| Title |
Richard Wight Burt, Centerville, Utah: an interview by Becky B. Lloyd, November 19, 2005: Saving the Legacy tape no. 750 |
| Alternative Title |
Richard Wight Burt, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Burt, Richard Wight, 1924-2012 |
| Contributor |
Lloyd, Becky B.; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2005-11-19 |
| 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 |
Germany; Vietnam |
| Subject |
Burt, Richard Wight, 1924-2012--Interviews; Veterans--United States--Biography; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, American; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Europe, Northern--Personal narratives, American; Bomber pilots--Biography; World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, American; Prisoners of war--United States; Prisoners of war--Germany; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American |
| Keywords |
Army Air Corps; POWs |
| Description |
Transcript (47 pages) of an interview by Becky B. Lloyd with Richard Wight Burt on November 19, 2005. From tape number 750 in the "Saving the Legacy" Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Burt (b. 1924) was born in Bear River City, Utah. He learned to fly in the Civilian Air Corps prior to joining the Army Air Corps in the Spring of 1943. After radio school and B-17 gunnery training he was assigned to a B-24 crew in Walla Walla, Washington. He flew with the 15th Air Force, 460th Bomb Group, 760th Squadron over Europe, and was shot down in November 1944. Initially interned at Stalag Luft IV, he was marched across Germany to Stalag XIB, where he was liberated. Discharged in 1945, he joined the National Guard and was called up for service in Vietnam in 1968. He flew with the 54th Otter Company in Vung Tao, Vietnam, for two months before being assigned as a maintenance officer and test pilot. He retired from the Guard in 1979, then rejoined for five years, retiring at age 60 in 1984. Interviewed by Becky Lloyd. 47 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
47 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/s6gb463n |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Military operations, Aerial--American; Bomber pilots; Prisoners of war; Vietnam War (1961-1975) |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030832 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6gb463n |
| Title |
Page 19 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030803 |
| OCR Text |
Show RI H RD WI HT BURT 0 R 19 20 Anyway we finished ... let s see which one did we bomb? I can t r m mb r th name of the last target, our third target. We were standby for the next day. That wa n the sixteenth of November (1944). So we didn't have to fly the next day. o let's go to town." So we got on the duty truck, the enlisted men did, and we headed for Bari. We hadn't done anything there when we arrived. We just got off the boat and went to the base. We hadn't been back since. So we got on the truck and they dropped us off at the USO just on the edge of town. We went around and spent the rest of the day and the evening in town. I mean the rest of the evening, because we had just come off that mission, so it was just that evening. We thought we'd go to town. We weren't scheduled to fly so it was easy to get a pass. When we got ready to come back to the base, about midnight, we got back over to the USO waiting for the duty truck. A Red Cross gal came out of the USO with a GI on each arm and then she walked over and I thought I know this girl. Her name was Gayle Holmgren from Bear River City. BEC: Is that right? RIC: Yes. I was to her farewell while I was home on leave before I went to Hamilton Field. She had joined the Red Cross and she was over there as a Donut Dolly. Boy, I was the most popular guy you ever saw on the way back to the base. "We're going back to town tomorrow, aren't we, Burt?'' Anyway, about 4:30 the next morning, I got shook out of bed and CQ said, "Burt, you've got to fly today. A radio operator from the 761 st Squadron didn't get back from Cairo with his crew for leave and you've got to fly as his replacement." So there went my day. That was the day I got shot down. BEC: So you were the only man from your crew who had to go on that flight? 19 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6gb463n/1030803 |
