Oral History Interview with Robert Donihi, October 13, 1996

Oral History Interview with Robert Donihi, October 13, 1996

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Track One 2:32:20

Description

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Donihi. Donihi was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. He graduated from high school in 1934. During the Depression, he worked low wage jobs and lost his leg in an automobile accident while hitchhiking to Florida. His experiences influenced him to attend law school. He passed the Bar in 1941 and went to work in Tennessee. He was exempt from the draft, but was motivated to learn to fly under the Civil Air Patrol. He joined the Coast Guard Reserve during World War II and became a Seaman First … continued below

Physical Description

1 sound recording (2 hr., 32 min., 19 sec.)

Creation Information

Donihi, Robert October 13, 1996.

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

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Donihi. Donihi was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. He graduated from high school in 1934. During the Depression, he worked low wage jobs and lost his leg in an automobile accident while hitchhiking to Florida. His experiences influenced him to attend law school. He passed the Bar in 1941 and went to work in Tennessee. He was exempt from the draft, but was motivated to learn to fly under the Civil Air Patrol. He joined the Coast Guard Reserve during World War II and became a Seaman First Class, ferrying submarine chasers down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico for shakedown cruises. After the war, he met Tom Clark, President Truman’s Attorney General (and later Associate Supreme Court Justice). Clark offered Donihi a job in Tokyo and introduced him to Joseph B. Keenan, who had worked in President Roosevelt’s White House. Keenan was setting up an organization named Project K, which operated out of the Justice Department. Its purpose was to prosecute Emperor Hirohito and other suspected Japanese war criminals. In Tokyo he lived with Keenan and 15 other lawyers and judges. He attended several meetings with Keenan and MacArthur. As eleven other participating nations sent representatives, the group became known as the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, with Joseph Keenan serving as Chief Prosecutor. On 24 December 1945 Clark sent MacArthur a telegram requesting Donihi’s return to the States because his wife had been critically burned. Donihi returned home for his wife’s medical care, and then returned to Japan in February 1946. Donihi’s duties for the Tribunal included interviewing and interrogating prisoners at Sugamo Prison. He assisted with interrogating former Prime Minister Hideki Tojo. Donihi returned to the States at the end of 1946 and was offered a job at Nuremburg, Germany. He assisted as Chief Trial Attorney in the International Trials at Camp Dachau. Upon completing his work at the Dachau trials, he went to Berlin as a civilian legal advisor for General Lucius Clay.

Physical Description

1 sound recording (2 hr., 32 min., 19 sec.)

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

Sound

Identifier

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

Accession or Local Control No: OH00857
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1608113

Relationships

Oral History Interview with Robert Donihi, October 13, 1996, [transcript] ark:/67531/metapth1604304

Collections

This recording 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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