| Title |
Frederick John Donkin Jr., Salt Lake City, Utah: an interview by Becky B. Lloyd, September 17, 2002: Saving the Legacy tape no. 579 & 580 |
| Alternative Title |
Frederick John Donkin Jr., Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Donkin, Frederick John, 1922-2011 |
| Contributor |
Lloyd, Becky B.; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2002-09-17 |
| 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 |
Philippines; China |
| Subject |
Donkin, Frederick John, 1922-2011--Interviews; Veterans--United States--Biography; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations, American; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Area--Personal narratives, American |
| Keywords |
Radio technicians; Mechanical engineers |
| Description |
Transcript (70 pages) of an interview by Becky B. Lloyd with John Donkin Jr., on September 17, 2002. From tape numbers 579 and 580 in the "Saving the Legacy" Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Mr. Donkin (b. 1922) was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. He discusses his schooling, childhood, family and the Depression. He graduated from the University of Utah in 1943 in mechanical engineering. He hired with Vega Aircraft in Burbank, California, making B-17 bombers. He enlisted in the Navy in 1944 and took basic training at Great Lakes. He was sent to Del Monte, California and Treasure Island for more schooling. The war ended during this time. He was then assigned to Daystar LSM-218 where he was in charge of all electronic equipment while delivering supplies around the Philippine area and into China. He discusses his experiences during this time. He was separated from the Navy in July 1946 in Shoemaker, California, with an Electronic Technician 2nd Class rating. Mr. Donkin worked as an engineer and spent 25 years with Hercules before retiring in 1986. Interviewed by Becky Lloyd. 70 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
70 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/s6cc32s0 |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Military operations, Naval--American |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1033321 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6cc32s0 |
| Title |
Page 40 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1033290 |
| OCR Text |
Show FREDERICK JOHN DONKIN, JR. PT MB R 17,2002 BEC: Oh really? FRE: No, he was known as "The Bear". He was an old ' Mustang ' a car er Na Y man. [Editor's note: Navy Mustangs are men who rose through the enli ted rank to become commissioned officers.] He had been a regular rate (Navy enlisted man). He had been a chief boatswain's mate, but had a temporary wartime rank ofNavy lieutenant. He could really handle the ship, but, boy, he was really something else. But he and I got along well because he knew I respected his ability and told the truth. He trusted me on the helm because he knew when I told him something that it was straight. If something went wrong and it was my fault, I would say so. I didn't try to snow him and he trusted me. I had no respect for his personal life. But I had a lot of respect for him professionally. He was not just good. He was very good. We left Luzon in the Philippine Islands and went to Shanghai, China, arriving there on Easter Sunday, 1946. As we were going up the Yangtze, the ship was zigzagging all over the river. The captain was very upset and asked the helmsman what his problem was. The helmsman told the captain that the rudder was hanging up. The captain, asked, "The rudder is hanging up?" He then added a few choice Navy words. Then he said, "Put Donkin on the helm." He asked me the same question and got the same answer. Let me add here an explanation of how the rudder is controlled on an LSM. The main helm is back in the pilot house and is controlled electronically with a joy stick and the communication with the captain is by voice through a tube. In the aft steerage there is a helm that is controlled manually and the communication is by phone. When the joystick is in the vertical position, the helm is locked where it is at that time. Moving the 40 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6cc32s0/1033290 |
