- Collection:
- Veterans History Project: Oral History Interviews
- Title:
- Oral history interview of Harper Lane Dolvin, Sr.
- Creator:
- Boone, Jack W.
Dolvin, Harper Lane, Sr., 1923- - Date of Original:
- 2006-04-06
- Subject:
- B-24 (Bomber)
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965
Queen Mary (Steamship)
United States. Army Air Forces. Air Force, 8th
United States. Army Air Forces. Bomb Group, 445th
Kiwanis Club (Atlanta, Ga.)
RMS Queen Mary (Ship)
Consolidated B-24 Liberator - Location:
- United Kingdom, England, Tiverton, 50.902735, -3.4891945
United Kingdom, Scotland, Glasgow City, 55.86515, -4.25763
United States, Florida, Lee County, Fort Myers, 26.62168, -81.84059
United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018
United States, Georgia, Atlanta Metropolitan Area, 33.8498, 84.4383
United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Fort McPherson, 33.70733, -84.43354
United States, Mississippi, Keesler Army Airfield
United States, Nevada, Clark County, Indian Springs, 36.56968, -115.67058
United States, Nevada, Clark County, Las Vegas, 36.17497, -115.13722
United States, New York, Kings County, Brooklyn, 40.6501, -73.94958
United States, North Carolina, Guilford County, Greensboro, 36.07264, -79.79198
United States, Texas, Potter County, Amarillo, 35.222, -101.8313
United States, Texas, Webb County, Laredo, 27.50641, -99.50754 - Medium:
- video recordings (physical artifacts)
vhs - Type:
- Moving Image
- Format:
- video/quicktime
- Description:
- In this interview, Harper Dolvin describes his experiences in the 8th Air Force during WWII. He was drafted, inducted in Atlanta, and received training at air fields around the United States. He recalls that he enjoyed his time in the service and describes many incidences that occured during his training. He became a gunnery instructor and spent many hours in the air. He traveled to England by ship; on the same ship were a group of nurses from South American and Winston Churchill. Because of their important passenger, the ship had tag-team escorts, air cover, and did not travel in the usual zig-zag pattern to avoid submarines; hence the voyage only took five days. On disembarking, Churchill made a brief speech. On arriving at his unit, they had just lost eight planes on a mission. The commander had no use for a gunnery instructor, but he could use an airplance mechanic, so he put Dolvin to work repairing a plane with hundreds of flak holes, which was later renamed "Patches." He describes flying missions, particularly one in which he was wounded, and one flight due to return to the U.S. which was seriously overloaded and had to make a forced landing in Ireland. He caught another plane, which turned out to be Patches, but it had to make a landing in Iceland because the patches were coming off. He also details his career and service after the war.
Harper Dolvin was in the 8th Air Force in Europe during World War II. - Metadata URL:
- http://album.atlantahistorycenter.com/cdm/ref/collection/VHPohr/id/153
- Additional Rights Information:
- This material is protected by copyright law. (Title 17, U.S. Code) Permission for use must be cleared through the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. Licensing agreement may be required.
- Extent:
- 28:30
- Original Collection:
- Veterans History Project oral history recordings
Veterans History Project collection, MSS 1010, Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center - Holding Institution:
- Atlanta History Center
- Rights:
-
