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Gessel, Clyde D., 1918-. Papers, ca. 1939-2001.

Title: Papers, ca. 1939-2001.

Contains a written history of Gessel's training and military experiences. Includes details of his training in the U.S., the voyage to Australia aboard the Queen Mary, further training in Australia, and the surprisingly primitive living conditions on the continent. Also includes contemporary descriptions of Melbourne and Brisbane and expresses amazement at the lack of technology, especially in relation to transportation, within these metropolises. Provides specifics of his responsibilities, as an officer, in cultivating discipline in the oft-disorganized masses of American and Australian troops. Following his training, Gessel was assigned to New Guinea with orders to salvage all captured Japanese war materiel, especially aircraft, for intelligence purposes. Contains details of Japanese strongholds and tactics used in jungle combat. Includes an account of his assignment to rebuild a Japanese "Zero" fighter plane from salvaged parts and the data collected from its subsequent flight testing, later used to improve Allied aerial combat tactics. Prior to the war's end, Gessel was transferred to the Army Air Force Headquarters in Washington, D.C. to work as Chief of Technical Air Intelligence. Also contains an inventory of his activities while in the Reserves, most notably a tour of NATO operations throughout Europe. Photographs show Gessel in full military dress, with fellow cadets during training, en route to Australia aboard a transport ship, during training, salvaging Japanese aircraft, together with the team that rebuilt a Japanese Zero, fishing in Australia, working at the Air Intelligence Center, and at the Brandenburg Gate during his NATO tour. Additional photographs show scenes of Washington D.C., terrain and natives of tropical islands in the Pacific, wrecked Japanese aircraft, and aerial shots of troop camps in Australia. Also included are photocopies of his military discharge papers, promotion certificates, a schematic of a Japanese "Baka" suicide bomb used for kamikaze attacks, and a letter signed by General Douglas MacArthur authorizing Gessel to request services and supplies from any Allied post throughout the Pacific.

ArchivalResource: 1 folder (33 p.)30 photocopied photographs.4 military documents.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52437706 View