World War II Oral Histories, Interviews and Statements, ca. 4/1942 - ca. 12/1946

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World War II Oral Histories, Interviews and Statements, ca. 4/1942 - ca. 12/1946

1941-1945

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/2990147

This series primarily consists of transcripts of recorded interviews, lectures and speeches of U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and some Army Air Force personnel, mostly officers, who participated in significant actions of the Second World War. A small number of British, Australian and New Zealander officers and a few civilians are also included. Over 600 personnel are represented in the series, including several admirals and generals: Andrew D. Bruce; Robert B. Carney; Charles M. Cooke, Jr.; Merritt Edson; William M. Fechteler; Robert L. Ghormley; John L. Hall; William F. "Bull" Halsey; Thomas C. Hart; Henry Kent Hewitt; Olaf Hustvedt; Thomas C. Kincaid; Alan G. Kirk; Henry L. Larsen; Charles A. Lockwood, Jr.; John S. McCain; Aaron S. Merrill; Marc A. Mitscher; George D. Murray; Chester W. Nimitz; Jesse B. Oldendorf; John D. Price; Arthur G. Robinson; Alexander V. Sharp; Forrest P. Sherman; Arthur D. Struble; William W. Smith; Thomas L. Sprague; Harold C. Train; Richmond K. Turner; Alexander A. Vandegrift; John Wilkes; and Theodore S. Wilkinson. The series also contains a transcription of an interview with Captain Charles B. McVay, commanding officer of the USS Indianapolis, given just a few weeks after the cruiser was sunk by a Japanese submarine in 1945, and a narrative from noted aviator James Thach shortly after the battle of Midway in 1942. The series also includes files pertaining to a conference to discuss the logistics of the Gilbert Islands campaign in November 1943, a broadcast critique of a raid on Wake Island in October 1943, and segregated extracts from classified interviews. Future historian Samuel Eliot Morison, then serving aboard the USS Baltimore, also provided comments about the Gilberts campaign. Most of the events described in these records took place in the Pacific, from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to the surrender and occupation of Japan. Most of the events that took place outside of the Pacific relate to the invasion of France in 1944, although there is some information regarding the invasion of North Africa in 1942 and operations in the Mediterranean in 1943.

13 linear feet, 7 linear inches

eng, Latn

National Archives at College Park

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 11614893

National Archives at College Park

Related Entities

There are 4 Entities related to this resource.

Halsey, William Frederick, 1882-1959

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6639xbs (person)

William Frederick Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. He was called "Bill" by his family and friends and nicknamed "Bull" by the press. He is one of four individuals to have attained the rank of fleet admiral of the United States Navy, the others being Ernest King, William Leahy, and Chester W. Nimitz. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Halsey graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1904. He served in the Gr...

Vandegrift, A. A. (Alexander Archer), 1887-1973

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General Alexander Archer Vandegrift, USMC (March 13, 1887 – May 8, 1973) was a United States Marine Corps four-star general. During World War II, he commanded the 1st Marine Division to victory in its first ground offensive of the war, the Battle of Guadalcanal. For his actions on August 7 to December 9, 1942, in the Solomon Islands campaign, he received the Medal of Honor. Vandegrift later served as the 18th Commandant of the Marine Corps. He was the first four-star general on active duty in th...

McVay, Charles Butler, III, 1898-1968

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6nm45b0 (person)

Charles Butler McVay III (August 31, 1898 – November 6, 1968) was an American naval officer and the commanding officer of the cruiser USS Indianapolis when she was lost in action in 1945, resulting in a significant loss of life. Of all captains in the history of the United States Navy, he is the only one to have been subjected to court-martial for losing a ship sunk by an act of war, despite the fact that he was on a top secret mission maintaining radio silence (the testimony of the Japanese com...

Mitscher, Marc Andrew, 1887-1947

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6c82gqz (person)

Marc Andrew "Pete" Mitscher (January 26, 1887 – February 3, 1947) was a pioneer in naval aviation who became an admiral in the United States Navy, and served as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific during the latter half of World War II....