Oral History Interview with Karl F. Eichhorn, June 2, 2009

Oral History Interview with Karl F. Eichhorn, June 2, 2009

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Track One 2:47:30

Description

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Karl F. Eichhorn. Eichhorn joined the Army Air Forces in February of 1943. He completed armament school, learning how to troubleshoot and repair machine guns, cannons, airplane bomb racks and gun turrets. He was assigned to the 726th Bomb Squadron, 451st Bomb Group, 15th Air Force. He served as a ground crewman. In December of 1943 he traveled to North Africa. He describes in detail his trip over and accommodations aboard a liberty ship. They landed in Oran, and Eichhorn elaborates on his experiences traveling through and staying in … continued below

Physical Description

1 sound recording (2 hr., 47 min., 30 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 interview with Karl F. Eichhorn. Eichhorn joined the Army Air Forces in February of 1943. He completed armament school, learning how to troubleshoot and repair machine guns, cannons, airplane bomb racks and gun turrets. He was assigned to the 726th Bomb Squadron, 451st Bomb Group, 15th Air Force. He served as a ground crewman. In December of 1943 he traveled to North Africa. He describes in detail his trip over and accommodations aboard a liberty ship. They landed in Oran, and Eichhorn elaborates on his experiences traveling through and staying in the city. In January 1944 he traveled to an airfield in Gioia del Colle, Italy. They unloaded planes coming in, loaded live bombs onto them and refilled machine gun ammunition boxes. Eichhorn describes in great detail his living and working experiences in Italy. They moved to another field in Castelluccio de Sauri. From there, they bombed northern Italy, Austria, Germany and generally southeast Europe. The group he worked with flew a total of 245 missions from January of 1945 to April of 1945. He was discharged in September of 1945.

Physical Description

1 sound recording (2 hr., 47 min., 30 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: OH02601
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1609432

Relationships

Oral History Interview with Karl F. Eichhorn, June 2, 2009, [transcript] ark:/67531/metapth1605620

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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