World War II: Mountain Memories
OH-WWII

Ernest "Andy" Andrews 

Interview Date and Interviewer

June 2, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; copy photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

Describes the participation of Ernest "Andy" Andrews in the war effort 1943-1945, including the D-Day invasion, Andrews' encounters with British and German soldiers, time spent in a German hospital, and the Battle of the Bulge. Also included is a written description by Andrews of Dachau concentration camp, which he witnessed shortly after it had been liberated.

Biography

Born in Chattanooga, TN in 1923, Ernest "Andy" Andrews was drafted into the Army June 1943. He served in the 1st Infantry Division, a group that participated in the D Day invasion and the Battle of the Bulge. Andrews was injured on duty and spent six weeks in a hospital in Germany. He was awarded three Purple Hearts, and died in 2016 at the age of 92.

Additional Materials

Summary ; personal account of Dachau ; photocopied photographs of Andy Andrews, and D-Day landing craft

Walter Frances Ashe 

Interview Date and Interviewer

August 28, 2003 ; Ed Meyer

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; mini DVC ; text

Scope and Contents

Walter Ashe talks about serving in the navy between 1935-1966. He outlines how, before World War II, he served on the USS Asheville in China, and in 1942, he served on the North Carolina in the Pacific. In the interview, Ashe discusses life on the USS Asheville, the North Carolina, the Pacific Front, and his later experiences in the navy up until 1966. He also talks about his family life and experiences after the retiring from the navy.

Biography

Walter Frances Ashe was born July 2, 1916. He joined the navy in 1935 and served on the USS Asheville in China before he was discharged in 1938. In 1940, he re-enlisted, and in 1942 served on the North Carolina in the Pacific. He later participated in the Korean War and retired from the Navy in 1966. Between 1980 and 2006 he was editor of of the Navy newsletter China GunBoatMan. Ashe died on July 26, 2007.

Additional Materials

Summary

Restrictions

Cannot be copied

Henry Baker 

Interview Date and Interviewer

July 7, 2004 ; Cynthia Kimmel

Format

Photographs ; digital photographs ; text [No audio is available]

Scope and Contents

Henry Baker talks about his service in the 6th US Army from 1942 to 1946, when he was an Alamo Scout and trained in Special Forces. He describes intelligence operations in the Philippines and New Guinea, the Pacific Theater, and training.

Biography

Born June 4, 1921, Henry Baker served with the 6th US Army as an Alamo Scout and fought in the South Pacific He participated in intelligence missions in the Philippines and New Guinea and was awarded a Silver Star for his role in rescuing General Romulo's wife, son, and brother from behind enemy lines.

Additional Materials

Summary ; two contemporary photographs ; digital photographs of Henry Baker in uniform, and Henry & June Baker

John Berdie 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 25, 2003 ; Randee Goodstadt

Format

Micro cassette ; photographs ; text [No digital copy of interview]

Scope and Contents

John Berdie relates his military experience from 1942-1945. He served in the South Pacific for 27 months.

Biography

John Berdie was born in Chicago on January 12, 1920, and he served in the army from July 1942 until November 1945. After the war he and his wife lived in Duluth, Minnesota, before they retired to Asheville in 1986. John Berdie died in 2009.

Additional Materials

Summary ; 3 photographs of Jin Berdie and his wife ; digital photograph of Berdie in WWII

Irvin Blue 

Interview Date and Interviewer

July 23, 2003 ; Judy Garry

Format

Audio cassette tape ; copy CD ; digital photographs

Scope and Contents

Irvin Blue talks about serving in the Dental Corps., and sailing in the South Pacific from Australia and New Guinea. He mentions suffering a life threatening bout of Dengue fever while he was in the Philippines.

Biography

Irvin Madison Blue was with the Dental Corps. aboard ship in the US Navy. He received three Battle stars on the Pacific Ribbon: Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Marshall.

Additional Materials

Digital photographs of Irwin Blue in uniform, and performing dentistry

Robert "Bob" Bolinder 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 23, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHD tape ; copy DVD ; digital photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

Bob Bolinder describes his service in the Army Air Corps. during World War II. He talks about initially being stationed in England, before moving to France and then Belgium, from where his squadron supported ground troops and intercepted enemy aircraft, before describing missions during the Battle of the Bulge. He then describes flying high ranking officers around Europe before being discharged in 1945.

Biography

Bob Bolinder was born in New York, New York in 1923, but moved to Teaneck, NJ when he was one year old. He volunteered for pilot training in the U.S. Army Air Corps on January 3, 1942, and serviced in Europe during WWII. He was recalled to active service in 1951 to train pilots for the Korean War. Bolinder died in Grand Lakes, MI, in 2012.

Additional Materials

Summary ; military history for Bob Bolinder ; digital photographs of Bolinder in 2003, and flying in WWII

Vernon Branson 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 22, 2003 ; Allan Shields

Format

Photograph; Digital photographs ; text [No audio available]

Scope and Contents

Vernon Branson gives an outline of his life in the US Navy following his enlistment in 1940, before describing the attack on Pearl harbor in December 1941

Biography

Born in Asheville on February 24, 1929, Vernon Branson enlisted in the US Navy two years after his high school graduation. He was one of the crew of the USS Tennessee when it was in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 194. He was discharged from the Navy in December 1946, reaching the rank of Chief Petty Officer, and died in Black Mountain, NC on August 18, 2014.

Additional Materials

Summary ; Branson's account of Pearl harbor ; digital photographs of Vernon Branson in uniform, and of USS Tennessee ; photo print of Branson in 2003

Carl Bufflap 

Interview Date and Interviewer

October 22, 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Carl Bufflap describes his life as a student and working in an ordinance factory, before joining the Navy and training to be a pilot. He relates several incidents during his time in service, which included deployment in the Pacific on the Shamrock Bay, an aircraft carrier.

Biography

Born near York PA, in 1922, Carl Bufflap attended Shippensburg State Teachers College and worked at the Naval Ordinance Plant before enlisting in the Navy in 1942. After serving in the Navy during WWII, he graduated from Drexel University and worked for SKF Industries, moving to Asheville in 1961 to open a new SKF plant. He died in Asheville in 2014.

Additional Materials

Summary ; life summary ; personal account of Bufflap's naval service ; account of an aircraft crash ; clipping ; notice of separation from service ; photocopied photographs of aircraft

Mary "Betty" Caccavale 

Interview Date and Interviewer

May 14, 2003 ; Fred W. Meyer

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Mary Elizabeth, or "Betty", Caccavale talks about serving in the Navy during WWII, and undergoing the same training as men. During the war she was in Washington working in a team of code breakers, and she talks about this, and the secrecy that the work necessitated. She discusses her life after 1945, as the wife of a disabled Vet, and the plumbing business that she and her husband owned.

Biography

Born in Walnut Grove, SC in 1923, Mary Caccavale was the first woman in South Carolina to enlist in the Navy, volunteering in 1942, after hearing about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She was part of the first basic training program for the U.S. Navy “Waves”, and served her entire career in Washington in the highly secretive naval office where codes were broken. She was profiled in the book, "Women in War", and for many years, both she and her husband spoke to fourth and fifth graders in their local elementary school when classes studied WWII. She died in July 2016, aged 93.

