| 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 68 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1033318 |
| OCR Text |
Show FREDERI K JOH DO KI , JR. p B R 17 2002 BEC: That s great. And it s nice to hear about b th f y ur t ri , y ur N Y expenences. FRE: Yes, as I say, I had to do that in order to meet her. That's why I didn t pu h being an officer, too. I figured, what the heck. I don't want to hang around here and then all of a sudden close the school or whatever. But everything worked out great. I have no complaints about not being an officer. I did have my engineering degree when I was in the Navy. I still could handle a ship better than anybody else, and I had to learn it. I'd never done it before, never even had a small boat. But I learned how to handle that ship. It was just a matter of concentration. I learned to drive a car without ever driving one. BEC: How did that happen? FRE: I did it in my head. I went through all the steps you had to do to do everything. One day the folks were away, the car was parked in back of the store. I backed the car out, went over to a friend's house, picked him up-this was just before my sixteenth birthday. BEC: I bet your parents were pleased (laughs). FRE: (laughs) I passed the driving test on my sixteenth birthday and was a licensed driver from that day. But I did it all. I think I could fly an airplane, as well, the same way. I couldn't a big one, but I could a small airplane, I'm sure. I know what you're supposed to do. BEC: I'll bet. You've got a mechanical mind. FRE: My mind is one of those things that retains numbers. I'm terrible with names. I can't remember names to save my soul. But I almost have a photographic memory. I've discussed drawings with contractors where they have the drawing and I have nothing, and 68 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6cc32s0/1033318 |
