Oral History Interview with Burnes R. "B. R." Whitehead, July 26, 2011

Oral History Interview with Burnes R. "B. R." Whitehead, July 26, 2011

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Description

Transcript of an oral interview with Burnes R. Whitehead. Mr Whitehead went into the Marine Corps on 10 Jul 1941 and went to boot camp in San Diego. Joined the 2nd Marine Division when it formed up at Camp Elliot and shipped out for Guadalcanal on the USS Alhena (Merchant Marine ship). His battle station for the Guadalcanal invasion was on top of a stack of the USS Alhena with twin Lewis guns. His outfit (2nd Regiment, 2nd Headquarters) went ashore at Tulagi Island but he didn't go ashore. His Headquarters company ended up in Espirtu Santo (New Hebrides) where … continued below

Physical Description

48 p.

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 Burnes R. Whitehead. Mr Whitehead went into the Marine Corps on 10 Jul 1941 and went to boot camp in San Diego. Joined the 2nd Marine Division when it formed up at Camp Elliot and shipped out for Guadalcanal on the USS Alhena (Merchant Marine ship). His battle station for the Guadalcanal invasion was on top of a stack of the USS Alhena with twin Lewis guns. His outfit (2nd Regiment, 2nd Headquarters) went ashore at Tulagi Island but he didn't go ashore. His Headquarters company ended up in Espirtu Santo (New Hebrides) where he got malaria. He was a driver. From there they went by ship to Wellington, New Zealand, started unloading the ship and then got trucked to Paekakariki. They formed the 2nd Raider Battalion there but Whitehead was not part of that unit. He went to Tarawa from there with the 2nd Marine Division and was there for three nights and four days. He was the only survivor out of a Higgins boat. The boat got hung up on a reef and they got hit by a mortar (he received shrapnel in his arm); he was in water up to his neck when he went over the side. After Tarawa, they went to the Big Island of Hawaii, lived up on Parker Ranch and got replacements. After about six months on the Big Island, they landed on Saipan. Whitehead shot a Japanese soldier who shot him in the right shoulder and shattered his right arm. He was put on a plane and taken to Hawaii. From there he went by ship to San Francisco. From San Francisco, he took a train to Seattle and stayed about a month and then went to Quantico, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Tennessee and was discharged at Quantico. Whitehead watched the banzai attack on Saipan (Garapan's flat) and witnessed the civilians committing suicide by jumping off the cliffs as well. He was in Washington , D.C. for Roosevelt's funeral; doing guard duty. Several additional papers in folder.

Physical Description

48 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: OH03312
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1606027

Relationships

Oral History Interview with Burnes R. "B. R." Whitehead, July 26, 2011 - ark:/67531/metapth1609834

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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