Oral History Interview with Sanford Hunt, May 1, 1993 Metadata

Title

• Main Title Oral History Interview with Sanford Hunt, May 1, 1993

Creator

• Interviewee: Hunt, Sanford
  Creator Type: Personal

Publisher

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

Date

• Creation: 1993-05-01

Language

• English

Description

• Content Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Sanford Hunt. Hunt was born in Newark, New Jersey on 18 October 1915 and after graduating from high school in 1934, joined the Naval Reserve as a radioman. In October 1940 he resigned from the Navy Reserves and enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve. He was sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as a radio operator, where he worked with Holland M. Smith. He was next transferred to the newly established Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and was trained as a cryptographer and cipher machine repairman. He describes his role in setting up and operating a radio transmitter station on Guadalcanal. While there, he worked closely with Major General Alexander Vandegrift and Brigadier General Gerald C. Thomas, Commanding General and Chief of Staff of the First Marine Division, respectively. The three of them were the only Marines on Guadalcanal authorized access to ULTRA message traffic (intelligence obtained by breaking encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter messages). Upon returning to Pearl Harbor he was given a field commission to second lieutenant. Hunt accompanied General Vandegrift to Noumea, New Caledonia as Special Assistant and Chief of Staff for Special Traffic and Messages, until Vandegrift was recalled to Washington as Commandant of the Marine Corps. His next assignment was as the Third Marine Division communications officer during the landing at Bougainville.
• Physical Description: 8 p.

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. Marine Corps Reserve
• Keyword: Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (Cuba)
• Keyword: Smith, Holland M. (Holland McTyeire), 1882-1967
• Keyword: Cryptography
• Keyword: United States. Marine Corps. Division, 1st
• Keyword: Vandegrift, A. A. (Alexander Archer), 1887-1973
• Keyword: Thomas, Gerald C. (Gerald Carthrae), 1894-1984
• Keyword: World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Solomon Islands -- Guadalcanal
• Keyword: World War, 1939-1945 -- New Caledonia
• Keyword: United States. Marine Corps. Division, 3rd
• Keyword: World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Papua New Guinea -- Bougainville Island
• Keyword: ULTRA (Intelligence system)

Primary Source

• Item is a Primary Source

Relation

• Oral History Interview with Sanford Hunt, May 1, 1993 - ark:/67531/metapth1607471

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

• Text

Format

• Text

Identifier

• Accession or Local Control No: OH00142
• Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1603503