Oral History Interview with Jack Simpson, May 2, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with Jack Simpson, May 2, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jack Simpson. Simpson grew up in Georgia and when he finished high school, he enrolled in the Navy's V-7 Program at Northwestern University in June 1941. Ninety days later, he was commissioned an ensign and went to communication school. His first assignment was aboard USS Plunkett (DD-431) on convoy escort duty across the North Atlantic to Iceland, Scotland and Russia. After the invasion of North Africa, Simpson reported to damage control school in Philadelphia prior to assignment aboard USS Morrison (DD-560) at Seattle. He shares several anecdotes from aboard the Morrison including putting out fires aboard USS Princeton (CVL-23). He was also aboard when the Morrison sank of Okinawa from a kamikaze attack and shares stories of time in the water. When he returned to the US, he took an assignment as a damage control instructor. He was there when the war ended and elected to leave the Navy.
Date: May 2, 2013
Creator: Simpson, Jack
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Bill Price, May 10, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with Bill Price, May 10, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Price. Price joined the Navy in 1943 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Oakland (CL-95) as a first loader on a 40-milimeter. Standing beside the gun with no protective shield, he was vulnerable to enemy fire. After a year and a half, Price was transferred to the storekeepers division, where he maintained five storerooms of dry goods. When the kitchen placed an order, deckhands retrieved goods from Price and delivered them by hand. At the signing of the peace treaty, the Oakland was right beside the Missouri, and Price watched the Japanese delegation climb aboard. While on liberty, Price observed that Yokohama had been completely destroyed. After the war, there was pressure for storekeepers to remain in the service, but Price insisted on going home. He was discharged in December 1945.
Date: May 10, 2013
Creator: Price, Bill
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Eugene Paul, May 10, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with Eugene Paul, May 10, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Eugene Paul. Paul joined the Navy in January of 1943. He served as Fire Controlman aboard the USS Oakland (CL-95). They joined Task Group 50 near Funafuti, and supported amphibious assaults on the Gilbert Islands, Leyte Gulf and Okinawa. Paul describes his experiences with kamikazes and going through typhoons. Paul returned to the US after the war ended.
Date: May 10, 2013
Creator: Paul, Eugene
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Robert Scofield, May 17, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with Robert Scofield, May 17, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Scofield. Scofield joined the Marine Corps in 1943 and received training in South Carolina and North Carolina. Upon completion, he was assigned to the Fifth Marines and sent to Guadalcanal for further training. He was wounded on Okinawa just two or three days after joining a combat outfit. Scofield was shot in the abdomen and the wrist. He was evacuated by medics, who declared that he was dying. He was air-evacuated to a hospital after he assured the flight crew that his wounds were not mortal. Scofield returned home and spent a year recovering.
Date: May 17, 2013
Creator: Scofield, Robert
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with J. C. Brownwell, May 21, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with J. C. Brownwell, May 21, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with J C Brownwell. Brownwell joined the Navy in January of 1943. He served aboard the USS Tennessee (BB-43) beginning in the spring of 1943, and he provides description of the ship and life on board. He worked as an Electrician’s Mate. Some of the places they traveled include Tarawa, Kwajalein, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Peleliu and Saipan. He provides information on their firing engagements at Saipan, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Peleliu. He provides some detail of going ashore at Saipan and what he witnessed. He talks about their interaction with destroyers, and a kamikaze plane that hit their ship. He also discusses witnessing the flag raising at Mount Suribachi.
Date: May 21, 2013
Creator: Brownwell, J. C.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Ken Earman, May 29, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with Ken Earman, May 29, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ken Earman. Earman joined the Army Air Forces in 1943. He completed bombardier training, and provides some details of his experiences. As a first lieutenant, he served as an instructor teaching cadets at Big Spring Army Air Field in Texas. He was assigned to the 7th Air Force, 11th Bomb Group, 431st Squadron. In 1944 he flew over 40 combat missions in the Pacific Theater. He shares details of his missions and his experiences on Tawara, Kwajalein, Eniwetok and other Pacific islands. He later taught Chinese cadets at Big Spring in late 1944 into 1945.
