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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Service Unit/Ship: Battery E, 64th Coast Anti-Aircraft Artillery
  • Location of Service: Pacific Theater; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Fort Shafter, Hawaii; Puget Sound, Washington
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/9510

View full service history

"The rumors were flying thick and fast, and you didn't know what to believe…" (Audio interview, 24:27)

For Thomas Oravecz, enlisting in the Army provided a way out of the coal mines of West Virginia; serving in Hawaii offered the promise of balmy conditions and a chance to play baseball. Even as he saw Japanese planes flying overhead, it was unbelievable that his home for two years was under attack. The day's turmoil didn't end there: reports circulated that the Japanese would return for another attack or invasion. Come nightfall, soldiers shot at anything that moved--including the mongooses rustling in the bushes.

Frank Thomas Oravecz Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Frank Thomas Oravecz Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Frank Thomas Oravecz Collection

Names

  • Legacies: Stories from the Second World War
  • Oravecz, Frank Thomas
  • Swope, Thomas A.

Home State

  • Ohio

Headings

  • -  Oravecz, Frank Thomas
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Service Unit/Ship: Battery E, 64th Coast Anti-Aircraft Artillery
    • Location of Service: Pacific Theater; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Fort Shafter, Hawaii; Puget Sound, Washington
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1939-1945
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2003-09-11; 2008)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2003-09-11; 2008-03-06)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2003-09-11)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2003-09-11)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2003-09-11; 2008-03-06)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-09-11)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2003-09-11; 2006-03-23)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/9510

Online Format

  • audio
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

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:

Legacies: Stories From The Second World War, Frank Thomas Oravecz, and Thomas A Swope. Frank Thomas Oravecz Collection. 1939. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09510/.

APA citation style:

Legacies: Stories From The Second World War, Oravecz, F. T. & Swope, T. A. (1939) Frank Thomas Oravecz Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09510/.

MLA citation style:

Legacies: Stories From The Second World War, Frank Thomas Oravecz, and Thomas A Swope. Frank Thomas Oravecz Collection. 1939. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.09510/>.