Additional Materials

Summary ; tape log

Phillip John Caccavale 

Interview Date and Interviewer

May 14, 2003 ; Fred W. Meyer

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Phillip Caccavale describes his service in Italy during WWII, and outlines the conditions that the soldiers endured. He talks about being wounded, an event that ended his army career, and his life after the war, running a plumbing company,and supporting Veteran's Associations.

Biography

Born on March 1, 1922 Phil Caccavale served in North Africa and Italy during WWII. He survived as one of only five original members of his unit and was awarded the Bronze Star for valor as well as two Purple Hearts. He received a disability discharge and, along with his wife Betty, shared his story with school children as they studied WWII.

Additional Materials

Summary ; tape log

William Cannon   Micro Cassette ; Text [No digital audio is available]

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 28, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Scope and Contents

William Cannon describes teaching at the Medical College of South Carolina during WWII.

Additional Materials

Summary

Wayne Carringer 

Interview Date and Interviewer

May 12, 2003 ; Nancy Potts Coward

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

Wayne Carringer describes how he volunteered for the Army in 1939, and eventually was in the Army Air Corps stationed in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He was part of the Bataan Death March, and he describes the conditions on the march and in Camp O'Donnell, which he describes as a "death factory". He tells how he was then transferred to camp Cabanatuan, before being shipped to Japan to work in the coal mines near Nagasaki, and seeing the mushroom cloud when the atom bomb was dropped on the city. Carringer talks about being released at the end of the war, and the problems he faced after he returned to North Carolina, before describing the annual reunions of POWs. how he was treated by the VA, and the medals he was awarded.

Biography

Wayne Carringer was born on June 16, 1920. He was serving in the Army Air Corps when American and Filipino forces on the Bataan peninsula surrendered to the Japanese in April 1942. He was part of the the Bataan Death March, and spent a total of 1256 days in POW camps.

Additional Materials

Summary ; two photographs of Wayne Carringer taken in 2003

Ralph Case 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 23, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Ralph case talks about growing up in Asheville and working at ENKA, before volunteering for the Navy in December 1942. He describes being stationed in Florida and working in supply bases, before he was transferred to the Panama Canal Zone, and he talks about VE-Day being celebrated whilst he was there. He ends the interview by describing returning to Asheville after the war, and going back to ENKA.

Biography

Ralph Case was born in Asheville in 1915, and worked at ENKA, before enlisting in the Navy in 1942. He served in Florida and the Panama Canal Zone during World War II, after which he returned to Asheville.

Related Materials

Summary

Henrietta Caylor 

Interview Date and Interviewer

Date is not known ; Kenneth Culbreth

Format

Text [No audio is available]

Scope and Contents

Henrietta Caylor's husband John served in the Navy during World War II and the Korean War, and she describes his service and how he was retired in August 1955 due to disability, and died the following year. She talks about her wedding, describes the medals her husband won, briefly mentions her brother who was in the Air Force during WWII, and gives a few details about her own life.

Biography

Born April 24,1924, Henrietta Caylor was a 5th grade school teacher in Dalton, GA when she met her husband, John Doyle Caylor, a navy officer. Her husband fought in World War II and the Korean War. After his death in 1956, Henrietta attended Library School at Emory University, and became a librarian for Atlanta County schools and later for Pisgah High School in Canton. She retired in 1991.

Additional Materials

Summary

Gene Chatfield 

Interview Date and Interviewer

June 12, 2003 ; Phillip G. Kelley

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Gene Chatfield describes joining the National Guard in 1938, when he was still in high school, and transferring to flight training after Pearl Harbor. He then talks about his experiences flying missions in Europe during WWII.

Additional Materials

Chatfield, Gene. Angels at 20,000: A Story of of Survival in Aerial Combat during World War II. Self Published.

Henry Colton 

Interview Date and interviewer

April 3, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; DVD copy ; digital photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

A short interview in which Henry Colton describes enlisting in 1942 and training with the air corps, meeting and marrying his wife, before deploying to Europe in 1944. He ends the interview by reading a statement describing the death of his brother who was also a pilot, and emphasizing that war is not glamorous, but about killing and death.

Biography

Henry Colton was born in Nashville, TN in 1921, and served as a Navy pilot between February 1942 and November 1945. After the war he moved into the insurance business, founding his own company in Asheville, and he served on the Asheville City Council from 1969 to 1975. Colton died in 2011, at the age of 90.

Additional Materials

Summary ; digital copies of photographs of Henry Colton and his family during WWII.

Marie Colton 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 3, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DCD ; text

Scope and Contents

Marie Colton describes working as a translator with the Army Signal Corps in Washington DC between 1942 and 1943, when she moved to Florida after marrying Henry Colton. When her husband shipped to Europe, she moved to Chapel Hill to live with her mother, and she talks about her life there, and Henry's subsequent return from the war.

Biography

Marie Watters Colton was born in Charlotte, NC in 1922, and married Henry Colton in 1943. After she and Henry moved to Asheville, Marie became active in the PTA, and she subsequently ran for the state legislature, serving for sixteen years.

Additional Materials

Summary ; transcript

William Nielly Crawford, III 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 23, 2003 ; Judy Garry

Format

Audio cassette tape ; copy CD ; text

Scope and Contents

William Crawford describes his two years in the Army Air Corps. when he trained as a bombardier in various parts of the US. He also talks about how the experience affected him, and his life after 1945.

Biography

William Crawford was born in October 1924, and served in the Army Air Corps between November 1943 and December 1945.

Additional Materials

Transcript

John Frederick Cress 

Interview Date and Interviewer

May 30, 2003 ; Peter L. Call

Format

Audio cassette tape ; copy CD ; photograph ; text

Scope and Contents

John Cress describes his service in the Army Amphibious Brigade during WWII. He talks about training in Massachusetts, and being sent to Australia and New Guinea before landing on the Philippines. He describes the climate, interactions with the local people, and contracting malaria. He also mentions returning to Australia in 1992, and reunions with former comrades.

Biography

John Cress was born in Toledo, OH on September 30, 1920, and served with the Army Amphibious Brigade from 1943 to 1945.

Additional Materials

Transcript ; copy of certificate listing campaigns of the 592D Engineer Regiment ; photograph of John Cress

Restrictions

Interviewee's name cannot be disclosed for any commercial purposes

Kenneth Culbreth 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 8, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Ken Culbreth describes serving in the Navy from 1945 to 1946. He talks about boot camp in California, and being stationed in Guam, describing life on Guam and the people he met there. He ends by talking about life after he returned to the US.

Biography

Kenneth Culbreth was born in Columbus, NC on June 16, 1927.

Additional Materials

Summary ; transcript excerpt ; tape log

Joan Davis Dunton 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 22, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Joan Dunton recalls hearing about the attack on Pearl harbor when she was a high school student in Mason, Wisconsin, and subsequently practicing air raid drills, selling defense savings stamps, and living with food rationing. After graduating from high school, she went to Wooster College, Ohio, and she talks about life at the college, and meeting with Quaker groups, before describing meeting and marrying Rupert Dunton, and traveling with him to Japan as missionaries. She ends by explaining how they left Japan and relocated to WNC, where she served as director of the YWCA for over 40 years.

Biography

Joan Dunton was born in Lansing, Michigan on July 23, 1924. She was involved with the desegregation of Asheville YWCA, had served as director for over 40 years, and alter worked for the Buncombe County Council on Aging. She died in 2011, aged 87.

