Oral History Interview with Harold Johnson, November 4, 2010 transcript

Oral History Interview with Harold Johnson, November 4, 2010

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harold Johnson. Johnson joined the Navy in April 1941. He was assigned to the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) and survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. Johnson describes the ship getting hit and escaping from the interior. He swam through the oil-coated water to safety despite the ship almost rolling over on top of him. Johnson was then assigned to the USS Worden (DD-352) during the Battle of Midway. He was separated from this ship in Hawaii when it left while he was on liberty. Johnson was temporarily attached to the USS Whitney (AD-4) and traveled to Guadalcanal. He witnessed the first naval battle at Guadalcanal from his watch position and describes seeing silhouettes of the ships as they opened fire. Johnson eventually was returned to the Worden and was on board when it was lost after running aground in the Aleutians. He describes how he was rescued from the frigid water. Johnson was then transferred to a patrol craft, PC-462, and performed convoy duty in the Gulf of Mexico. He was then assigned to USS LST-668 and participated in the landings on Leyte and Lingayen. Johnson served as a …
Date: November 4, 2010
Creator: Johnson, Harold
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Harold Johnson, November 4, 2010 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Harold Johnson, November 4, 2010

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harold Johnson. Johnson joined the Navy in April 1941. He was assigned to the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) and survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. Johnson describes the ship getting hit and escaping from the interior. He swam through the oil-coated water to safety despite the ship almost rolling over on top of him. Johnson was then assigned to the USS Worden (DD-352) during the Battle of Midway. He was separated from this ship in Hawaii when it left while he was on liberty. Johnson was temporarily attached to the USS Whitney (AD-4) and traveled to Guadalcanal. He witnessed the first naval battle at Guadalcanal from his watch position and describes seeing silhouettes of the ships as they opened fire. Johnson eventually was returned to the Worden and was on board when it was lost after running aground in the Aleutians. He describes how he was rescued from the frigid water. Johnson was then transferred to a patrol craft, PC-462, and performed convoy duty in the Gulf of Mexico. He was then assigned to USS LST-668 and participated in the landings on Leyte and Lingayen. Johnson served as a …
Date: November 4, 2010
Creator: Johnson, Harold
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History