Oral History Interview with Les Caffey, September 17, 2005 Metadata

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Title

  • Main Title Oral History Interview with Les Caffey, September 17, 2005

Creator

  • Interviewee: Caffey, Les
    Creator Type: Personal

Contributor

  • Interviewer: Rabalais, Larry
    Contributor Type: Personal
  • Interviewer: Grinslade, Robert
    Contributor Type: Personal

Publisher

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

Date

  • Creation: 2005-09-17

Language

  • English

Description

  • Content Description: Transcript of an oral interview with Les Caffey. He was born near Ballinger, Texas, grew up on a farm near Brady, Texas and when he finished high school in 1944, he joined the Navy because his brothers and friends had all joined the service. He had two months training in San Diego, then went aboard a troopship to Pearl Harbor. From there, Caffey was assigned and went aboard the USS Wichita (CA-45). He speaks of towing the USS Canberra (CA-70) after it suffered a torpedo hit off the coast of Formosa. Caffey also speaks of watching from the deck of the Wichita planes from VF-2 come in and land on the illuminated deck of the USS Lexington (CV-16) after operations in the Philippine Sea. As the cruiser was headed into Buckner Bay to soften up Okinawa prior to the invasion, Caffey describes near misses by a torpedo and a kamikaze. After the war ended, the Wichita sailed to Nagasaki where Caffey describes scenes of destruction. After that, the Wichita was sent to Philadelphia for decommissioning and Caffey got his discharge shortly thereafter. He made his way back to Brady and reunited with his folks.
  • Physical Description: 1 sound recording (32 min., 46 sec.)

Subject

  • Library of Congress Subject Headings: World War, 1939-1945
  • University of North Texas Libraries Browse Structure: People - Individuals
  • University of North Texas Libraries Browse Structure: Military and War - Wars - World War II
  • Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms: Interviews
  • Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms: Oral histories
  • Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms: Personal narratives
  • Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms: Autobiographies
  • Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms: Biographies
  • Keyword: WWII
  • Keyword: United States. Navy
  • Keyword: USS Wichita (CA-45)
  • Keyword: Philippine Sea, Battle of the, 1944 (June 19-21)
  • Keyword: World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Japan -- Okinawa Island
  • Keyword: Atomic bomb -- Japan -- Nagasaki-shi -- Blast effect

Primary Source

  • Item is a Primary Source

Relation

  • Has Transcription: Oral History Interview with Les Caffey, September 17, 2005, [transcript] ark:/67531/metapth1604868

Collection

  • Name: National Museum of the Pacific War Oral History Collection
    Code: NMPW
  • Name: National Museum of the Pacific War Digital Archive
    Code: NMPWA

Institution

  • Name: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
    Code: NMPW

Rights

  • Rights License: by-nc-nd
  • Rights Statement: Commercial use is prohibited without permission from the National Museum of the Pacific War.

Resource Type

  • Sound

Format

  • Audio

Identifier

  • Accession or Local Control No: OH01500
  • Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1608676
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