Oral History Interview with Harry Longerich, January 23, 2007

Oral History Interview with Harry Longerich, January 23, 2007

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Track One 1:03:02

Description

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harry Longerich. Longerich was born in Germany in 1917 and immigrated to the United States. He attended the Stanton Military Academy and was an amateur radio operator. After opening a successful radio service store with celebrity customers, he sold the business in 1938 and enlisted in the Army in anticipation of the war. He attended basic training and learned CW operation at Fort Monmouth. He was stationed on Hawaii during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Days later, Longerich overheard Admiral Kimmel lamenting the loss so many young men. … continued below

Physical Description

1 sound recording (1 hr., 3 min., 2 sec.)

Creation Information

Longerich, Harry January 23, 2007.

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

Longerich, Harry

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

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harry Longerich. Longerich was born in Germany in 1917 and immigrated to the United States. He attended the Stanton Military Academy and was an amateur radio operator. After opening a successful radio service store with celebrity customers, he sold the business in 1938 and enlisted in the Army in anticipation of the war. He attended basic training and learned CW operation at Fort Monmouth. He was stationed on Hawaii during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Days later, Longerich overheard Admiral Kimmel lamenting the loss so many young men. Because of his fluency in German, he was chosen for several offensive and defensive counterintelligence operations with the Sixth Army, broadcasting false information to Germany leading to a diversion of Hitler’s divisions on the Eastern Front, and attaching an antenna to a balloon to eavesdrop in hard to reach locales. He was so adept with radio equipment that he was called upon to repair Patton’s personal radio, and he hand-delivered eyes-only communications to Eisenhower. He later joined the Army Security Agency as an electronic countermeasures specialist and R&D engineer. After attending Command and General Staff College, Longerich retired in 1963.

Physical Description

1 sound recording (1 hr., 3 min., 2 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: OH01752
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1608877

Relationships

Oral History Interview with Harry Longerich, January 23, 2007, [transcript] ark:/67531/metapth1605069

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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