. Edwards Drew to Mickey McLernon, April 14, 1944]

Letter from Captain Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon responding to her previous letter.
Date: April 14, 1944
Creator: Drew, Edward Allen
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Lt. Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon, November 3, 1943] (open access)

[Letter from Lt. Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon, November 3, 1943]

Letter from Lieutenant Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon discussing past correspondence, memories of meeting a woman at a skating rink, film, and making conversation.
Date: November 3, 1943
Creator: Drew, Edward Allen
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Cpt. Thomas Kuenning to Mickey McLernon, October 4, 1943] (open access)

[Letter from Cpt. Thomas Kuenning to Mickey McLernon, October 4, 1943]

Letter from Captain Thomas Kuenning to Mickey McLernon discussing how he feels about being in Africa.
Date: October 4, 1943
Creator: Kuenning, Thomas E.
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Lt. Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon, September 12, 1943] (open access)

[Letter from Lt. Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon, September 12, 1943]

Letter from Lieutenant Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon about past correspondence, thanking her for her picture, informing her that he and his friends are still stationed in Africa, aviation, and being sent to rest camp.
Date: September 12, 1943
Creator: Drew, Edward Allen
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Lt. Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon, June 25, 1943] (open access)

[Letter from Lt. Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon, June 25, 1943]

Letter from Lieutenant Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon discussing delays in the delivering of their letters and Mickey not being able to fly anymore.
Date: June 25, 1943
Creator: Drew, Edward Allen
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Lt. Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon, April 23, 1943] (open access)

[Letter from Lt. Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon, April 23, 1943]

Letter from Lieutenant Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon discussing past correspondence, his new address, and his friends.
Date: April 23, 1943
Creator: Drew, Edward Allen
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Lt. Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon, October 2, 1943] (open access)

[Letter from Lt. Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon, October 2, 1943]

Letter from Lieutenant Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon about rest camp.
Date: October 2, 1943
Creator: Drew, Edward Allen
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Lt. Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon, February 17,1944] (open access)

[Letter from Lt. Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon, February 17,1944]

Letter from Lieutenant Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon discussing life as a Lieutenant.
Date: February 17, 1944
Creator: Drew, Edward Allen
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Cpt. Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon, May 5, 1944] (open access)

[Letter from Cpt. Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon, May 5, 1944]

Letter from Captain Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon discussing her letters' late arrival, her training, and making conversation.
Date: May 5, 1944
Creator: Drew, Edward Allen
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Lt. Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon, January 7, 1944] (open access)

[Letter from Lt. Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon, January 7, 1944]

Letter from Lieutenant Edward Drew to Mickey McLernon discussing past correspondence, going to Mass, and an incident that occurred on New Year's Eve.
Date: January 7, 1944
Creator: Drew, Edward Allen
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History