Oral History Interview with W. A. Henderson, September 20, 2003 transcript

Oral History Interview with W. A. Henderson, September 20, 2003

Interview with W. A. (Bill) Henderson, a pilot during World War II. He discusses his time as a bombardier and navigator on a B-24 in the China-Burma-India Theater. His crew hit the bridge over River Kwai (Mae Klong) while making bombing runs along the Burma Railway and also flew runs to supply gasoline to various bases in China, India and Burma. He relates anecdotes about the food and living quarters on the bases and the time he saved his co-pilot's life. He helped his co-pilot land the plane after a bullet tore through the plane's nose wheel and injured the man's leg.
Date: September 20, 2003
Creator: Johnson, Kep & Henderson, W. A.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
The Thai-Burma Railway and Beyond (The Railway of Death) 1942-1945 (open access)

The Thai-Burma Railway and Beyond (The Railway of Death) 1942-1945

Transcript by M.F. Seiker. Seiker was born in Holland and joined the Dutch Merchant Navy. He became a POW in Java in 1942. He went on a hell ship to Singapore and then on a train to Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Next, he was put to work building the Kwai River Bridge. He describes that death was a daily occurrence. He was caught and threatened with execution for stealing Red Cross shipments of food. The camp then found out about Hiroshima three days after it happened, since the Japanese abandoned the camp. The POWs began marching and taking trains and met with a Red Cross train. Later, Seiker exhibited his paintings of the time he spent at camp.
Date: unknown
Creator: Seiker, M. F.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with W. A. Henderson, 2007 (open access)

Oral History Interview with W. A. Henderson, 2007

Interview with Lieutenant Col. W. A. Bill Henderson of Gatesville, Texas, who is a veteran of the United States Air Force. In the interview, Mr. Henderson answers biographical questions and talks about his military flight training, traveling, and bombing the Kwai River Bridge during World War II.
Date: 2007
Creator: Johnson, Kep & Henderson, W. A.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History