Oral History Interview with Randy Watson, December 5, 2007

Oral History Interview with Randy Watson, December 5, 2007

PDF Version Also Available for Download.

Description

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Randy Watson. Watson joined the Army Air Corps in 1939. He was assigned to Puerto Rico for two years and felt fortunate to have narrowly missed being sent to the Philippines. While in Puerto Rico, he was assigned to Air Material Command, working with supplies. Afterward, he attended flight school and was assigned to India as a C-46 pilot. There he flew over the Hump to deliver supplies into China. During Watson’s first flight, he was frightened by the phenomenon known as St. Elmo’s fire. He was later … continued below

Physical Description

35 p.

Creation Information

Watson, Randy December 5, 2007.

Context

This text is part of the collection entitled: National Museum of the Pacific War Oral History Collection and was provided by the National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. More information about this text can be viewed below.

Interviewee

Watson, Randy

Interviewers

Publisher

National Museum of the Pacific War
Place of Publication: Fredericksburg, Texas

Audiences

Check out our Resources for Educators Site! We've identified this text as a primary source within our collections. Researchers, educators, and students may find this text useful in their work.

Provided By

National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Established in 1967, the Museum honors the 8 million Americans who served in WWII in the Pacific Theater by sharing their stories with the world. Located in Fredericksburg in the restored Nimitz "Steamboat" Hotel, the Museum partners with the Texas Historical Commission to preserve the historical resources of the era.

Description

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Randy Watson. Watson joined the Army Air Corps in 1939. He was assigned to Puerto Rico for two years and felt fortunate to have narrowly missed being sent to the Philippines. While in Puerto Rico, he was assigned to Air Material Command, working with supplies. Afterward, he attended flight school and was assigned to India as a C-46 pilot. There he flew over the Hump to deliver supplies into China. During Watson’s first flight, he was frightened by the phenomenon known as St. Elmo’s fire. He was later given the task of flying with bails of Chinese currency with instructions to burn the money if he crashed. Once, Watson was redirected multiple times due to bad weather and base closures, thus keeping him awake for over 40 hours. During this experience, his plane and crew were reported as missing. In December 1944, he left India for home on a C-54, stopping in Cairo and Casablanca on the way. He finished the war having flown 650 hours, making 78 trips over the Hump.

Physical Description

35 p.

Subjects

Keywords

Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms

Library of Congress Subject Headings

World War, 1939-1945

University of North Texas Libraries Browse Structure

Language

English

Item Type

Text

Identifier

Unique identifying numbers for this text in the Portal or other systems.

Accession or Local Control No: OH02110
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1605325

Relationships

Oral History Interview with Randy Watson, December 5, 2007 - ark:/67531/metapth1609135

Collections

This text is part of the following collections of related materials.

National Museum of the Pacific War Oral History Collection

This oral history collection depicts an instrumental era in American history. In these transcripts of interviews with World War II veterans are personal experiences with the war, from the Doolittle Raid and D-Day to the Battle for Bataan.

National Museum of the Pacific War Digital Archive

The Digital Archive presents digitized collections from the Center for Pacific War Studies collections at the National Museum of the Pacific War. Collections and material are continuously being added and represent only a small portion of the archives' physical holdings.

Related Items