Additional Materials

Summary

Frank Edwinn 

Interview Date and Interviewer

May 7, 2003 ; Randee Goodtadt

Format

Micro cassette ; text

Scope and Contents

Frank Edwinn talks about serving as a medic during the Italian Campaign in 1944, and describes how, after the war, he came to sing at the Vatican, and was assigned to the American Academy in Rome.

Additional Materials

Summary

Restrictions

Cannot be copied

Helga Robertson Ellis 

Interview Date and Interviewer

(April 19, 2006) ; Deborah Miles

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD

Scope and Contents

Helga Ellis talks about being a civilian employee of the German Army from 1940 to 1945, and how she became a prisoner of war once the US troops entered France.

Margaret Rose Ensley 

Interview Date and Interviewer

(June 23, 2003) ; (Reid Chapman)

Format

Photographs ; digital photograph ; text [No audio is available]

Scope and Contents

Contains an account written by Margaret Ensley describing how she spent WWII working at the laboratories of Southern Dairies. There is also a second account by Ensley describing her singing with the USO in Asheville, and a number of photographs of her and other entertainers.

Additional Materials

Account of WWII years ; account of USO singing ; digital photo of Ensley singing ; contemporary photo of Ensley ; five USO photographs ; 2 postcards

Sidney Feldman 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 18, 2003 ; Judy Garry

Format

Audio cassette tape ; copy CD ; text

Scope and Contents

Sidney Feldman describes serving in the Air Force during World War II, being stationed in England, and meeting his wife who was in the Royal Air Force. He talks about flying in bombers, the food, and entertainment, and how he ran a grocery store in Asheville after the war. Feldman's wife Terry explains how the couple met, and she also talks about being being in London during the war and working in photographic intelligence.

Biography

Sidney Feldman was born in Atlanta, GA in 1918, and served in 388 Bomber Group during WWII. He met his wife when he was stationed in England. Sidney Feldman died in 2008.

Additional Materials

Transcript

Morris Fox 

Interview Date and Interviewer

July 23, 2003 ; Phil Kelley

Format

VHS tape ; copy CD ; digital photograph ; text

Scope and Contents

Morris Fox talks about his work with a cryptanalysis unit during WWII. He describes initially being stationed in Washington DC, where he met his wife, who was from Asheville, and then being deployed to Pearl Harbor in 1943, and outlines the work that he was assigned. He explains how, after the war, he moved to Asheville, where he eventually opened his own furniture store.

Biography

Born in Brooklyn in 1917, during WWII Morris Fox served in the Navy as a codebreaker, and was stationed in Washington DC and Pearl Harbor. He met his wife, who was from Asheville, in DC, and after the war, he and his family lived in Asheville where he opened a furniture store.

Additional Materials

Summary ; digital photograph of Fox's wedding

John Galbreath 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 29, 2003 ; Jennifer McPherson

Format

Audio cassette tape ; copy CD ; text

Scope and Contents

John Calbreath describes serving as a Navy chaplain during World War II, and talks about serving in the Pacific, including a detailed description of landing in Iwo Jima. After the war ended he did further service in the reserves, and he talks about this time also.

Biography

John Galbreath was born in Pittsburgh in 1920, and served as a chaplain in the navy during, and after, World War II.

Additional Materials

Summary ; digital photograph of John Galbreath in uniform

Mary Jean Gaunt 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 8, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; digital photographs

Scope and Contents

Mary Gaunt describes Asheville on the eve of, and during WWII, and discusses her husband's participation in the war.

Biography

Mary Jean Gaunt was born in Chicago IL on May 1, 1917, and moved to Asheville as a young child. She married Charles Gaunt in 1941, and lived in Asheville during WWII. She died in 2004.

Additional Materials

Digital photographs of, wartime letter from Bill Gaunt to Mary Gaunt, Bill Gaunt during WWII, and Bill Gaunt's ration book.

Andrew Gennett, Jr. 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 8, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

Text [No audio is available]

Scope and Contents

Andrew Gennett describes his service in the Navy during World War II, when he saw action on the Crescent City, an attack landing ship, and the destroyer Barker, before joining the Naval Air Corps.

Biography

Andrew Gennett was born in Franklin, NC in October 1919, and moved to Asheville when he was six months old. He served in the navy during WWII, during which time he met his wife. After the war he worked in the family lumber business. He died in September 2008.

Additional Materials

Summary ; clipping of interview with Gennett, Asheville Citizen-Times, October 1942

Stark Flaver Ginn, Jr. 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 28, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

Audio micro-cassette tape ; text

Scope and Contents

Stark Ginn describes serving as a supply officer in the Armored Division of the Army during WWII. He talks about the training he received, the duties he undertook in Europe, and the battle he was involved in.

Biography

Stark Ginn was born in Royston, GA on June 13, 1918. During WWII he served in the 7th Armored Infantry in the Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe. He died in July 2014.

Additional Materials

Summary

Barney Gray 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 16, 2003 ; Allan Shields

Format

Audio cassette tape ; copy CD ; photograph ; digital photograph ; text

Scope and Contents

Barney Gray describes his service in the Army, both during and after WWII, including the discrimination and racism that he experienced.

Biography

Born in Gate City, VA on February 22, 1922, Barney Gray served in the Army during World War II, and reenlisted after the war, finally retiring from the army in December 1964.

Additional Materials

Summary ; digital photograph of Barney Gray in uniform ; photograph of Barney Gray in (2003)

William "Bill" Griffin 

Interview Date and interviewer

May 01, 2003 ; Lou Harshaw

Format

Audio cassette tape ; copy CD ; photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

Bill Griffin talks about serving as a pilot in the Air Force during WWII. He describes training in South Carolina, and Texas, before being assigned to the Australia Group. He was involved in bombing missions against Japanese positions.

Biography

Bill Griffin was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on September 25, 1923, grew up in Asheville, and served in the Air Force during WWII and the Korean War. He died in 2016, aged 92.

Additional Materials

Summary ; autobiography ; "The Mission to Hainan Island" ; "Blockade of Japanese shipping" ; two photographs of Griffin, in 2003 and in uniform, and two photographs of low level bombing raids

Richard H. Griffin 

Private First Class Richard H. Griffin was born in 1925 and grew up in Asheville, North Carolina. He was active in the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. Richard Griffin and his two brothers were chosen as the poster children for “The Junior Birdmen of America,” and were presented their wings by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Private First Class Griffin volunteered and received permission to join the U.S. Army at the age of seventeen. He was assigned to Bravo Company, 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion. The 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion was attached to General George S. Patton’s Seventh Army and saw action in the Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Anzio, Rome-Arno and Southern France campaigns in support of the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Ranger Battalions among others. During a pivotal battle in the Riquewihr sector, his unit was crucial in securing the entire flank of the division and he made the ultimate sacrifice in service to his bothers-in-arms and his country.

Private First Class Griffin died manning his weapon defending against a numerically superior enemy while surrounded and providing for the escape of his comrades. His actions that fateful day saved the lives of the Soldiers of 2nd Platoon and allowed them time to regroup, counterattack and retake their position, securing the flank once again.

For his noble sacrifice, Private First Class Griffin was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart with an Oak Leaf Cluster. He also received the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and the WWII Victory Medal. For more on PFC Griffin, please see the US Army Chemical Corps Hall of Fame site.

