World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives

Abstract

NA4300 Al Rynberg, interviewed by Morgiana Halley, January 22, 1990, in the Chief Engineer quarters aboard the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA. Topics include: experience on convoys; being under attack in the South Pacific; recreation aboard ship; ethnic relations aboard ship; crossing the Equator ceremonies; initiation of Greenhorns and "Fool's errands"; Mitsubishi bombers; rough weather; and lifeboat drills. Audiofile: c758, 1 hr. Interview summary. Text: 1 pp.

Abstract NA4290 Arrie W. "Artie" Grissom (1927-2010), interviewed by Morgiana Halley, November 1989, in his motorhome near Berth 177, Wilmington, California. Arrie "Artie" Wade Grissom, originally from Arkansas. Topics include: WWII convoys; jinxed cargo; human casualties; unloading cargo at Tacloban airstrip in the Philippines; the Pacific theater; becoming ill with a lung condition that saw him medically surveyed out of the Navy; getting papers to serve in the Merchant Marine in 1945; Merchant...

Abstract

NA4295 Capt. Frank Clayton Waters, interviewed by Morgiana Halley, January 15, 1990, at Barnett Road, Medford, OR. Topics discussed: His first convoy; shipping in the Atlantic; weather; went to see in 1906; being drafted into the Army in WWI; Army food; recreation aboard ship; initiation of Greenhorns; life after retirement. Audiofile: c753, 1 hr. Interview summary. Text: 3 pp.

Scope and Contents

A scrapbook compiled and annotated by Daigle describing his activities during World War II. The scrapbook contains photographs of fellow soldiers as well as of places Daigle was stationed during the war. The collection also contains two books: "God is my co-pilot" by Robert L. Scott and "Born in battle" by Rowan T. Thomas. The latter book contains a dedication to Daigle from Capt. Thomas.

Abstract NA4297 David H. Grover, interviewed by Morgiana Halley, January 17, 1990, Napa, CA. Grover served as a deck cadet for nine months, 1943-1944. Topics include: convoys and bad weather; ship-to-ship signal methods; witnessing wartime England; visiting various ports; superstitions; shakedown cruise out of Houston; initiation of Greenhorns and "Fool's errands" involving left-handed monkey wrench and golden rivet; social relationships aboard ship; race relations aboard ship; liquor and fighting;...

Abstract 1288 David Priest, interviewed by William Warner, September 26, 1979 – March 9, 1980, Winn, Maine. Priest, a retired game warden, talks about his life and work in the Maine woods; his interest in hunting, trapping, and fishing as a child; trapping as more profitable than service as a game warden, which led him to abandon his first stint as a game warden; the seasonal cycle of trapping and working as a fishing guide; application process to become a game warden; responsibilities of a game...

Abstract 1098 Elmer Campbell interviewed by Emily Fitts, November 6 – November 26, 1976, South Portland, Maine. Campell discusses the 1930s and 40s; his father and the construction of his childhood home; his collection of first flight airmail envelopes and stamps; early radio and listening to fights; his Army Air Force career; training men for the D-Day invasion; operation of gliders; shortage of clothes for the soldiers; Portland during the Great Depression; history of the Campbell family in Maine;...

Abstract NA4289 Capt. Emerson E. Chodzko (1921-2008), interviewed by Morgiana Halley, November 24, 1989, Pacific Ave., Long Beach, California. Went to sea at age 16. Highest rank: Unlimited Master's, post-WWII. Rank during WWII: Chief Officer. Received probationary book after sailing on tankers for a year. Registered for draft on tankers. Shipped on the Mormac Gull, the Benjamin Rush, the George Ross, and the Carlos Carrillo. Topics include: training; diesel vs. steam turbine engines; traveling...

Abstract NA4195 Erma Frances Fletcher, interviewed by Amy L. Stevens, April 24, 2003, in Dexter, Maine. Fletcher, age 79, talks about her family history; her early life; working in a factory after high school; the stigma against female military service; enlisting in the Navy in World War II; her basic training experiences; marching for President Roosevelt; surviving on a small stipend; missing out on serving in Manila; her transcription work; how she spent her leisure time; meeting her husband during...

