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William White:, Monmouth, NJ, 1941

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Airwarning Company, Signal Corps
  • Location of Service: Fort Monmouth, New Jersey; Philippines; Kyushu, Japan
  • Highest Rank: Corporal
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/9614

View full service history

"If I'd been caught, I'd probably been killed." (Audio Interview, 24:18)

William White worked for the C.C.C. (Civilian Conservation Corps) during the Great Depression for one and a half years. When he was drafted, he decided to enlist in the Air Corps. Given the choice between duty in the Philippines or Alaska, White chose the Philippines, where he was assigned radar duties in Manila. American and Filipino forces suffered a devastating attack from the Japanese on the same day as Pearl Harbor and White would be taken prisoner when the American forces surrendered. On the Bataan Death March for 3 days, he marched 60 miles through dense forest, watching as his fellow soldiers fell out of rank or off to the side of the road and often were stabbed with the end of a bayonet. White did what he had to do to survive, stealing food and hiding it from his captors.

William Orville White Collection
Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • William Orville White Collection

Names

  • White, William Orville
  • Reed, Helen
  • Park County Veterans History Project
  • Hammond, Janet B.

Home State

  • Wyoming

Headings

  • -  White, William Orville
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Prisoner of War -- United States

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Airwarning Company, Signal Corps
    • Location of Service: Fort Monmouth, New Jersey; Philippines; Kyushu, Japan
    • Highest Rank: Corporal
    • Dates of Service: 1941-1945
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran had malaria, pellagra, and dysentery while a Japanese prisoner of war (POW). White survived the Bataan Death March.

Materials

  • Photograph: Mixed (Multiple types of photographs) [2 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-07-24)
  • Audio: CD [ item] -- Reference copy (collected 2006-03-22; 2006-03-22)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/9614

Cite as

  • William Orville White Collection (AFC/2001/001/9614), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

White, William Orville, Helen Reed, Park County Veterans History Project, and Janet B Hammond. William Orville White Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09614/.

APA citation style:

White, W. O., Reed, H., Park County Veterans History Project & Hammond, J. B. (1941) William Orville White Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09614/.

MLA citation style:

White, William Orville, et al. William Orville White Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09614/>.