Notes

We do not have an oral history for Richard ("Dick") H. Griffin. This information was provided by the Griffin family in honor of Dick Griffin's service and sacrifice.

Barbara Hall 

Interview Date and Interviewer

June 22, 2004 ; Reid Chapman [Taken from other documents. Interview does not exist]

Format

CD with digital images

Scope and Contents

No audio or written record of this interview exists. The only materials are digital images of documents related to Henry Garrison Hall being held as a POW by the Germans.

Additional Materials

CD with digital images

Lyons Alexander Hamblen 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 17, 2003 ; Lou Harshaw

Format

Audio cassette tapes ; copy CD ; text

Scope and Contents

Lyons Hamblen describes how after being drafted into the infantry in 1942, he received training and went on maneuvers in the US, before being shipped to England. He landed in Normandy, thirty days after D-Day and advanced towards Berlin. He talks about meeting General Eisenhower, and the fighting he saw in Europe.

Biography

Lyons Hamblen was born on November 9, 1922, and served in Company A, 132 Infantry during WWII. He died in Hendersonville, NC in 2009, aged 86.

Additional Materials

Summary ; photographs of Hamblen (2003), his medals, and service photo with dog tags

Lou Harshaw 

Interview Date and Interviewer

July 18, 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; CD with digital photographs

Scope and Contents

Lou Harshaw talks about her husband Moses (Dick) Harshaw ,and her brother Kyle Morgan, and their service in World War II.

Additional Materials

Digital photographs of, Dick Harshaw and Kyle Morgan during WWII, discharge papers, and separation papers

Frank Hicks 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 14, 2003 ; Jennifer McPherson

Format

Audio cassette tape ; copy CD ; digital photographs on CD ; text

Scope and Contents

Frank Hicks talks about serving on the destroyer USS Bush during WWII and the book that he wrote about his experiences. He describes the ship being sunk, and drifting at sea, before being rescued by another American ship, as well as other action that he saw, including Iwo Jima.

Biography

Frank Hicks was born in Canton, NC on July 13, 1925 and served as a signalman striker with Destroyer Squadron 24, of the 7th Fleet, during WWII.

Additional Materials

Summary ; digital photographs of, Captain Westholm, SS John Burke, Leyete Gulf, Japanese suicide planes, Change of Divisions, Iwo Jima, Frank Hicks, obituary for George Johnson, USS Bush, crew list, obituary for Captain Westholm

George Hilbert 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 29, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

George Hilbert describes being drafted in 1942, and the training camps he was at, before being shipped to England, and then to France, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. He outlines the fighting he saw, and describes his role in the Ammunition and Pioneer platoon. He talks about his wife, whom he married during the war, his discharge in December 1945, and his life after the war.

Biography

George Hilbert was born in New York City, on February 18, 1920. During WWII he served with the 87th Infantry Division.

Additional Materials

Summary

Jack Vernon Hoyle 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 14, 2003 ; Nancy Potts Coward

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

Vernon Hoyle describes his army training at Fort Jackson and Fort Bragg, and how he landed in France two weeks after D-Day. He talks about how the army fought across France and in to Germany, and the promotions he gained along the way, before describing the concentration camp at Dachau. He ends by evaluating how the war shaped his life.

Biography

Jack Vernon Hoyle was born in Norfolk, VA in 1918, and, during WWII, served in the Third Field Artillery Observation Battalion. He died in Sylva, NC on October 28, 2008.

Additional Materials

Summary ; five photographs of, Jack Hoyle in 2003, in WWII (from book), his medals

Richard L. Jewitt 

Interview Date and Interviewer

March 26, 2003 ; Arthur Green

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; digital photographs

Scope and Contents

Richard "Dick" Jewett talks about attending, and teaching, at West Point before being transferred to the Transportation Corps. in Washington DC in 1942. He outlines being sent to England in 1944 to assist with the invasion of France, and then being transferred to France. He describes various operation he was involved in, and how he was later assigned to command the 1349th Engineer Services Regiment, an all Black unit.

Biography

Born in 1909 into a military family, Richard Jewett entered West Point in 1927, and after graduating in 1931 joined the Corps. of Engineers. He married in 1932, and saw service in Europe during WWII. He was promoted to Lt. Colonel in 1945, and retired from the Army in 1961 as temporary Brigadier General.

Additional Materials

Summary ; biography ; digital photographs of Richard Jewett

William Johnson 

Interview Date and Interviewer

July 04, 2003 ; Jackie Shropshire Simms

Format

Mini video cassette ; VHS tape ; copy DVD ; photograph ; text

Scope and Contents

William Johnson talks about his service in World War II with the 477 Amphibious Trucking Company in the South Pacific. He describes segregation both, in the army, and after being discharged in 1945.

Biography

William Johnson was born on August 18, 1914 in Washington DC. He lived in Fletcher, NC, and died on October 28, 2012.

Additional Materials

Recording log ; photograph of William Johnson in 2003

Joseph Katen 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 16, 2003 ; Jennifer McPherson

Format

Audio cassette tape ; copy CD ; digital photograph ; text

Scope and Contents

Joseph Katen describes how, after Pearl Harbor, he joined the Air Force while he was still at school. He talks about the training he underwent, and how he was sent to the China and Burma, explaining that more crews were lost from flying into mountains than through combat. He talks about his life after the war ended, which including running a jewellery store in Asheville.

Biography

Joe Katen was born in Brooklyn, NY on February 28, 1925. He flew with the 9th Air Force 7th Bomb Group during WWII, and was awarded 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and 2 Purple Hearts. After the war he ran a jewellery business in Asheville.

Additional Materials

Summary ; service photograph of Joseph Katen

Beulah King 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 21, 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

Micro Cassette ; Text

Scope and Contents

Comprises a brief summary of an interview with Beulah King in which she described working in aircraft manufacturing during WWII, and how men returning from the war resented women training them.

Additional Materials

Summary

Craig Kirkpatrick 

Interview Date and Interviewer

October 23, 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Craig Kirkpatrick talks about being on board a ship in Pearl Harbor at the time of the Japanese attack on the base.

Additional Materials

Text of two speeches given by Craig Kirkpatrick at Hendersonville HS, October 2003 ; Kirkpatrick Craig. The Long, Long Journey, 1995 [Autobiography]

Walter Kreamer 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 29, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Walter Kreamer describes graduating from the Naval Academy in 1938, and serving in the Pacific prior to WWII. He goes on to talk about being on the USS Franklin when it was hit by a kamikaze plane, and then how, after the ship returned to service, it was hit by two bombs in March 1945, and that Kraemer's actions lead him to being awarded the Navy Cross. He talks about his life after the war, in Paris with Eisenhower, and then with the Pentagon, before retiring from the Navy, and becoming a business manager at Warren Wilson College.

Biography

Walter Kreamer was born in Beloit, Wisconsin, on March 3, 1916, and served in the Navy from 1934 until 1968, attaining the rank of captain. He died at the age of 87 on 23 September 2003, and was buried in Arlington Cemetery.

Additional Materials

Summary

Martha June Lamb 

Interview Date and Interviewers

March 7, 2003 ; Reid Chapman and Deborah Miles

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; digital photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

Martha June Lamb describes her participation in the war effort during 1945, at the end of the war. She also describes training and participation in the Women's Army Corp (WAC). WACs were the first women other than medical personnel to be placed within the ranks of the United States Army. She talks about returning to Asheville in 1948 and working as an X-ray technician, before going to Japan as part of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission.

