Language

Oral History Interview with Abel Ortega, July 15, 2002 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Abel Ortega, July 15, 2002

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Abel Ortega. Ortega was drafted into the Army in March, 1941 and was in the Philippines by November. Ortega was with a tank battalion on Luzon and recalls the retreat to and subsequent surrender on Bataan. Ortega also recalls how his Christian faith served him, and others around him, during captivity. He describes his experiences on the Bataan Death March. Ortega remained in the Philippines for over two years before being shipped to Japan to perform more slave labor. After the war, Ortega was repatriated and describes his return home to his parents.
Date: July 15, 2002
Creator: Ortega, Abel
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Abel Ortega, July 15, 2002 transcript

Oral History Interview with Abel Ortega, July 15, 2002

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Abel Ortega. Ortega was drafted into the Army in March, 1941 and was in the Philippines by November. Ortega was with a tank battalion on Luzon and recalls the retreat to and subsequent surrender on Bataan. Ortega also recalls how his Christian faith served him, and others around him, during captivity. He describes his experiences on the Bataan Death March. Ortega remained in the Philippines for over two years before being shipped to Japan to perform more slave labor. After the war, Ortega was repatriated and describes his return home to his parents.
Date: July 15, 2002
Creator: Ortega, Abel
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History

Oral History Interview with Ernest Kelley, February 20, 2003

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Interview with Ernest Kelley, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran from Antioch, Texas (now the Red River Army Depot), who served with the 112th Cavalry. Kelley discusses growing up in the Depression, joining the Guard, mobilization and training, horses, the Louisiana Maneuvers, deployment to New Caledonia, landing on Woodlark island and action there, the Battle of Arawe, redeployment to Australia, the Battle of Driniumor River in New Guinea, the Battles of Leyte and Luzon, returning to the United States, and reflections on his time in the Army. In appendix is a list of people and places named in the interview with lat/long coordinates, descriptions of military equipment, and the 112th's WWII service chronicle.
Date: February 20, 2003
Creator: Johnston, Glenn & Kelley, Ernest L.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with Arwin Bowden, September 9, 2000 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Arwin Bowden, September 9, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arwin Bowden. 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, then joining the battle of Saipan. He 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: September 9, 2000
Creator: Bowden, Arwin
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History

Oral History Interview with George E. Fortenberry, September 24, 2003

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Interview with George E. Fortenberry, who is an Army veteran and college professor from Arlington, Texas. In the interview, Fortenberry discusses his experiences in the Southwest Pacific Theatre during his time as a member of the 112th Cavalry of the Texas National Guard during World War II. He also describes what it was like growing up during the Great Depression and attending various different schools in both Texas and Oklahoma. Fortenberry discusses why he decided to join the National Guard, and also his experiences in early basic cavalry training. During much of the interview, Fortenberry reminisces about many of his various assignments and duties while serving in the war. Among these discussed include his assignment as a clerk to the veterinary section, time in Fort Bliss and Fort Clark, his shipment overseas to Noumea in New Caledonia, his transfer to the Medical Detachment as a clerk, and his time in New Britain, New Guinea and the Philippines. Fortenberry also recollects about everyday life in the Southwest Pacific, and includes details on tropical diseases and combat-related psychological problems that many of his comrades suffered through.
Date: September 24, 2003
Creator: Johnston, Glenn T. & Fortenberry, George E.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library