Kristen F. Heiberg Oral History Interview, October 6, 2000
(Oral History #OH0203)
Descriptive Summary
| Title: | Kristen F. Heiberg Oral History Interview |
| Creators: |
Dembo, Jonathan, 1948-
Heiberg, Kristen F. Reid, Phillip F. |
| Repository: | ECU Manuscript Collection |
| Languages: | English |
| Extent: | 0.01 Cubic feet, 2 audiocassettes, 2 hours, 34 pages . |
Administrative Information
General note
1940-1946
Access Restrictions
No restrictions
Copyright Notice
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.
Preferred Citation
Kristen F. Heiberg Oral History Interview (#OH0203), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Acquisition Information
- Gift of Kristen F. Heiberg
Processing Information
-
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Description
Electrician's-Mate Class Kristen F. Heiberg served on six warships during WorldWar II, including the destroyer U.S.S. BENHAM DD-397. While serving on the BENHAM, Mr. Heiberg participated in the ferrying of planes to Wake Island just before Pearl Harbor, witnessed the immediate aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack, accompanied the Doolittle raid on Tokyo, in which BENHAM fired on Japanese fishing vessels engaging in clandestine scouting for the enemy, the Battle of Midway, in which BENHAM rescued 721 survivors from the carrier Yorktown, and later rescued survivors from the destroyer HAMMANN after both YORKTOWN and HAMMANN were torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-168. On the night of 15 November 1942, during the Battle of Guadalcanal, Mr. Heiberg was in a forward compartment on the BENHAM, when a Japanese warship blew off the destroyer's bow with a torpedo. He and the rest of the crew abandoned ship in the darkness and were recovered by the U.S.S. GWIN DD-433, which subsequently sank the BENHAM with gunfire. His later war service included the shakedown cruise of the Fletcher-class destroyer U.S.S. BELL DD-587, commissioned 1943, the seaplane tender U.S.S. KENNETH WHITING AV- 1 4, the gasoline tanker U.S.S. KLASKANINE AOG-63, the attack transport U.S.S. CRESCENT CITY PA-21, in which he saw further action during the island-hopping U.S. offensive, and the attack cargo ship U.S.S. ALGOL AKA-54.
Online access to this finding aid is supported with funds created through the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). These funds come through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services which is administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. This grant is part of the North Carolina ECHO, Exploring Cultural Heritage Online, Digitization Grant Program.
