| 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 42 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030826 |
| OCR Text |
Show RI HARD WIGHT BURT 0 MB R 19 200 California. He needed mechanics and he kept writing me to come down and go t w rk for him; to go back in the Guard. At this time I had three kids. We weren t too excit d but then we finally decided that Hill Field was spinning down. It looked like since I was temporary anyway, I wasn't going to stay there, it didn't look like. So we had to make a decision: If I wanted to continue in my chosen field, we had to go where the work was. If we wanted roots, family and everything like that, we had to take what came. So we had to make a decision of one or the other. So we chose to go with the work. We went to California and I worked as a mechanic. While we were at Van Nuys, I had the opportunity to be promoted to Warrant Officer. There was a reorganization in this aviation unit. It was a rated position. So the opportunity was there for me to go to flight school. I thought, "Well, I'll try it again." This was during the Vietnam War. It had started. It was 1960. I'll be darned. I passed the physical. BEC: Is that right? RIC: Well, they had me get an evaluation of an internist on this scar to see if that was going to be a problem. Well, Army aviators don't fly very high so that shouldn't have been a problem. Besides, they needed aviators. So I went to flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama. I came out rated as a helicopter pilot. So I stayed and worked for the Guard full time. It was at the time that I was promoted to maintenance officer. In 1968, our guard unit got called to active duty and I went to Vietnam. BEC: How many children did you have then? RIC: We have three. BEC: You were in your forties by then, weren't you? 42 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6gb463n/1030826 |
