Atomic bomb--Japan--History--20th century

This collection relates to Lyle D. Armstrong and his service in the U.S. Army during World War II in the Pacific Theater of Operations. The collection contains a veteran’s questionnaire where he shares his experience in service and recalls a memory of being in Manila when the Japanese Envoys came to speak to General MacArthur. He also mentions that he kept in contact with some of the men he met in service. The collection also contains photographs of Armstrong and his three older brothers, who also served in World War II.

This collection relates to Staff Sergeant George R. Caron who served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Caron was the tail gunner on the "Enola Gay" B-29 bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. This collection contains an oral history interview transcript.

The collection of Clarke M. Brandt contains an oral history transcript and various publications about army life during World War II. In it are examples such as George (Bob) Caron who was a tail gunner on the "Enola Gay" B-29 Bomber. The oral history includes Caron's eyewitness account of the bomb being dropped on Hiroshima. Also included are pamphlets and newsletters including "War Buddies," which covers the relationship between a soldier and his canine companion through his years as a member of the US Marine Corps. "War Buddies" is written by Earle Welch and Dick Roberts.

This collection contains an oral history transcript of an interview provided by the Reichelt Program for Oral History. Technical Sergeant Bob Caron was the tail gunner on the B-29, "Enola Gay". The transcript covers his training missions, conditions on the plane during the journey, and his reaction to the bomb and its effects.

This collection contains an oral transcript of interviews with sisters-in-law Jennie Green and Eunice Proffitt. Green shares her experience during World War II when she served as a mess sergeant in the Women's Army Corps. Proffitt remained on the home front throughout the war and recounts working at her family's farm and as a nurse.

John E. Hinrichs served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1941 to 1946 in the Pacific Theatre (Iwo Jima, Hawaii). He enlisted before Pearl Harbor, was assigned to Midway, then the 8th Field Depot, and was sent in as a part of the Army of Occupation of Japan. He discussed how the army affected him later in life. This collection contains an oral history interview transcript.

1st Lieutenant John O. Pons' oral history transcript details his experience as a military policeman at the Nuremberg Trials as a part of the 793rd Military Police Battalion from 1945-1946. Pons also describes his return to Germany in 1951-1952 as a member of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, of the 4th Infantry Division. Pons provided security during the Nuremberg Trials over 10 separate occasions and spent most of his time completing various tasks such as breaking up riots, controlling traffic, and participating in raids.

This collection relates to James M. Ryan who served as a 2nd Lieutenant Bombardier on a B-24 Bomber with the 866th Squadron, 494th Bombardment Group, stationed in Okinawa. Ryan's plane was shot down over Kyoto on July 28, 1945, and he was then imprisoned by the Japanese (declared missing in action by the United States). Ryan subsequently perished 500 feet from the epicenter of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. This collection contains photographs, letters, documents, and artifacts relating to the life, service, and death of James M. Ryan. His cased engraved purple heart medal is included in this collection.

This collection related to Kay Secrist, a worker and later a floor foreman for the Y-12 Facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where she was involved with uranium production for the Manhattan Project. The collection contains one folder with a 45-page typed transcript of an oral history interview.

Thomas C. Cartwright served as the pilot of the B-24 bomber, Lonesome Lady, in the 494th Bombardment Group, 7th Air Force. His plane was shot down over Japan at the end of July 1945. Cartwright and one other member of the bomber crew were transported elsewhere, while the majority of the crew was interred in prison in Hiroshima, Japan. All those crewmen were killed when the US dropped the atomic bomb on that city.

The collection contains correspondence, articles, and testimonies related to the bombing of Hiroshima and discovering the fate of Cartwright's bomber crew.