Audio

Interview - Robert Ingram

Aleutian Islands World War II National Historic Area

Transcript

Robert Ingram Transcript Summary (download full transcript above)

0:00:00.1 Dialogue carried out before interview

0:01:46.4 Introduction and permission to record and film interview

0:02:32.9 Growing up and working in California

0:04:05.6 Traveling to San Francisco in 1941 to find work using his building trade

0:06:24.4 Traveling to Dutch Harbor on the steam ship, the Mt. McKinley

0:08:51.3 Making furniture and equipment and repairing a patrol boat

0:10:48.7 Room and board costs and living on an old ship called the Northwestern

0:12:31.0 Work contract in the Aleutians

0:14:18.7 Adapting to weather conditions

0:15:49.9 Short stays due to lack of communication and concern for family

0:17:10.2 Punishments for drinking alcohol

0:19:32.5 Purchasing government bonds with earnings

0:21:07.3 Catching lingcod and trying to barter with a restaurant

0:22:13.0 Bombing on June 3, 1942, and building caskets

0:25:45.6 Siren notification system

0:26:55.8 The bombing of the Quonset hut

0:29:26.3 Searching for survivors

0:32:54.2 Bombed oil reservoir causing burning oil flow

0:35:00.3 Planned escape with friends

0:38:12.3 Civilians stealing Army rifles and ending up in the Army

0:39:45.1 Building a foxhole on the beach

0:41:36.0 Eating food out of cans without labels

0:42:47.3 Setting up a kitchen on the beach to feed soldiers

0:44:23.9 Getting arrested while loading more food supplies

0:46:12.0 Termination requests for coverage of transportation

0:47:42.3 Navy Construction Battalion (Seabees) moved in to replace civilians

0:48:52.4 Stopping in Kodiak and getting offered a job for the same construction company

0:50:10.6 Repairing the boats

0:52:55.6 Signing up to fish at Uganik and applying for Merchant Marines

0:54:43.3 Entering the Navy and being assigned to Mare Island, California, to build prostheses

0:56:43.9 Learning to make prostheses for wounded Marines

0:58:43.4 Interview break

1:00:32.6 Value of details during interview

1:02:12.9 Repairing submarine walkways and a dry dock

1:05:03.0 Improvising to make necessary repairs

1:08:07.7 Making molds of a surgeon’s face

1:10:19.2 Civil service taking over the shop after the war was over

1:13:04.5 Missionary work after leaving the Navy

1:15:09.8 Living on Saipan for a year and the sea turtles

1:17:42.3 Plane traffic on Tinian and the transporting of bombs

1:19:45.9 Battle on Saipan and the large number of suicides

1:22:05.0 Invasion of Tinian

1:23:35.9 Remnants of the war

1:26:01.4 Visiting the Aleutians after the war

1:29:15.8 Native baskets

1:30:35.6 Keeping in contact with coworkers from Siems Drake over the years

1:32:50.5 Native people’s work style

1:35:59.3 Contacting a bulldozer operator that worked on Mount Ballyhoo

1:37:44.6 No cameras allowed for civilians during War

1:40:22.9 Setting up video footage of photographs

1:41:32.8 Reviewing and describing photographs

1:43:35.5 The inscription on the stone at Attu

1:45:48.1 Mr. Ingram showing a photograph book of Attu and Shemya

1:47:29.2 Photographs of the landing strips on Shemya

1:48:55.8 Photographs of the Coast Guard station and Memorial Site

1:51:36.0 Photographs of Adak and the Northwestern wreckage

1:52:58.9 Photographs at the 50-year reunion

1:54:31.5 Various photographs from 1942

1:56:01.7 Making copies of photograph album for attendees

1:57:23.9 Reviewing the 40-year reunion photographs

1:59:50.5 Photographs are in the Forgotten War book by Stan Cohen

2:02:37.8 Reviewing photographs from the 60-year reunion

2:06:14.0 Donating a Japanese silk flag to a museum

2:07:55.1 Reviewing photographs of the ship he rode to Alaska

2:08:41.9 Taking photographs of Mr. Ingram's pictures

End of interview at 2:11:24.9

Description

Listen to an interview with Robert Ingram, a civilian contractor and US Navy veteran during World War II.

Duration

2 hours, 11 minutes, 24 seconds

Credit

NPS / Janis Kozlowski & Eileen Devinney

Date Created

07/18/2012

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