Oral History Interview with Mary Steele Leon, April 15, 1997 transcript

Oral History Interview with Mary Steele Leon, April 15, 1997

Interview with Mary Steele Leon, a secretary for the U. S. Navy during and after World War II. She joined the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) and was trained as a secretary. Her first assignment was in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) during World War II. The CNO at the time was Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King. After the war, she served as personal secretary for Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz while he was CNO. She was discharged in 1946.
Date: April 15, 1997
Creator: Alexander, Bill & Leon, Mary Steele
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Floyd Mumme, April 12, 2002 transcript

Oral History Interview with Floyd Mumme, April 12, 2002

Interview with Floyd Mumme, a medic during World War II. He discusses boot camp, being deployed to Saipan, Japanese trying to steal food, working in the Army Medical Corps, and treating wounds in combat.
Date: April 12, 2002
Creator: Misenhimer, Richard & Mumme, Floyd C.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with H. L. Obermiller, April 30, 2004 transcript

Oral History Interview with H. L. Obermiller, April 30, 2004

Interview with H. L. Obermiller, a Pharmacist's Mate during World War II. He discusses his involvement in the Battles of Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian, where he served as a Pharmacist's Mate. He remembers having Spam for Thanksgiving, meeting Navajo code talkers, and writing letters home.
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: Metzler, Ed & Obermiller, H. L.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with E. R. Dolinar, April 5, 2003 transcript

Oral History Interview with E. R. Dolinar, April 5, 2003

Interview with E.R. (Ed) Dolinar, a serviceman with the U. S. Navy during World War II. He discusses going to boot camp, torpedo school and submarine school. He was on the SSN Stingray as a torpedo crewman that offloaded supplies and guerillas in the Philippines. It picked up stranded Japanese sailors and transported them to Australia. The Stingray was then decomissioned. He was then part of a crew that studied and stripped captured German submarines, and he discusses the differences between the U-boats and the US submarines. He also discusses the Bolomen, Filipino guerillas who fought the Japanese during the occupation. He also talks briefly about his experience of being hit with depth charges and gives his opinions on General MacArthur and President Truman.
Date: April 5, 2003
Creator: Bryk, Clarence & Dolinar, E. R.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Charles Pase, April 12, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Charles Pase, April 12, 2001

Interview with Charles Pase, a marine during World War II. He discusses joining the Marines and training on New Zealand and other Pacific islands. He describes landing on Tarawa, the battle of Tarawa itself, and locating and burying the dead bodies after the battle. He also talks about going to Hawaii for more training before going to Saipan, various guns and artillery he used, encountering natives on Saipan and being in Nagasaki after the bomb was dropped. He relates ancedotes about having tonsillitis during the Tarawa attack, fights that some Marines got into with local Hawaiians while training there and prejudices against Japanese-Americans, mistaking a land crab that pinched the back of his neck for a bayonet, getting Dengue Fever, and faking a landing on April Fools' Day.
Date: April 12, 2001
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Pase, Charles
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Sam H. Snoddy, April 29, 2004 transcript

Oral History Interview with Sam H. Snoddy, April 29, 2004

Interview with Sam H. Snoddy, a U. S. Marine during World War II. He served in the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. After training, he participated in the initial landing at Saipan where he was wounded in the knees and shoulder on the beach by shell fragments. He was loaded onto a hospital ship with several other casualties before going to Hawaii to recuperate. He participated in the Okinawa campaign and spent time at Nagasaki on occupation duty. After being discharged, he went to college on the G. I. Bill, and eventually settled in Texas, where he worked in the oil industry.
Date: April 29, 2004
Creator: Smith, Ned & Snoddy, Sam H.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Guinn Rasbury, April 30, 2004 transcript

