Texas Oral History Collection - 3 Matching Results

Search Results

Oral History Interview with Alan W. Saunders, October 8, 2004
Interview with Alan W. "Buck" Saunders, a pilot during World War II. He discusses joining the Army Air Corps, becoming an airplane mechanic, and going to flight school for pilot training. He was stationed in India and flew supplies into China over the Himalayas (known by pilots as "the Hump"). In China, he traded items such as jewelry or opium for information on Japanese troop placements in Burma. He also discusses his meetings with native Burmese and talks about later experiences he had after the war and during the Vietnam War.
Oral History Interview with James F. Sansom, October 8, 2004
Interview with James F. Sansom, an officer in the U. S. Army during World War II. Sansom joined the Army in 1940 and began training on anti-aircraft guns in Florida. He was selected for Officer Candidate School (OCS) and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1942. He was assigned to the 843rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Air Warning Battalion, which made its way to India via the Panama Canal and Australia. Shortly after reaching Calcutta, the unit moved to Myitkyina, Burma. After the war, Sansom was assigned to Sagumo Prison outside Tokyo where Japanese war criminals were being held while on trial for war crimes. He describes some of the routines and residents in the prison. Sansom taught Hideki Tojo how to play card games like gin rummy. Sansom also describes the process of executing convicted prisoners as he carried out some sentences. In all, he executed nine convicted war criminals.
Oral History Interview with W. A. Henderson, September 20, 2003
Interview with W. A. (Bill) Henderson, a pilot during World War II. He discusses his time as a bombardier and navigator on a B-24 in the China-Burma-India Theater. His crew hit the bridge over River Kwai (Mae Klong) while making bombing runs along the Burma Railway and also flew runs to supply gasoline to various bases in China, India and Burma. He relates anecdotes about the food and living quarters on the bases and the time he saved his co-pilot's life. He helped his co-pilot land the plane after a bullet tore through the plane's nose wheel and injured the man's leg.
Back to Top of Screen