| 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 96 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1021116 |
| OCR Text |
Show VAN C. OREN EN u u t 171h 2001 BEN: - Ground situations. VAN: Perhaps the whole war time experience that I'd had. I don't know if it was a round of guard duty or just your mind doing it to you, or what. BEN: So did they slowly fade away, or how did they? VAN: Finally, it just seemed to reduce to a tolerable level. I still have a flashback occasionally. One night I had one of those dreams and here was a guy right in front of me. I had Nothing to fight with. I thought, "I'll hit him." So I cocked my arm and I hit as hard as I could hit. It turned out to be one of our lamps. It was one of those touch lamps, you know, and it was almost ridiculous because as soon as I hit it, it came on. But I knocked it flying so far that it hit the end of the cord and jerked it out of the socket. And then it went off. And then it just flew to pieces, you know. And so, those don't happen much anymore, and I'm glad. WIN: I hope not! VAN: It's hard on furniture! BEN: So these questions we are asking you, these long-term effects on how the war has effected your life. On one side, in your night time, it's effected that. VAN: Yeah. On the other hand - BEN: - But in your general life - VAN: -It instilled in me a resolve to succeed, you know, against all odds. The Marine Corps has no limitations on anything and whatever it takes, that's what you give. 94 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6767djj/1021116 |
