B.W. Huntington Collection, 1941-1945; 2015

Collection

Identifier: 000012

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The B.W. Huntington Collection houses material gathered by Basil William Huntington, 1920-2016, during his service in the Navy during WWII. The collection includes charting materials, survival guides, certificates, schedules, newspaper clippings, and a USB flash drive containing an oral history recounting Huntington’s wartime experience.

Notably, the collection features items used and received during his time spent in the Pacific Theater, such as Ground School charting books, airspeed and altitude correction devices, an Army Air Forces survival guide, and a Naval Leadership guide. Additionally, there is a pocket signal disk, a student navigational guide, various guides addressing different terrains (desert, arctic, jungles, land, and sea), Huntington’s cadet file, and a copy of his aviation certification. The collection’s final segment includes files and newspaper clippings from the USS Anzio, incorporating crew lists, welcome aboard programs, press news clippings, a church service program, and paperwork related to the mission titled ‘D-Day July 20, 1945’.

Dates

Creation: 1939
Creation: 1942 - 1945
Creation: 2015

Creator

Huntington, William B., 1920-2016 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from this collection in any form must be obtained from the National Museum of the Pacific War, Center for Pacific War Studies.

Biographical / Historical

Basil William Huntington, 1920-2016, served as a Naval fighter pilot and instructor. He achieved the title of Master Mason at the Cross Plains Masonic Lodge No. 627 and was a lifelong member of the Kingsville/Bishop Lodge No. 913. He married Betty Jane Miller, and together they raised three children.

Post-war, Huntington earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Texas A&I University in Kingsville, Texas. Subsequently, he enjoyed a successful thirty-five-year career with Celanese Chemical Corporations.

Extent

.25 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Separated Materials

3D artifacts have been seperated from this collection, including a whistle, flashlight, flask, lanyard, scarf, cup, bag, airspped tool,an pocket signial disk,a patch and a hairbrush. Contact the archivist for further information.