| Title |
Ray H. Wheeler, Lewiston, Utah: an interview by Winston P. Erickson, March 21, 2000: Saving the legacy tape no. 79 |
| Alternative Title |
Ray H. Wheeler, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Wheeler, Ray H., 1921- |
| Contributor |
Erickson, Winston P., 1943-; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2000-03-21 |
| 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 |
Guam; Philippines; Japan; Cache County, Utah, United States |
| Subject |
Wheeler, Ray H., 1921- --Interviews; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Area--Personal narratives, American; Merchant mariners--Biography; Veterans--Utah--Biography; Atomic bomb--History |
| Keywords |
Merchant Marines; Atomic bomb; Radiation sickness; Subic Bay; Tinian; Guam; Iwo Jima; Okinawa |
| Description |
Transcript (37 pages) of an interview by Winston P. Erickson with Ray H. Wheeler on March 21, 2000. This is from tape number 79 in the "Saving the Legacy Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Ray Wheeler was born in 1926 in Lewiston, Utah. He joined the Merchant Marines in 1944, and served aboard the W. W. McCracken, the Commodore, and the John S. Bassett in the Pacific. He discusses the radiation sickness he suffered after the use of atomic weapons, as well as the treatment of Merchant Marines by the government after the end of the war. 37 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
37 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/s63z05wt |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Merchant mariners; Atomic bomb |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1023147 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s63z05wt |
| Title |
Page 13 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1023120 |
| OCR Text |
Show RAY H. WHEELER March 21 2000 just complete darkness. It's unbelievable. And then the shrouds froze on the ship. And it wa very cold. If those people were in the water it was just a matter of minutes and they were gone. Anyway, we went back to Pearl Harbor in convoy; so that's two convoys. But we went to Pearl and they fixed the number two hole (welded it) and loaded our ships with construction equipment-navy cargo this time; Seabees, the twenty-first battalion of Seabees. And we formed another convoy and went to the Marianas through Ulysses, the Marshall Islands-they had anchorage there-through convoy. We had baby flattops, destroyers and cruisers to protect us. And we went there in the Marianas-that's Saipan, Guam and Tinian if you're aware of that. And they sent us up to Tinian. It's only a hundred miles in the harbor. And they had no harbor there. And we had to off-load our equipment on pontoon dodges without any breakers, sea breakers, so the top of the ship was pitching. We unloaded the 21st Battalion Seabees, and they-this was the 27th of February of 1945-and they invaded Iwo Jima. And their jumping off point was Guam, Saipan and Tinian. And that's the first time I was aware of the B29s. See the 27th of February, if you'll check your records, is when they invaded "Iwo". Well, we fire-bombed Japan. Curtis E. LeMay came there in January. And instead they fire-bombed the most phosphorous bombs. But we were stationed there at the seawall we called it, the end of the airstrip on Tinian. And those B-29s coming back off those raids were shot up, and they would hit on the runway there and burn. And I'd wonder why they were burning. They would come right in where our mast-see the seawall is 200 feet high, and the end of that airstrip where they came in was about 100 feet over us. So they were coming in over us, and taking off over us. And it was very 11 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s63z05wt/1023120 |