Date: May 29, 2013
Creator: Earman, Ken
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Harvey Brush, May 30, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with Harvey Brush, May 30, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harvey Brush. Brush graduated from Penn State in 1942 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He was inducted into the Navy in August of 1943 as an Ensign. He attended radar school at MIT, and then was assigned to the Clinton Naval Air Station in Oklahoma, assisting in developing drones. In late 1944 he was assigned to the Hawaiian Islands. He received orders to join a destroyer escort division. He served as staff radar officer aboard the USS Goss (DE-444). He traveled to Saipan, and then was assigned to work in the CIC with radar equipment. They traveled to Iwo Jima and Okinawa to protect carriers. He traveled into Tokyo and Yokahama by electric train and provides details of what the landscape looked like after bombing. He was discharged in 1946.
Date: May 30, 2013
Creator: Brush, Harvey
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Lorenzo Todd, May 23, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with Lorenzo Todd, May 23, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lorenzo Todd. Todd completed radio school through the National Youth Administration. He completed Civilian Pilot Training with the Army Air Force Reserves in mid-1943. Beginning in 1945, he flew an L-5 aircraft with the 163rd Liaison Squadron. They traveled to Hawaii, the Bikini Islands, Eniwetok, Ulithi, and evacuated wounded soldiers from Okinawa. Todd returned to the US and was discharged in November of 1945.
Date: May 23, 2013
Creator: Todd, Lorenzo
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Richard Taylor, May 23, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with Richard Taylor, May 23, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Taylor. Taylor joined the Navy in February of 1943. He served as a Marine pilot with a dive bomber squadron. In October of 1944, Taylor deployed to the Marshall Islands. He completed surveillance missions of Japanese-occupied islands. Around March of 1945, he was stationed at Engebi, on the Eniwetok Atoll. Taylor participated in the Battle of Okinawa, completing combat patrol missions and dropping napalm on the southern end of the island. He returned to the US and was discharged in November of 1945.
Date: May 23, 2013
Creator: Taylor, Richard
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Stanley Blumenthal, May 27, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with Stanley Blumenthal, May 27, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Stanley Blumenthal. Blumenthal received his commercial Morse Code license and joined the Merchant Marines in 1944. He served aboard the liberty ship SS Lawrence D. Tyson (1943). He discusses life on the ship and experiences traveling to the Mediterranean Sea to deliver cargo. They landed in Palermo, Italy. He describes life and sightseeing in Palermo.
Date: May 27, 2013
Creator: Blumenthal, Stanley
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Jack Simpson, May 2, 2013 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Jack Simpson, May 2, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jack Simpson. Simpson grew up in Georgia and when he finished high school, he enrolled in the Navy's V-7 Program at Northwestern University in June 1941. Ninety days later, he was commissioned an ensign and went to communication school. His first assignment was aboard USS Plunkett (DD-431) on convoy escort duty across the North Atlantic to Iceland, Scotland and Russia. After the invasion of North Africa, Simpson reported to damage control school in Philadelphia prior to assignment aboard USS Morrison (DD-560) at Seattle. He shares several anecdotes from aboard the Morrison including putting out fires aboard USS Princeton (CVL-23). He was also aboard when the Morrison sank of Okinawa from a kamikaze attack and shares stories of time in the water. When he returned to the US, he took an assignment as a damage control instructor. He was there when the war ended and elected to leave the Navy.
Date: May 2, 2013
Creator: Simpson, Jack
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Bill Price, May 10, 2013 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Bill Price, May 10, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Price. Price joined the Navy in 1943 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Oakland (CL-95) as a first loader on a 40-milimeter. Standing beside the gun with no protective shield, he was vulnerable to enemy fire. After a year and a half, Price was transferred to the storekeepers division, where he maintained five storerooms of dry goods. When the kitchen placed an order, deckhands retrieved goods from Price and delivered them by hand. At the signing of the peace treaty, the Oakland was right beside the Missouri, and Price watched the Japanese delegation climb aboard. While on liberty, Price observed that Yokohama had been completely destroyed. After the war, there was pressure for storekeepers to remain in the service, but Price insisted on going home. He was discharged in December 1945.
Date: May 10, 2013
Creator: Price, Bill
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Eugene Paul, May 10, 2013 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Eugene Paul, May 10, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Eugene Paul. Paul joined the Navy in January of 1943. He served as Fire Controlman aboard the USS Oakland (CL-95). They joined Task Group 50 near Funafuti, and supported amphibious assaults on the Gilbert Islands, Leyte Gulf and Okinawa. Paul describes his experiences with kamikazes and going through typhoons. Paul returned to the US after the war ended.
