Resource Type

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 James F. Sansom, October 8, 2004 transcript

Oral History Interview with James F. Sansom, October 8, 2004

Interview with James F. Sansom, an officer in the U. S. Army during World War II. Sansom joined the Army in 1940 and began training on anti-aircraft guns in Florida. He was selected for Officer Candidate School (OCS) and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1942. He was assigned to the 843rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Air Warning Battalion, which made its way to India via the Panama Canal and Australia. Shortly after reaching Calcutta, the unit moved to Myitkyina, Burma. After the war, Sansom was assigned to Sagumo Prison outside Tokyo where Japanese war criminals were being held while on trial for war crimes. He describes some of the routines and residents in the prison. Sansom taught Hideki Tojo how to play card games like gin rummy. Sansom also describes the process of executing convicted prisoners as he carried out some sentences. In all, he executed nine convicted war criminals.
Date: October 8, 2004
Creator: Cox, Floyd & Sansom, James F.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History

Oral History Interview with General Robert E. Galer, March 14, 1998

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Transcript of an interview with General Robert E. Galer, a Marine Corps veteran (VMF-224) and recipient of the Medal of Honor, concerning his experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Galer discusses his pre-war training at Pensacola and Quantico; assignment to Saint Thomas and reminiscences about the "destroyers-for bases" deal, 1940; experiences at Ewa during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; assignment to Guadalcanal as commander of VMF-224, August 30, 1942-December 31, 1942; air combat around Guadalcanal; his receiving the Medal of Honor; reassignment to the States for war bond drives; experiences on Iwo Jima, February-March, 1945, as commander of a 584 Radar Team; and assignment to the Philippines and Okinawa, 1945.
Date: March 14, 1998
Creator: Alexander, William J. & Galer, Robert E., 1913-2005
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library