Oliver Anderson papers

Collection — Container: 00.0710 - Box 1

Identifier: 00.0710

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection pertains to Oliver “Bud” Anderson who served as a Ship Fitter Second Class aboard the USS Clifton (IX-184) during World War II. The collection contains letters Anderson sent to his mother, father, and brother Nolan while stationed in various locations in the United States, Australia, New Guinea, the Philippines, and Japan. Anderson's letters discuss mail, his high school sweetheart, Indigenous peoples, weather, entertainment, a furlough, rationing, and training. His government documents, several menus, and reflections from 2000 on his war experiences are also included. The collection also includes letters Anderson’s brother-in-law, Boyd “Gene” Paradis, sent to his mother-in-law (Anderson’s mother). Paradis was a decorated sergeant in the 158th Regimental Combat Team (the Bushmasters).

Dates

Created: 1942-2000
Other: Majority of material found within 1943-1945
Other: Date acquired: 08/28/2000

Creator

Anderson, Oliver, 1924- (Person)
Paradis, Boyd, 1919-1989 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to all researchers.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Special Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Biographical or Historical Information

Oliver “Bud” Anderson was born on December 19, 1924, to Oliver and Grace Anderson in Council, Idaho. After his 18th birthday in 1942, Anderson began working as a welder in the Kaiser Shipyard at Ryan Point in Vancouver, Washington, and outfitted tank landing ships (LSTs). He registered for the draft on December 21, 1942, and he was inducted on April 15, 1943, in Boise, Idaho.

Anderson trained at Camp Bennion, one of six self-contained camps at the Farragut Naval Training Station. He then moved to the Naval Supply Depot in Oakland, California, at the end of July. He was stationed there for a month before boarding the USS Rochambeau (AP-63) at Treasure Island Naval Base and sailing for Brisbane, Australia.

In Brisbane, Anderson served with Repair Unit 134, which was the resident unit at New Farm Receiving Station, a submarine supply and repair base. Work at New Farm involved refitting and repairing submarines. On May 17, 1944, Anderson left Brisbane for New Guinea, and he had returned to Brisbane by June 10. He left Repair Unit 134 in December.

Anderson then spent several months in New Guinea while waiting for the USS Clifton (IX-184), a storage tanker, to be commissioned. He returned to Brisbane in late March 1945. The Clifton was commissioned on June 2 and set sail on June 13. The Clifton then served as a station tanker in Leyte (July 12 to August 2), Manila (August 5 to 29), and Kanyoa, Japan (September 8 to November 2), before returning to the United States.

However, after arriving in Kanyoa, Anderson had accumulated enough points to return home, and on September 30 he was ordered to report to the nearest Receiving Station on the West Coast for rehabilitation leave. He and several others then journeyed to the Yokosuka Naval Base and sailed to San Pedro, California. He arrived on October 1, 1945.

Anderson was honorably discharged at the Personnel Separation Center in Bremerton, Washington, on February 18, 1946. By the end of his military career, Anderson had been awarded the American Area Campaign Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Area Campaign Medal with one star, the Philippine Liberation Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.

Anderson’s brother-in-law, Boyd “Gene” Paradis, was born September 20, 1919, and was drafted into the Army in 1943. He trained at Camp Roberts, California. In 1944, Paradis served in the Philippines and New Guinea with the 274th Replacement Company. By late July 1944, he had joined the 2nd Battalion, 158th Regimental Combat Team (the Bushmasters) and served in Australia and the Philippines.