Title: David L. Byrd oral history interview, August 30, 1996

Identifier: OH0157   (https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/10963)

Description: Commander Byrd comments on his schooling at the U.S. Naval Academy, his assignment to the USS NEW MEXICO at Pearl Harbor, the NEW MEXICO's service in the North Atlantic on convoy duty, and its return to the Pacific for patrols in the Aleutians. Commander Byrd discusses his assignment to and duty aboard the USS QUINCY, including the Normandy Invasion, support of landings in Southern France, experience of transporting President Franklin D. Roosevelt to and from the Yalta Conference, assignment to the 5th Fleet to support the invasion of Okinawa, and his return to the United States. For the Korean War, he describes service as carrier staff, where planes supported ground forces in Korea, including the Inchon landing and the shooting down of a Russian plane. He comments on a variety of other assignments prior to his retirement in 1961 and his subsequent civilian career in satellite and laser development. Interviewer: Donald R. Lennon.