| Abstract |
Captain Miller describes his experiences at the U.S. Naval Academy and duty aboard the USS NORTH CAROLINA, including shakedown, service in the South Pacific, its torpedoing, and repairs at Pearl Harbor. He subsequently discusses South Pacific duty on the Flag Transport Staff, preparation for the Marine invasion at Bougainville, use of USS SAVANNAH as decoy during President Roosevelt's trip to Yalta, and Magic Carpet trips to transport servicemen back to U.S. at the end of the war. He also comments on mine removal aboard the CTF 95 in Korea, coastal bombardment by the USS MANCHESTER, shore bombardment and protection of cruisers by the USS HANCOCK in Korea, the DesRon 20 voyage around the world to return to the U.S., and experiences along the way. Also of interest are comments concerning a tour in the Pentagon (1958-1961) as head of the Foreign Navies Section, duty on Admiral Arleigh Burke's staff, service as plans officer in the USS WASP in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and intelligence work. |
| General note | Interviewer: Donald R. Lennon. Interview date: February 7, 1999. |
| Access restriction | No access restrictions. |
| Cite as |
Harry Z. Miller Oral History Interview (#OH0176), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA. |
| Terms of use | Repository does not own copyright to the oral history collection. Permission to cite, reproduce, or broadcast must be obtained from both the repository and the participants in the oral history, or their heirs. |
| Acquisitions source |
Joyner- Gift of Harry Z. Miller. |
| Biographical note | The collection consists of Millers service records (1938-1968), and a small amount of his post-service records, (1970-1997). These records include official Navy correspondence relating to Millers orders, change of duty, commendations and medals awarded and letters of appreciation. Also included are lists compiled by Miller that document his tours of duty, naming ships, dates and locations visited. Publications include programs for the 1941 graduating class of the U.S. Naval Academy Program and the launching of the U.S. ship Reeves, a guided missile frigate twenty-four, in 1970 at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Also included is a pictorial booklet documenting the destructive earthquake and tidal wave that occurred in 1964 at Kodiak, Alaska. Of particular interest, are documents entitled USS NORTH CAROLINA's Characteristics and Commissioning which offer specific details on the construction of the ship. Also present are documents describing the fiftieth anniversary reenactment of the commissioning of this ship in 1991, sponsored by the USS NORTH CAROLINA Battleship Association. These documents include a letter written to Miller from one of his fellow shipman, Ned Garrett, requesting his attendance, as well as a program of the event. The event program contains handwritten notes, suggesting that Miller participated in the celebration. There are also several photographs present in the collection, many of which concern naval ships. These include the original commissioning of the USS NORTH CAROLINA, and images of the USS ERBEN, USS MILLER, USS LEWIS HANCOCK (hand colored), USS BROWNSON and USS SAVANNAH. Other photographs include a view of landing and support operations near Bougainville, Korean War aerial views, the 1964 earthquake and tidal wave at Kodiak, Alaska, the crew of Transport Division 14 flagship USCG Hunter Liggett at Guadalcanal and Miller with the U.S. Ambassador & Head of USIS (United States Information Service) at Rangoon, Burma. Several photographs also document various ceremonies and training exercises, some of which were held at Fleet Training Center at Newport, R.I. Additionally, there are several photographs of Miller receiving awards and attending change of command ceremonies. |
