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https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/83b2554bc73f39523d44476a7a7e4562.m4v
e6c610d796d72cb473d8f72c24c63855
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fab0d0fcc75611c53237f7e97fa72a2a.pdf
99ac32fc6cbb39a843b7b3b311c6fced
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Grand Valley State University
Veterans’ History Project
Earl O. Henry Jr.
Cold War – Vietnam Era
1 hour 5 minutes 6 seconds
Note: Earl is also telling the story of his father, Earl O. Henry, who died on the USS Indianapolis.
(00:00:40) Earl Jr.’s Early Life
-Born in Mayfield, Kentucky, on June 19, 1945
-Lived there until he was 8 years old
-Father died on the USS Indianapolis when Earl was only six weeks old
-Moved to Nashville, Tennessee
-Lived there for the rest of his life save for time in college and the Army
-Mother grew up in Mayfield and attended Western Kentucky State Teachers College
-Taught in Tennessee and met Earl’s father in Tennessee
-Had a fairly normal childhood
-Grandfather and uncle became father figures for him
-Uncle took him to baseball games, on fishing trips, and effectively acted as his father
(00:03:30) College & Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps
-Attended Vanderbilt University and majored in business
-Went to University of Washington for graduate school
-Got his Masters of Business Administration
-Joined the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) in college
-Went to ROTC summer camp in 1965
-Received six weeks of basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky
-The same as regular basic training just without biological or chemical warfare training
-Went on the infiltration course
-Crawling under barbed wire while live rounds are shot over your head
-Ran on Heartbreak, Misery, and Agony Hill
-Became an officer in the Army upon completion of college and ROTC training
-Note: Most likely a 2nd lieutenant
(00:05:30) Service as a Quartermaster Officer
-Sent to Fort Lee, Virginia, for Quartermaster and Officer Basic Training
-Received training on how to manage non-commissioned officers’ clubs and officers’ clubs
-Remembers scandals in the NCO and officers’ clubs at the time
-Army wanted men with accounting and business knowledge to handle the clubs
-Assigned to the officers’ club at Fort Knox
-Worked with non-commissioned officers, officers, and civilian workers
-Nontraditional position for an officer
-Spent nearly two years in the Army
-Discharged six weeks earlier than planned date due to spending cuts
-Doesn’t regret forgoing a career in the Army, because it wasn’t for him
-1969 to 1971 was not an ideal time to be in the Army
-Poor morale and bad esprit de corps
-Fortunately, he never experienced any harassment from people for being in the military
(00:09:41) Earl Sr.’s Early Life
-Born in Clinton, Tennessee, in 1911 and grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee
�-Attended and graduated from Knoxville High School
-Collected bird cards from Arm & Hammer (similar to baseball cards)
-Joined the Bird Club and became an amateur ornithologist
-Had good eyesight, good hearing, and the ability to imitate bird calls
-Led to him recording bird calls at the Naval Academy in January 1944
-Proficient with taxidermy
-Allowed to collect one male and one female bird of each species for taxidermy
-Mounted 88 birds and donated them to the Ijams Nature Center
-Mother kept three mounted ducks as a memory of him
-Father attended the University of Tennessee to study dentistry
-Graduated from there in 1935
(00:15:17) Naval Service – Stateside
-Came to Knoxville to practice dentistry
-Went on Navy active duty with America’s entry into World War II
-He and Earl’s mother got married in October 1941
-Earl’s parents were at a party on December 7, 1941
-When the last guest arrived they said that Pearl Harbor had been bombed
-Ordered to report to Parris Island, South Carolina
-Earl’s mother was able to join him in South Carolina
-They rented a cottage in Beaufort
-Stayed there for a year
-Earl’s father received orders to report to the Naval Academy to join the Dental Corps
-Parents moved to Annapolis, Maryland
(00:19:57) Service on the USS Indianapolis
-In 1944 he volunteered for sea duty and was assigned to the USS Indianapolis
-Earl Sr. felt he should take his turn at sea like other men
-Service on the Indianapolis was considered a prime assignment
-Joined the USS Indianapolis at Saipan on July 25, 1944
-Flown out to Saipan
-Father painted a war poster in August 1944
-Bald eagle defending the US flag, clutching a bleeding snake with a Rising Sun around its tail
-USS Indianapolis returned to Mare Island in San Francisco in November 1944 for repairs
-Earl’s mother came out to meet him there
-Spent Thanksgiving 1944 together
-Stayed there for six weeks
-Visited relatives in Fresno
-Mother returned home after that visit
-USS Indianapolis took part in the invasion of Iwo Jima in February 1945
-At the time the Indianapolis was Admiral Spruance’s flagship
-Assisted during the battle of Okinawa
-On March 31, 1945, the day before troops hit the island a kamikaze hit the Indianapolis
-Nine men were killed as a result
-Admiral Spruance transferred to a different ship
-Returned to Mare Island for reapirs
-Got a three week leave to Mayfield
-Earl (Jr.) was not expected until the end of July
-Grandparents visited for a week while he was in Mayfield
-Visited the naval facilities in Memphis as a possible postwar duty station
-Had dinner with Earl Jr.’s mother and had their picture taken
�-Only family photo (since Earl’s mother was pregnant)
-Earl Sr.’s leave ended and he returned to Mare Island to board the USS Indianapolis
-Received news that Earl Jr. had been born six weeks early
-If Earl Sr. had known, he could have gotten an extension of leave, and lived
(00:30:13) Secret Mission & Sinking of the USS Indianapolis
-Indianapolis received orders for a secret mission
-Note: Mission was to deliver the atomic bomb components to Tinian
-Stopped at Guam en route to Tinian and received baby photos of Earl Jr.