Biography

Martha June Lamb was born February 8, 1925. She served as a WAVE in the Armed Forces and, following the war, she participated in the federal Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission effort in Japan. She died in June 2013.

Additional Materials

Transcript ; digital photographs of, Lamb at Hunter College, Norman, OK, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. images of burns at Hiroshima, and Lamb's service records ; clippings

George Lamprinakos 

Interview Date and Interviewer

August 8, 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

Digital photograph ; text [No audio is available]

Scope and Contents

George Lamprinakos describes his involvement in the battle of the Bulge, and advancing across Germany, towards the end of WWII. He also talks about his discharge from the army, and returning to WNC.

Additional Materials

Summary ; digital service photograph of George Lamprinakos

Lucille Lamy 

Interview Date and Interviewer

August 1, 2003 ; Judy Garry

Format

Digital photographs ; text [No audio is available]

Scope and Contents

Lucille Lamy talks how, during WWII, she was a junior hostess at the USO canteen, which was located in the basement of St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville. She describes the USO, and changes, such as rationing, that war brought to Asheville, and her wedding that took place at the basilica in 1945. She talks briefly about her husband who was stationed at Moore General Hospital in Asheville.

Additional Materials

Transcript ; digital photographs of scrapbook pages

Jesse Ledbetter 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 17, 2003 ; Lou Harshaw

Format

Audio cassette tapes ; copy CDs ; digital photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

Jesse Ledbetter describes his service in WWII when he flew bombers from a base in Venosa, Italy.

Biography

Jesse Ledbetter was born in Asheville on December 22, 1922 and served with the 485th Bomb Group, rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel, and seeing service in both WWII and the Korean War. He died in November 2015, aged 92,

Additional Materials

Summary ; Ledbetter, Jesse I. A mission to Vienna Jul 26, 1944 ; digital photographs of Jesse Ledbetter during WWII ; photograph of Jesse Ledbetter in 2003

Marion Leigon 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 22, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Marion Leigon talks about volunteering at the USO in Florida where she met, and became engaged to RAF navigator. She describes their relationship, an how she then heard that her fiance had been killed. She goes on to talk about subsequently meeting the man who became her husband, how she started to work for the American Red Cross, and how she and her husband moved to Asheville after he had completed 26 years of naval service.

Biography

Marion Leigon was born in Lennox, Kentucky in December 1917, and worked with the Red Cross during WWII.

Additional Materials

Summary

Grover L. Leslie 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 14, 2003 ; Grover L. Leslie

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; digital photographs

Scope and Contents

Grover Leslie describes serving as a navigator on a bomber during WWII, and how, in April 1944, his aircraft was attacked, causing him to bail out, and eventually be held as a POW in a camp in Poland, where he met three other prisoners who he and been in high school with. He describes how the prisoners were moved as the Allies advanced, before he was finally liberated in April 1945.

Biography

Leslie Grover was born in Asheville in 1919, and served with the 445th Bomb Group 703 squadron during WWII. He was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Air Medal and POW Medal, and he died on December 30, 2005.

Additional Materials

Summary ; digital photographs of, Grover Leslie in uniform and in 2003, POW boxing match announcement, captured aircraft report, and casualty questionnaire

Ralph Lewis 

Interview Date and Interviewer

August 28, 2003 ; Deborah Miles and unidentified male

Format

Mini DV cassette ; copy DVD

Scope and Contents

Ralph Lewis describes his naval service during WWII when he was an ensign on an LST, and was part of the landing on Okinawa.

Frederick Littlejohn 

Interview Date and Interviewers

June 10, 2003 ; Tiffany Anderson and David Jones

Format

Text [No audio is available]

Scope and Contents

Only brief notes from the interview with Frederick Littlejohn are available. These include comments about growing up in Asheville during segregation and the Depression, leaving to work in Detroit, and being drafted at 18. He was in the army in Europe post D-Day and there are notes on incidents that he witnessed. He describes returning to Asheville after the end of the war, but then went back to Detroit because of segregation in the South. He eventually returned to Asheville.

Additional Materials

Interview notes

Berniece Adams Lloyd 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 04, 2003 ; Nancy Potts Coward

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Berniece Lloyd talks about her life in Western North Carolina, and how from 1942 to 1944 she worked with the War Department in Washington, DC, describing the city during those years. She transferred to the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Atlanta, and she briefly mention that, before talking about her late husband, Leonard Lloyd, and his tour of duty on Iwo Jima, during which he was wounded, and subsequently transferred to hospital in Oklahoma. She describes life after the war, and how Leonard went to Duke, and Emory Law School, while she worked for Sears Roebuck.

Additional Materials

Transcript

Clifford Longcoy 

Interview Date and Interviewer

March 17, 2003 ; Cynthia Kimmel

Format

Photograph ; text [No audio is available]

Scope and Contents

Clifford Loncroy describes enlisting in the Navy when he was 17, and following basic training, being sent to Key West for Sonar training before joining the USS Jordan and escorting convoys across the Atlantic. He talks about receiving some submarine training, before joining the USS Gillette in the Pacific.

Additional Materials

Summary ; photograph of Cliff Longcoy in 2003

Harry Martin 

interview Date and Interviewer

May 14, 2003 ; Lou Harshaw

Format

Audio cassette tape ; copy CD ; photograph ; text

Scope and Contents

Harry Martin describes his experiences as a photographer with the 86th Combat Reconnaissance Squadron during WWII. These include being part of a Special Forces group at Guadalcanal, and he describes the fighting to take the island, before talking about the time he spent on Saipan. The interview ends with Martin giving his views on the war, and summarizing his life since 1945.

Biography

Harry Martin was born in Blowing Rock, NC on January 12, 1920, and served as a photographer during WWII. After the war he became a lawyer and a NC Supreme Court judge. He died in 2015, aged 95.

Additional Materials

Summary ; photograph of Harry Martin in 2003

Charles McAdams 

Interview Date and Interviewer

May 29, 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

Mini DV tape ; copy VHS tape ; copy DVD

Scope and Contents

Charles McAdams talks about his service in WWII as a driver with the "Red Ball Express" - mostly African American soldiers who drove in convoys to get supplies to the front . He also mentions the Korean War, and the Berlin conflict.

Biography

Charles McAdams was born in Asheville on September 5, 1921, and served in the Army from 1942 to 1946, and remained in active duty for the Reserves until 1981. He was awarded the Meritorious Service medal.

Additional Materials

Four digital photographs of Charles McAdams in uniform

Harold Raymond McLewin 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 28, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Raymond McLewin describes his service on the the staff of the Commander, Service Force, Atlantic Fleet during WWII, where he became the secretary for the Vice Admiral. He talks about being stationed on a repair ship moored at Norfolk, VA., and describes life on board and in port. He talks about life after the war, when he and his wife worked worked as missionaries in South Africa.

Additional Materials

Summary

Henry Meyers 

Interview Date and Interviewer

May 14, 2003 ; Randee Goodstadt

Format

Audio microcassette tape ; photograph

Scope and Contents

Henry Myers talks about enlisting in the 23rd NY Guard in 1942, training in Texas and Mississippi, and his experiences with the Army in Europe during 1944 and 1945.

