Oral History Interview with Kay Clementson, May 4, 2001

Oral History Interview with Kay Clementson, May 4, 2001

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Description

Transcript of an oral interview with Kay Clementson. Mr Clementson was born in 1926 and volunteered for the Navy just before he turned eighteen. He was sent to boot camp in San Diego, California in September 1944. After boot camp, he was assigned to USS LSM (Landing Ship, Medium) 96 which was in San Diego. Seven LSMs sailed for Pearl Harbor. At Pearl Harbor, they unloaded their cargo (telephone poles) and loaded a company of Marines who were in a radar group. After stops at Eniwetok, Ulithi, Lingayen and Leyte they landed the radar group on a little island off … continued below

Physical Description

1 sound recording (45 min., 1 sec.)

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

Transcript of an oral interview with Kay Clementson. Mr Clementson was born in 1926 and volunteered for the Navy just before he turned eighteen. He was sent to boot camp in San Diego, California in September 1944. After boot camp, he was assigned to USS LSM (Landing Ship, Medium) 96 which was in San Diego. Seven LSMs sailed for Pearl Harbor. At Pearl Harbor, they unloaded their cargo (telephone poles) and loaded a company of Marines who were in a radar group. After stops at Eniwetok, Ulithi, Lingayen and Leyte they landed the radar group on a little island off the coast of Okinawa two days before the main invasion. Their LSM got stranded on the beach due to miscalculating the tides so they had to spend the night on the beach; they were strafed by a couple Zero's and two marines were killed. During the battle for Okinawa, USS LSM-96 was used as a fire-fighting ship. They went to the aid of two ships, an AKA that had been converted to a hospital ship and a LST. Clementson provides a nice description of the kamikazes attacking the fleet off Okinawa. He also describes being in two typhoons during this time. Instead of riding out the second typhoon circling the island, the captain decided to park the LSM on the beach which he did and it worked. Clementson was off Okinawa when the war ended. After the end of the war, they had orders to go to Korea, Pusan and Inchon, hauling supplies up to little harbors and up the rivers. They also went to Tientsin, up the river in China, hauling supplies to the Marines there. USS LSM-96 went back to the States but Clementson didn't have enough points to be discharged so he was transferred to USS LSM-308. USS LSM-308 ran up and down the China coast, taking supplies here and there and back to Korea. USS LSM-308 went to Shanghai where it was decommissioned and given to the Nationalist Chinese. Clementson was put on a troop ship which sailed for San Francisco. He was discharged after 22 months of service, 19 months overseas.

Physical Description

1 sound recording (45 min., 1 sec.)

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

Sound

Identifier

Unique identifying numbers for this recording in the Portal or other systems.

Accession or Local Control No: OH00084
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1607413

Relationships

Oral History Interview with Kay Clementson, May 4, 2001, [transcript] ark:/67531/metapth1603445

Collections

This recording 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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