http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/306621322

Oral history interview with William Bates

Interview with William J. Bates, a Navy veteran (APc-21, ATA-182), concerning his experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. His youth and student days at Ohio University; enrollment in the Navy Aviation Cadet Program, 1940; primary flight training, Camp Gordon, Georgia, 1940-41; basic and advanced flight training, Corpus Christi, Texas, 1941-42; his decision to leave naval aviation; Midshipman's School, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 1942; assignment to APc-21, East Boothbay, Maine, 1942; voyage of APc-21 from Maine to Brisbane, Australia; operations off the coast of New Guinea with the VII Amphibious Force, 1943; providing escort duty for LCTs during assaults along the coast of New Guinea; the sinking of APc-21 by Japanese planes off New Britain Island, December, 1943; recuperation in New Guinea; his return to the States and assignment to new construction, ATR-22, at Camden, Maine, 1944; transfer to fleet tug ATA-182 as commanding officer, 1944; convoy duty in the South Pacific, 1944-45; his experiences in riding out a typhoon; disposal of Navy equipment after the war; his return to the States, discharge, and postwar career.

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