Additional Materials

Photograph of Henry Meyers (in 2003)

David Middleton 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 23, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; digital photograph ; text

Scope and Contents

David Middleton tells how he enlisted in the Navy in 1942 and, after training, was posted to Key West as captain of a Yard Patrol boat patrolling minefields. Afterwards he was promoted to XO on a minesweeper based in Pearl Harbor, before the ship became part of the Philippines invasion force, and he describes life on board. He talks about how, after the end of WWII, he returned to Raleigh, NC, but, as a member of the reserves, was called into service during the Korean War.

Biography

David Middleton was born in Cheng Hunan, China on September 20, 1921, and was enlisted in the navy from 1942 to 1965, reaching the rank of Commander. He died in 2013.

Additional Materials

Summary ; digital photo of David Middleton taken at the interview

Talmage Walter Middleton 

Interview Date and Interviewer

March 27, 2003 ; Nancy Potts Coward

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

The interview with Walter Middleton focuses on "Flashbacks : prisoner of war in the Philippines", the book he wrote about his experiences as a POW in the Philippines. Middleton describes the war on the Bataan Peninsula and the American surrender, which was followed by a Death March and internment at O'Donell prison.

Biography

T. Walter Middleton was born on September 17, 1918. He served in the 803rd Engineer Battalion during WWII and survived the Bataan Death March. After the war served as a minister in Jackson County, NC. He died in 2012, aged 93.

Additional Materials

Summary ; photograph of Walter Middleton, and four photographs of his medals

Frederick W. Mitchell 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 28, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

Micro audio cassette ; Text

Scope and Contents

Frederick Mitchell describes his service as a radar specialist in the Army during WWII. He served in Casablanca, Tunisia, and Italy, and was awarded the Bronze Star.

Biography

Frederick Mitchell was born in Lakewood, OH on June 22, 1918 and served in the Signal Corps. during WWII, attaining the rank of Captain. He died in 2011, aged 92.

Additional Materials

Summary

Frank Moody 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 29, 2003 ; Nancy Potts Coward

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

Frank Moody describes how he originally enlisted in the army in 1936 and following an honorable discharge, was drafted after the start of WWII. He talks about being part of SHAEF during WWII, where he was in charge of showing movies of the war to the General staff. He talks about Eisenhower, being in London and Paris, and celebrating VE-Day in Frankfurt. He refers to his life after the war, including his service with the NC National Guard, and being invited to Eisenhower's funeral.

Additional Materials

Summary ; two photographs of Frank Moody in 2003

Bertha Moore 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 29, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; digital photograph ; text

Scope and Contents

Bertha Moore talks about serving in the Army Nursing Corps. during WWII when she stationed in hospitals in Algiers, Sicily, and Italy.

Biography

Bertha Moore was born in Loving, Texas on May 27, 1913 and served as a nurse during WWII. After the war she attended Cornell Medical School. She died in 2004, aged 91.

Additional Materials

Summary

William Murphy 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 04, 2003 ; Dorothy Hays

Format

Text [No audio available]

Scope and Contents

William Murphy describes his service as a radioman in the US Navy during WWII. Initially he was part of the convoy escort service in the north Atlantic, and he talks about the methodology the escorts employed. Later in the war, he was assigned to a group that would have been part of the Japanese invasion force.

Biography

William Murphy was born in Brooklyn on August 20, 1923, and served a a Radioman 2nd Class during WWII, serving from January 1942 to December 1945.

Additional Materials

Summary

Alan and Lucille Neilson 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 21, 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; digital photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

The interview is Alan Neilson talking about his service in the Army Air Corps during WWII, when he was a gunner on bombers flying from England, and Lucille Neilson describing life in Asheville during wartime.

Biography

Alan Neilson was born in Asheville on July 19, 1925 and served in the US Army Air Corps during WWII. He and his wife Lucille later owned The House of Fabrics in Asheville. Alan Neilson died in 2013.

Additional Materials

Tape log ; supplemental notes

Harley Elmer Ownbey 

Interview Date and Interviewer

July 04, 2004 ; Kenneth Culbreth

Format

MiniDV cassette tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Elmer Ownbey talks about being drafted into the Combat Engineers and being part of the second wave of the Normandy landings. He describes meeting General Bradley in England, and talks about the rifles that were used, as well as the St. Lo breakout. and liberating a concentration camp. Ownbey mentions joining the reserves after the end of WWII, and serving in Korea.

Additional Materials

Transcript ; Forty years of reflection by Ownbey

Joseph Eugene Parks 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 28, 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; digital photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

Gene Parks served in the Marine Corps from May 1944 until June 1946, and he talks about his experiences These include his time aboard the USS Randolph, an aircraft carrier that was active in the South Pacific, and his part in the occupation of Japan.

Biography

Joseph Eugene Parks was born in Wichita, Kansas on February 8, 1925. He served in the Marines during WWII, and was part of the landing part in Japan, after the country surrendered.

Additional Materials

Summary ; digital photographs of, Parks in WWII [3 images], and book page about Navy Day 1945

Herschel Ponder 

Interview Date and Interviewer

July 22, 2003 ; Phillip Kelly

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD

Scope and Contents

Herschel Ponder describes his life in Biltmore, before talking about his service in Europe with the USAAF during WWII. Among the things he discusses are the Battle of the Bulge and his assignments to northern Belgium and Germany.

Biography

Herschel Ponder was born in Biltmore, NC on May 3, 1922. He served in the US Army Air Force between September 1942 and October 1945, when piloted P-47 aircraft in Europe. He died in Asheville on December 16, 2007.

Additional Materials

"Ponder Anew, What The Almighty Can Do", war memories of Hershel Ponder

Lewis Rathbun 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 8, 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD

Scope and Contents

Lewis Rathburn talks about his service in the Navy Medical Corps during WWII, when he was stationed in New Guinea and the Philippines, as well as the US.

Biography

Dr. Lewis Rathbun was born on October 12, 1913 in Canandaigua, New York. Prior to WII, during which he served in the US Naval Medical Corps. he had qualified as a doctor. After the war he worked as a doctor in Asheville. He died in 2015, aged 101.

Julia Ray 

Interview Date and Interviewer

August 5, 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Julia Ray begins by describing her life before the war, and the tough times she and her husband Jesse faced. She then discusses the war, talking about her two brothers who served, as well as what life was like in Asheville for herself and Jesse, who were exempt from service. She mentions rationing, volunteering at the USO, and taking coffee and doughnuts to departing servicemen, and she talks about Jesse Ray's role with the Graves Registration Service in Europe after the war.

Biography

Julia Ray was born in Marion, NC on October 28, 1914. In 1937, she and her husband Jesse established a funeral home in Asheville, and in 2013 she was proclaimed an "Asheville Living Treasure" for her work in the community.

Additional Materials

Summary ; five digital photographs of, Jesse Ray (2), Wilma Ray, Fred and Winnie Andrews, and the Ray family

Paul Reed 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 29, 2003 ; Jennifer McPherson

Format

Audio cassette tape ; copy CD ; text

Scope and Contents

Paul Reed describes being at Pearl Harbor at the time of the Japanese attack on the base. He goes on to describe training as a radar operator, before being transferred to Europe in 1945, where he worked in liberated POW camps. He ends by talking about staying in the Reserves after the end of WWII.

Biography

Paul Eugene Reed was born in Norwalk, Ohio on August 26, 1917, and served with the 98th Coast Artillery from March 1941 to November 1945. He died in February 2016, at the age of 96.

