[WASP Region 3 News] (open access)

[WASP Region 3 News]

Report from Betty Jane Williams relaying news and events within WASP Region 3. She discusses Janet Hargrave's memorial service, the recent discovery of artifacts at Marie Robinson's crash site, a new large-format film about fighter pilots, and the Women Military Aviators conference.
Date: March 17, 2005
Creator: Williams, Betty Jane
Object Type: Report
System: The Portal to Texas History

[WASP in Pink Outfits at Reunion]

Photograph of nine WASP members posed in two rows at a reunion. Most of the group is wearing some shade of pink in their attire. A note seen on the back of the photo reads, "San Diego Reunion 1984".
Date: 1984
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Note on San Diego Boat Racing] (open access)

[Note on San Diego Boat Racing]

Note on a small sticky note that possibly says "Toy speed boat racing, probably in San Diego, "S" team down tied(?) in S.F. Lombard Street," followed by a signature at the bottom.
Date: unknown
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Newsletter: Fifinella Fanfare - San Diego Doings] (open access)

[Newsletter: Fifinella Fanfare - San Diego Doings]

Newsletter from the San Diego area "Fifinellas" with news on its members and the organization's activities.
Date: unknown
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Journal/Magazine/Newsletter
System: The Portal to Texas History
[General Business Meeting Agenda] (open access)

[General Business Meeting Agenda]

Agenda for a general business meeting, concerning WASP matters.
Date: 1984~
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History

Oral History Interview with Richard Donley, February 22, 1997

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Interview with Navy veteran Richard Donley. The interview includes Donley's personal experiences about the Mediterranean Theater during World War II, boot camp, Fleet Torpedo School, encounters with German "F-lighter" armed barges and E-boats, various assignments, and combat against enemy destroyers. Donley also talks about screening operations for the invasions of Sicily and Salerno, operations along the coasts of northern Italy and southern France and the interdiction of German barge traffic, torpedo problems, commando and intelligence operations, returning to the States, his reassignment to the Motor Torpedo Boats Training Center, and transferring to Samar, Philippines.
Date: February 22, 1997
Creator: Alexander, William J. & Donley, Richard
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
[Letter from Catherine A. Murphy to Mary Farley Tilton, June, 1984] (open access)

[Letter from Catherine A. Murphy to Mary Farley Tilton, June, 1984]

Schedule of events mailed from Catherine A. Murphy to Mary Farley Tilton for the Women Airforce Service Pilots' 1984 reunion in San Diego, California. A WASP fifinella is printed in the top right corner of the first page and a map is printed on the third page.
Date: June 1984
Creator: Murphy, Catherine A.
Object Type: Letter
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Carl Peltier, March 4, 2001 transcript

Oral History Interview with Carl Peltier, March 4, 2001

Interview with Carl Peltier, a U. S Marine during World War II. He begins by discussing his reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor. He then joined the Marines when he was old enough. He trained in San Diego before shipping out to Hawaii where he joined the 2nd Marine Division. Further training included heavy weapons and mortars. Later, he landed on Saipan and describes his small arms and rations. He witnessed General Simon Buckner getting killed on Okinawa. He was later wounded on Okinawa. After the war ended, Peltier served in the Pentagon during the Korean War.
Date: March 4, 2001
Creator: Nichols, Chuck & Peltier, Carl
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Cleatus A. LeBow, May 2, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with Cleatus A. LeBow, May 2, 2006

Interview with Cleatus A. LeBow, a serviceman in the U. S. Navy during World War II. LeBow joined the navy in 1943 and went from Lubbock, Texas to San Diego for recruit training. He shipped out to Pearl Harbor aboard an LST from San Francisco. At Pearl Harbor, he was assigned to a work detail aboard the USS Oklahoma, which had just been righted. Shortly thereafter, he boarded the USS Indianapolis to serve as a range finder operator on one of the gun turrets. Upon leaving Hawaii, the Indianapolis went to Tarawa and then the Marshall Islands. LeBow witnessed Japanese civilian suicides on Saipan. He also witnessed the flag-raising on Iwo Jima from his range finder position aboard the ship. LeBow describes being hit by a kamikaze off Okinawa. He also discusses delivering atomic bomb components to Tinian and being torpedoed on the way to the Philippines. He describes abandoning the ship and spending five days in the water, including his faith in God, hallucinations, rescue, and his recovery.
Date: May 2, 2006
Creator: Misenhimer, Richard & Lebow, Cleatus A.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Jerell E. Crow, August 24, 2002 transcript

Oral History Interview with Jerell E. Crow, August 24, 2002

Interview with Jerell E. Crow. He entered the Coast Guard in 1940 and trained in Florida and New York City. He served aboard a Landing Ship, Tank (LST) when those ships were first introduced. He traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the Neville Island Shipyard operated by the Dravo Corporation as part of a crew that brought an LST down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. From there, the crew practiced operations at Biloxi, Mississippi. Eventually, Crow travelled to San Diego aboard the LST through the Panama Canal. From there, he went to Guadalcanal and unloaded tanks. Eventually, his ship was hit at Saipan and he was wounded. He also served aboard an LST during the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Afterwards, Crow's LST was present in Tokyo Bay for the surrender. He visited Hiroshima while on occupation duty after the atomic bomb was dropped. Eventually, his LST made its way back to San Francisco where he was discharged.
Date: August 24, 2002
Creator: Rabalais, Larry & Crow, Jerell E.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Arwin Bowden, March 9, 2000 transcript

