Oral History Interview with Walter Autry, September 17, 2001
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Oral History Interview with Walter Autry, September 17, 2001 (Text)
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Walter Autry. Autry left the Merchant Marine and joined the Navy just after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Given his experience, he qualified for steam engineering and was sent to the University of Houston for training in diesel engineering. He briefly entertained the idea of being a Navy diver and received training at Pier 88 in New York City. Ultimately he was assigned to the crew of an LCI that laid smoke screens and made almost 100 landings in the Philippines. As part of his duty, Autry fought fires on ships and rescued the wounded. He bartered with natives on Mindanao and returned home with an intricately carved knife made of volcanic ash. He also met the natives of Luzon and describes their poisonous arrows. He recalls a treacherous typhoon at Okinawa. From there he went to China and recounts the tremendous poverty. He saw atrocious conditions for Filipino women and children at Santo Tomas. When Autry finally returned home, his daughter, who was born while Autry was at sea, was already 18 months old. He joined the Naval Reserve and was sent to the Philippines as a chief engineer during the Korean War.
Oral History Interview with Walter Autry, September 17, 2001, [transcript] ark:/67531/metapth1605855
Oral History Interview with Walter Autry, September 17, 2001, audio recording, September 17, 2001; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1609666/: accessed May 31, 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.