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William Axtell enlisted in the Navy in 1944 and served until 1946 in the LST 1141 and LST 978. Interviewed by David Fasgold on Oct 18, 2006, Axtell talked about military experiences in the Second World War. Axtell was born April 29, 1925, in Medicine Lodge, Kansas. He graduated from Lake City, Kansas High School in 1943. He was trained at the Great Lakes on tank landing ships (LST). He was part of a LST crew that picked up a new ship in Illinois. They sailed it down the Mississippi River, through the Panama Canal and ultimately to Pearl Harbor. He was a cook. His LST spent some time in Japan. The 2005 Kansas Legislature passed a bill funding the WWII Veterans Oral History grant program. This transcript is from one of the nine community institutions that received these grants. The transcript from the interview is presented here; the original video copy of the interview is available through the Greater Barber County Historical Action Assn and through the Kansas State Historical Society.
Creator: Axtell, William Landon
Date: 18 October 2006
Item Number: 211295
Call Number: World War II Oral Histories Project
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 211295
Collections - Oral History - Kansas Veterans of World War II - Greater Barber County
Date - 2000s - 2006
Military - Equipment - Ships
Military - Service - Navy
Military - Wars - World War II
Places - Cities and towns - Lake City
Places - Cities and towns - Medicine Lodge
Places - Counties - Barber
Thematic Time Period - World War II, 1939 - 1945
http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/211295