Oral History Interview with Arwin Bowden, March 9, 2000

Interview with Arwin Bowden, a marine during World War II. He begins by discussing his training in San Diego and New Zealand before the Battle of Tarawa. He describes being wounded in the battle, the casualties he saw, and being shipped back to Pearl Harbor for treatment before joining the battle of Saipan. He describes ancedotes about Japanese killing themselves rather than surrendering, eating food from a garden watered from rainwater running down from outhouses, the wages he made, and the time he had leave.
Date: March 9, 2000
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Bowden, Arwin J.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with James William Harrison, January 27, 2005 transcript

Oral History Interview with James William Harrison, January 27, 2005

Interview with James William "Bill" Harrison, a serviceman in the U. S. Navy during World War II. He explains how he joined the navy in San Diego without going to boot camp. He worked on an oil tanker that shipped out to Pearl Harbor a month after the attack there and transported fuel out of San Diego to various ships at sea. He was then transfered to Admiral Nimitz's public relations department. There he and two others wrote stories about the action in the Pacific theater, particularly about the Battle of Midway. They also contributed to a radio show and worked with the national press corps. He then worked at the Naval Air Station in Seattle before traveling to Hilo, Hawaii to meet with soldiers who had returned from Tarawa. In Texas, he attended officer training school and college at Southwestern University. After the war ended, he studied at the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma for law school. He recalls an incident in which his office released a story about a cat that had kittens on board a cruiser; they reported this good news from the Pacific prior to the Battle of Midway. He also met Admirals Nimitz …
Date: January 27, 2005
Creator: Parish, Brainerd & Harrison, James William
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with James Phinney, July 15, 2010 transcript

Oral History Interview with James Phinney, July 15, 2010

Interview with James (Jim) Phinney, an aircraft electrician for the U. S. Navy during Wold War II. He discusses joining the Navy, going through boot camp and becoming an aircraft electrician. He was assigned to the USS Lexington but abandoned ship after it was hit by a torpedo. He was rescued and was then sent to San Diego to be reassigned to the USS Enterprise. He mentions being at Guadalcanal and later aboard a sub-chaser. The crew crossed the Equator and consequently participated in an initiation ceremony, during which time Admiral Halsey was nearly shot by one of the ship's pilots who forgot to lock his gun. He also recalls some of the food he ate while at sea.
Date: July 15, 2010
Creator: Cox, Floyd; Phinney, James & O'Konski, Susan
Object Type: Sound
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 Arthur Oviedo, April 16, 2001 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Arthur Oviedo, April 16, 2001

Interview with Arthur Oviedo, a seaman in the US Marine Corps during the Korean War. He describes his time in the military and his experiences overseas
Date: October 23, 2003
Creator: Flores, Jessica & Oviedo, Arthur
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with E. G. Warren, April 10, 2001 (open access)

Oral History Interview with E. G. Warren, April 10, 2001

Interview with Warren, E.G., an electrician in the US Navy during WWII. He describes volunteering to join the military and life during his service.
Date: December 12, 2003
Creator: York, Ann Marie & Warren, E. G.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Women in Aviation: Catalog 140A] (open access)

[Women in Aviation: Catalog 140A]

Photocopy of catalog pages with lists of books available to purchase about women in aviation.
Date: unknown
Creator: Crawford-Peters Aeronautica
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Not Just Men on Ships and Ships at Sea (open access)

Not Just Men on Ships and Ships at Sea

Pamphlet describing the U.S. Navy's official parachute demonstration team, the Leapfrogs, including their background special infiltration training and their performance practices.
Date: unknown
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Southern California WASP Reunion Flyer] (open access)

[Southern California WASP Reunion Flyer]

Flyer for a WASP reunion and dedication ceremony in Southern California region. WASP wings can be seen at the top of the flyer and notes to Rig from Dawn Seymour can be seen on the right and bottom edges.
Date: unknown
Creator: Women Airforce Service Pilots (U.S.)
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History

[WASP with Asian Inspired Gate]

Photograph of a group of WASP, some in uniform, standing together in a garden under an Asian inspired gate, possibly Japanese Torii. A Handwritten note on the back reads, "San Diego Reunion".
Date: unknown
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History
[WASP Reunion Registration] (open access)

[WASP Reunion Registration]

Registration form for the 1984 WASP reunion.
Date: 1984
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History

[WASP at San Diego Reunion]

Photograph of a group of twenty-three women with blue WASP name tags, standing in a garden area. Tropical plants can be seen in the background, along with a red and yellow awning. A note written on the back of the photo reads, "1984 San Diego".
Date: 1984
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Event Schedule for the 1984 WASP Reunion] (open access)

[Event Schedule for the 1984 WASP Reunion]

Schedule of events, activities, and meal times for the 1984 Women Airforce Service Pilots reunion. A Fifinella logo can be seen in the top right corner.
Date: 1984
Creator: Women Airforce Service Pilots (U.S.)
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Letters From Dawn Seymour and Margaret Tamplin, April 21, 1984] (open access)

[Letters From Dawn Seymour and Margaret Tamplin, April 21, 1984]

Letters from Dawn Seymour and Margaret C. Tamplin to WASP members. The first letter is a listing of several brief group updates, including an upcoming reunion and an attached list of WASP uniform items for sale to members. The second letter is an update on group dues and membership cards.
Date: April 21, 1984
Creator: Seymour, Dawn R. B. & Tamplin, Margaret C.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History