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An Interview with Captain John O'donnell

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An Interview with Captain John O'donnell A Battle That Must Not Be Forgotten: An Interview with Captain John O’Donnell Interviewer: Kyle Rushford Interviewee: John O’Donnell InstruCtor: Alex Haight Date: February 13, 2013 Table of Contents Interviewee Release Form......................................................................................................................3 Interviewer Release Form......................................................................................................................4 Statement of Purpose................................................................................................................................5 Biography.......................................................................................................................................................6 Historical Contextualization: “A Battle That Must Not Be Forgotten”.................................8 Interview Transcription........................................................................................................................23 Audio Time Indexing Log......................................................................................................................45 Interview Analysis...................................................................................................................................46 Appendix I...................................................................................................................................................51 Appendix II.................................................................................................................................................52 Appendix III................................................................................................................................................53 Appendix IV................................................................................................................................................54 Works Consulted......................................................................................................................................55 StateMent of Purpose The purpose of this Oral History interview with Captain John O’Donnell is not just to learn about World War II and the Battle of Leyte Gulf, but also to gain a new perspective on World War II and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In history textbooks, a reader cannot learn about the personal experiences of the average person who was there to witness and/or participate in event. Mr. John O’Donnell describes his life from childhood to the end of his service. This interview provides an understanding of the life of a child growing up in the Great Depression and life as a naval aviator during World War II. Biography Captain John O’Donnell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1921. His parents were both Irish immigrants. John’s father worked as a chauffeur for a wealthy Philadelphia family. As a child growing up in the Depression years, John was exposed to both the poor side and the wealthy side of society. He graduated from high school in 1939, the same year that Germany invaded Poland and started World War II. John and his friends knew that the United States would eventually be pulled into World War II. In 1942, John enlisted and decided to join Naval Aviation. After finishing Pre-Flight School, Basic Training, and Advanced Training, John joined a fighter squadron and was deployed to the Pacific Theatre. John O’Donnell participated in multiple bombing raids in the Philippines. He served with distinction in the Battle of Leyte Gulf where he was stationed in Task Unit Taffy 2 under Admiral Felix Stump. He engaged Admiral Kurita’s forces off the coast of the island, Samar. It was through the efforts of Taffy 1, Taffy 2, and Taffy 3 that convinced Admiral Kurita that he was walking into a trap, which led him to retreat. This retreat meant the end of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and a major victory for the United States. John left the Navy in 1946, but was returned in 1951, served in the Korean War, and left the service for good in 1970. Over the course of his service, he has earned many medals and special awards for his service such as the Distinguished Flying Cross and 7 Air Medals. Overall, John served for a total of twenty-three years in active service without any combat or service-related injuries. Thanks to the GI Bill, he was able to study and graduate from the University of Pennsylvania and earned a Master’s Degree at George Washington University. During his service in the Navy, he married in 1967, and now has two daughters and four grandchildren. John worked for twenty-one years in data processing for HP. He has also written an unpublished book called “Ghost 14” about the fictional story of a real, missing plane that was part of a shipment the Shah of Iran. John O’Donnell now resides in Potomac, Maryland with his wife. A Battle That Must Not Be Forgotten: Leyte Gulf A historian, Norman D. Palmer, once described the Battle of Leyte Gulf as, “the greatest naval battle in history” (Palmer 129). In terms of tonnage of ships and tonnage of ships sunk, the Battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest naval battle in the world. The US Navy faced off against the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Philippines. The Americans were commanded by Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, Fleet Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, Vice Admiral Thomas Kinkaid, and Vice Admiral Thomas Sprague. The Japanese were commanded by Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita, Vice Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa, and Vice Admiral Shōji Nishimura. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered troops to land on the island of Leyte to liberate the Philippines. The Navy’s purpose was to provide support for the troop landings in the Philippines. The Americans won a decisive victory over the Japanese forces. The damage unleashed upon the Japanese Imperial Navy, left it incapable of inflicting any serious damage to the US Navy. After the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Japanese supply lines were cut off and this allowed the American forces to free the Philippines, paving the way for an eventual victory. After that battle, the Japanese had no chance of winning the war. Although the battle was a blunder, the overall greatness of the Battle of Leyte Gulf cannot be denied. World War II in Europe began when Germany invaded Poland in September of 1939, but for America, it began when the Japanese launched an attack on a US naval base called Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii on December 7, 1941. In 1937, Japan attacked China. Two years later, the US placed a trade embargo on Japan, cutting off one of Japan's main suppliers of oil and iron. Japan allied itself with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy to enable them to expand their empire to the Pacific. The Japanese wished to expand their empire to encompass the entire Pacific Ocean, and the only obstacle standing in their way was the US Navy’s Pacific fleet. Pearl Harbor was the headquarters of the US Pacific Fleet. It had a submarine base, oil storage facilities, and seven airfields. If the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, they would cripple the United States Navy and they would be able to seize the Pacific territories before the United States Navy could recover. The Japanese carriers were in position at the night of December 6th. The attack was planned to take place on Sunday morning, when the inhabitants of the base and island would be least prepared. 90% of the damage occurred during the first 10 minutes of the attack. American radar operators noticed the Japanese aircraft, but were informed that it was just their B- 17 bombers that were due in soon. At 7:40, the flight commander fires a flare into the sky to signal his men to commence the attack. The Japanese were poised to strike, and the flight commander was confident that total surprised had been achieved. The Americans then picked up a radio message from the flight commander that said, "Tora, Tora, Tora", which was a signal to the Japanese High Command that total surprise had been achieved. This was sent just before the first bomb was dropped. Then, without warning at 7:55 in the morning, Japanese planes flew overhead and began the attack. The first wave consisted of 189 planes. The second wave consisted of 167 planes. Bombers destroyed vulnerable planes and hangars, fighters strafed the bases with their machine guns, and torpedo planes launched torpedoes against Battleship Row. After the Americans realized they were under massive attack, they tried to launch ships that hadn't been hit yet, tried to get fighters in the air, and returned fire with AA guns. Luckily America's aircraft carriers were away. These would later become important in the war that America has been pulled in. The last of the Japanese aircraft returns at 1:00 in the afternoon. The Japanese only lost 29 out of their 350 attacking planes. The US lost over 2,000 lives that day. Eighteen warships were sunk or damaged and 180 aircraft were destroyed. In one horrific case, the USS Arizona's ammunition was hit by a Japanese high- altitude bomber, and caused a massive explosion, killing over 1,000 sailors and marines in an instant. It’s funny how history tends to repeat itself as the attack on Pearl Harbor has many similarities with the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks sixty years later. The lack of intelligence gathering and processing allowed the Japanese and Al-Qaeda to get within striking distance of their targets. Both enemies used aircraft to damage and destroy their targets. The lack of preparation and the element of surprise added to the horror of the attacks. Soon after
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