Roland D. Mower, Mount Pleasant, Utah: an interview by Winston Erickson, June 28, 2002: Saving the Legacy tape no. 458 & 459

• Main Author: Mower, Roland D., 1928-
• Other Authors: Erickson, Winston P., 1943-; University of Utah. American West Center
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah 2002
• Subjects: Mower; Roland D.; 1928- > Interviews; Veterans > Utah > Biography; World War; 1939-1945 > Personal narratives; American; World War; 1939-1945 > Naval operations; 1939-1945 > Campaigns > Pacific Area > Personal narratives; American; Atomic bomb > Testing; Vietnam War; 1961-1975 > Personal narratives; American; Vietnam War; 1961-1975 > Aerial operations; American; Sailors; Operation Crossroads; Air Force pilots; Pacific; Roland; Alaska; Aleutian Islands
• Online Access: https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s64j2h6x

Transcript (42 pages) of an interview by Winston Erickson with Roland D. Mower on June 28, 2002. From tape numbers 458 and 459 in the “Saving the Legacy" Oral History Project Mower (b. 1928) recalls his childhood in rural Utah. He received his initial military training from the Utah State Guard, which he joined at the age of fourteen. In 1994, at the age of sixteen, he joined the U.S. Navy, with his parents' permission. He served in the North Pacific and the Aleutian Islands before being sent to Japan. He participated in "Operation Magic Carpet," in which his ship picked up Marines from Iwo Jima and took them back to the states. His ship was also involved in "Operation Crossroads," a test of the nuclear bomb in the Bikini Islands. He was discharged in 1948 at the age of nineteen. He later joined the Air Force and served in Vietnam. Interviewed by Winston Ericson. 42 pages.