Personal Narrative Film, Video Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Raymond Barron Chavez Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Service Unit/Ship: USS Dallas (DD 199); USS Condor (AMC 14); USS Ash (AN 7); USS LaSalle (LPD 3)
- Location of Service: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; San Francisco, California; New Zealand; New Hebrides; Tarawa Atoll (Gilbert Islands); Kwajalein Island (Marshall Islands); Ulithi (Caroline Islands); Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); New Caledonia; Seattle, Washington; Leyte Island (Philippines); Pacific Theater
- Highest Rank: Chief Quartermaster
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/66355
Assigned to the minesweeper USS Condor, Raymond Barron Chavez spent the night of December 6th patrolling the waters just outside Pearl Harbor. Finally getting to sleep in the early hours of December 7th, Chavez awakened to find Pearl Harbor in flames. The horrific sights and sounds of the attack would repeat themselves over and over during his tour of duty on the transport ship USS La Salle, which took part in some of the fiercest action of the Pacific theater. He went on to weather the battles of Tarawa, Okinawa, and the invasion of the Philippines-as well as a resultant case of combat fatigue.
Interview / Recording
Transcript
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PlayOn mine-sweeping duty the night before the attack; coming across a submarine; seeing the periscope; reporting the submarine's presence to the USS Ward. 00:02:53.3 - 00:07:29.5
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PlayComing home after night on duty; going to sleep; being awakened by his wife; disbelief of attack; heading back to his ship; boarding ship and being assigned to position next to the USS Honolulu; observing the carnage; ship cables cut by bombs; spending the next ten days aboard ship. 00:07:37.8 - 00:14:08.7
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PlayActivities in the South Pacific theater; ship suffered heavy casualties during battle of Tarawa; suicide bombers. 00:19:35.4 - 00:23:51.5
About this Item
Title
- Raymond Barron Chavez Collection
Names
- Cox, Carl Raymond
- Chavez, Raymond Barron
- VA Medical Center, San Diego, California
Home State
- California
Headings
- - Chavez, Raymond Barron
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Navy.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Race
- Hispanic
Status
- veteran
Service History
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World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Service Unit/Ship: USS Dallas (DD 199); USS Condor (AMC 14); USS Ash (AN 7); USS LaSalle (LPD 3)
- Location of Service: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; San Francisco, California; New Zealand; New Hebrides; Tarawa Atoll (Gilbert Islands); Kwajalein Island (Marshall Islands); Ulithi (Caroline Islands); Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); New Caledonia; Seattle, Washington; Leyte Island (Philippines); Pacific Theater
- Highest Rank: Chief Quartermaster
- Dates of Service: 1941-1945
- Entrance into Service: Enlisted
- Military Status: veteran
Materials
- Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2009-02-25; 2009-04-01)
- Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2009-02-25)
- Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2009-02-25; 2012-03-05)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/66355
Online Format
- image
- online text
- video
Additional Metadata Formats
Part of
Wars & Conflicts
Service Branch
Location of Service
- Kwajalein Island (Marshall Islands)
- Leyte Island (Philippines)
- New Caledonia
- New Hebrides
- New Zealand
- Pacific Theater
- Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
- Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands)
- San Francisco, California
- Seattle, Washington
- Tarawa Atoll (Gilbert Islands)
- Ulithi (Caroline Islands)