| Scope and content |
Correspondence in the collection includes two 1993 letters from Thomas F. Coon and the former commanding officer of the USS Waukesha, Robert W. Baker, describing the action seen by the ship and its crew during World War II and its aftermath, and the present-day efforts of the crew to preserve the history of their experiences. The collection also includes an article by Coon, "The Waukesha, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the Atomic Bomb" (1993), in which he relates his experiences as an officer aboard the USS Waukesha in the last months of World War II and first weeks after the Japanese surrender. Coon also describes the radiation-induced cancer suffered by the first U.S. troops to enter Nagasaki, and current Defense Nuclear Agency actions regarding veterans exposed to radiation while occupying Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Coon's resume is also included in the collection. |
| Access restriction | No access restrictions. |
| Cite as |
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation Collection: Thomas F. Coon Papers (#677-010), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, 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 Thomas F. Coon. |
| Biographical note | Thomas F. Coon enlisted in the United States Navy in 1942. He served aboard the USS Waukesha at Okinawa and during the first landing of American troops at Yokosuka Naval Base in Tokyo and Nagasaki, Japan. Coon was then stationed in the Philippines until he retired from the Navy. |
