Oral History Interview with Cliff Robertson, December 7, 2001

Oral History Interview with Cliff Robertson, December 7, 2001

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Description

Transcript of an oral interview with Cliff Robertson. Robertson was a crewman on a small, old freighter (SS Admiral Cole) about 150 miles out of Iloilo (in the vicinity of Philippines Islands) when his ship was bombed by a Japanese 4-engine amphibious plane - the same time Pearl Harbor was being bombed. Although their ship was damaged by the bombs, they got to Zamboanga and then were in the China Sea when the USS Houston (CA-30) was sunk. They finally got out down through Tora Straits and then out along the Great Barrier Reef to Sidney, Australia. They went to … continued below

Physical Description

30 p.

Creation Information

Robertson, Cliff December 7, 2001.

Context

This text 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 text can be viewed below.

Interviewee

Robertson, Cliff

Interviewers

Publisher

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

Audiences

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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

Transcript of an oral interview with Cliff Robertson. Robertson was a crewman on a small, old freighter (SS Admiral Cole) about 150 miles out of Iloilo (in the vicinity of Philippines Islands) when his ship was bombed by a Japanese 4-engine amphibious plane - the same time Pearl Harbor was being bombed. Although their ship was damaged by the bombs, they got to Zamboanga and then were in the China Sea when the USS Houston (CA-30) was sunk. They finally got out down through Tora Straits and then out along the Great Barrier Reef to Sidney, Australia. They went to New Zealand for repairs and then sailed for San Francisco, California which is where they had started. Robertson signed off the ship. He went off to Antioch College and worked for the Springfield Daily News in Springfield, Ohio at the same time. Robertson wanted to fly but his eyesight wasn't good enough so he went into the Merchant Marine. After training on Catalina Island, he was assigned to a tanker. The other ships he remembered being on were SS Craig and SS Jonathan. Robertson made several trips to the South Pacific and contracted malaria on one. Later on, he went to Officer's School in Connecticutt, became a Third Mate and went on the Jonathon Edwards. He was aboard her during the invasion of southern Italy. Robertson was in the North Atlantic when V-E Day occurred and went home afterwards. After the war, he sailed as a Third Mate for about a year with the Atlantic Gulf Weston Steamship and then got off for good. Robertson went on to an acting career and played Kennedy in the movie PT-109.

Physical Description

30 p.

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

Text

Identifier

Unique identifying numbers for this text in the Portal or other systems.

Accession or Local Control No: OH00400
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1603845

Relationships

Oral History Interview with Cliff Robertson, December 7, 2001 - ark:/67531/metapth1607706

Collections

This text 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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