Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

SEARCH RESULTS

my selections

10,591
Videos
49
Photos
148
Docs

Search Again

advanced search

Jim Starnes

WWII | Navy Training Station Newport

He was ordered back to the States and he didn't know why, but soon Jim Starnes found out. Apparently, he was such a good navigator that the Navy wanted him running the navigator school in Newport. So many ships were being commissioned that crews had to be swiftly prepared to man them. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (4:29)
He was only a lieutenant, but the Navy had decided that you could be navigator with that rank, so Jim Starnes was the new navigator on board the USS Missouri, Admiral Halsey's flagship. The nearly new battleship took part in the bombardment of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and came under kamikaze attack. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (7:40)
Jim Starnes describes the battleship Missouri's mission to bombard Japanese installations on Hokkaido. He became the navigator for entire fleet, in effect, because they were all following the flagship. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (3:42)
The news of the atomic bomb strikes was huge for Jim Starnes aboard the USS Missouri. The war was finally going to come to an end. Then came more news. The Missouri would be host to the surrender ceremony and, as officer of the deck, it would be his responsibility to make sure it went smoothly. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (7:45)
After the war, Jim Starnes saw an ad in Life magazine from Bell Laboratories touting it's radar components, which enabled his ship, the USS Boise, to sink six Japanese warships. He reads that ad and then reads a poem written by a Navy captain that was brought to light by Admiral Chester Nimitz. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (4:18)
Jim Teixeira

Vietnam | 3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division

When Jim Teixeira saw the Sands Of Iwo Jima, he knew he would be a Marine. He didn't know when or how it would happen, but it was inevitable. It came a couple of years into college when money got tight. He enlisted, tested well and was able to go to Officer Candidate School after his basic and infantry training. (4:51)
OCS was less mentally challenging than basic training but more physically challenging, at least to Jim Teixeira. The newly minted Marine officer went to Vietnam where he got his dream job, rifle platoon leader. He didn't really know what that entailed but he had some first rate help from his squad leaders. (3:50)
It was overwhelming and it happened fast. Marine Lieutenant Jim Teixeira went from the States to Okinawa and from there to Da Nang and points north until he found himself on an idyllic beach with the 9th Marines. There were a couple of months before the action was heavy and that was good. He could get his feet under him as a new platoon leader. (5:44)
Up in I Corps, Jim Teixeira's platoon was out a lot but they were finding no NVA. That all changed with Operation Dewey Canyon. They went out on long patrols around their fire base and he lost his first Marine, a point man who stumbled on some NVA. Then there was the excruciating wait for a chopper to evacuate the body. (5:14)
The patrols had not picked up the sappers who were doing recon on the firebase. Then the attack came on the lightly defended perimeter. Jim Teixeira's Marines fought well and there was no damage to the artillery battery. Awards were handed out but the criteria seemed all screwed up. (4:11)