Abstract

1089 Ernest Melvin, interviewed by Rebecca Amsden, November 1, 1976, Bangor, Maine. Melvin discusses his stations in WWII, none of which saw action as he was in a construction battalion; bombing Hiroshima as the right thing to do; the ideal man; his duties in the military; liberty in China and shopping in Peking; and how politics in the 1970s could be improved. Text: 19 pp. transcript, plus 6 pp. catalog. Recording: T 1110 ½ hour.

Abstract NA4292 Retired Rear Admiral George William Jahn (1915-1999), interviewed by Morgiana Halley, December 13, 1989, aboard the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA. Topics include: the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien; the Murmansk Run; German night attacks lighting up the sky; heavy weather; surviving the Japanese torpedo attack on and sinking of the American Merchant vessel Manini; race relations aboard ship; and draft dodgers. Audiofile: c751, side A, 1 hr. Interview and obituary...

Abstract

NA3202 Helen Burns, interviewed by Lacey Stone and Ellen Geraghty, November 9, 2000, Bangor, Maine. Helen talks about joining the Army Nurses Corps in May of 1945; serving in Camp Lee, VA, Frederick, MD, Phoenixville, PA, San Francisco, CA and Yokohama, Japan. Text: 12 pp. transcript. Recording: mfc_na3202_c2303_01 (C 2303). Time: 00:34:36. Photographs: p14533, p14534. Restrictions: None.

Abstract

Letters from Holman to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel H. Holman of West Peru, Me. Written between September 1945 and August 1946, the letters detail Holman's military service in the Army Air Forces and his experiences from his arrival at Camp Adair, Oregon, through his time in Okinawa Island, Japan. Miscellaneous postcards to various Holman family members are also included in the collection.

Abstract

NA4303 James E. Moore, interviewed by Morgiana Halley, January 21, 1990, aboard the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA. Served as a chief machinist's mate in the Navy during World War II. Topics include: story about a destroyer in Alaska; recreational activities aboard the destroyer; "Fool's errands;" variety of stories. Audiofile: c761, 1 hr. Interview summary. Text: 2 pp.

Abstract NA4304 Jim Cunningham and Robert Leach, interviewed by Morgiana Halley, January 26, 1990, in Sailors Union of the Pacific Dispatch Hall, Harrison St., San Francisco, CA. Topics include: experience with convoy; running convoys from Dutch Harbor to Adak Island, in the Aleutians; Japanese torpedo boats at New Britain; cargo; "hard luck ships;" nicknames; "Fool's errands;" initiation of Greenhorns; deaths; the Murmansk Run; and social relationships. Audiofile: c762, 1 hr. Interview summary....

Abstract NA4291 John Marshall "Marsh" Dallas and Capt. Fred Anderson Steele (1913-2002), interviewed by Morgiana Halley, November 1989, in the home of husband and wife Fred and Madeleine J. (Beyrle) Steele (1918-1990), Arroyo Grande, California. Also present, Madeline "Pat" Dallas, wife of John Marshall Dallas. J.M. and Fred were schoolmates. Topics include: Dallas going to sea at age 14; shipping guano (nitrate) from South America; a gold strike in Chile causing the crew to desert the ship; breaking...

Abstract NA4302 John Pottinger, interviewed by Morgiana Halley, January 21, 1990, aboard the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA. Topics include: experience on convoys; no one liked traveling in convoys--safer but more difficult; losses in East coast convoys; story of a torpedoed ship; story of employee of marine insurance company sending cargo manifests to Germany; humorous stories; recreation aboard ship; crossing the Equator ceremonies; initiation of Greenhorns and "Fool's...

