Oral history interview with Shuford M. Alexander, Jr., 1999 December 02.

  1. Resources
  2. View Resource

ArchivalResource

Oral history interview with Shuford M. Alexander, Jr., 1999 December 02.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/335375820

Interview with Shuford M. Alexander, engineer and Army Air Forces veteran (346th Fighter Squadron, 350th Fighter Group, 12th Air Force), concerning his experiences as a fighter pilot in Italy during World War II. Enlistment in the Aviation Cadet Program, 1942; basic training at Camp Livingston, Louisiana, 1942; pre-flight training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, 1942-43; primary flight training at Waco, Texas, 1943; advanced flight training at Foster Field, Victoria, Texas, 1943; fighter training in the P-39 at Thomasville, Georgia, 1943-44; temporary assignment to Constantine, Tunisia, 1944; assignment to the 346th Fighter Squadron at Piombino, Italy, 1944; introduction of P-47 Thunderbolts and transfer to Tarquinia, Italy, 1944; Operation STRANGLE, 1944; his being shot down, October 1, 1944, by flak over Piacenza; his rescue by Italian partisans; his link-up with a British A-4 Mission and his attempt to reach Allied lines; his betrayal by a German agent and his subsequent capture, October 31, 1944; his escape on November 7, 1944, and continued search for Allied lines; his observations of and opinions about the partisans; his second encounter with a British A-4 Mission; his friendship with the Martani family in the village of Tosca; his group's trek through mountain snow in January and February, 1945, to reach Allied lines; their meeting with British paratroopers; his meeting with African-American soldiers from the 92nd Infantry Division; his reunion with his squadron in Pisa on February 16, 1945. Appendix consists of a work titled "Escape and Evasion," which consists of the following: two photocopied maps (two leaves), photocopied photos (twenty-nine leaves), forty-eight leaves of photocopied text, missing air crew report (thirteen leaves), and one leaf of aircraft specifications.

147, [102] leaves : facsims., maps ; 29 cm.

University of North Texas Library, UNT

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7351026

University of North Texas Library, UNT

Related Entities

There are 7 Entities related to this resource.

University of North Texas. Oral History Collection.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63c6r4q (corporateBody)

World War II European Theater Oral History Project.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6233kn5 (corporateBody)

United States. Army Air Forces

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6wb616q (person)

The Army Air Forces War Adjustment Course was established in 1944 at several locations in the U.S., one of which was Harvard Business School. The HBS program involved eight weeks of training in the business of contract terminations, cutbacks, and property disposal necessitated by changes in Army Air Forces tactical requirements. Approximately 4,200 officers received instruction throughout the country, about one sixth of them at HBS. The goal of the program was to train men for participation in t...

United States. Army. Infantry Division, 92nd

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6t4829j (corporateBody)

African American infantry division of the U.S. Army during World War I and World War II. Also known as the Buffalo Soldiers Division. From the description of United States. Army. 92nd Infantry Division collection, 1926-2007 (bulk 1942-2000). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 645892662 Organizational History The 92nd Infantry Division, an African-American unit of the segregated United States Army during World War I and World ...

United States. Army Air Forces. Fighter Squadron, 346th.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6q85n0v (corporateBody)

Alexander, Shuford M., 1924-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w69c772v (person)

Marcello, Ronald E.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vx0fns (person)