Oral History Interview with William Havel, April 22, 1994

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Interview with William Havel, an army veteran from Staten Island, New York. This interview recounts his experiences as an adopted child in a farm family and then as a corpsman at Tripler General Hospital during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date: April 22, 1994
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Havel, William
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Jess Stanbrough, April 15, 1985 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Jess Stanbrough, April 15, 1985

Interview with Jess Stanbrough, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran from Wichita Falls, Texas, who served and was captured with the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery (the "Lost Battalion.") Stanbrough discusses his time in the Guard before the war, deployment to the Pacific, the fall of Java and being captured, experiences in internment at Tanjong Priok and Bicycle Camp in Batavia, operating a clandestine radio, transfer to Japan, being an iron smelter at Kamaishi, Honshu, American air and naval bombardment, and liberation.
Date: April 15, 1985
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Stanbrough, Jess
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Herschel Blackwell, April 26, 1986 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Herschel Blackwell, April 26, 1986

Interview with Herschel Blackwell regarding his experiences as a member of VP-14 a Kaneohe Naval Air Station during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941.
Date: April 26, 1986
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Blackwell, Herschell
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with C. N. Swain, April 26, 1986 (open access)

Oral History Interview with C. N. Swain, April 26, 1986

Interview with C. N. Swain, a Navy WWII veteran from Kernes, Texas. Swain discusses his experiences aboard the USS Vestal at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, as well as his entry into the service and training, life and work aboard the Vestal, operations before December 7th, being knocked overboard by a Japanese torpedo and the destruction of the USS Arizona, and service afterwards.
Date: April 26, 1986
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Swain, C. N.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with John A. Roberts, April 27, 1999

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Interview with General John Roberts, a Air Force WWII veteran from Arkansas, who served for over twenty years with General Roger Ramey of Denton, Texas. Roberts discusses Ramey's background and his own, Army Air Corps pilot training, the start of the war and assignment under Ramey, changing commands and transition to the B-29, Curtis LeMay, the atomic bomb, postwar work, Ramey's health and death, his relationships with various figures, Douglas MacArthur and Harry Truman, the racial integration of the Air Force, and the Roswell UFO incident. Some additional biographical information about Ramey is provided by Colonel Terry Garland.
Date: April 27, 1999
Creator: Lane, Peter B.; Garland, Terry & Roberts, John A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with T. L. Smyth, April 23, 1988 (open access)

Oral History Interview with T. L. Smyth, April 23, 1988

Interview with T. L. Smyth, an Army WWII veteran from Mount Vernon, Texas, who was at Fort Ruger on Oahu during the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Smyth discusses joining the Army and assignment to coast artillery, training, promotion, life in the peacetime Army, combat on the morning of December 7th, the aftermath of the attack and events of the following evening, and later service.
Date: April 23, 1988
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Smyth, T. L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with M. L. Rea, April 14, 1980 (open access)

Oral History Interview with M. L. Rea, April 14, 1980

Transcript of an interview with M. L. Rea, a Texas native, Army veteran (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard), and a member of the "Lost Battalion." Rea discusses his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II.
Date: April 14, 1980
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Rea, M. L., 1917-
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Ralph W. Nelson, April 18, 1996

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Transcript of an interview with Ralph W. Nelson, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences while aboard the submarines USS Batfish and USS Parche in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Submarine School, San Francisco, California, 1942; early torpedo problems; his responsibilities as a fire controlman; assignment to the Batfish, 1944; various patrols in the Luzon Strait and Makassar Strait; lifeguard duty off Palau for downed airmen; transfer to the Parche, 1945.
Date: April 18, 1996
Creator: Maglaughlin, Barry & Nelson, Ralph W.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Robert E. Yerger, April 12, 2003

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Transcript of an interview with Robert E. Yerger, a Navy veteran, concerning his experiences as a flying boat pilot in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Yerger discusses his decision to enlist in the Navy, May, 1942; basic flight training, Naval Air Station, Grand Prairie, Texas, 1942; advanced flight training, Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas, 1942; PBY flying boat training at Corpus Christi, 1942-43; his tenure as a flight instructor, Chase Field, Beeville, Texas, 1943; assignment as a base personnel officer at Chase Field, 1943-45; flying PB2Y flying boats with cargo and personnel in the Pacific, 1945; activities on Majuro Island; his experience flying the Martin Mars flying boat; mustering out of the service, August, 1946.
Date: April 12, 2003
Creator: Alexander, William J. & Yerger, Robert E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with W. L. Starnes, April 2, 1974 (open access)

Oral History Interview with W. L. Starnes, April 2, 1974

Interview with W. L. Starnes, a businessman, an Army veteran (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard), and a member of the "Lost Battalion," concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Starnes talks about the fall of Java and his capture, Bicycle Camp in Batavia (1942), Changi Prison Camp in Singapore (1942), building the Burma-Thailand Death Railway (1942-1944), Kanchanaburi, Thailand (1944), Saigon and Da Lat, French Indo-China (1944-1945), and his liberation.
Date: April 2, 1974
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Starnes, W. L., 1919-
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Horace Chumley, April 3, 1974 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Horace Chumley, April 3, 1974

Interview with Horace Chumley, retired law enforcement officer, U.S. Army WWII veteran (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard), and member of the “Lost Battalion.” Chumley discusses his experiences while being held as a prisoner-of-war by the Japanese during World War II. Fall of Java and capture; Bicycle Camp, Batavia, 1942-45; liberation.
Date: April 3, 1974
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Chumley, Horace, 1916-
System: The UNT Digital Library