| 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 14 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030305 |
| OCR Text |
Show ROB RT D. HAFFER PRIL 29 2002 carried over into our Navy and that's why I went aboard the Hornet. Now at th tim I was there in Portsmouth Navy Yard, though the British carrier Jllu triou was b ing repaired. And she had been badly bombed in Taranto, Italy, and out of that we learned the danger of flash bums. Now at that time, the British Navy, of course, was wearing shorts sleeve shirts and shorts, and the U.S. Navy was about to adopt a short summer uniform until they saw the results of flash bums, from which a lot of the men died in the Illustrious bombing. So that did away with that. As a matter of fact, Lord Louis Mountbatten was assigned to command the Illustrious when she was repaired and, I remember, he'd sent a dispatch to whoever was overseeing the work. He wanted to know the size of the captain's bathtub because he wanted a big one (laughs). So then, I went aboard the Hornet. The first thing we did was go back over to the Navy yard and had the guns put aboard. The Hornet had eight five-inch guns. There were two forward on each bow and two on each stern. They were open mounts, not closed. And you know what a gun director is? BEC: Tell me what it is. ROB: I'll show you a picture of what it is, not on the Hornet, but it's-the reason why I asked, after I was assigned to the Hornet I went up to the Washington Navy Yard, gunfire control school, and we were given books to read. I didn't know what a director was. But anyhow, here's a picture. This is a five-inch director; this is a six-inch director. BEC: Oh, I see. ROB: Basically what it is, is it directs the guns. So, anyhow, so we go back, the Hornet's put in commission in October, and we go out to Chesapeake Bay to the 14 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s64t8mfb/1030305 |
