| Title |
Van C. Sorensen, Mapleton, Utah: an interview by Winston Erickson and Benjamin Bahlmann, August 17th, 2001: Saving the legacy tape no. 288 and 289 |
| Alternative Title |
Van C. Sorensen, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Sorensen, Van C., 1922-2007 |
| Contributor |
Erickson, Winston P., 1943-; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2001-08-17 |
| 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 |
Marshall Islands; New Guinea; Philippines; China; Aurora, Sevier County, Utah, United States |
| Subject |
Sorensen, Van C., 1922-2007--Interviews; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Veterans--Utah--Biography; World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, American; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Area--Personal narratives, American |
| Keywords |
Topaz; Internment camps; PTSD |
| Description |
Transcript (95 pages) of an interview by Winston P. Erickson with Van C. Sorensen on August 17, 2001. This is from tape numbers 288 and 289 in the "Saving the Legacy Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Van Sorensen (b. 1922) recalls his childhood on a cattle ranch in Utah, working on the construction of the Topaz Japanese Relocation camp, and joining the U.S. Marines in December 1943. After training as a gunner and being assigned to a flight crew, Sorensen was assigned to the Pacific Theater of Operations. He talks at length about his combat experiences. He also talks about returning to civilian life and suffering from what would come to be known as Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. 95 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
95 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/s6767djj |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Military operations, Aerial--American |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1021118 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6767djj |
| Title |
Page 95 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1021115 |
| OCR Text |
Show VA C. ORENSEN ugu t 17th 2001 what was going on. I had no idea what was going on. I even attacked Bell one night. I hate to even tell you this, but I did. In our training we were taught to handle almost any situation. And one was bayonets. It's always bugged me, you know, like I said. So in my dream that night, there was a Japanese soldier about forty feet from me and he was watching me. And then finally he charged me with his rifle, his bayonet. When he came at me, we were told if you really watch the point of that bayonet and watch what they're doing you can handle it. As he got there, I took the rifle away from him and through it down on the ground, and hit him in the face. And then I grabbed him and threw him down and jumped on him and I was choking him to death. All the while, screaming and yelling. I - all at once, I felt something hit me on the back. And I could hear somebody choking. You know, [choking sounds], you know, like that. And it was Bell. And I was kneeling straddle over here and I had my thumbs in her throat. And she was- she'd finally got an arm loose and was hitting me on the back. And I hate to tell you, I'd have killed her if she hadn't woke up and woke me up. I guess. I don't know what I'd have done. BEN: Did you ever have dreams of being in the air? I mean, you were in the air the whole time? I mean, like you said, there's the night attacks and stuff like that. VAN: No, it was usually hand-to-hand fighting. BEN: Interesting. VAN: It was usually ground combat - 93 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6767djj/1021115 |
