USS SD Crewmen's Oral Histories
USS South Dakota (BB-57) was a battleship in the United States Navy from 1942 until 1947. The lead ship of her class, South Dakota was the third ship of the U.S. Navy to be named in honor of the 40th state.
The USS South Dakota fought gallantly in World War II sea battles in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters.
In the summer of 2001 the Battleship USS-South Dakota crew members were interviewed by the Center for Western Studies in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. These interviews are a great contribution to the history of the Battleship USS-South Dakota Memorial and were made possible through a gift from long time the USS Battleship South Dakota supporter Daryl Ferguson who had the foresight to help preserve the stories of the crew for future generations.
These interviews are being made available on the USSSouthDakota.com website with the permission of the Battleship USS-South Dakota Memorial.
Click on the crewman's last name to link to their page to listen to their interviews.
Last Name |
First Name |
Time |
Transcript |
| Ackerman | Daniel | 37:05 | Download |
| Arbiso | Gilbert "Gil" | 42:47 | Download |
| Arnold | Oscar | 37:29 | Download |
|
Joseph |
50:52 |
||
| Camp | John | 46:54 | Download |
| Conner | T. | 18:24 | Download |
| Edwards | Thomas | 42:44 | Download |
| Fliszar | Joseph | 34:08 | Download |
| Gydos | Michael "Mike" | 26:41 | Download |
| Haynes | James | 19:17 | Download |
| Helgeson | Arlow |
33:49 |
|
| Jackson | Carl | 35:48 | Download |
| Johnson |
James |
24:17 | Download |
| Kuczma | Lawrence | 48:02 | Download |
| Levine | Harvey | 39:30 | Download |
| Lock | John | 47:39 | Download |
| Manson, Jr. (Part 1) | Spalding | 47:16 | Download |
| Manson, Jr. (Part 2) | Spalding | 34:22 | Download |
| Mathews | Roger | 22:46 | Download |
| McNeill | George | 47:25 | Download |
| Meier | Albert | 34:47 | Download |
| Nebes | Charles | 26:24 | Download |
| Putnam | Stephen | 22:43 | Download |
| Quillin, Jr. | Hiram | 33:26 | Download |
| Russo | Nichola | 63:32 | Download |
| Rutland | Lynwood | Download | |
| Shriver | Robert Sargent | 40:14 | Download |
| Smith | Dwight | 19:54 | Download |
| Stewart | Henry | 25:35 | Download |
| Taillie | Charles | 26:31 | Download |
| Warner | Fredrick | 21:14 | Download |
| Wieland | Wilbert "Wille" | 25:24 | Download |
| Workman | George | 37:18 | Download |