Oral History Interview with John W. Underwood, February 18, 2011
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Oral History Interview with John W. Underwood, February 18, 2011 (Text)
Transcript of an oral interview with John Underwood. Underwood joined the Navy in November 1942 and went to boot camp at Jacksonville Naval Air Station, Florida. Finishing in the top of his class, he had his choice of trade schools and went to aviation radio school in Jacksonville. From there Underwood went to aviation radar school and then to aerial gunnery school in Alameda, California. His gunnery officer was Robert Stack, the actor. After survival school and learning how to jump, he was assigned to a torpedo bomber. The pilots were coming in as well as planes and eventually he was assigned to a crew and Air Group 19 on August 15, 1943; he was 18 years old. After much training in their TBMs in and around California, the group reported to the USS Lexington at Alameda Naval Air Station which sailed solo to Hawaii. After docking in Pearl Harbor, the air group went to Maui where they trained to be a night air group but they never flew a night combat mission as it turned out. While on Maui, they trained firing rockets at night with radar. From there they went back to Pearl Harbor and were loaded aboard the USS Intrepid which sailed for the fleet anchorage at Majuro. They were transferred to the USS Bunker Hill and then back to the USS Lexington when she came in. He was part of VT-19. The Lexington sailed for Guam and covered the invasion there. The next one they hit was Peleliu. At Peleliu, Underwood's plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire and they ended up crash landing on Lexington's deck, July 26, 1944; Underwood suffered a dislocated shoulder. They went to Iwo Jima and then back to fleet anchorage. From there they went back to Peleliu, hit it a few more times and then to the Philippines, Mindanao first, then Cebu and after that Negros. From there they moved to Manila on Luzon; really tough targets. After Manila, they went back to fleet anchorage and took on supplies, ammunition, etc. They were at Iwo Jima in August 1944 and Okinawa in October 1944; long before the invasions. They dropped down and bombed Formosa and then supported the invasion on Luzon. His aircraft was hit in the right wing on a bombing run over Formosa but they made it back to the ship. He was with Halsey's task force that went after the Japanese carriers on 25 Oct 1944 and his plane got a torpedo hit on the Zuikaku (note: planes from that carrier had sunk the previous Lexington at the Battle of the Coral Sea). Underwood witnessed the hit on the USS Princeton (CVL). His Air Group was transferred to the Enterprise and they were going home, getting there around Christmas 1944. After 30 days leave, he got orders to Pawtuxet River Naval Air Station where he was involved in testing advanced radar. Underwood provides excellent insights into the combat flying environment throughout his interview. He was discharged in August 1945.
Oral History Interview with John W. Underwood, February 18, 2011, [transcript] ark:/67531/metapth1605928
Oral History Interview with John W. Underwood, February 18, 2011, audio recording, February 18, 2011; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1609736/: accessed June 14, 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.