Oral History Interview with Robert Clark, May 11, 2001

Oral History Interview with Robert Clark, May 11, 2001

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Track One 0:29:39

Description

Transcript of an oral interview with Robert Clark. Born in Colby, Kansas Clark joined the Navy in San Diego in 1940. Before completion of the training he was assigned to the USS Tennessee (BB-43) in Pearl Harbor. He recounts various training missions over the following months, including gunnery exercises. He recounts relaxing in the turret of one of the 14-inch guns during the morning of December 7, 1941 when the Japanese attacked. He describes the efforts made by him and other sailors to extricate the Tennessee from its nest with West Virginia, USS Olkahoma and USS Arizona and sail out … continued below

Physical Description

1 sound recording (29 min., 38 sec.)

Creation Information

Clark, Robert May 11, 2001.

Context

This audio recording 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 recording can be viewed below.

Interviewee

Clark, Robert

Interviewers

Publisher

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

Audiences

Check out our Resources for Educators Site! We've identified this sound as a primary source within our collections. Researchers, educators, and students may find this recording useful in their work.

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 Robert Clark. Born in Colby, Kansas Clark joined the Navy in San Diego in 1940. Before completion of the training he was assigned to the USS Tennessee (BB-43) in Pearl Harbor. He recounts various training missions over the following months, including gunnery exercises. He recounts relaxing in the turret of one of the 14-inch guns during the morning of December 7, 1941 when the Japanese attacked. He describes the efforts made by him and other sailors to extricate the Tennessee from its nest with West Virginia, USS Olkahoma and USS Arizona and sail out of Pearl Harbor. He recalls that the Tennessee then sailed to the United States and into Bremerton Naval Shipyard for repairs. Over the next several months he recalls several missions to engage in battles in the Coral Sea and at Midway, where the Tennessee saw only limited action. He describes other cruises into waters off Alaska, but also without incident. At the end of 1942 he volunteered for duty with the Sino-American Cooperative Association (SACO) and was sent to Long Beach, California and the USS Hermitage, a captured Italian luxury liner that had been converted into a troopship. He recalls that the Hermitage sailed west, stopping enroute in New Zealand, and that location being the farthest south that any Naval Expeditionary force had traveled up to that time. The ship eventually arrived in Bombay where he took a train to Calcutta. He recounted several interesting anecdotes of his experiences in Calcutta and Bombay.

Physical Description

1 sound recording (29 min., 38 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: OH00121
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1607450

Relationships

Oral History Interview with Robert Clark, May 11, 2001, [transcript] ark:/67531/metapth1603482

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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