John Paul LeBlanc Interview
World War II Oral Histories
Details
Collection:LPB
Genre: Interview
Place Covered: Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands, Okinawa-jima, Japan
Copyright Holder: Louisiana Educational Television Authority
Date Issued: 2007-08-30
Duration: 00:29:22
Subjects: LeBlanc, John Paul | World War II | Military | Veterans | World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives | United States. Navy | World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Pacific Ocean | Kamikaze airplanes | Tokyo Rose, 1916-2006
Contributors:
- LeBlance, John Paul Interviewee
- Lefebvre, Marian Interviewer
Description
An oral history interview conducted on August 30, 2007, with John Paul LeBlanc, a crew member on PBM long range bombers for the United States Navy during World War II. He discusses: joining the Navy; his training; his deployment to the Pacific; his role as a gunner and radar operator on missions; surviving a plane crash that killed five of his crew members; seeing kamikaze planes; listening to Tokyo Rose on the radio; and the importance of his faith in helping him survive the war. He also shares photographs from World War II.