Oral History Interview with James W. Gee, March 13 and March 19, 1972 (open access)

Oral History Interview with James W. Gee, March 13 and March 19, 1972

Interview with James W. Gee, a sales executive, a Marine Corps veteran, and a survivor of the sinking of the U.S.S. Houston, concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Gee talks about the sinking of the Houston (1942), his capture and imprisonment at Serang, Java, Bicycle Camp in Batavia (1942), Changi Prison Camp in Singapore (1942), building the Burma-Thailand Death Railway (1942-1944), Kanchanaburi, Thailand (1944), the hell ship to Japan (1944), coal mining near Nagasaki (1944-1945), and his liberation.
Date: [1972-03-13,1972-03-19]
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Gee, James Wallace
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Robert M. Bane, January 11, 2013

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Interview with Robert Bane, a Army WWII veteran from Garland, Texas. Bane discusses his family background, basic training, deployment to the Battle of the Bulge, General George S. Patton, experiences in combat with the 63rd Infantry Division during the drive into Germany, his comrades, crossing the Rhine, liberating Dachau, returning to the states, and his work with the Freemasons. In appendix is a photograph of Bane with his medals.
Date: November 13, 2013
Creator: Malone, Timothy & Bane, Robert M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Rufus Smith, June 13, 1989 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Rufus Smith, June 13, 1989

Interview with Rufus Smith, a Marine WWII veteran and POW from Hughes Springs, Texas, who survived the Palawan Massacre. Smith discusses joining the Marines, the bombing of Cavite Naval Yard, his capture at Corregidor and internment at Cabanatuan, transfer to Palawan and experiences in captivity there, the massacre and escaping, rescue by Filipinos and traveling with them, evacuation, returning to the United States, and life after the war.
Date: June 13, 1989
Creator: Burlage, George & Smith, Rufus
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Marshall E. Fields, February 13, 1972 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Marshall E. Fields, February 13, 1972

Interview with Marshall Fields, a Marine WWII veteran from Arkansas. Fields discusses his deployment to Wake Island shortly before the war, the Battle of Wake Island, his capture, and his experiences in internment at Woosung, China, and Sapporo, Japan.
Date: February 13, 1972
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Fields, Marshall E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Lawrence Brown, March 13, 1974 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Lawrence Brown, March 13, 1974

Interview with Lawrence Brown, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran and POW from Decatur, Texas. Brown was a captured member of 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery Regiment (the "Lost Battalion"): he recounts working during the Depression; mobilization; deployment to the Philippines and diversion to Brisbane after December 7th, 1941; arrival at Sangosari, Java; the Japanese invasion and American surrender; experiences in internment at Bicycle Camp in Batavia, Changi Camp in Singapore, several work camps on the Burma "Death" Railway, and Saigon; and liberation.
Date: March 13, 1974
Creator: Marcello, Ronald E. & Brown, Lawrence
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with John J. Clemens, May 13, 2003

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Interview with John J. Clemens. The interview includes Clemens' personal experiences about childhood and early adulthood in Houston, Texas, World War II-era service in the U.S. Navy, serving aboard USS Wren in the Pacific Theater, and piloting a ship into Tokyo Bay immediately following the Japanese surrender. Clemens speaks about convoy missions across the Atlantic Ocean, the January 4, 1944 sinking of the USS Turner while moored in New York Harbor and the court of inquiry regarding the sinking, actions in the Aleutian Islands, Attu, Okinawa, and Philippine campaigns and anti-kamikaze warfare while aboard the USS Wren, and the effects that Allied bombing had on Tokyo.
Date: May 13, 2003
Creator: Alexander, William J. & Clemens, John J., 1921-
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Frank H. Bigelow, June 13, 2002

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Interview with Navy veteran Frank H. Bigelow, survivor of the siege of Corregidor. The interview includes Bigelow's personal experiences about being a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II, boyhood in North Dakota, various jobs during the Great Depression, and enlisting in the Navy. Additionally, Bigelow speaks about volunteering for duty in the Philippines and his assignment to the submarine tender USS Canopus, pre-war military life in the Philippines, the Japanese bombing of Cavite Navy Yard and the destruction of the Canopus, retreating to Bataan and to Corregidor, the fall of Corregidor, his confinement in the 92nd Garage area, the forced march down Dewey Boulevard in Manila and confinement at Cabanatuan, hell ship to Japan, coal mining for Mitsui Heavy Industries, the amputation of his leg by fellow prisoners after a mining accident, liberation, and the destruction in Nagasaki due to the atomic bomb. The interview includes an appendix with an article titled "A Soldier's Story."
Date: June 13, 2002
Creator: Alexander, William J. & Bigelow, Frank H., 1921-
System: The UNT Digital Library