| Abstract |
Captain Hailey recounts his early life in Texas before entering the U. S. Naval Academy. He comments on his assignment to the USS INDIANAPOLIS and his duty before and during the early stages of World War II. Included are comments on convoying troops to Australia, patrols in the Aleutian Islands to protect against Japanese movements from Kiska, and the bombardment of Kiska and Attu Islands. For the remainder of the war Captain Hailey discusses submarine training in 1943-1944, duty in the Atlantic out of New London and the Everglades, and experiences in the USS R-5. After World War II he was assigned to the USS BRILL for experiments in operating under the ice in the Aleutians. Other comments concern duty with the Disciplinary Barracks, submarine duty from 1949-1952 on the USS FINBACK and USS PIPER, and various sea and shore assignments during the 1950s and early 1960s. He reports on his assignment to investigate the burning of the American Mission in Caracas, Venezuela in 1963 and his retirement in 1965. |
| General note | Interviewer: Donald R. Lennon. Interview date: 1999. |
| Access restriction | No access restrictions. |
| Cite as |
Robert Hailey Oral History Interview (#OH0175), Special Collections Department, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA. |
| Terms of use | Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law. |
| Acquisitions source |
Joyner- Gift of Robert Hailey. |
| Biographical note | Robert Hailey was born in Austin, TX (November 1917), and attended McMurry College in Abilene, TX, before being appointed (1937) to the United States Naval Academy (USNA). After graduation (1941), Hailey's first assignment was on board the heavy cruiser USS INDIANAPOLIS (CA-35) during the early months of World War II, serving in the South Pacific and in the Aleutian Islands. Hailey attended submarine school (1943) and served on or commanded several submarines including USS R-5 (SS-82, 1945), USS BRILL (SS-330, 1946), USS FINBACK (SS-230, 1949), and USS PIPER (SS-409, 1950-1951); the escort destroyer USS WALLER (DDE-466, 1954-1956); and the attack transport USS SANDOVAL (APA-194, 1963). Hailey's administrative duties included an assignment to the Naval Disciplinary Barracks (1947); positions with the commander-in-chief of the Atlantic fleet (1952-1954), the Naval ROTC program at Rice University (1956-1958), and the commander of the Anti-Submarine Defense Force of the Atlantic Fleet (1958); and his appointment to the OIC District Intelligence Office, 15th Naval District in the Panama Canal Zone. Hailey retired with the rank of captain (1965). |
