Donald A. Binns World War II Interview

Dublin Core

Title

Donald A. Binns World War II Interview

Subject

World War, 1939-1945 -- United States.
United States -- History -- 1933-1945.
United States. Navy -- History.
United States -- History, Military.
Lawrence (Kan.) -- History.
Lawrence (Kan.) -- Oral history.
Prisoners of war.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Veterans -- Interviews.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Pacific Area.

Description

Donald A. Binns joined the United States Navy in 1936 and attended boot camp in Great Lakes, Illinois. He retired after twenty years as a Chief Petty Officer. Interviewed on May 9, 2003, by Luke Thompson as part of the Lawrence Remembers: The World War II Years Project, Binns talked about his military experiences during the Second World War. Binns was born on August 5, 1917. Prior to World War II, Binns worked as a destroyer tender on the USS Melville and spent two years on the USS Bittern. After reenlisting, Binns was stationed in Guam, where he worked on a patrol boat. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 10,000 Japanese soldiers landed on Guam and captured many American soldiers, including Binns. The Japanese soldiers then took Binns and the others to Zentsuji, a prisoner of war camp in Shikoku, Japan. Binns spent four years at the camp. During his time there, he worked at the railroad freight station. Binns discussed his time in the military before the war, the experience of being captured in Guam, and his time as a POW in Japan. He talked about the conditions of the camp, the Doolittle Raid, and his encounters with Japanese civilians and the guards. Following his retirement from the Navy, Binns taught at Lawrence High School and served on the Lawrence City Commission. He passed away on February 3, 2005.

Creator

Binns, Donald A.

Source

Kansas Veterans of World War II Oral History Project / Lawrence Remembers: The World War II Years Project

Publisher

Lawrence Public Library (Lawrence, Kan.)

Date

2003-05-09

Contributor

Thompson, Luke
Kansas State Historical Society

Rights

The original copy of this video is available through the Lawrence Public Library. The Watkins Museum of History and the Kansas State Historical Society may also have interviews associated with this project. Researchers are responsible for obtaining any necessary permissions for uses other than educational or scholarly research. Contact the Watkins Museum of History for additional information: https://www.watkinsmuseum.org/

Relation

To access the video recording of this oral history, go to: https://archive.org/details/binns-wwii-interview
The Watkins Museum of History also holds items related to this collection.
Transcripts for this project are available through the Kansas Memory Digital Collection: https://www.kansasmemory.org/item/212282
Other resources for interviews with World War II veterans are available through the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project: https://www.loc.gov/vets/vets-home.htm

Format

MP4

Language

eng

Type

Oral History

Identifier

Binns, WWII Interview

Coverage

Zentsūji-shi (Japan)
1936 - 1945

Oral History Item Type Metadata

Interviewer

Thompson, Luke

Interviewee

Binns, Donald A.

Location

Lawrence (Kan.)

Original Format

VHS

Duration

0:38:32

Bit Rate/Frequency

317 kbit/s (audio)
10318 kbit/s (video)

Citation

Binns, Donald A., “Donald A. Binns World War II Interview,” Digital Douglas County History, accessed March 28, 2024, https://history.lplks.org/items/show/1718.

Comments

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