Abstract NA4299 Joseph J. Milcic, interviewed by Morgiana Halley, January 20, 1990, aboard the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA. Topics include: joined the Merchant Marine between age 15-16, lied about his age; speed of convoys in the North Atlantic; cargo carried; loss of human lives; rescuing torpedo attack survivors; rough weather; recreation aboard ship; initiation of Greenhorns and "Fool's errands," keys to the locks of the Panama Canal; crossing the Equator; ethnic relations...

Abstract 1088 Max Gass, interviewed by Cheryl Berg, November 16, 1976, in Bangor, Maine. Gass talks about his life experiences on a Maine farm and during WWII, as well as perspectives on the 1970s; childhood on a farm in the 20s and 30s; choosing to enter the Navy when he was drafted in 1943; war effort in the Bangor area; Victory in Europe Day while stationed in Hawaii; radio programs circa 1941; importance of the bombing of Pearl Harbor; his views on women’s liberation, equality, and the ideal...

Abstract

Papers include copies of Coleman's letters, 1929-1945, primarily to his mother and sister in which he writes of his life while teaching in Berlin, N.H., as an analyst in the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce in Washington, D.C., and while serving with the United States Army in Italy during World War II. The collection also contains letters of condolence to Coleman's wife after his death in 1945 as well as family photographs.

Scope and Contents

Scrapbooks compiled by Marie Haines Pancoast while a student at the University of Maine. They contain programs, photographs and memorabilia of campus activities and social and sorority life. Topics of particular interest within the scrapbooks include newspaper clippings about activities on campus concerning World War II and programs, souvenirs, etc. from Phi Mu sorority.

Abstract

NA4294 Robert Hiller, interviewed by Morgiana Halley, December 14, 1989, aboard the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA. Topics include: age going to sea; Pacific convoys; recreation aboard ship; cargo; mutiny and court martial of a ship's gun crew near New Guinea; anecdotes about shipmates; initiation of Greenhorns; race relations aboard ship; jinx and superstitions; kamikaze attacks. Audiofile: c752, 1 hr. Interview summary. Text: 2 pp.

Abstract NA4298 Rudy Jasen and Tony Abela, interviewed by Morgiana Halley, January 20, 1990, aboard the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA. Topics include: descriptions of convoys in which Jasen sailed; carrying Seabees to the invation of Kwajalein; reacting to submarine attack; recreation aboard ship; Tokyo Rose; mail buoy "Fool's errand" and initiation of Greenhorns; crossing the Equator initiations; race relations aboard ship; and rough weather. Audiofile: c756, 1 hr. Interview...

Scope and Contents The records mainly contain textual information created and curated by educator and historian David C. Smith. Smith was a widely recognized historian and lectured nationally and internationally on such topics as history, political science, climatology, agriculture, paper industry, literature, and popular culture. The records cover Smith's academic career at the University of Maine, but also his political work and time serving on numerous professional and community groups. The...

Abstract

The papers of a student at the University of Maine. The papers include research material for her thesis for her M.A. Degree in History. Her thesis described her interviews of the members of a group of 114 men and women who were fleeing from Burma after the Japanese invasion of that country in January 1942. Included are correspondence, 32 audiotapes, notecards, research notes, and bibliographies.

Abstract

NA4296 William H. Aguilar, interviewed by Morgiana Halley, January 17, 1990, Napa, CA. Topics include: anecdote about apple pie; experiencing a torpedo attack in the North Atlantic; classmate Gordon Pollard found among prisoners in the South Pacific; social relationships, bickering, rivalry; race relations aboard ship; superstitions; initiation of Greenhorns; night bombings; and Seabees transported into Tarawa. Audiofile: c754, 1 hr. Interview summary. Text: 2 pp.

Abstract NA4301 William Krasnosky, interviewed by Morgiana Halley, January 21, 1990, aboard the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA. Topics include: the Murmansk Run; anecdotes about humorous shipboard newspaper with far-fetched stories, divorce by 'pigeon post,' men wearing beards because the Navy couldn't afford mops; breaking down 2 days out from Scotland; being attacked off Norway; initiation of Greenhorns and "Fool's errands"; and superstition. Audiofile: c759, 1 hr. Interview...