| Title |
R. John Pizzello, Salt Lake City, Utah: an interview by Winston Erickson, April 16, 2002: Saving the legacy tape no. 347 and 348 |
| Alternative Title |
R. John Pizzello, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Pizzello, R. John, 1923-2009 |
| Contributor |
Erickson, Winston P., 1943-; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2002-04-23 |
| 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 |
Germany; New Jersey, United States |
| Subject |
Pizzello, R. John, 1923-2009--Interviews; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Veterans--Utah--Biography; World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, American; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Europe, Northern--Personal narratives, American; Prisoners of war--United States; Prisoners of war--Germany |
| Keywords |
POWs |
| Description |
Transcript (58 pages) of an interview by Winston P. Erickson with R. John Pizzello on April 23, 2002. This is from tape numbers 347 and 378 in the "Saving the Legacy Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Pizzello (b. 1923) grew up in a military family in New Jersey. After dropping out of high school he worked for General Motors building Avenger bombers before enlisting in the Army Air Corps in September 1942. He was attached to the 376th Bomb Group, 515th Squadron and served in British Liberia, Dakar, Marakesh, Casablance, Oran, Tunis, Cairo, and San Pancrazzio. He recalls bombing raids over Italy and describes being shot down and captured by Germans in 1944. Pizzello discusses POW life at length. 58 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
58 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/s6864fqc |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Military operations, Aerial--American; Prisoners of war |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1023792 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6864fqc |
| Title |
Page 30 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1023761 |
| OCR Text |
Show R. JOHN PIZZELLO pril 2 rd, 2002 WIN: Okay, on the other side we were just talking about your flight with the r ts crew, and you took off with fighter escort probably went over Yugoslavia. JOH: Well, let's see, right as we approached the Alps (before we went to get over them) the fighters turned around and headed back. I think we had P-38's for escorts this time and they left. And then we continued on. And it didn't take long once we passed the Alps we started meeting up with a bunch of fighters - enemy 1 09's. And it wasn't long until one of them, nose gunner or top turret on the intercom, started saying "Fighters as 3:00. Fighters as 3:00." And we'd all pay attention. Right away, somebody'd: "Fighters at 11 :00." Every minute that we went in deeper there was fighters around the clock, almost! I would think. I could see them. When we first went in to the target fighters were there, I could still see looking to my left, looking to my right, B-24's in groups, you know. And squadrons. All going to the target, to the target. Pretty soon we get a- oh, I have two coming out of the sun. I didn't see them at all. One of them must have shot right close to my tail because I didn't get hurt, or hit, but there was a blast. But I could smell smoke, like powder and fourth of July firecrackers or whatever. Anyway, right after that we go heading into the target and there's a big, tremendous blast in the back of me, in the middle of the ship. Okay. And all of a sudden, I'm shooting my gun and it quit. I have no electrical or hydraulics left. 28 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6864fqc/1023761 |