-Sent a short note to Earl Jr., last communication before dying
-Note: At 12:14 a.m. on July 30 the I-58 torpedoed and sank the USS Indianapolis
-300 crewmen went down with the ship, among them Earl O. Henry Sr.
-Earl Jr.’s mother received news of Earl Sr.’s death on the same day Japan surrendered
-A few weeks later, Earl’s mother went to a movie and saw a newsreel featuring the I-58
-Ran out of the theater crying
-She contacted Captain McVay III (captain of the Indianapolis) to ask about Earl Sr.
-Told her that Earl Sr. was a proud father and showed the crew pictures of Earl Jr.
(00:41:00) USS Indianapolis Reunions & Other Events
-Earl Jr. and his mother went to the 25th survivors’ reunion in 1970
-Painful experience
-Always assumed Earl Sr. went down with the ship, and other crewmen confirmed it
-Glad he got to talk with other survivors including his father’s closest friends
-Went to the dedication of the national memorial in Indianapolis (coincided with 50th reunion)
-Made prints of his father’s war poster (with the eagle) to distribute at the event
-In 2005 he finally got the chance to present his father’s story at that year’s reunion
-In 2005 he began speaking at middle schools about the sinking of the ship and his father’s story
-In 2005, the American Legion magazine ran an article about Earl Sr.
-He was interviewed for Sara Vladic’s documentary about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis
-Participated in presentation about the sinking at a community college
-Saw the Enola Gay (B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb) with two other Indianapolis survivors
-Note: The Enola Gay dropped the Little Boy atom bomb delivered by the Indianapolis
-Also visited the World War II Memorial with those same survivors
(00:52:44) Media about the USS Indianapolis Pt. 1
-Sara Vladic, a director, started the Indianapolis Legacy Project
-The Indianapolis Legacy Project: 10 year long project interviewing survivors and families
-Way of documenting the experiences of the crewmen, both living and dead
-Directed a documentary, USS Indianapolis: The Legacy, about the sinking of the ship
-Abandon Ship!, published in 1958, was the first major book dealing with the sinking
-Later books, such as Only 317 Survived and In Harm’s Way, include new information from the Navy
(00:56:30) Opinion of Captain McVay III
-Knows that his father deeply respected Captain McVay III
-Earl Jr. feels that Captain McVay shouldn’t have been court-martialed for losing the ship
-Note: Only captain to be tried and found guilty for losing a ship in wartime.
Later committed suicide in 1968 over the guilt.
-Feels the Navy unfairly treated Captain McVay
-Sees him as a victim just like the other crewmen
(00:58:28) Media about the USS Indianapolis Pt. 2
-USS Indianapolis is receiving more exposure
-Believes the film, Jaws, helped introduce more people to the story of the sinking
-Note: One of the characters in the film survived the sinking
�(00:59:55) Public Knowledge about the Sinking
-Strange that schools tend to not talk about World War II, with no attention given to the Indianapolis
-Even the World War II Museum (in New Orleans) only has a small plaque about the ship
-Interviewer, as of 2016, is working on erecting a memorial in Lansing, Michigan
-Commemorating the Michigan crewmen
-Hopefully, more memorials will lead to more people learning about the Indianapolis
-New book, Indianapolis, has a planned release date of Memorial Day 2017
(01:03:05) Connection with Other Survivors
-In 2012, he visited one of the survivors who served as one of the ship’s doctors
-The doctor, Earl Sr. and the ship’s chaplain tried to look after the other crewmen on leave
-Watched over them and kept them safe
-The chaplain, Father Thomas Conway, survived the sinking but died before rescue
-There is memorial for Father Conway in Waterbury, Connecticut
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Veterans History Project
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. History Department
Description
An account of the resource
The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1914-
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American
Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
Michigan--History, Military
Oral history
Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American
United States--History, Military
United States. Air Force
United States. Army
United States. Navy
Veterans
Video recordings
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Smither, James
Boring, Frank
Relation
A related resource
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
Identifier
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RHC-27
Language
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eng
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a>
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
HenryE1945V
Title
A name given to the resource
Henry, Earl O. Jr (Interview outline and video), 2016
Description
An account of the resource
Earl O. Henry Jr. was born in Mayfield, Kentucky, on June 19, 1945. He attended Vanderbilt University and the University of Washington, and while in college was in the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. After graduation he was commissioned as an officer in the Army and received Quartermaster and Officer Basic Training at Fort Lee, Virginia. He was assigned to manage the officers’ club at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He served from 1969 to 1971. Earl’s father, Earl O. Henry Sr., was born in Clinton, Tennessee, in 1911. He served as an officer and a dentist in the Navy. With America’s entry into World War II, he served at Parris Island, South Carolina then joined the Dental Corps at the Naval Academy. In 1944 he volunteered for sea duty and was assigned to the USS Indianapolis. He joined the ship on July 25, 1944 at Saipan. He participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima and survived the kamikaze attack near Okinawa on March 31, 1945. Earl Sr. was aboard the USS Indianapolis when it delivered the atomic bomb components to Tinian, and was killed in action when the I-58 sank the Indianapolis on July 30, 1945.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Henry, Earl O Jr
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Hammond, Steve (Interviewer)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Veterans
Video recordings
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
United States. Army
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="http://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Type
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Moving Image
Text
Rights
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<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Relation
A related resource
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Date
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2016-08-23
Format
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application/pdf
video/mp4