| 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 18 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1023125 |
| OCR Text |
Show RAY H. WHEELER March 21, 2000 while they were trying to get us. Anyway, from May 7th until June 22nct we secured Okinawa. It took us that long to unload that ship. They sank four ammunition ships ahead of us. That's 40,000 tons of ammunition the Japanese did. Our army was out of ammunition. And if we hadn't of gotten that number five ship in there-it was 10,000 ton of ammunition-those ships that was hit were vaporized with that ammunition. They just disintegrated. I seen two of them in there before we was trying to get in there. Anyway, we were there and delivered our cargo. On June 22, 1945 we pulled out of Okinawa. I was there 71 days in that area. We come back to San Francisco from Okinawa, and we had pulled into San Francisco in July. See, it was the 22nct of June. They secured Okinawa the 21st of June, and from there from San Francisco was 24 days. So we pulled into San Francisco July 18th. And when we pulled into San Francisco at Pier 38, there the cruiser the Indianapolis was. Have you heard the story of the Indianapolis? WIN: No. RAY: Well, that was the cruiser we followed when they made us go back to Guam. Well, the cruiser Indianapolis pulled up in Pier 38, and we were at Pier 39. And I says, "Well, why is that-there's that cruiser that chased us back to Guam." Well, do you know what happened on July 18th? The cruiser Indianapolis took the two atomic bombs from Los Alamos and San Francisco and welded them on their deck. And they left San Francisco July 18th when I was there. I've got the discharge to show you. And they disappeared the next morning. Well, I was discharged on July 24th in San Francisco. I've got the discharge right here. I 16 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s63z05wt/1023125 |
