Oral History Interview with Walter Autry, November 10, 2010 transcript

Oral History Interview with Walter Autry, November 10, 2010

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Walter Autry. Autry joined the Navy in 1941. In 1944, he traveled to New Guinea, serving aboard as a cook. He later worked as a Machinist Mate and Chief Engineer aboard an LCI. He participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the Philippines Campaigns. Autry served with occupation forces in Tientsin, China. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.
Date: November 10, 2010
Creator: Autry, Walter
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Walter Autry, November 10, 2010 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Walter Autry, November 10, 2010

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Walter Autry. Autry joined the Navy in 1941. In 1944, he traveled to New Guinea, serving aboard as a cook. He later worked as a Machinist Mate and Chief Engineer aboard an LCI. He participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the Philippines Campaigns. Autry served with occupation forces in Tientsin, China. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.
Date: November 10, 2010
Creator: Autry, Walter
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Angelo Gagliano, February 10, 2010 transcript

Oral History Interview with Angelo Gagliano, February 10, 2010

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Angelo Gagliano. Gagliano joined the Navy in August 1942. He describes his experiences in basic training at Newport, Rhode Island. Gagliano was assigned to an air service unit and then transferred to the USS Langley (CVL-27). He became an aviation storekeeper and also served as an ammunition handler on a 40mm gun. Gagliano describes a time when he was a passenger on a TBF that catapulted off of the ship and how he blacked-out. He also discusses shipboard life and his duties. Gagliano describes seeing USS Princeton (CVL-23), USS Franklin (CV-13), and USS Lexington (CV-16) all take serious damage in battle. He also discusses what it was like to go through a typhoon and how several destroyers were lost. He was transferred to shore duty in New York and then Alameda where he signed off on returning aviators who were returning their gear. Gagliano left the Navy in March 1946.
Date: February 10, 2010
Creator: Gagliano, Angelo
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Angelo Gagliano, February 10, 2010 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Angelo Gagliano, February 10, 2010

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Angelo Gagliano. Gagliano joined the Navy in August 1942. He describes his experiences in basic training at Newport, Rhode Island. Gagliano was assigned to an air service unit and then transferred to the USS Langley (CVL-27). He became an aviation storekeeper and also served as an ammunition handler on a 40mm gun. Gagliano describes a time when he was a passenger on a TBF that catapulted off of the ship and how he blacked-out. He also discusses shipboard life and his duties. Gagliano describes seeing USS Princeton (CVL-23), USS Franklin (CV-13), and USS Lexington (CV-16) all take serious damage in battle. He also discusses what it was like to go through a typhoon and how several destroyers were lost. He was transferred to shore duty in New York and then Alameda where he signed off on returning aviators who were returning their gear. Gagliano left the Navy in March 1946.
Date: February 10, 2010
Creator: Gagliano, Angelo
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Alan Pilot, August 10, 2010 transcript

Oral History Interview with Alan Pilot, August 10, 2010

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alan Pilot. Pilot joined the Army in January 1943 and received basic training at Camp Howze. He received further training in Louisiana for the European Theater and then in California for the Pacific Theater. In January he left for Camp Old Gold at La Havre, where he served as a combat medic, supporting Companies E, G, and H of the 343rd Infantry, 86th Division. His unit relieved the 8th Division and fought in Cologne, where he was stationed at the top of the cathedral while it was being shelled. In the Ruhr Pocket a defective shell landed 10 feet away from him. He recalls seeing 100,000 Germans surrender there. He describes the Bavarian people as friendly as he passed through Austria on VE Day. He was then sent to the Pacific as part of Operation Coronet. VJ Day came while he was still crossing the Pacific. He spent the last five months of his service in the Philippines at a quiet outpost while the rest of his unit prepared the Philippines for independence. Pilot returned home and was discharged in January 1946.
Date: August 10, 2010
Creator: Pilot, Alan
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Alan Pilot, August 10, 2010 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Alan Pilot, August 10, 2010

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alan Pilot. Pilot joined the Army in January 1943 and received basic training at Camp Howze. He received further training in Louisiana for the European Theater and then in California for the Pacific Theater. In January he left for Camp Old Gold at La Havre, where he served as a combat medic, supporting Companies E, G, and H of the 343rd Infantry, 86th Division. His unit relieved the 8th Division and fought in Cologne, where he was stationed at the top of the cathedral while it was being shelled. In the Ruhr Pocket a defective shell landed 10 feet away from him. He recalls seeing 100,000 Germans surrender there. He describes the Bavarian people as friendly as he passed through Austria on VE Day. He was then sent to the Pacific as part of Operation Coronet. VJ Day came while he was still crossing the Pacific. He spent the last five months of his service in the Philippines at a quiet outpost while the rest of his unit prepared the Philippines for independence. Pilot returned home and was discharged in January 1946.
Date: August 10, 2010
Creator: Pilot, Alan
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Joseph Sberro, November 10, 2010 transcript

Oral History Interview with Joseph Sberro, November 10, 2010

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joseph Sberro. Sberro was born 12 November 1923 in New York City. At an early age the family moved to Miami, Florida where he graduated from high school. In January 1943, he was drafted into the Army Air Forces and took basic training in Atlantic City, New Jersey. After three months he was sent to Seymour Johnson Airfield, North Carolina to attend airplane mechanic school. After completing the course, he went to Chanute Field, Illinois where he was schooled in aviation electronics. Upon graduating he was sent to Walker Army Airfield in Hays, Kansas where he worked on B-17s and B-29s. After spending some time in Seattle, he was sent to Pearl Harbor where he boarded a ship bound for Guam. Upon arriving on Guam, he was assigned to the 20th Air Force, 330th Bomb Group, 457th Bomb Squadron as a B-29 airplane mechanic. He was assigned to a team sent to recover the remains of a crew killed in the crash of a B-29. Sberro also tells of seeing a heavily damaged B-29 crash on the runway with the loss of the entire crew. He returned to …
Date: November 10, 2010
Creator: Sberro, Joseph E.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Joseph Sberro, November 10, 2010 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Joseph Sberro, November 10, 2010

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joseph Sberro. Sberro was born 12 November 1923 in New York City. At an early age the family moved to Miami, Florida where he graduated from high school. In January 1943, he was drafted into the Army Air Forces and took basic training in Atlantic City, New Jersey. After three months he was sent to Seymour Johnson Airfield, North Carolina to attend airplane mechanic school. After completing the course, he went to Chanute Field, Illinois where he was schooled in aviation electronics. Upon graduating he was sent to Walker Army Airfield in Hays, Kansas where he worked on B-17s and B-29s. After spending some time in Seattle, he was sent to Pearl Harbor where he boarded a ship bound for Guam. Upon arriving on Guam, he was assigned to the 20th Air Force, 330th Bomb Group, 457th Bomb Squadron as a B-29 airplane mechanic. He was assigned to a team sent to recover the remains of a crew killed in the crash of a B-29. Sberro also tells of seeing a heavily damaged B-29 crash on the runway with the loss of the entire crew. He returned to …
Date: November 10, 2010
Creator: Sberro, Joseph E.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History