Oral History Interview with Guinn Rasbury, April 30, 2004

Interview with Guinn Rasbury, a U. S. Marine during World War II. He discusses joining the Marines, being part of the invasion force at Florida and Tulagi Islands, having multiple malaria attacks, being transferred to Maine to cure his malaria, being transferred around the United States, and finally returning to the Pacific theater. He explains how being sick with malaria and getting bumped from a plane ride home saved his life. He shares anecdotes about sounding "Taps" at a memorial service for President Roosevelt and being chairman of the Second Marine Division Memorial Scholarship Fund Committee.
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: Graham, Eddie & Rasbury, Guinn
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Finley, April 11, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with Albert Finley, April 11, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Finley. Finley joined the Marine Corps around December of 1943. He provides vivid details of his boot camp experiences. He served with Headquarters Company, 4th Marines, as a radar mechanic on Corsairs, repairing radio and radar gear. Beginning in September of 1944 they traveled to Guam, Kwajalein, Pearl Harbor and Majuro in the Marshall Islands. Finley shares a number of anecdotal stories, including working with POWs. He was discharged in the fall of 1946.
Date: April 11, 2006
Creator: Finley, Albert
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Albert Finley, April 11, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Albert Finley, April 11, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Finley. Finley joined the Marine Corps around December of 1943. He provides vivid details of his boot camp experiences. He served with Headquarters Company, 4th Marines, as a radar mechanic on Corsairs, repairing radio and radar gear. Beginning in September of 1944 they traveled to Guam, Kwajalein, Pearl Harbor and Majuro in the Marshall Islands. Finley shares a number of anecdotal stories, including working with POWs. He was discharged in the fall of 1946.
Date: April 11, 2006
Creator: Finley, Albert
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with L. B. Blackmon, April 10, 2007 transcript

Oral History Interview with L. B. Blackmon, April 10, 2007

Interview with L. B. Blackmon, a serviceman in the U. S. Navy during World War II. He discusses boot camp in San Diego, his assignment to Pearl Harbor, and his experiences during the attack. He later trained cadets in Corpus Christi.
Date: April 10, 2007
Creator: Misenhimer, Richard & Blackmon, L. B.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Paul Jackson, April 10, 2008 transcript

Oral History Interview with Paul Jackson, April 10, 2008

Interview with Paul Jackson, a U. S. Marine during World War II. He discusses his time in boot camp at Camp Pendleton and his combat experiences in the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Date: April 10, 2008
Creator: Roberts, Virginia & Jackson, Paul
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Karel Dahmen, April 20, 2011 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Karel Dahmen, April 20, 2011

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Karel Dahmen. Dahmen was born in the Netherlands and witnessed the bombing of Rotterdam in May 1940. He recalls the chaos of fires burning and people being shot. With two friends he quickly manned a vacant boat and carried 45 Jews across the North Sea to England, using only a compass and school atlas for navigation. He joined the Dutch Navy in February 1941 and was assigned to HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck as a radar operator. He went in convoy to Iceland to dismantle a German weather station. Dahmen recalls picking up Germans who were eager to turn themselves in and become prisoners-of-war. At the end of the year he attended officer school and became an engineer officer. He was then assigned to the Dutch Naval Liaison office in England, where he received messages and delivered news of the attack on Pearl Harbor to the Dutch prime minister. After the war he was sent for training at Camp Lejeune and Camp Endicott to work with Marines and Seabees in preparation for deployment to Indonesia. With the Dutch Marine Corps, he facilitated Indonesia’s transition to independence. Dahmen was reunited …
Date: April 20, 2011
Creator: Dahmen, Karel
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Afton Keeton, April 5, 2003 transcript

Oral History Interview with Afton Keeton, April 5, 2003

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Afton Keeton. Keeton joined the Navy in early 1942. He completed Hospital Corps School, and served as a Pharmacist’s Mate. He volunteered for Submarine School. From 1944 through the end of the war, Keeton worked in the sick bays aboard USS Seadragon (SS-194) and USS Tilefish (SS-307). He shares numerous anecdotes of his work aboard the submarines, though does not go into detail of where they traveled through the Pacific. Keeton continued his service after World War II, and retired in February of 1972.
Date: April 5, 2003
Creator: Keeton, Afton
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Afton Keeton, April 5, 2003 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Afton Keeton, April 5, 2003

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Afton Keeton. Keeton joined the Navy in early 1942. He completed Hospital Corps School, and served as a Pharmacist’s Mate. He volunteered for Submarine School. From 1944 through the end of the war, Keeton worked in the sick bays aboard USS Seadragon (SS-194) and USS Tilefish (SS-307). He shares numerous anecdotes of his work aboard the submarines, though does not go into detail of where they traveled through the Pacific. Keeton continued his service after World War II, and retired in February of 1972.
Date: April 5, 2003
Creator: Keeton, Afton
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Agnes Langley Niernberger, April 27, 1945] (open access)

[Letter from Agnes Langley Niernberger, April 27, 1945]

Letter from Agnes Langley Niernberger to her family discussing daily life sailing to the Philippine Islands. She hopes that they will be finished sailing soon. She sleeps on the tennis deck and has gotten so used to being rained out that she covers her head and falls back asleep. Agnes spends her time with Dienst and Baird, who she mentions were married before leaving Topeha. They occasionally see the U.S. Orchestra and movies and there are always song-fests in the evenings.
Date: April 27, 1945
Creator: Niernberger, Agnes Langley
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letter from Agnes Langley Niernberger, April 22, 1945] (open access)

