Resource Type

Oral History Interview with Robert D. Haines, May 15, 2002 transcript

Oral History Interview with Robert D. Haines, May 15, 2002

Interview with Robert D. Haines, an American prisoner of war during World War II. He discusses the attack on Clark Field in the Philippines on December 8, 1941, as well as his experiences on the Bataan Death March. He also tells of his time spent as a prisoner of war under the Japanese at Camp O'Donnell, Cabanatuan and Bilibid prison in Manila. He encountered his brother, who was a civilian internee, at Bilibid. From there, he rode on a hell ship for 39 days to a POW camp in Formosa (Taiwan). When the Americans began bombing Formosa, Haines was moved via another hell ship to Tokyo, Japan. Not long after, he was liberated and returned to San Francisco, then Denver.
Date: May 15, 2002
Creator: Graham, Eddie & Haines, Robert D.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John G. Solis, March 31, 2009 transcript

Oral History Interview with John G. Solis, March 31, 2009

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John G. Solis of Irving, Texas. He discusses enlisting in the U.S. Navy on September 17, 1942, and was sent to the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas for bootcamp. In bootcamp Mr. Solis talks about learning to shoot rifles by shooting clay pigeons and presentations held to teach how to identify enemy aircraft. While learning to fly, Mr. Solis was assigned to Bombing Squadron 1. In 1944 Mr. Solis ended up with the Torpedo Squadron 100 flying torpedo planes in Oahu, Hawaii. His squadron never saw combat, but he did witness U.S. ships getting destroyed by Kamikaze planes during the Okinawa invasion. He helped in some Naval strikes in Japan from March to June of 1945 before returning to the states for leave. Mr. Solis was still at home on leave when the war officially ended, and he was discharged on September 14th of 1948 due to signing up for a 6-year contract instead of the normal 4-year one.
Date: March 31, 2009
Creator: Solis, John G.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John G. Solis, March 31, 2009 (open access)

Oral History Interview with John G. Solis, March 31, 2009

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John G. Solis of Irving, Texas. He discusses enlisting in the U.S. Navy on September 17, 1942, and was sent to the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas for bootcamp. In bootcamp Mr. Solis talks about learning to shoot rifles by shooting clay pigeons and presentations held to teach how to identify enemy aircraft. While learning to fly, Mr. Solis was assigned to Bombing Squadron 1. In 1944 Mr. Solis ended up with the Torpedo Squadron 100 flying torpedo planes in Oahu, Hawaii. His squadron never saw combat, but he did witness U.S. ships getting destroyed by Kamikaze planes during the Okinawa invasion. He helped in some Naval strikes in Japan from March to June of 1945 before returning to the states for leave. Mr. Solis was still at home on leave when the war officially ended, and he was discharged on September 14th of 1948 due to signing up for a 6-year contract instead of the normal 4-year one.
Date: March 31, 2009
Creator: Solis, John G.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History