Title: A. William Elliott, Jr. oral history interview, January 24, 1998

Identifier: OH0168   (https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/11248)

Description: Captain A. William Elliott, Jr. comments on his background in South Carolina, his desire to become a naval aviator, and his appointment to the USNA after two years at the Citadel. After graduating from the Naval Academy he was assigned to the USS CASE and he describes experiences during the attack on pearl Harbor, the dropping off of Marines at Midway, the Aleutian campaign, and the collision of the CASE with the USS O'BRIEN. He comments on putting the JOHN ROGERS in commission, duty in the Atlantic, and slight training in 1943. As an aviator he reminiscences about flying the Ryan Fireball, a combination prop and jet plane; his survival of an air crash into the Pacific during training exercises; assignment to work with the Joint Chiefs in Washington, DC; attendance at the Naval War College; duty on the staff of the Atomic Weapons School in Albuquerque, New Mexico; service in Korea at the end of the war; and assignments to the USS INTREPID, CINCPACFLT, the USS NANTAHALA and the command of the SHANGRI-LA. He also reports on duty on the personal staff group of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs during the Vietnam War, including comments on Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Interviewer: Donald R. Lennon.