Order certifying Edward as a "Trusty Shellback" while on board the U.S.S. Noordam. A Navy tradition of indoctrination each time a ship crosses the equator in which sailors move from pollywogs (those who have not crossed the equator) to shellbacks...
World War, 1939-1945 -- Veterans -- Connecticut; Infantry; United States -- Armed Forces -- Officers; United States. Dept. of Defense. Military commission order;
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American; Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews; Prisoners of war -- Germany; Wobbelin (Concentration Camp); Hürtgen Forest, Battle of, Germany, 1944
Interview conducted by Matthew Kwapien. Arthur C. Neriani enlisted in the National Guard in December of 1940. Soon after, in February of 1941, the Guard was federalized and he was sent to Camp Blanding, FL for basic training. After basic...
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American; Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews; Maps, Military; Cartography
Interview conducted by Jim Lyko. Charles E. Thompson was working as a draftsman in New York City when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He had a military deferment up to this time, but had decided to let it lapse in order to join the military....
Interview conducted by Robert Kulak. Charles K. Griffith was a conscientious objector during World War II. He grew up a pacifist, and was a member of the Unitarian church, where the pastor also had pacifist beliefs. Griffith underwent an FBI...
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American; Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews; World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Philippines; World War, 1939-1945 -- Equipment and supplies; United States. Army. Infantry; Purple Heart; Military...
Interview conducted by Joshua Randorf. Charles P. Gallagher grew up in New Haven, Ct. He enlisted in the U.S. Army just after graduation from high school. He had taken military examinations in high school that led him to be placed in the Army...
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal narratives, American; Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews;
McKone was drafted in 1968. After testing he accepted the option to enlist in the Regular Army in order to qualify for OCS. Basic training was at Ft Jackson (SC). AIT was in engineering at Ft Leonard Wood (MO). He was subsequently commissioned as...
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American; Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews; World War, 1939-1945 -- African Americans; Freeman Field Mutiny, Ind., 1945; Mitchell bomber; Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972; Tuskegee Airmen, Inc
Interview conducted by Eileen Hurst. Connie Nappier, Jr. enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps after graduating high school in 1943. He wanted to be part of the Tuskegee Experiment, the program the Air Corps had set up to train African American...
Communications, Military; Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal narratives, American; Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews; United States -- Armed Forces -- Officers;
Interview conducted by Eileen Hurst. David S. Powell enlisted in the U.S. Air Force shortly after his graduation from Yale University in 1952. He had come from a long line of family members who had fought or assisted in war efforts over the...
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American; Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews; United States. Navy; United States. Navy -- Boats; Disabled American Veterans;
Interview conducted by Jim Lyko. Donald A. Graham joined the U.S. Navy in 1944, and attended his basic training at Sampson Naval Base in New York State. He was shipped to North Africa near Algiers, and then volunteered for a specialized outfit,...
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American; Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews; World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Pacific Ocean; World War, 1939-1945 -- Medical care; United States. Navy -- Electrician's mates ; Veterans -- United...
Interview conducted by Eileen Hurst. Edward J. Bartek enlisted in the U.S. Navy, in 1939, at the age of 18 after spending two years in the Civilian Conservation Corps. He joined the navy in order to see the world, but in fact spend the majority...
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American; Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews; World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Pacific Area; Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal narratives, American;
Interview conducted by John Ault. George Slack enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in the fall of 1943. After basic training, he went to Wheeler Field (Miss.) for pre-flight training, and then Illinois for radio school. After completion of radio...
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American; Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews; World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Iwo Jima; World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Mariana Islands; Combat;
Interview conducted by Heather Walsh. Howard Whittaker joined the U.S. Marines in 1942. In January of 1943 he left for basic training at Parris Island. He described the indoctrination as a Marine as difficult. He then went to advanced training...
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal narratives, American; Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews; Helicopters;United States Military Academy; United States. Army -- Officers;
Interview conducted by Gregg Cerosky. James J. Satterwhite graduated from West Point Military Academy in 1959 part of a class of 499. His first assignment was in Hawaii, first with the aviation company of the 25th Infantry Division, as an...
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American; Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews; United States. Navy -- Machinist's mates; Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941; Guadalcanal, Battle of, Solomon Islands, 1942-1943;Midway, Battle of,...
Interview conducted by Tom Benemann. Joseph F. Wargo enlisted in the U.S. Navy in May of 1940. He went to basic training in Newport, R.I. He enjoyed basic training, and then went on to Machine School to become a machinist. He was then assigned...
Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews; Iraq War, 2003- -- Personal narratives, American; Ordnance; United States. Marine Corps -- Aviation;
Interview conducted by Eileen Hurst. Joseph O’Keefe enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in January of 2002. He went to boot camp at Parris Island (S.C.), which he described as hard and very memorable. After graduation from boot camp, he worked...
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal narratives, American; Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews; Distinguished Flying Cross (Medal); Charms;United States. Army. Assault Helicopter Company, 188th;Wayne, John, 1907-1979
Interview conducted by Eileen Hurst. Kjell T. Tollefsen joined the U.S. Army in 1966, with the intention of going to flight school. He went to basic training at Fort Polk, LA, and then went to Fort Walters, TX and Fort Rucker, AL for flight...
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives; Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews; Prisoners of war -- Poland; Poland. Polskie Siły Zbrojne
Interview conducted by Sally Kemmler. Krystyna Stochowicz Farley was a member of the Polish Army under British command from 1943 until 1947. She joined while she was living in Iran, where she was sent after being released from a Russian prison...
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American; Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews; World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- China; Cryptography; Morse code
Interview conducted by Martha Campbell. Lawrence S. Carlton was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Force in January of 1943 while in his first year at Harvard. He went to Miami Beach, Fla. for basic training, and while there he took an aptitude test...
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American; Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews; Bailey bridges; Ardennes, Battle of the, 1944-1945; Metz, Battle of, Metz, France, 1944;
Interview conducted by Sean Drake. Leo Liberman enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943 while he was enrolled in college for engineering. He joined in order to be able to choose the branch of service he would be part of. He was sent to Ft. Leonard...
