Oral History Interview with Wilbert Shanks, January 30, 2009 Metadata

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Title

  • Main Title Oral History Interview with Wilbert Shanks, January 30, 2009

Creator

  • Interviewee: Shanks, Wilbert
    Creator Type: Personal

Contributor

  • Interviewer: Misenhimer, Richard
    Contributor Type: Personal
  • Interviewer: Granger, Christa
    Contributor Type: Personal

Publisher

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

Date

  • Creation: 2009-01-30

Language

  • English

Description

  • Content Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Wilbert Shanks. Shanks joined the Navy in December of 1940. He completed communication school, and became a signalman, operating Morse Code and semaphore flags. He served aboard the USS Helena (CL-50). His battle station was at emergency radio, providing communication within the ship. They were stationed at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, and Shanks describes his experiences before, during and after the attack, including the ship getting hit with a torpedo. After repairs were made to the Helena, they traveled to the Coral Sea where they assisted survivors of the sunken USS Wasp (CV-7). They participated in the Guadalcanal Campaign. In July of 1943 they provided artillery for the Marines at Kula Gulf, where the Helena was sunk. In February of 1944 Shanks was assigned to the USS Major (DE-796), running escort duty between Norfolk and Trinidad. He was in Tokyo Bay during the surrender in September of 1945 and was discharged in December of 1946.
  • Physical Description: 39 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. Navy -- Signalmen
  • Keyword: USS Helena (CL-50)
  • Keyword: Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941
  • Keyword: Coral Sea, Battle of the, 1942
  • Keyword: USS Wasp (CV-7)
  • Keyword: World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Solomon Islands -- Guadalcanal
  • Keyword: World War, 1939-1945 -- Japan
  • Keyword: USS Major (DE-796)

Primary Source

  • Item is a Primary Source

Relation

  • Oral History Interview with Wilbert Shanks, January 30, 2009 - ark:/67531/metapth1609372

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: OH02532
  • Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1605563
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