| Title |
Warren S. Wimmer, American Fork, Utah: an interview by Winston Erickson, May 26, 2000: Saving the legacy tape no. 25, 26, and 27 |
| Alternative Title |
Warren Wimmer, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Wimmer, Warren, 1920-2006 |
| Contributor |
Erickson, Winston P., 1943-; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2000-05-26 |
| 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 |
Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, United States; Guadalcanal; Tulaghi Island (Solomon Islands); Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands; Savo Island; American Fork, Utah County, Utah, United States |
| Subject |
Wimmer, Warren, 1920-2006--Interviews; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Veterans--Utah--Biography; World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations, American; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Area--Personal narratives, American; Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941 |
| Description |
Transcript (53 pages) of an interview by Winston P. Erickson with Warren S. Wimmer on May 26, 2000. This is from tape numbers 25, 26, and 27 in the "Saving the Legacy Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Wimmer (b. 1920) recalls his childhood in rural Utah and enlisting in the Navy in July 1941. After basic training he was assigned to the USS Rigal in Hawaii. Upon his arrival he learned that the Rigal had been towed to Hawaii to be converted into a destroyer tender and was in the process of being rebuilt. He gives a long and vivid account of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the aftermath. He served on work parties that recovered bodies before being admitted to the hospital for shrapnel wounds. On December 10 he was evacuated with other wounded from Pearl Harbor on a luxury liner with two coast guard cutters as escort. He was later assigned to the USS Shaw and saw combat at Guadalcanal, Tulagi, Saipan, and Savo Island. 53 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
53 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/s6jh5kdz |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Military operations, Naval--American; Pearl Harbor, Attack on (Hawaii : 1941) |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1026083 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6jh5kdz |
| Title |
Page 34 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1026061 |
| OCR Text |
Show W RRE . WIMMER a 2 2000 by the radar at that time, but we dido 't know what plane they were. Bein under martial law we were told to open up fire. These plane were our own plane that had flo' n in fr m the carriers that were out to sea. Three days before the attack all of the carriers pulled out of Hawaii. Mo t of them had different destinations. The Lexington was going back to Bremerton, Washington. The Enterprise, the Wasp, and the Hornet pulled out for different destinations. Everyone of the five aircraft carriers that were in Pearl Harbor pulled out two to three days before the attack. That is the only thing that saved us in winning World War II, because we had no other attack force. The carrier fleets, and the men in war, and everything on the East coast were either patrolling and trying to take care of transports going to Europe, or else they were unable to get there in any length of time required. They were not adequately armed and prepared to fight a battle in the Pacific anyway. So the carriers fleet was our only salvation. And they sent their planes back into Hawaii to see if they could offer some defense there. At eleven that night, as they came in, we were firing on them. It looked like the greatest 4th of July fireworks celebration that you had even seen because of the tracers that we fired. We shot down two of our own planes, but it could have been worse. They broke radio silence, not knowing if the Japanese were on their way. And these planes landed at the army air fields there on Hawaii; the ones that didn't get damaged. However, two of them were shot down that night. We struggled through the rest of the night, and as daylight broke none of us would 32 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6jh5kdz/1026061 |
