Oral History Interview with Jim Slaughter, May 16, 2003

Oral History Interview with Jim Slaughter, May 16, 2003

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Track One 1:49:09

Description

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jim Slaughter. He was born in San Antonio 3 November 1923. He joined the Civilians’ Military Training Camp program in 1938 and remained in it until it was disbanded in 1940. After volunteering for the Army Air Corps, he was sent to Santa Ana, California for primary training. Upon graduating as a flight officer, he went to Kingman, Arizona for gunnery training. He was then sent to Roswell, New Mexico, in 1943, to attend bombardier’s school. He then went to Avon Park, Florida where he joined a B-17 … continued below

Physical Description

1 sound recording (1 hr., 49 min., 8 sec.)

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

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jim Slaughter. He was born in San Antonio 3 November 1923. He joined the Civilians’ Military Training Camp program in 1938 and remained in it until it was disbanded in 1940. After volunteering for the Army Air Corps, he was sent to Santa Ana, California for primary training. Upon graduating as a flight officer, he went to Kingman, Arizona for gunnery training. He was then sent to Roswell, New Mexico, in 1943, to attend bombardier’s school. He then went to Avon Park, Florida where he joined a B-17 crew and spent four months training with his crew. The crew then flew a B-17 to Foggia, Italy where they were assigned to the 464th Bomb Group. He flew missions daily until his aircraft was shot down by German fighter planes over Yugoslavia 7 July 1944. Slaughter and his crew were rescued by a partisan group who delivered them to a C-45 transport plane, which delivered them back to a US base. In august 1944, on his last of 39 missions, Slaughter was shot down again. He was injured during the bail out and his co-pilot administered first aid on the ground. Captured by German soldiers they were taken to Stalag Luft III. He describes life in the prisoner of war camp until they were released by the Russian Army. He was transported to Camp Lucky Strike at Janville, France where, after several days, he boarded a ship for the United States. He remained in the United States Air Force and retired as a lieutenant colonel.

Physical Description

1 sound recording (1 hr., 49 min., 8 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: OH00899
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1608133

Relationships

Oral History Interview with Jim Slaughter, May 16, 2003, [transcript] ark:/67531/metapth1604324

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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