Oral History Interview with Curtis G. Clark, October 11, 2003
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Oral History Interview with Curtis G. Clark, October 11, 2003 (Sound)
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Curtis G. Clark. Born in 1918, he joined the Navy in 1937. He served on the USS Talbot throughout the war, beginning as a Radioman third class and working his way up to the rank of Warrant Officer. He provides information about the Battle of Dutch Harbor in Alaska. He discusses the conversion of four-stack destroyer ships (DD), such as the USS Talbot, into high-speed transport ships (Auxiliary Personnel Destroyer or APD) on Mare Island, California. As part of the conversion, the torpedo tubes were replaced with Welin davits and landing craft. He discusses the sinking of the USS McKean (PAD-5) near Bougainville in the Solomon Islands. He talks about landing reconnaissance forces in preparation for the Battle of the Green Islands. He also discusses transporting Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) as well as the teams? method of operation. He describes the collision with the USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) on the way to Saipan as well as the trip to San Francisco for repairs. After the repairs, the ship transported other UDT units to the Philippines. He was on the USS Talbot when it returned to the United States for re-conversion to a destroyer just prior to the end of the war. He shares anecdotes about his assignment to the USS Talbot; an incident in which he, Chuck Ramet, and Harold Swallow prevented depth charges from being washed overboard during a storm while at sea near the Aleutian Islands; preparing to ram a submarine when the Chief Electrician Mate was taking a shower; and various encounters with kamikaze airplanes. The interview includes information about his career in the Navy both before and after the war. He retired in 1959.
Oral History Interview with Curtis G. Clark, October 11, 2003 - ark:/67531/metapth1608219
Oral History Interview with Curtis G. Clark, October 11, 2003, text, October 11, 2003; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1604410/: accessed June 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation.