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Description

Oral History interview of Frank Dement. Interview conducted by Dull, Joshua at Veteran's Residence.

Log

0:30 Birthplace, parents, childhood; 2:34 Family in the Service; 3:43 Aviation Cadet School Training, radar training; 5:36 Sent after training to Alabama; 6:13 Stationed: France / assignment as radar officer; 7:09 Top secret of Radar / Germans unable to jam radar; 8:29 First coming into the Army; 9:59 Nashville field; 11:42 Warbird combat; 12:23 Saved radio operator's life from anoxia; 13:40 Found problem of operators lack of oxygen; 14:34 Never claimed credit for saving life, just his duty; 15:27 How he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross; 17:31 Lead bomber group goes off course to Stuttgart, Germany; 19:05 Heading to Ruhr Valley, heaviest industrial area/heavily defended; 20:05 Threaten to jump plane, did not want to get shot down, ordered to return; 20:58 Called to division headquarters; 23:01 Problems with radar at high altitudes, used skill to fix problem; 25:43 Promoted and awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for fixing radar; 26:20 Gave job to his friend, since he already had promotion; 27:59 Explains mission map he brought of Western Europe Pre-World War II; 28:22 Not listed on map were 3 top secret reconnaissance missions on weather; 28:47 Figured out how to read drift using radar, helped with accuracy; 29:15 One of the first to operate radar during a thunder storm successfully; 31:03 Staying in contact with family / as officer looked over enlisted letters; 31:55 Coming home / R&R; 33:04 Boca Raton, FL for transition training for the B-29 Super Fortress; 34:13 Getting out of the Army / last day of service; 35:01 Going into inactive reserves; 35:33 After the service returned to electronic engineering / job; 36:27 Medals he earned; 37:13 Family life / how he met his wife; 40:12 How he ended up in Orlando, Florida / what he did for work; 41:11 Helped communications engineer get work with his team; 43:02 Communications engineer helps him get job at Lockheed Martin in FL; 44:39 Created his non-profit businesses repairing computers for needy; 46:40 Explains a core computer; 48:45 Ending the interview.

Date of Birth

1920-10-11

Place of Birth

Piscatoway (Md.)

Gender

Male

Race

White - Non Hispanic

Home State

Maryland

War or Conflict

World War II

Status

Veteran

Begin/End date of Service - 1st

1942-02-13

Type

Video; MovingImage

1945-12-13

Entrance into Service

Commissioned

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Unit of Service

95th bomber group; 8th Air Force; 3rd Division; 334th Squadron

Location of Service

Horum (England)

Highest Rank

Captain; CPT

Prisoner of War

No

Service Related Injury

No

Battles

Battle of the Bulge

Medals

Distinguished Flying Cross; Air Medal; Good Conduct Medal

Achievements

Held two MOS's; 27 Combat Missions; 3 Recon missions - flew ahead of bombers to radio back weather and topography conditions; saved life of radio operator after shrapnel cut operator's oxygen line at high altitude; operated radar when device was new and top secret; 44 years as electronic engineer; 12 years volunteer computer repair; missionary computer fellowship.

Note

Awarded Air Medal with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters.

City of Birth

Piscataway

Country of Birth

United States

Interviewer

Dull, Joshua

Interview Date

Fall 11-17-2016

Location of Interview

Veteran's residence

Subjects

Dement, James F.; World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives; United States. Army

Collection Description

Contains logs, audio and video recordings of interviews with Central Florida's veterans as part of a history class project for the students at the University of Central Florida (UCF). The UCF Community Veterans History Project(CVHP) started in fall 2010. It collects, preserves, and makes accessible to the public the experiences of Central Florida's veterans so that future generations will better understand the realities of conflict. It is a collaborative endeavor supported by multiple departments and offices at UCF. The veterans' histories are archived and made digitally available through the UCF library and selected materials are contributed to the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress.

Contributor Affiliation / Organization

RICHES University of Central Florida

Contributors

Dull, Joshua

Length of Interview

49 Minutes

Publisher

Department of History, University of Central Florida

Type

video

Rights

All rights are held by the respective holding institution. This material is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. For permission to reproduce and/or for copyright information contact Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, (407) 823-2576. http://library.ucf.edu/about/departments/special-collections-university-archives/

Repository

University of Central Florida Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives

Contributing Project

UCF Community Veterans History Project

Document Type

Interview

Semester

Fall

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