Personal Narrative Film, Video Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Software, E-Resource Jose Robert Zaragoza Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Coast Guard
- Unit of Service: Unit 335, Pacific Fleet III (PACFLEET)
- Location of Service: Ulithi (Caroline Islands); Yap (Caroline Islands); Guam (Mariana Islands); Pacific Theater
- Highest Rank: Radarman Third Class
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/32878
During the Depression, Los Angeles teen Jose Zaragoza, the son of Mexican immigrants, joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, learning the kind of discipline that would serve him well when he enlisted in the Coast Guard shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was assigned to a walking beach patrol along northern California's shore, first on his own, then with dogs he helped train. A stint in radar school and further training in a new tracking system called LORAN got him placed on Ulithi, a tiny atoll just east of the Philippines. He manned a tracking station on that hot and lonely outpost until well after the war ended.
Interview / Recording
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PlayEnlisted after the Pearl Harbor attack; preferred a Naval career to that of Army; joined the Coast Guard because of a friend; he and a cousin enlisted; how he heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor; his brother had been drafted 8 months earlier and was about to ship out to England. 00:05:10.1 - 00:08:35.0
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PlayFirst assignment after training to Point Reyes, CA; patrolled the beach for saboteurs who might land there; trained dogs to accompany beach patrollers and attack anyone suspicious; also used horses to patrol; assigned to Eureka in northern California. 00:09:47.1 - 00:13:05.9
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PlayWent to school to be a radar man; trained on LORAN (Long Range Navigation system), new device for tracking ships; shipped out, stopped on Tarawa along the way and saw crosses representing the young Marines who had died there. 00:13:26.2 - 00:15:57.7
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PlayExplains how LORAN was set up; helped build station on Ulithi and he stayed there until after war ended; hot and lonely; his duties; trying to prevent any small submarines from approaching the atoll to sabotage the equipment; one night, alerted to Condition Red status, an imminent attack; told to fire first on anyone who came from the water but nothing happened; shelling some days later turned out to be Navy returning from Philippines celebrating their big victory over the Japanese; feared a friendly fire accident. 00:16:03.8 - 00:22:15.7
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PlayStill on Ulithi on Christmas Day 1945; relieved that day to go to Guam for R&R; still didn't have enough points to go home; later on Guam, waiting for his name to be called for a ship to take him home; his ship stopped in Australia to pick up more troops; sailed into San Francisco; couldn't sleep that night waiting to see the lights of the city; Coast Guard allowed to go first down the gangway. 00:22:26.9 - 00:26:44.1
More Resources
About this Item
Title
- Jose Robert Zaragoza Collection
Names
- Dreier, David
- Sleeth, Keith
- U.S. House of Representatives/David Dreier
- Zaragoza, Jose Robert
Home State
- California
Headings
- - Zaragoza, Jose Robert
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Coast Guard.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Race
- Hispanic
Status
- veteran
Service History
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World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Coast Guard
- Unit of Service: Unit 335, Pacific Fleet III (PACFLEET)
- Location of Service: Ulithi (Caroline Islands); Yap (Caroline Islands); Guam (Mariana Islands); Pacific Theater
- Highest Rank: Radarman Third Class
- Dates of Service: 1942-1946
- Entrance into Service: Enlisted
- Military Status: veteran
Materials
- Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected 2005-08-05)
- Video: Hi-8/Digital 8 [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2005-08-05)
- Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [2 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1942)
- Photograph: Digital print [16 items] -- Photograph (collected 1944-2005)
- Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of photograph (collected 1944-2005; 2005-08-05)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/32878
Cite as
- Jose Robert Zaragoza Collection (AFC/2001/001/32878), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- image
- video