Additional Materials

Summary

James Thomas (J T) Rice 

Interview Date and Interviewer

August 15, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

Text [No audio is available]

Scope and Contents

J T Rice begins by describing growing up in Asheville, where his father owned a funeral home. After the start of WWII, he joined the Army Air Corps as a gunner with the 398 Bomb Group based in England, and he talks about some of his experiences during the war, before concluding with describing his life after the war, running various businesses in West Asheville.

Biography

James Thomas Rice was born on July 9, 1924, in Gentry Park, near Woodfin, NC, and he served a a tech. Sergeant in the Army Air Corps. during WWII. He died in January 26, 2010.

Additional Materials

Summary ; 3 digital photographs of Rice during WWII, and one digital photo from (2003)

Bobby Marshall Roberts 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 23, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Bob Roberts talks about being a cowboy in Texas, and volunteering for naval flight training, but failing the physical because he was colorblind. He describes how he was subsequently drafted into the army, and after training, was shipped to Europe, where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. After the end of the war in Europe he was transferred to the Philippines, and he recalls that neither the Americans or Japanese initially believed that the war had ended.

Biography

Bobby Marshall Roberts was born in Foreston Texas on April 26, 1921, and served in the 3rd Army during WWII.

Additional Materials

Summary

Landon Roberts 

Interview Date and Interviewer

March 21, 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Landon Roberts recalls enlisting in the Navy, after being rejected for the Marines, receiving his commission in 1942 on his 21st birthday, and being sent to Pearl Harbor as an Operations Officer. He talks about several operation in the Pacific that he was involved with, including the Battle for Tarar. He later describes watching the atomic bomb being loaded onto the aircraft.

Additional Materials

Transcript [with gaps?] ; letter from Roberts to "Walt", September 1945

Emily Rogers 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 29, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; digital photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

Emily Roger describes how she was working as a nurse in Chicago when she heard the news that Pearl Harbor had been bombed, and immediately enlisted in the Navy. After training she served as a ward supervisor at Pearl Harbor, and she talks about her life there, before concluding by describing her life after the war.

Biography

Emily Rogers was born in Chicago on October 12, 1913, and served as a nurse in the Navy during WWII.

Additional Materials

Summary ; seven digital photographs of, Emily Rogers in uniform, with "Carol", hula dancing (2 images), discharge papers, and separation papers

Frederick John Rosenthal 

Interview Date and Interviewer

August 7, 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

Text ; digital photographs [No audio is available]

Scope and Contents

John Rosenthal describes growing up in Cologne, Germany, and talks at length about the hardship of being Jewish in 1930's Nazi Germany, and how his family was able to move to the US in 1939. They settled in New York City, and he outlines life there before Pearl Harbor, after which he enlisted in the Army and trained in Military Intelligence, before being stationed in Belgium. He describes his life after the war when he trained as a librarian, and worked at the Library of Congress.

Biography

Frederick John Rosenthal was born in Cologne, Germany, on September 4, 1923. He and his family moved to the US to escape the Nazis, and during WWII he served in the 512th German Military Intelligence. After the war, he worked at the Library of Congress, and became assistant chief of the Library Services Division in the Congressional Research Service.

Additional Materials

Summary ; service records, 1943-46 ; certificate of naturalization ; clippings ; letters; 4 digital photographs of Rosenthal during WWII

Soldier Sanders 

Interview Date and Interviewer

July 30, 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

Text [No audio is available]

Scope and Contents

Soldier Sanders talks about growing up in Oklahoma, before being drafted and flying with the 390th Heavy Bomb Group out of England. In May 1944, his plane was shot down, and he describes being captured and being held as a POW, before managing to escape and return to the US.

Biography

Soldier Sanders, a full blood Western Cherokee, was born in Stillwell, Oklahoma, on September 20, 1918, and served with the Army Airforce during WWII, gaining the rank of Staff Sergeant. He died in Asheville, in 2007, aged 88.

Additional Materials

Summary

Roland Sargent 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 28, 2003 ; Dorothy Hays

Format

VHS tape ; digital photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

Roland Sargent describes his service during WWII when he served as a pilot in the 92nd Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force.

Biography

Roland Sargent was born in York, Maine, on February 18, 1919. He was a pilot during WWII, and was shot down over Belgium and subsequently held as POW. He died in May 2013, aged 94.

Additional Materials

Summary [Intro only] ; digital photographs of Sargent, and others, after being shot down over Europe, and for falsified documents

Harold and Mary Schaill 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 24, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tapes ; copy DVDs ; digital photographs

Scope and Contents

Harold (Hal) Schaill and Mary Campbell Schaill talk about their experiences during WWII. Hal describes being in the reserves and being called to service in early 1941, and how during the war he served in the south west Pacific. Mary describes being in Asheville during the war. Also includes home movie footage shot by the the Schaill's during the WWII era.

Biography

Harold Schaill was born in Belmont, NY on October 12, 1913, and served with the 77th Anti-aircraft Battalion during WWII. He died on January 19, 2005. His wife, Mary, was born in Hope, AR, on November 15, 1912, and was in Asheville during WWII, where she organized, and was president of, the "APO Wives Club". Mary died on March 29, 2005.

Additional Materials

Obituary for Harold Schaill ; DVD of home movie footage

Clarence Schmidt 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 23, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; digital photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

Clarence Schmidt talks about his service in WWII, when he was classified as a conscientious objector and assigned as a hospital clerk in the Panama Canal Zone. He also describes his life after the war, when he worked for the YMCA.

Biography

Clarence Schmidt was born in St. Francis, KS on May 1, 1916, and served with the 310th general hospital in the Panama Canal Zone during WWII.

Additional Materials

Summary

Sidney Schochet 

Interview Date and Interviewer

August 7, 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; digital photograph ; text

Scope and Contents

Sidney Schochet talks about serving as quartermaster in Ohio during WWII, and describes how he met his wife while he was training in Richmond, VA, and how, after the war, they opened a shoe store in Asheville.

Biography

Sidney Schochet was born in Asheville on October 6, 1916, and served with the Quartermaster Corps. during WWII, primarily in Columbus, OH. He died in Asheville in May 2005.

Additional Materials

Summary ; digital wedding photograph of Sidney and Mary Schochet

Robert Sechler 

Interview Date and Interviewer

June 09, 2003 ; Lou Harshaw

Format

Audio cassette tape ; copy CD ; photograph ; text

Scope and Contents

Lee Sechler talks about serving during WWII when he was with the Engineers. He describes the training he received in the US before shipping out to Europe, where he was involved in the battle to take Metz from the Germans. He talks about being wounded, celebrating VE-Day, returning to the US, and working for Dave Steel in Asheville.

Additional Materials

Summary ; photograph of Sechler in 2003

Allen Sher 

Interview Date and Interviewer

May 15, 2003 ; Jean Baker

Format

Audio cassette tape ; copy CD ; photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

Allen Sher served with the Signal Corps and Air Corps during WWII, and he talks about his training, and how he was deployed in China, Burma, and India. He describes decoding Japanese weather forecasts, and passing the data on to US bomber crews, and talks about the food, and how he kept in touch with his family. He explains that after the war he became a teacher in New York and Vermont, before retiring to Asheville.

Biography

Allen Sher was born in New York, NY on November 22, 1921 and served with the 10th Weather Squadron during WWII. He died in Asheville in May 2013, aged 91.

