| 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 41 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030332 |
| OCR Text |
Show ROBERT D. HAFFER PRIL 29 2002 so on. Oh I ve forgotten. I ve got to go back. After our battle off mpr Augu ta Bay the Japanese reinforced their base at Rabaul with some heavy cruisers and more hip . The U.S. carrier Saratoga came up on the east side ofBougainville and launched an attack against Rabaul and destroyed, I think, two cruisers and most of the destroyers. But we figured that they were going to come down and sink us, but they didn't, after that attack on the Saratoga. But we're now off Saipan and some of the Japanese by now are jumping off, committing suicide. And the currents brought the bodies around to the west side of the island, so as we would go out at night, the bodies would come floating in, and we would still the propellers so that we wouldn't cut the bodies up. Then coming back in the morning, they'd be coming out with the ebb tide. But then after the island of Saipan was secured, we landed on Tinian and we fired missions in support of the Marines on Tinian. But then we went south to the landing on Guam, and we were supposed to fire at targets of opportunity. And that means if you spot something, you fire. Well, by this time I'd been promoted to what was called Spot One, which was in the forward director of the main battery, the six-inch battery. One of Torpedo Squadron Eight's pilots and two other officers and myself used to play Bridge. But after Midway we didn't. He was lost at Midway, so we never played Bridge again. But, now, going back to the invasion of Guam, we're in the fire support group, and I can remember the sight of the first wave. There was an LCI leading the first wave. Do you remember what an LCI was? BEC: ROB: BEC: Landing Craft ... Infantry. Okay. 41 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s64t8mfb/1030332 |
