| 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 64 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030355 |
| OCR Text |
Show ROBERT D. HAFFER PRIL 29, 2002 named Windy City and he let off a round up close to the hors ear th hor into the woods, threw him off, broke his leg, and so forth. Luckily I was riding a hor by the name of Cheyenne that didn't spook. But as I remember it you started out with a clip of five rounds, and basically the first five were kind of to your right and front. You had to go at a gallop because it was timed. And then after you fired the first clip you had to reload, you came around-it was kind of like a circle, or a semi-circle, I guess you'd say-and I remember one shot was off quite to the rear and we were firing at silhouettes. And, of course, then after you completed the run they'd go out and see how many you hit and so forth. I don't think I qualified as expert, but at least I made it around. Have you ever fired a pistol? BEC: ROB: BEC: Uh-huh. You know how unwieldy they are. Yeah. ROB: When I was in Basic School we went down to Cape May, New Jersey, to fire the rifle range and pistol range. The first time I ever fired a .45, I gripped tightly and missed. My coach there was an enlisted Marine and he said, "Just hold it with these two fingers," which I did. I qualified as expert. BEC: Really. ROB: Yeah. But you can't grip a handgun too tightly or you pull it right down to the ground. And then we fired the Thompson submachine gun, which if you put it on full automatic it tends to climb. BEC: This is while you were on a horse, still? ROB: Oh, no. I'm in the Marine Corps now, Becky. I'm sorry. 64 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s64t8mfb/1030355 |
