| Title |
Wilson G. Wright, St. George, Utah: an interview by Winston Erickson, August 3, 2000: Saving the legacy tape no. 84 and 85 |
| Alternative Title |
Wilson G. Wright, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Wright, Wilson G., 1916- |
| Contributor |
Erickson, Winston P., 1943-; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2000 |
| Date Digital |
2015-09-16 |
| Access Rights |
I acknowledge and agree that all information I obtain as a result of accessing any oral history provided by the University of Utah's Marriott Library shall be used only for historical or scholarly or academic research purposes, and not for commercial purposes. I understand that any other use of the materials is not authorized by the University of Utah and may exceed the scope of permission granted to the University of Utah by the interviewer or interviewee. I may request permission for other uses, in writing to Special Collections at the Marriott Library, which the University of Utah may choose grant, in its sole discretion. I agree to defend, indemnify and hold the University of Utah and its Marriott Library harmless for and against any actions or claims that relate to my improper use of materials provided by the University of Utah. |
| Spatial Coverage |
Ogden, Weber County, Utah, United States; Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands |
| Subject |
Wright, Wilson G., 1916- --Interviews; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Veterans--Utah--Biography; World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations, American; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Area--Personal narratives, American; Guadalcanal, Battle of, Solomon Islands, 1942-1943--Personal narratives, American |
| Description |
Transcript (51 pages) of an interview by Winston P. Erickson with Wilso G. Wright on August 3, 2000. This is from tape numbers 84 and 85 in the "Saving the Legacy Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Wilson Wright (b. 1916) recalls his childhood in Ogden, Utah. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in engineering and served as a commissioned officer on the battleship Idaho and the destroyer Lamson before going to Pensacola, Florida, for flight training. After qualifying for carrier landings he was assigned to the fighter squadron of the Wasp, where he provided air support for the Marines at Guadalcanal. He was on the Wasp when it was torpedoed and was in the water for four hours until being picked up by the destroyer Laffey. Wright's second tour of combat was with a fighter squadron based with the Marines in the Solomon Islands. He flew with such notables as "Gunner" Walsh and "Pappy" Boyington. He remained in the Navy for several years. After retirement he worked in the aerospace industry on the Polaris, Moon Landing, and Space Shuttle programs. 51 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
51 pages |
| Language |
eng |
| Rights |
 |
| Scanning Technician |
Mazi Rakhsha |
| Conversion Specifications |
Original scanned with Kirtas 2400 and saved as 400 ppi uncompressed TIFF. PDF generated by Adobe Acrobat Pro X for CONTENTdm display |
| ARK |
ark:/87278/s6573b9s |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Military operations, Naval--American; Guadalcanal, Battle of (Solomon Islands : 1942-1943) |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1018555 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6573b9s |
| Title |
Page 40 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1018541 |
| OCR Text |
Show Wil on G. Wright u u t 2000 WIN: Okay. Your in the Solomons. And then were did you go? WILSON: Well, after I- we were out as I say, about nine months. I had- I think I m ntioned in the "Amazing Experiences" how I got shot up pretty bad one day. We had a replay an exact replay of that situation that happened the last mission we were on, and my number four man got hit. I thought we were out of the woods. I wasn't worried about being attacked, and suddenly this Zero popped out right on his tail and fired, and my number four man's plane started to burn. His name was Frank Schneider. And the Zero made a stupid mistake. He came in fast, he fired, he ducked underneath, and then pulled up in front. Frank hauls up and shot him down. So Frank shot down the plane that got him. And, of course, I yelled at Frank "Get out, bail out of that baby." Then he rolled over on his back and flew upside down for awhile. That's an easy way to get out, just open the canopy, unlatch the safety belt down, and you're out of there. But then he rolled back over and he was in a shallow glide, and pretty soon a wing came up and he never got out. But I think he was mortally wounded or he would have been out of that baby. That was kind of a sad ending. That was the last mission we flew. WIN: Did you return to the states then? WILSON: Then we came back, yeah. And when we came back I was sent to Atlantic City as a fighter type instructor. They were forming fighter squadrons about every six weeks. And they were doing it so fast. None of them had any experience. Our job was to fly with them and show them what to do, what not to do, what really happens, and that sort of thing. I was there for about-well, I got there in April, and in December I got ordered out to 38 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6573b9s/1018541 |
