| Title |
Lael Jay Woodbury, Provo, Utah: an interview by Becky B. Lloyd, April 9, 2005: Saving the Legacy tape no. 722 |
| Alternative Title |
Lael Jay Woodbury, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Woodbury, Lael J. (Lael Jay), 1927-2013 |
| Contributor |
Lloyd, Becky B.; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2005-04-09 |
| 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. |
| Subject |
Woodbury, Lael J. (Lael Jay), 1927-2013--Interviews; Veterans--Utah--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; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Japan--Okinawa Island--Personal narratives, American |
| Description |
Transcript (57 pages) of an interview by Becky B. Lloyd with Lael Jay Woodbury on April 9, 2005. From tape number 722 in the "Saving the Legacy" Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Mr. Woodbury was born on July 3, 1927, in Fairfield, Idaho. He discusses his family, childhood and the Depression. His father was an unsuccessful farmer, but had success in several other small businesses in Logan, Utah. Due to Mr. Woodbury's size and appearance, he was able to work his way into the Navy at age 15 (August 1942). Took boot camp in San Diego, California, then additional training at Treasure Island. He was assigned to the Naval Mobile Hospital (MOB3) in Samoa performing seaman duties. Worked up to an electrician's mate 2nd class rating. Performed duty in Samoa for 22 months during which time he contracted elephantitis and was sent to Treasure Island. Following his recovery, he was assigned to the USS Duluth CL-87, a light cruiser that served in the Pacific as part of Task Force 58 (38), part of the 5th Fleet. They traveled to Okinawa in preparation for the invasion of Japan. He participated in the battle in Okinawa where he received a battle star. He describes his experiences there and elsewhere aboard ship. He was recalled home because of his wife's illness and the war ended before he could rejoin his ship. He was sent to the east coast on the USS Tidewater, a destroyer tender and traveled to Guam. He was separated in December 1946. Mr. Woodbury was chair of the Theater Department at Brigham Young University and later served as Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication at the same institution. Interviewed by Becky Lloyd. 57 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
57 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/s61z66gh |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Military operations, Naval--American |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1033379 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s61z66gh |
| Title |
Page 33 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1033354 |
| OCR Text |
Show LAEL JAY WOODBURY PRI 9, 2005 the guys and from what I ve read in books written after the war. That s amazing. I d n t possess dramatic yams to spin. Most sailors don' t. I was right there in the center of it, but all I actually know is that I was watching that jungle of electrical dials, reading the technical manuals for at least the twentieth time, and perspiring gallons of sweat. It was so hot! This was the Pacific Ocean, remember, and the ship had no refrigerated air. So go figure. Anyway, the final staging area, preparing for the invasion of Japan- remember, that's what we were doing. We were planning to invade- this was the large island of Okinawa, and the principal battle instrument of the US was the Fifth Fleet. It consisted of 180,000 American and British personnel, 1,500 ships of all types and sizes. It rivaled D-Day at Normandy as the largest amphibious operation ever assembled. People don't know much about the Okinawa campaign. They know Okinawa exists, and that something happened there, but they know a lot more about Normandy. Okinawa rivaled it in every way. The Japanese forces were huge. [Editor 's note: The land battle for Okinawa pitted the soldiers and marines of the 100, 000-man US Tenth Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. (who was killed in the fighting) against the 100, 000-man Japanese Thirty-second Army commanded by General Mitsuru Ushijima (who committed ritual suicide near the end of the fighting) . In terms of numbers, it was by far the largest engagement between land forces in the Pacific war. The battle has been referred to as the "Typhoon of Steel" in English, and tetsu no arne ("rain of steel'') in Japanese in reference to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of gunfire involvect and sheer number of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. During the battle US forces suffered 12,513 dead or missing, 38, 916 wounded 33 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s61z66gh/1033354 |
