| Title |
Ray H. Church, Ogden, Utah: an interview by Winston P. Erickson, June 12, 2000: Saving the legacy tape no. 39 |
| Alternative Title |
Ray H. Church, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Church, Ray H., 1920-2013 |
| Contributor |
Erickson, Winston P., 1943-; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2000-06-12 |
| 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 |
Delta, Millard County, Utah, United States; Guam; Japan |
| Subject |
Church, Ray H., 1920-2013--Interviews; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Veterans--Utah--Biography; World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Japan; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Area--Personal narratives, American; World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, American |
| Keywords |
Marines; Prisoners of war; Tanagawa; Death camp; Osaka |
| Description |
Transcript (32 pages) of an interview by Winston P. Erickson with Ray H. Church on June 12, 2001. This is from tape number 39 in the "Saving the Legacy Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Ray Church (b. 1920) recalls his childhood in Depression-era Delta, Utah. After two and a half years at Dixie College, he found himself without funds and joined the Marines. He was posted to Guam in 1941 and attached to the military government. He was taken prisoner in December, shortly after Pearl Harbor. Church describes his time as a prisoner of war in Tanagawa, known as the "death camp," and in Osaka. 32 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
32 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/s6sf4vft |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Prisoners of war; Concentration camps |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1020845 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6sf4vft |
| Title |
Page 28 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1020838 |
| OCR Text |
Show RAY . CHURCH course you got rid of some of your old buddies- bug . h n h t th gave us some clothes, American clothes American sho s ri an pant rt n shirt and tie, and underwear. We got over there and they said "W can't put y u 11 together in one place. We don't have the facilities for it. We are going to break you up t twenty-five men to a group." So we were sent to the West Virginia battleship my unit. We got aboard this ship and we were very careful about how we ate. They said "We're going to try to feed you about five times a day, a little bit at a time, like tea times, like you wouldn't know." So we were on the battleship about three or four days trying to get some substance. I weighed about 112 pounds. WIN: 112 pounds! RAY: Some of the guys weighed a lot less than that. A little funny thing, we had one fellow that was an all-American football player. In peacetime he weighed 280 pounds, about six feet six inches, a big kid. He'd walk around and he would go like this, hugging, "One hundred thirty pounds of hog romp-stomping hell." I loved him. We got on the ship and after about three or four days we got to the airport and we caught a plane to go to Guam to a hospital. On Guam I had a chance to take a Jeep and go out and see our old buddies' graveyard. We had to bury the guys when we got captured. Then after about ten days, after we finally got ourselves healthy, we went back home. WIN: RAY: So when you were in captivity, was there any way of keeping track of time? Yes, we had some pretty smart people. We had several guys, one in particular, 27 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6sf4vft/1020838 |
