Calvin William Elton interviews
Scope and Contents
Interview conducted by Murray Duff on April 16, 1985 for the Ray Hillam war project. Elton enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in 1940, but he was used in ground combat in the Philippines in 1941. He was captured by the Japanese in 1942. He experienced the Bataan Death march for five days and was placed in a prison camp. Many men died every day because of disease and malnutrition. Elton talked about how he and his close friends kept each other alive. In 1943, he was sent to Japan. The ship he was in was very crowded and had no ventilation. He worked in coal mines twelve hours a day in Japan until the end of the war. After the Japanese surrendered, Elton returned to the United States. He said he learned the value of life from his experiences. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but did not follow many of the teachings of that faith. He thought the United States was justified in fighting Japan during the war.
Dates
- Creation: 1985 April 16
Creator
- Elton, Calvin William, 1922-2011 (interviewee, Person)
- Duff, Murray (interviewer, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Open for public research.
Conditions Governing Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from Calvin William Elton interviews must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.
Biographical / Historical
Veteran of World War II.
Extent
1 item (16 p.)
Language of Materials
English
Custodial History
These materials were donated to Special Collections by Ray Hillam in 1999.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated; Ray Hillam; 1999.
Appraisal
Utah and the American West and LDS cultural, social, and religious history (20th century Western & Mormon Manuscripts collection development policy, 5.VII, 2007).
Subject
Genre / Form
Topical
- Title
- Register of Calvin William Elton interviews
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Rose Frank
- Date
- 23 February 2011
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English in Latin script.
Repository Details
Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States