Oral History Interview with William Turley, January 15, 2009

Oral History Interview with William Turley, January 15, 2009

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Description

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Turley. Turley joined the Army Air Forces in May 1943 and received basic training at Sheppard Field. He received gunnery training in Las Vegas. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 526th Bomb Squadron, 379th Bombardment Group, where he served as a ball turret gunner of a B-17. During his first mission, in Brest, the plane nearest him went down in flames while another went into a flat spin. When he returned to base, he found that his tail gunner had been killed by a piece of … continued below

Physical Description

42 p.

Creation Information

Turley, William January 15, 2009.

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

Turley, William

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 William Turley. Turley joined the Army Air Forces in May 1943 and received basic training at Sheppard Field. He received gunnery training in Las Vegas. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 526th Bomb Squadron, 379th Bombardment Group, where he served as a ball turret gunner of a B-17. During his first mission, in Brest, the plane nearest him went down in flames while another went into a flat spin. When he returned to base, he found that his tail gunner had been killed by a piece of flak. Turley flew 32 missions, finishing in January 1945. Turley returned home and was discharged as a staff sergeant. After attending school at Tulane, he rejoined the military. As part of his duty he earned a master’s degree in political science. In 1962 he was part of a small unit assigned to help arm India along its northern border. Turley retired in 1973 as a full colonel.

Physical Description

42 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: OH03143
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1605872

Relationships

Oral History Interview with William Turley, January 15, 2009 - ark:/67531/metapth1609680

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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