| 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 21 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1023128 |
| OCR Text |
Show RAY H. WHEELER RAY: No, I got off that ship. I was relieved of that ship. WIN: Okay. RAY: And the war ended, see. I came home here. WIN: You got a leave? March 21, 2000 RAY: Yeah, I got a leave. See, I hadn't had a leave in a year, since August to August. It was August to August; a year, see. The first time I got back to the states was in practically August. It was July 24th. WIN: So, they gave you a leave and you came back to Lewiston? RAY: I come back home here, and then they demonstrated the atomic bomb. I didn't know anything about the atomic bomb. When you're in that theater of war, your world concentrates on to stay alive. You know what I mean? Your thing, your world. You are taken clear away from everything. There are no newspapers, and no communications, other than Tokyo Rose. She kept us posted the best part. WIN: Yes. RAY: So I came home and they demonstrated the atomic bomb. So I went back. We had 30 days. I went back in September and signed on a tanker, a T-2 tanker. And on September-well, it was about September when they occupied Japan. It was September the 15th or the 18th. I signed on a tanker in San Pedro, California. And every ship on earth had gone to occupy Japan from the European-all over the world. Well, this was a brand new T-2 tanker. It carried 160,000 barrels of fuel and 27,000 tons. It was 636 feet long. Well, they sent me to Pearl Harbor. The ship I was on, I was the 19 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s63z05wt/1023128 |
