ORAL HISTORY
COLLECTION
MAIN ENTRY: Hamby, Thornton and J.W. Hough
DATE OF
INTERVIEW:
April
7,1998
LOCATION OF
INTERVIEW:
Lubbock, Texas
INTERVIEWER:
David Marshall
NUMBER OF
REELS/TAPES:
2
TAPE FORMAT:
Cassette
LENGTH OF
INTERVIEW:
1 hour and 45 minutes
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE:
Thornton
Hamby, a resident of Lubbock, Texas, discusses his experiences in the military during
World War II and the Fall of Bataan. J.W.
Hough also interjects information throughout the interview.
ABSTRACT:
World War II
TAPE ONE
SIDE ONE
Hamby,
Thornton
b. November 29,
1920, McCargo, Texas, Archer County
Father: H.K.
Hamby, b. Roundtimbers, Texas
Worked
for a crate company
Mother: Georgia
Crown Hamby, b. Northwest Ft. Worth
Boarding
house
Grandfather
Tennessee - 1840
Texas - 1841
A legend of his
time
Texas Volunteer
Cavalry
Injured
during an Indian raid
Elm Creek Raid
Moved to Baylor
County
Moved to
Abilene, Texas
Roundtimbers,
Texas
Gone for 30 days
at a time for pushing cattle
Indian Wars of
Texas
d. 1921
Roundtimbers,
Texas
Community
Description
Small
town
Education
Two room school
and three room schools
Both
burnt down
Graduated –
1939
Dallas Marine
Corps
World War II
Went into
service in 1940
Japan
Douglas McArthur
Stories
Characteristics
Military
August –
plowed hundreds of acres for work
Local paper
– Marine Corp accepting applications
Hitchhiked to
Wichita Falls to stay with his aunt
Story about
joining the Marines
Went to Dallas,
Texas
August 19, 1940
Basic
Training
He enjoyed Boot
Camp
Hard work
Very muscular
and fit
Schedule
Highest rating
on a course
Gas chambers
After Boot Camp
he worked with recruits
Boot Camp –
12 weeks
Trained
Settled in Camp
on April 9, 1941- 1 year before the Fall of Bataan
J. W. Hough
Ft. Pearl Harbor
Brief
description
Family
background
Economically
challenged
Put himself
through school
Provided his
mother with his income
Had no
intentions of joining the military
First man
drafted in Lubbock County
Civilian
Conservation Corp – January 1940
Twenty-two days
to get from San Francisco to Manila – April 13, 1941
150 men were
taken to a Civilian Conservation Corp camp in Memphis, Texas
Five men were
sent to Perrington, Texas
Manual labor
– built dams
31st
regiment
Basic training
– Philippines
Stories
Crawling
through trenches
TAPE ONE
SIDE TWO
J. W. Hough
(continued)
Vast marine
transports
Stories
Snakes
Tents
Basic
training
Thornton
Hamby
Philippines
– May 13, 1941
Experiences
First
boat trip
Job – store
gear and cargo
Stayed on the
boat and distributed supplies
Rifle range
– Olangapoo (Navy base-town patrol)
Marvallis –
August 1941
J.W. Hough
Manilla
U.S. Army
Transport Republic
Harbor boat
Fear of sergeant
Sea sickness
Recollection
of first time he got sea sickness
Passing through
Hawaii and Pearl Harbor
Thornton
Hamby
U.S. Navy
Automobiles
April 14, 1941
– May 13, 1941
Storms
Coast
of California
Trip to Pearl
Harbor
Variety of food
Cargo ships
Defenses on the
Bataan
Ten inch
blockings
Corigador
Hospital –
injured in the hospital the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor
General McArthur
He
left after the Fall of Bataan
His
tactics saved many lives
Characteristics
First
impression
TAPE TWO
SIDE ONE
General
Wainwright
Great
Grandfather to Thornton Hamby
Dutch Holland
German
Landed in South
Carolina
Against slavery
Joined the Union
Army during the Civil War
1 pair of
trousers
Civil War
stories
Prison camp
Family
Family
background
J.W. Hough
Parents: Virgil
C. Hough and Fannie Virginia Young
Father: ¼
Indian
Country
preacher
Childhood: grew
up in Motley County, Texas
Moved to
Lubbock, Texas in 1941
His mother
disapproved of him joining the army
Amarillo, Texas
Perrington,
Texas
Education
Holidays
High
School
Fall of
Bataan
Thornton Hamby
Recollections
Wounded
in the face
65 enlisted men
Stories
Capturing
Japanese troops
Grenade
graced his leg
Japanese
troops jumping off cliffs and committing suicide
Japanese
air raids
Wounded
– tore arm up and shoulder
Supply
tunnels
Went
over the hills defending themselves
Bombers
and fighter planes
“One
eyed gunner” – every hour a round of shots were fired
April
9th – Fall of Bataan
Opinion
of McArthur
Helping
load ships
General
Wainwright
Singapore
Hong
Kong
World War II
Korigador
Soldiers could
not stand up
Many deaths
Soldiers were
unprepared
Very little
training before combat
TAPE TWO
SIDE TWO
World War II
(continued)
Clark Field
Talanese
Language
War of 1812
Great
Grandfather
Photographs of
prairies
World War II
(again)
Prisoner of War
Camp
Inevitable
Japanese picked
up American soldiers
Camp description
Starvation
Liberation
Thornton Hamby
– February 1, 1945
J.W. Hough
– September 15, 1945
RANGE DATES:
1920 - 1941
BULK DATES:
1940 - 1941
AGE OF
INFORMANT:
78
GENDER OF
INFORMANT:
Male
ETHNICITY OF
INFORMANT:
Anglo