| 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 39 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030330 |
| OCR Text |
Show ROBERT D. HAFFER PRIL 2 2002 and we adopt what had been developed as a air defense syst m in which th hip circled-that is, the cruisers circled in the inner circle, the destroyers on the outer- and this gave us more effective firing, more effective anti-aircraft fire. And we shot down a number of the Japanese planes. The only damage that any of us got, a bomb hit on the Montpelier. We had two catapults, and I think it was the starboard catapult that the bomb hit, and it didn't explode, it just damaged the catapult. But after this, then- this was November 1 and 2-I guess we went back to Purvis Bay there in the Florida Islands; went back in and refueled. They had a little old ship in there that was full of fuel that they used as an oil tanker. They'd bring tankers up and pump fuel into it and we refueled. Then, I guess, the next thing was the getting ready for the Saipan, Tinian and Guam operation. And we practiced some shore bombardment. I'm not quite sure exactly where, but it was there in the Solomons. Then we got a new admiral, an Admiral Hayler, who relieved Admiral Merrill. Then we went north and joined the Fifth Fleet for the invasion of Saipan. The Montpelier and the other cruisers of Cruiser Division Twelve were supposed to attack a shore battery on the N afutin Point, which is on the eastern side of Saipan. That was one of our missions. The other mission was to set the sugar canes afire, which Joe Cullman, who was in charge of the five-inch batteries, used white phosphorus shells. You know what that is? BEC: Yeah. ROB: Mainly white phosphorus shells is a smoke shell. But this time we used them to light fires, and we proceeded to start shooting at Nafutin Point, and they started shooting back at us. So we turned tail and made smoke and got away. And then we moved around to the western side of the island, where the Marines had gone ashore, 39 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s64t8mfb/1030330 |
