Oral History Interview with William Sloman Page: 5
This text is part of the collection entitled: National Museum of the Pacific War Oral History Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
WS: I was convinced that we would have to become involved in
the war in Europe.
MC: Yeah.
WS: I'd never given a thought this would pass.
MC: Right.
WS: Didn't matter to us. A group of us that had worked scrap
iron, you know they loaded that off of the gondolas with a
magnet, a round magnet. Well, it was square cornered, the
gondolas, and that round magnet couldn't get it all, and so
somebody had to pile it up out in the middle, what they
couldn't get. As well as there was another time we didn't
have a ship. They'd unload it along the railroad track and
then they'd have to load it back. Well, it was the same
thing would occur; there would be scattered scrap iron.
MC: And this was in Texas City, right?
WS: Yeah. We worked 45 minutes an hour, and we'd make jokes
about the fact that if we were shipping that to Japan, they
was going to be shooting it back at us. I don't know that
any of us really believed it. I always thought that thedifferences that we had with Japan could be resolved over a
conference table, and I believe if it hadn't been for
Hitler, they probably would have been.
MC: Well, you went to San Diego for basic training, right?5
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This text can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Related Items
Other items on this site that are directly related to the current text.
Oral History Interview with William Sloman (Sound)
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Sloman. Sloman joined the Marine Corps in October of 1939. Beginning early in 1940, he served in the 1st Defense Battalion, D Battery. In February of 1941, he deployed to Hawaii. In December, Sloman participated in the Battle of Wake Island. He was captured by the Japanese, survived transport aboard the hell ship Asama Maru and imprisonment in Zentsuji POW Camp in Japan. He was liberated in 1945, and discharged in early 1946.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Text.
Sloman, William. Oral History Interview with William Sloman, text, Date Unknown; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1606153/m1/5/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 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.