Oral History Interview with John Burks, June 27, 2006 Metadata

Title

• Main Title Oral History Interview with John Burks, June 27, 2006

Creator

• Interviewee: Burks, John
  Creator Type: Personal

Contributor

• Interviewer: Misenhimer, Richard
  Contributor Type: Personal
• Interviewer: Dial, Lesle
  Contributor Type: Personal

Publisher

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

Date

• Creation: 2006-06-27

Language

• English

Description

• Content Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Burks. Burks was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on 17 January 1923. After graduating from high school in 1940, he attended the University of Oklahoma until October 1942, at which time he joined the US Army Air Forces. He began a pilot training program, but the Army terminated it. In August 1943, he underwent basic training at Sheppard Field, Texas for twelve weeks. In November, he went to gunnery school at Laredo Air Field in Texas. He was then sent to March Field, California where he was assigned to a B-24 crew as the ball turret gunner. In April 1944 the crew flew to Wheeler Field, Hawaii where they underwent advanced training with the 26th Bomb Squadron, 11th Bomb Group, 7th Air Force. In September 1944 they moved to Kwajalein where they participated in bombing missions over Truk and Wake Islands. During October 1944 they moved to Guam where they flew forty missions over various islands including seventeen missions over Iwo Jima in preparation for the invasion. Burks relates his personal experience of capturing a Japanese soldier while on Guam. He returned to the United States in March 1945 and received his discharge. He went into the Army Reserves and was reactivated in 1948. He remained in the Army thirty-three years and tells of his experiences in Korea and Vietnam. He retired as a colonel in 1976.
• Physical Description: 1 sound recording (1 hr., 48 min., 5 sec.)

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. Army Air Forces
• Keyword: Military training
• Keyword: United States. Army Air Forces. Air Force, 7th
• Keyword: United States. Army Air Forces. Bombardment Group, 11th. Bomb Squadron, 26th
• Keyword: World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations, American
• Keyword: Korean War, 1950-1953
• Keyword: Vietnam War, 1961-1975

Primary Source

• Item is a Primary Source

Relation

• Has Transcription: Oral History Interview with John Burks, June 27, 2006, [transcript] ark:/67531/metapth1604993

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

• Sound

Format

• Audio

Identifier

• Accession or Local Control No: OH01646
• Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1608799