Oral History Interview with Garfield Crawford, January 28, 2008

Oral History Interview with Garfield Crawford, January 28, 2008

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Track One 2:19:08

Description

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Garfield Crawford. Crawford was born 13 June 1922 in Edgar, Wisconsin and graduated from high school in Green Bay. He entered the Army Air Forces in March 1943. He trained at various bases and with a variety of aircraft. Upon graduating from multi-engine, he was assigned as an aircraft commander and went to Walla Walla, Washington for crew training. Arriving at Nadzab, New Guinea he made several training flights with experienced pilots prior to going to Wakde where the crew was assigned a B-24 in the 307th Bomb … continued below

Physical Description

1 sound recording (2 hr., 19 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 Garfield Crawford. Crawford was born 13 June 1922 in Edgar, Wisconsin and graduated from high school in Green Bay. He entered the Army Air Forces in March 1943. He trained at various bases and with a variety of aircraft. Upon graduating from multi-engine, he was assigned as an aircraft commander and went to Walla Walla, Washington for crew training. Arriving at Nadzab, New Guinea he made several training flights with experienced pilots prior to going to Wakde where the crew was assigned a B-24 in the 307th Bomb Group, 421st Bomb Squadron. Crawford recalls his first combat mission to Balikpapan. Of the twenty-four bombers on the mission, fourteen where lost due to heavy flak and Japanese fighters. He also recalls a mission to Negros Island where they encountered sixty enemy aircraft that dropped phosphorus bombs and steel rods above his formation in attempts to knock them down. During this mission, his friend’s plane went down. A month later, while returning from a bombing mission over Corregidor, he saw signals on the ground from the surviving crew members. They were rescued and sent home. Crawford flew thirty-eight other mission, most of which were from Morotai. He returned to the United States August 1945

Physical Description

1 sound recording (2 hr., 19 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: OH02150
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1609164

Relationships

Oral History Interview with Garfield Crawford, January 28, 2008, [transcript] ark:/67531/metapth1605355

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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