Oral History Interview with Bob Fagleson, April 1, 2005 Page: 1

                                
ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW
BOB FAGLESON
This is Eddie Graham. Today is April 1st, 2005, and I'm interviewing Mr. Fagleson, Bob
Fagleson, and we're doing this interview at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Dallas, Texas. This
interview is being done in support of the National Museum of the Pacific War Center for
War Studies for the preservation of the historical information related to World War II.
Okay, let's start off Mr. Fagleson, when and where were you born?
MR. FAGLESON: I was born in Alexandria, Virginia, May 16, 1920.
MR. GRAHAM: What was the name of your parents?
MR. FAGLESON: My father was Sam Fagleson and mother was Tilda Fagleson.
MR. GRAHAM: Did you go to school there?
MR. FAGLESON: All my schooling was in Virginia, elementary and college.
MR. GRAHAM: What college did you go to?
MR. FAGLESON: I went to Virginia Pyrotechnic Institute which was a military school,
a very famous one, too.
MR. GRAHAM: Where were you and what were you doing December 7th, 1941?
MR. FAGLESON: I had gone up to what we called a skirt barn which was the girls'

dormitory and picked up the date I had and the date that has been with me for sixty-three
years. We were walking around the drill field and this freshman came running up and he
stopped. He saluted and said, "Sir, Pearl Harbor has been bombed and we're at war." I
said, "What did you say, Lester?" He said, "Pearl Harbor has been bombed and we're at