| Title |
Robert D. Shaffer, Salt Lake City, Utah: an interview by Becky B. Lloyd, April 29, 2002: Saving the Legacy tape no. 448 and 449 |
| Alternative Title |
Robert D. Shaffer, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Shaffer, Robert D., 1917-2015 |
| Contributor |
Lloyd, Becky B.; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2002-04-29 |
| 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 |
Hawaii; Solomon Islands; Guam; Bonin Islands, Japan; Japan; Korea |
| Subject |
Shaffer, Robert D., 1917-2015--Interviews; Veterans--United States--Biography; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Marines--Biography; World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations, American; World War, 1939-1945--Military operations, American; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Area--Personal narratives, American; Midway, Battle of, 1942--Personal narratives, American |
| Keywords |
Jimmy Doolittle; Doolittle's raid; USS Hornet (Ship); Panama Canal; USS Montpelier; War crimes trials |
| Description |
Transcript (72 pages) of an interview by Becky B. Lloyd with Robert D. Shaffer on April 29, 2002. From tape numbers 448 and 449 in the "Saving the Legacy" Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Shaffer (b. 1917) recalls growing up in Vandalia, Illinois, and discusses the Depression. He participated in ROTC at the University of Illinois and was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1940. He served aboard the USS Hornet at the time of Pearl Harbor, recalls Doolittle's raid over Tokyo, and the battle of Midway. He also served aboard the Montpelier and saw action in the Solomon Islands. After a period on Guam, he was assigned to occupation duty on Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands, where he served as the senior member of the board of investigation for war crimes. He also served in Korea as naval gunfire officer for the 1st Marine Division. He retired in 1961 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Interviewed by Becky Lloyd. 72 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
72 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/s64t8mfb |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Military operations, Naval--American; Midway, Battle of (1942) |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030365 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s64t8mfb |
| Title |
Page 13 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030304 |
| OCR Text |
Show ROBERT D. HAFFER PRIL 29 2002 University of Illinois and recruited there for about three months. Th n I w nt t th barracks at Portsmouth Virginia. The reason I was sent there was because they needed another second lieutenant, probably. But the basic reason was that before leaving Basic School we'd put in what we'd like to do in the way of duty, and Service Afloat was one choice which I put down. The Naval Academy graduates didn't because they'd all had sea duty as a part of their Naval Academy career. But some of the ROTC students, like myself, thought that would be romantic or whatever. So I was sent to the barracks at Portsmouth for a short time, while the ship that I was supposed to go on, the USS Hornet, was being built and it was commissioned in the Fall of 1941. So I joined. You know the history of Marine detachments on ships? BEC: No, tell me. ROB: Okay. It comes from the British Navy. In the olden days, for the British Navy, their worst fear was mutiny. And this was because-you know what a press gang was? BEC: Uh-huh. ROB: Okay, this was because a lot of their seamen were impressed. Press gangs were paid for any men then could bring aboard. There was a Marine detachment placed aboard that was the only armed group because of two things: one, they were sharpshooters in the fighting tops, in the sailing ships. You're familiar with that. BEC: Uh-huh. ROB: The other thing was that they were a loyal cadre to keep the crew from mutiny. Or if the crew did mutiny, the Marines were the only ones that were armed and they could protect the captain and the other officers and quell a mutiny. Well that 13 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s64t8mfb/1030304 |
