Oral History Interview with Alva B. Sampson, October 26, 2002 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Alva B. Sampson, October 26, 2002

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alva B. Sampson. Sampson was born in May 1926 in Columbus, Ohio. He entered the Army in September 1944 and took basic training at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. Upon completion, he went aboard RMS Queen Mary, disembarking at Glasgow, Scotland. Sampson tells of being assigned to the 4th Armored Division, 37th Tank Battalion even though he had no experience in tanks. He was assigned as a replacement in a light tank. He describes what he saw as his unit liberated several concentration camps. He recalls being in Czechoslovakia when an estimated 20,000 Germans surrendered to his unit rather than the Russians. Three tanks were assigned to guard the prisoners. Sampson remembers the captives were turned over to the Russian Army as they were ordered to do. After the surrender of Germany, he was assigned to a military police unit in Lorch, Germany, until he returned to the United States.
Date: October 26, 2002
Creator: Sampson, Alva B.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Kenneth Carpenter, October 26, 2005 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Kenneth Carpenter, October 26, 2005

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Kenneth Carpenter. Carpenter joined the Army in March of 1942. He joined the Fort Benjamin Harrison Band and completed a war bond sales tour around Indiana. Carpenter served as a warrant officer for four years. During this time, he directed Army Air Forces concerts, marching and dance bands from Pampa, Texas, to Calcutta, India, and Shanghai, China. He was the commander of the 685th Army Air Forces Band and was attached to the 14th Air Force. Carpenter returned to the US and was discharged in January of 1946.
Date: October 26, 2005
Creator: Carpenter, Kenneth
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John Matthews, October 26, 2000 (open access)

Oral History Interview with John Matthews, October 26, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lyle Tennis. Tennis joined the Naval Reserve while attending college. He graduated in March of 1944, and then completed Officer Training School at Plattsburg, New York in June of 1944. Tennis served in the Navy aboard the USS LSM(R)-190. He provides detail of his travels through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific. He and his crew participated in the invasion of Okinawa, and Tennis describes his experiences, including launching 480 5-inch rockets against Japanese shore defenses. He was aboard the ship when it was hit and sunk by a Japanese kamikaze. He provides details of this event, for which he received the Navy Cross. He continued to serve in the Reserves until 1970 when he retired as a commander.
Date: October 26, 2000
Creator: Matthews, John
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Alva B. Sampson, October 26, 2002 transcript

Oral History Interview with Alva B. Sampson, October 26, 2002

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alva B. Sampson. Sampson was born in May 1926 in Columbus, Ohio. He entered the Army in September 1944 and took basic training at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. Upon completion, he went aboard RMS Queen Mary, disembarking at Glasgow, Scotland. Sampson tells of being assigned to the 4th Armored Division, 37th Tank Battalion even though he had no experience in tanks. He was assigned as a replacement in a light tank. He describes what he saw as his unit liberated several concentration camps. He recalls being in Czechoslovakia when an estimated 20,000 Germans surrendered to his unit rather than the Russians. Three tanks were assigned to guard the prisoners. Sampson remembers the captives were turned over to the Russian Army as they were ordered to do. After the surrender of Germany, he was assigned to a military police unit in Lorch, Germany, until he returned to the United States.
Date: October 26, 2002
Creator: Sampson, Alva B.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Kenneth Carpenter, October 26, 2005 transcript

Oral History Interview with Kenneth Carpenter, October 26, 2005

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Kenneth Carpenter. Carpenter joined the Army in March of 1942. He joined the Fort Benjamin Harrison Band and completed a war bond sales tour around Indiana. Carpenter served as a warrant officer for four years. During this time, he directed Army Air Forces concerts, marching and dance bands from Pampa, Texas, to Calcutta, India, and Shanghai, China. He was the commander of the 685th Army Air Forces Band and was attached to the 14th Air Force. Carpenter returned to the US and was discharged in January of 1946.
Date: October 26, 2005
Creator: Carpenter, Kenneth
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History