Oral History Interview with Peter Hennessey, September 5, 2011

Oral History Interview with Peter Hennessey, September 5, 2011

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Description

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Peter Hennessey. Hennessey attended a West Point prep school and helped his widowed mother run the family business. After earning a business degree at the University of Texas, he enlisted in the Army and became an aviation cadet in September 1941. After earning his wings in April 1942, he became an instructor in Douglas, Arizona. Hennessey flew every model of B-25 produced and was promoted to captain. Hoping to see combat, he volunteered for a bomber assignment but V-E Day occurred soon after. He was then transferred to … continued below

Physical Description

58 p.

Creation Information

Hennessey, Peter September 5, 2011.

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

Hennessey, Peter

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 Peter Hennessey. Hennessey attended a West Point prep school and helped his widowed mother run the family business. After earning a business degree at the University of Texas, he enlisted in the Army and became an aviation cadet in September 1941. After earning his wings in April 1942, he became an instructor in Douglas, Arizona. Hennessey flew every model of B-25 produced and was promoted to captain. Hoping to see combat, he volunteered for a bomber assignment but V-E Day occurred soon after. He was then transferred to Pampa, Texas, again as an instructor. Making flight commander and squadron commander, he would often fly with struggling students to assess their instructors. While doing so, he once avoided disaster by saving a plane from a violent spin. Hennessey joined a night squadron as commander, but it was soon disbanded near the end of the war. He was released from active duty in October 1945 with over 2,000 hours of flight time.

Physical Description

58 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: OH03322
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1606036

Relationships

Oral History Interview with Peter Hennessey, September 5, 2011 - ark:/67531/metapth1609843

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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