Additional Materials

Transcript ; 2 photographs of Allen Sher in 2003

Edward Smith 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 09, 2003 ; Mary Weber

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; photograph ; text

Scope and Contents

Edward Smith describes attending Clemson, and being in the ROTC at Cornell, before attending Camp Croft and Fort Bening for training. He was then shipped to Europe, and he talks about being in the United Kingdom, before going to France 100 days after D-Day. Smith then describes the advancement into Germany, and the reprisals of the Russians against the Germans. The interview concludes with Smith describing his life after the war, when he taught at Cornell.

Biography

Edward Holman Smith was born in Abbeyville, SC on September 2, 1915, and during WWII he served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Armor Infantry. He died, aged 96, on June 23, 2012.

Additional Materials

Transcript ; photograph of Edward Smith in 2003

Oscar E. Starnes 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 07, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; digital photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

O E Starnes describes enlisting in the army soon after Pearl Harbor, and following training in the US, being shipped to France in 1944. He talks about the advance through Alsace-Lorraine and into Germany and Austria.

Biography

Oscar E Starnes was born in Raleigh, NC on May 3, 1924, and served in the Army Infantry from 1942 to 1946.

Additional Materials

Summary ; four digital photographs of Starnes in WWII, digital photographs of his discharge papers

Phyllis Sultan 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 2, 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; digital photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

Phyllis Sultan talks about working at Asheville City Hall during WWII, and her involvement with the Red Cross Nurse's Aid Program. She briefly mentions the end of the war, and her husband Norman.

Biography

Phyllis Sultan was born in Norfolk, VA on June 29, 1920.

Additional Materials

Summary ; 3 digital photographs of Phyllis Sultan during WWII.

Beauford Hayes Sutton 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 22, 2003 ; Nancy Potts Coward

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Hayes Sutton served with the Engineers Combat Battalion during WWII, and after briefly mentioning his training and wedding, he describes his service in Europe where, among other things, he was involved in building pontoon bridges. He then talks about the end of the war, and making his way back across Europe to the US. as well as describing fellow soldiers from Jackson County.

Biography

Beauford Hayes Sutton was born in Dilsboro, NC on March 15, 1924, and served with the 160th Combat Engineer Battalion during WWII. He died in January 2016 at the age of 91.

Additional Materials

List of topics covered ; transcript with handwritten corrections

Alice Tash 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 21, 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

Text [No audio is available]

Scope and Contents

A brief summary of an interview with Alice Tash in which she describes working at Penn Station in New York City during WWII, and her husband's service on the USS Franklin

Additional Materials

Summary

Rueben Taylor 

Interview Date and Interviewer

July 2003 ; Deborah Miles

Format

digital photograph ; text [No audio is available]

Scope and Contents

Rueben Taylor describes parachuting into Holland in 1944, and later taking part in the Battle of the Bulge. He talks about a large group of German soldiers surrendering to his Division, and how he returned home to Cherokee, NC after the war.

Biography

Rueben Taylor was born in Birdtown, NC on November 2, 1925, and served with the Army Airborne, 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment from March 1942 to January 1946.

Additional Materials

Summary, digital service photograph of Reuben Taylor

Virgil Thompson 

Interview Date and Interviewer

April 23, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Virgil Thompson describes how because he was too old to be a pilot, and was unable to be an aerial photographer, he served as a chemical officer in the Army Air Force during WWII. He also briefly mentions his son's service in Vietnam and the role of chemical weapons.

Additional Materials

Tape log

Dewitt Tipton 

Interview Date and Interviewer

May 14, 2003 ; Fred Meyer

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; text

Scope and Contents

Dewitt Tipton describes his service with the 160th Engineering Combat Battalion, when he was involved in bridge building in Europe. He also comments about life in Mitchell County in 1944 and 1945.

Biography

Dewitt Tipton was born in Mitchell County on November 26, 1924, and died in Marion, NC in 2012, aged 87.

Additional Materials

Interviewer's personal summary ; manuscript "Their Ears Grew Hairy"

Eric Wellisch 

Interview Date and Interviewer

(2003) ; Deborah Miles

Format

Digital photographs ; Text [No audio is available]

Scope and Contents

Eric Wellisch describes his childhood as a Jew in Austria, and talks about moving to the United States, before describing his service in WWII with the 44th Combat Engineering Battalion. He also mentions other members of his family, and their war experiences.

Biography

Eric Wellisch was born in Weisenfeld No, Austria on August 12, 1920, and moved to the US just before WWII. During the war he served with the 44th Combat Engineering Battalion. He died in Asheville on July 9, 2015, at the age of 94.

Additional Materials

Summary ; digital photographs of liberation of Buchewald concentration camp and Wellisch in England

Mary Ellen Wolcott 

Interview Date and Interviewer

June 2, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

Digital photograph ; text [No audio is available]

Scope and Contents

Mary Ellen Wolcott talks about marrying Billy Wolcott in 1942, and moving with him to Jacksonville, Florida where he was training with the army. After Billy shipped out, Mary Ellen moved first to Raleigh, and then back to Asheville, and she talks about this, and working in the newsroom of the Asheville Citizen. She describes working for the paper, including meeting Eleanor Roosevelt, and her life in Asheville during the war. The interview ends with her describing Billy's return to the US from Europe.

Biography

Mary Ellen Wolcott was born in Marietta, SC on January 14, 1919, and lived in Asheville, where she worked for the Citizen-Times for many years. She died in 2013.

Additional Materials

Summary ; digital wedding photograph of Mary Ellen Wolcott

Wallace B. Wright 

Interview Date and Interviewer

May 21, 2003 ; Lou Harshaw

Format

Audio cassette tape ; copy CD ; photographs ; text

Scope and Contents

Blanton Wright describes being drafted into the infantry in 1944, and undergoing training in the US, before being shipped to France. He talks about his experiences in France and Germany, including events at the end of the war, and being shipped back to the US.

Biography

Blanton Wright was born in Asheville on December 5, 1925, and served with the US army during WWII. After the war he wrote an unpublished book based on his experiences. He died on May 11, 2012, aged 86.

Additional Materials

Summary; (unpublished) manuscript of "The Replacement" by Wallace B. Wright ; two photographs of Wright in 2003

Grafton Young 

Interview Date and Interviewer

July 1, 2003 ; Jackie Shropshire Simms

Format

Video cassette ; VHS tape ; copy DVD ; photograph ; text

Scope and Contents

Grafton Young talks about his service in the navy, during and after WWII. He also describes the lives of himself and his family, and talks about segregation.

Biography

Grafton Young was born in Buncombe County on March 19, 1928.

Additional Materials

Tape log ; photograph of Grafton Young in 2003

Robert Youngdeer 

Interview Date and Interviewer

July 30, 2003 ; Reid Chapman

Format

VHS tape ; copy DVD ; mini DV cassette ; text

Scope and Contents

Robert Youngdeer talks about enlisting in the Marine Corps in 1940, and serving in th Pacific during WWII. He describes the battles of Guadalcanal and Tulagi, and how he was injured and transferred initially to New Zealand, and then back to the US. He talks about serving in China after WWII, before being discharged in 1948, but explains that he soon enlisted in the Army, and served in a parachute regiment. He ends by talking about his life after retiring from the army, when he worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Additional Materials

Summary ; tape log