Oral History Interview with Bill Smith, September 17, 2011 Metadata

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Title

  • Main Title Oral History Interview with Bill Smith, September 17, 2011

Creator

  • Interviewee: Smith, Bill
    Creator Type: Personal

Contributor

  • Interviewer: Webber, Brad
    Contributor Type: Personal
  • Interviewer: Sesling, Michael
    Contributor Type: Personal

Publisher

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

Date

  • Creation: 2011-09-17

Language

  • English

Description

  • Content Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Smith. Smith joined the Navy in October 1940 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was sent to Pearl Harbor, where he worked as a baker. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was aboard the USS California (BB-44), hoisting ammunition from the third deck to the antiaircraft guns topside. The California was torpedoed, damaging fuel lines and covering Smith in oil. Stunned by the explosion, he was urged to jump ship by Marines, whom he credits with saving his life. He swam to safety and was later transferred to Kaneohe. Six months later he was reassigned to the submarine base at Pearl Harbor, and six months later to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. As a baker, he had a fair amount of free time, and so he enrolled at the high school in Honolulu. There he met his first wife, whom he married in 1943. Smith was on his way to the States with orders to attend chief petty officer school when the war ended.
  • Physical Description: 1 sound recording (43 min., 41 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. Navy
  • Keyword: USS California (BB-44)
  • Keyword: Operational rations (Military supplies)
  • Keyword: Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941
  • Keyword: World War, 1939-1945 -- Hawaii -- Pearl Harbor

Primary Source

  • Item is a Primary Source

Relation

  • Has Transcription: Oral History Interview with Bill Smith, September 17, 2011, [transcript] ark:/67531/metapth1606045

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: OH03331
  • Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1609852
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