Oral History Interview with C. Elizabeth Callahan

Oral History Interview with C. Elizabeth Callahan

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Description

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with C. Elizabeth Callahan. Callahan was born to Japanese parents in San Francisco. Her name at birth was Cho Elizabeth Ishi. Her parents couldn’t sustain their family in America during the Depression, so Callahan and her sister were sent to Japan in August 1935. When the war broke out, Callahan was caught completely by surprise, due to the extensively censored news available to her. While her parents were sent to an internment camp back home, she watched the Doolittle Raid above her in Tokyo. Food was scarce, and she … continued below

Physical Description

19 p.

Creation Information

Callahan, C. Elizabeth Creation Date: Unknown.

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

Callahan, C. Elizabeth

Interviewers

Publisher

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

Audiences

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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 C. Elizabeth Callahan. Callahan was born to Japanese parents in San Francisco. Her name at birth was Cho Elizabeth Ishi. Her parents couldn’t sustain their family in America during the Depression, so Callahan and her sister were sent to Japan in August 1935. When the war broke out, Callahan was caught completely by surprise, due to the extensively censored news available to her. While her parents were sent to an internment camp back home, she watched the Doolittle Raid above her in Tokyo. Food was scarce, and she regularly traveled 30 miles to the countryside where she could barter with farmers. On 25 May 1945, incendiary bombs hit her neighborhood, and she and her sister had to run through fire to escape. They were taken in by friends in the suburbs of Tokyo, and together they heard the emperor’s voice for the first time, as he instructed the people of Japan to surrender peacefully. Callahan found the first batch of occupation soldiers to be extremely friendly, but she felt that their replacement troops, who had not endured the hardship of war, were disrespectful to the Japanese people. Callahan got a job at the 376th Station Hospital and then at Letterman General Hospital when she returned to the States. She completed her career as a teacher at the Academy of Health Sciences at Fort Sam Houston.

Physical Description

19 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: OH02822
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1605737

Relationships

Oral History Interview with C. Elizabeth Callahan - ark:/67531/metapth1609549

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.

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