Date: May 10, 2013
Creator: Paul, Eugene
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Robert Scofield, May 17, 2013 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Robert Scofield, May 17, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Scofield. Scofield joined the Marine Corps in 1943 and received training in South Carolina and North Carolina. Upon completion, he was assigned to the Fifth Marines and sent to Guadalcanal for further training. He was wounded on Okinawa just two or three days after joining a combat outfit. Scofield was shot in the abdomen and the wrist. He was evacuated by medics, who declared that he was dying. He was air-evacuated to a hospital after he assured the flight crew that his wounds were not mortal. Scofield returned home and spent a year recovering.
Date: May 17, 2013
Creator: Scofield, Robert
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with J. C. Brownwell, May 21, 2013 (open access)

Oral History Interview with J. C. Brownwell, May 21, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with J C Brownwell. Brownwell joined the Navy in January of 1943. He served aboard the USS Tennessee (BB-43) beginning in the spring of 1943, and he provides description of the ship and life on board. He worked as an Electrician’s Mate. Some of the places they traveled include Tarawa, Kwajalein, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Peleliu and Saipan. He provides information on their firing engagements at Saipan, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Peleliu. He provides some detail of going ashore at Saipan and what he witnessed. He talks about their interaction with destroyers, and a kamikaze plane that hit their ship. He also discusses witnessing the flag raising at Mount Suribachi.
Date: May 21, 2013
Creator: Brownwell, J. C.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Stanley Blumenthal, May 27, 2013 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Stanley Blumenthal, May 27, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Stanley Blumenthal. Blumenthal received his commercial Morse Code license and joined the Merchant Marines in 1944. He served aboard the liberty ship SS Lawrence D. Tyson (1943). He discusses life on the ship and experiences traveling to the Mediterranean Sea to deliver cargo. They landed in Palermo, Italy. He describes life and sightseeing in Palermo.
Date: May 27, 2013
Creator: Blumenthal, Stanley
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Ken Earman, May 29, 2013 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Ken Earman, May 29, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ken Earman. Earman joined the Army Air Forces in 1943. He completed bombardier training, and provides some details of his experiences. As a first lieutenant, he served as an instructor teaching cadets at Big Spring Army Air Field in Texas. He was assigned to the 7th Air Force, 11th Bomb Group, 431st Squadron. In 1944 he flew over 40 combat missions in the Pacific Theater. He shares details of his missions and his experiences on Tawara, Kwajalein, Eniwetok and other Pacific islands. He later taught Chinese cadets at Big Spring in late 1944 into 1945.
Date: May 29, 2013
Creator: Earman, Ken
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Harvey Brush, May 30, 2013 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Harvey Brush, May 30, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harvey Brush. Brush graduated from Penn State in 1942 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He was inducted into the Navy in August of 1943 as an Ensign. He attended radar school at MIT, and then was assigned to the Clinton Naval Air Station in Oklahoma, assisting in developing drones. In late 1944 he was assigned to the Hawaiian Islands. He received orders to join a destroyer escort division. He served as staff radar officer aboard the USS Goss (DE-444). He traveled to Saipan, and then was assigned to work in the CIC with radar equipment. They traveled to Iwo Jima and Okinawa to protect carriers. He traveled into Tokyo and Yokahama by electric train and provides details of what the landscape looked like after bombing. He was discharged in 1946.
Date: May 30, 2013
Creator: Brush, Harvey
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Lorenzo Todd, May 23, 2013 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Lorenzo Todd, May 23, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lorenzo Todd. Todd completed radio school through the National Youth Administration. He completed Civilian Pilot Training with the Army Air Force Reserves in mid-1943. Beginning in 1945, he flew an L-5 aircraft with the 163rd Liaison Squadron. They traveled to Hawaii, the Bikini Islands, Eniwetok, Ulithi, and evacuated wounded soldiers from Okinawa. Todd returned to the US and was discharged in November of 1945.
Date: May 23, 2013
Creator: Todd, Lorenzo
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Richard Taylor, May 23, 2013 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Richard Taylor, May 23, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Taylor. Taylor joined the Navy in February of 1943. He served as a Marine pilot with a dive bomber squadron. In October of 1944, Taylor deployed to the Marshall Islands. He completed surveillance missions of Japanese-occupied islands. Around March of 1945, he was stationed at Engebi, on the Eniwetok Atoll. Taylor participated in the Battle of Okinawa, completing combat patrol missions and dropping napalm on the southern end of the island. He returned to the US and was discharged in November of 1945.
Date: May 23, 2013
Creator: Taylor, Richard
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History