| Title |
Ralph Tracy Clark, Smithfield, Utah: an interview by Becky B. Lloyd, September 9, 2006: Saving the Legacy tape nos. 767 & 768 |
| Alternative Title |
Ralph Tracy Clark, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Clark, Ralph Tracy, 1926- |
| Contributor |
Lloyd, Becky B.; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2006-09-09 |
| Date Digital |
2015-12-16 |
| 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 |
Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands; Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands; Okinawa, Japan |
| Subject |
Clark, Ralph Tracy, 1926- --Interviews; Veterans--United States--Biography; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations, American; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Area--Personal narratives, American; Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American |
| Keywords |
Nagasaki |
| Description |
Transcript (116 pages) of an interview by Becky B. Lloydl with Ralph Tracy Clark on September 9, 2006. From tape numbers 767 and 768. of the "Saving the Legacy" Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Clark (b. 1926) briefly describes his childhood in Smithfield, Utah. He enlisted in the Navy in March 1944. His boot camp training took place in San Diego, California, then he was assigned to the DD782 as a "plank owner." He describes his duties as a water tender machinist's mate. Clark served in Saipan, Agulon, Okinawa, and Japan. He describes his time in postwar Nagasaki. He was discharged in 1946. In 1950 he joined the army and was shipped to Korea where he joined the 2nd Infantry Division, Battery A, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, Company B. His recollections include time on "Heartbreak Ridge." After receiving the Silver Star, he was transferred from the infantry to air observer and flew 135 missions. He describes the experience that led to his being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Discharged in 1954 as a first lieutenant. Interviewed by Becky Lloyd. 116 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
116 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/s6447phs |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Military operations, Naval--American; Korean War (1950-1953) |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1028236 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6447phs |
| Title |
Page 108 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1028227 |
| OCR Text |
Show RALPH TRA Y LARK P M R 9 200 Not too many people. We don't need any preparedness around h re. W hav n thad an earthquake here since 1962. We're not going to have any problems. Were not going t have any floods." Oh, yeah? What about a fire or some of the other thing that can happen? We were at a meeting once and all of a sudden, the guy who was-he was an EMT, also-he was our advisor from the stake and his buzzer started buzzing and he said, "Sorry, folks. I'm leaving." He ran out. About three blocks away up the street, a guy's house caught on fire. He was going up to help. Preparedness? Holy cow. It was an interesting thing. What an example to the people. I almost said, "We didn't plan this folks." BEC: Yes, right. It was a good object lesson. RAL: Right. So that ended that. Coming back to Captain Posy again. I debated about him sometimes. That's one major battle damage he had. Oh, the other thing that was interesting about that-it really made me think. We went in and had lunch. We came back out and there were two Army captains. We could tell by their clothes and when I got close, I could see their insignia. They were from the Corps of Engineers. They were, I don't know whether they called them flight specialists or what. We walked up and they said, "How did this plane get here?" We said, "We flew it." "No, you didn't." "We did." They said, "We've examined this plane, front, back and side and back and forth. It's aeronautically impossible for this airplane to remain airborne." We said, "There's the airplane and here we are. We flew it back and landed it." They said, "It was a miracle. It couldn't happen." "Thanks, captain. I 108 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6447phs/1028227 |
