| 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 42 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1033363 |
| OCR Text |
Show LAEL JAY WOODBURY PRI 9 200 War.] The Guam Naval Base had a huge dry dock there-large enough to ace mm dat our very large cruiser. That work reconstructing the ship s electrical sy tern t t d my knowledge of my own specialty to the limit. But we did it. However-a big "however"-just before the Duluth returned to battle duty I got a call. The Red Cross had sent me a message. The executive officer called me to the captain's office. This was the second such call that I'd had. The first was when my sister Shannon died. BEC: It was never good news. LAE: I said, "What does the message say?" He said, "Well, not to worry, but your wife is scheduled to have very serious operation for her lungs." It was called a thorcoplasty, as I recall. The surgeon enters the body through the back, breaking out a few ribs, collapses the (diseased areas of) the lung, inserts plastic balls (something like ping pong balls) into the freed space to keep the lung dormant so that can heal. How tuberculosis savages the lungs is a long story, but, anyway, that was my message. I choked up, but being an eighteen-year-old US Naval first-class petty officer, I managed to croak: "I need to be there." The operation was successful in that it did what it was supposed to do, although it didn't cure her. She survived the surgery well, although it left her with a big hole in her back about the size of a small grapefruit. It was fine; we both felt good about it, hoping it would cure her. This operation was performed in the Wish-1-Ah sanitarium outside of Fresno, California. This photo is of Wish-1-Ah, as are most of these photographs. These pictures show her and her fellow patients. So I was given leave to be with her for that extensive surgery. 42 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s61z66gh/1033363 |