[Letter from Agnes Langley Niernberger, April 22, 1945]

Letter from Agnes Langley Niernberger to her family telling them that she misses them and explaining why she could not have written sooner. She tells them that she cannot write much about her travels but that she is eating well, getting a tan, and has not gotten sea sick. She suggests her family pass the letter along, since it is futile to write letters to several people when there is nothing to write about.
Date: April 22, 1945
Creator: Niernberger, Agnes Langley
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Chester W. Nimitz Fishing]

Photograph of Chester W. Nimitz fishing on the bank of the Guadalupe River, probably somewhere in Texas. He is wearing a dark suit and flat cap.
Date: April 1913
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History

[Chester W. Nimitz on Board the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria]

Photograph of Chester W. Nimitz and Mr. Gesenfeld on board the ship Kaiserin Auguste Victoria. Chester Nimitz stands on the right in a buttoned-up coat, a white collared shirt and a flat cap. A woman is in the center with her back turned looking over the side of the ship, she wears a large hat, a coat and a long skirt. Sitting on the right is Mr. Gesenfeld in a blazer, a tie, and a flat cap.
Date: April 1919
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Yamamoto Mission Retrospective Academic Panel, Part 1] captions transcript

[Yamamoto Mission Retrospective Academic Panel, Part 1]

A recording of the Yamamoto Mission Retrospective Symposium academic panel, including Dr. Dean Allard as the moderator and panel speakers including Dr. Joseph Dawson III, Dr. Roger Beaumont, Capt. Roger Pineau, Dr. Paul Woodruff, and Dr. Manuel Davenport. The five speakers discuss the historical context to attacks upon senior military leaders, the planning of the Yamamoto mission, and the ethical issues involved in signalling out for attack.
Date: 1988-04-16/1988-04-17
Creator: National Museum of the Pacific War
Object Type: Video
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Yamamoto Mission Retrospective Academic Panel, Part 2] captions transcript

[Yamamoto Mission Retrospective Academic Panel, Part 2]

A recording of the Yamamoto Mission Retrospective Symposium academic panel, including Dr. Dean Allard as the moderator and panel speakers including Dr. Joseph Dawson III, Dr. Roger Beaumont, Capt. Roger Pineau, Dr. Paul Woodruff, and Dr. Manuel Davenport. The five speakers discuss the historical context to attacks upon senior military leaders, the planning of the Yamamoto mission, and the ethical issues involved in signalling out for attack. The recording moves on to questions for the academic panels.
Date: 1988-04-16/1988-04-17
Creator: National Museum of the Pacific War
Object Type: Video
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Yamamoto Mission Retrospective Survival Panel, Part 1] captions transcript

[Yamamoto Mission Retrospective Survival Panel, Part 1]

A recording of the Yamamoto Mission Retrospective Symposium survival panel. Moderated by R. Cargill Hall, the panelists include John Mitchell, Rex Barber, and Frank B. Holmes.
Date: 1988-04-16/1988-04-17
Creator: National Museum of the Pacific War
Object Type: Video
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Yamamoto Mission Retrospective Survival Panel, Part 2] captions transcript

[Yamamoto Mission Retrospective Survival Panel, Part 2]

A recording of the Yamamoto Mission Retrospective Symposium survival panel. Moderated by R. Cargill Hall, the panelists include Frank B. Holmes, Kenji Yanagiya and his translator Mr. Makoto Shinagawa, Louis Kittel, Jack Jacobson, Delton Goerke, Douglas Canning, and Roger Ames. The panelists are then asked questions.
Date: 1988-04-16/1988-04-17
Creator: National Museum of the Pacific War
Object Type: Video
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Yamamoto Mission Retrospective Survival Panel, Part 3] captions transcript

[Yamamoto Mission Retrospective Survival Panel, Part 3]

A recording of the Yamamoto Mission Retrospective Symposium survival panel. Moderated by R. Cargill Hall, the panelists include John Mitchell, Rex Barber, Frank B. Holmes, Kenji Yanagiya and his translator Mr. Makoto Shinagawa, Louis Kittel, Jack Jacobson, Delton Goerke, Douglas Canning, and Roger Ames. The panelists are asked questions by the attendants.
Date: 1988-04-16/1988-04-17
Creator: National Museum of the Pacific War
Object Type: Video
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with W. G. (Bill) Campbell, April 21, 2000 (open access)

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