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About the FWOH Program
The volunteers of the Fort Worden Oral History Program have collected almost 300 interviews with the men and women who have served, lived, worked, or visited Fort Worden over its long history since the program’s inception in 2003. The interviews tell of the real life experiences of those who served at Fort Worden during the military era; who worked or lived here during the Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center days; or have visited, participated in activities, or worked at the fort since it became a state park conference center.
These interviews, which have been transcribed and cataloged, form a rich treasure trove of stories that should be mined for source material by historians, students, genealogists, and writers.
Interviews by Subject
- 369th EASR
- Army
- Army Families
- Army Wives
- Artillery Hill
- Atomic Bomb Tests
- Campgrounds
- Centrum
- Centrum Foundation
- Children's Games
- Closing of the Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center
- Coast Artillery-248th
- Coast Guard
- Commanding Officers
- Commanding Officers Quarters at Fort Worden
- Cottage Parents
- Cottages
- Death
- Discipline
- Enemy Fire
- Engineer Amphibious Support Regiment (EASR)-369th
- Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment (EBSR)
- Ferries
- Festival of American Fiddle Tunes
- Fiddle tunes
- Fort Flagler
- Fort Lewis
- Fort Worden
- Fort Worden Parade Ground
- General James H. Cunningham
- Greenland
- Guns
- Hangar (Balloon)
- Harbor Entrance Control Post
- Housing
- Hydrophones
- Inchon Landing
- Isolation
- Japan
- Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center
- Korean War
- Korean War Era
- Living Conditions
- McCurdy Pavilion
- Meals
- Military Police
- Mines
- National Guard
- Navy
- Officers Row
- Park Rangers
- Point Wilson Lighthouse
- Port Townsend
- Prisoners of War
- Pusan
- Residents (Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center)
- Runaways
- Russians
- Seasickness
- Sergeants
- Shift Duty
- Ships
- Socialization
- Social Life
- Social Workers
- Staff (Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center)
- State Parks
- Strait of Juan de Fuca
- Submarines
- Target Practice
- Teachers
- Weather
- Weddings
- Wildlife
- World War II
Interviews by Category
- General (2)
- Juvenile Diagnostic & Treatment Center (47)
- Military (125)
- Washington State Parks (42)
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Recent Posts
Interview Archives
- March 2015 (6)
- February 2015 (1)
- January 2015 (1)
- December 2014 (2)
- November 2014 (3)
- October 2014 (4)
- September 2014 (1)
- July 2014 (6)
- June 2014 (7)
- May 2014 (5)
- April 2014 (1)
- January 2014 (1)
- December 2013 (1)
- November 2013 (1)
- October 2013 (1)
- September 2013 (2)
- August 2013 (3)
- July 2013 (2)
- June 2013 (6)
- May 2013 (2)
- April 2013 (1)
- March 2013 (4)
- February 2013 (5)
- January 2013 (4)
- December 2012 (7)
- November 2012 (8)
- October 2012 (2)
- September 2012 (2)
- August 2012 (8)
- July 2012 (4)
- June 2012 (4)
- May 2012 (7)
- April 2012 (6)
- March 2012 (39)
- February 2012 (49)
- January 2012 (4)
Category Archives: Military
Interview With John L. Johnson
Excerpts from the interview with John L. Johnson of Portland, OR conducted by Tim Caldwell at the Fort Worden History Center on October 17, 2002. Mr. Johnson is the son of Major Ralph L. Johnson (1883-1966), who was Harbor Defense … Continue reading
Posted in Military
Tagged Army Trucks, Closing Fort Worden, Decommissioning Equipment and Supplies, Disposing of Artillery Ammunition and Materiel al, Fort Worden, Fred Testo, Harbor Defense Puget Sound, Major Ralph L. Johnson, Military Police, Military Protocol, Movies at Fort Worden, MPs, Officers Row, Officers' Families, Port Townsend, School, Sidearms, US Army, Wheeler Theater
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Interview With Richard L. French
From the interview with Richard L. French of Port Angeles, WA conducted by John Croghan at the Fort Worden History Center on October 14, 2004. Mr. French served in the US Navy in World War II and later in the … Continue reading
Posted in Military
Tagged Army, Brigadier General Joseph J. Twitty, Camp Mc Gill Japan, Camp McCoy WI, Colonel Alexander, Commanding Officers, Couriers, Engineer Boat Support Regiment (EBSR)-532nd, Engineer Special Brigade (ESB)-2nd, Fire at Fort Worden Officers Club, Football Team at Fort Worden, Fort Worden, Fort Worden Chapel, General D.A.D. Ogden, Hudson Point, Inchon Landing, Korean War, Landing Craft Medium (LCMs), MPs, Point Hudson, Port Townsend, Pusan, Second ESB Headquarters Company, Sixth Army Football Championship, Wonsan North Korea
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Interview With Ruth Benson Short
From the interview with Ruth Benson Short of Port Townsend conducted by Wendy Los at the Fort Worden History Center on March 3, 2004. Mrs. Short, a longtime Port Townsend resident, served as a Gray Lady volunteer for the Red … Continue reading
Posted in Military
Tagged American Red Cross, Blaine Street in Port Townsend, Fort Worden, Gray Ladies, Housekeeping, Lieutenant Colonel Fred W. McIlroy, Marguerite Van Bibber McIlroy, Military Protocol, Morgan Hill in Port Townsend, Newlyweds, Port Townsend, Red Cross, Social Life, World War II
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Interview With Russell C. Weber
From the interview with Russell C. Weber of Sequim, WA conducted by Oran De Bois at the Fort Worden History Center on June 1, 2004. Mr. Weber served in the U.S. Army from the time he enlisted in the National … Continue reading
Posted in Military
Tagged 248th Coast Artillery, 4th Armored Division, 94th Field Artillery Brigade, Africa Campaign World War II, Army, Army Reserve, Bowling Alley at Fort Worden, Camp Bowie TX, Erwin Rommel, Fort Worden, Fort Worden Parade Ground, General James H. Cunningham, Middle Point WA, Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill OK, Pine Camp NY, Washington National Guard, World War II
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Interview With Mary E. Hanke
From the interview with Mary Elizabeth Hanke of Redmond, WA conducted by Cynthia Walker at the Fort Worden History Center on June 29,2002. Mrs. Hanke is the daughter of Lt. Col. George Frederick Newman (1911-1975) who was stationed at Fort … Continue reading
Posted in Military
Tagged Army Brats, Army Families, Balloon Hangar, Bowling Alley at Fort Worden, Fort Worden, General James H. Cunningham, Lt. Col. George Frederick Newman, Margaret Cotton Newman, Margarine, McCurdy Pavilion, Model Airplanes, Officers Row, Ration Books, Wartime Rationing, Wartime Shortages, World War II
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Interview with Gerrit Nieuwsma
From the interview with Gerrit Nieuwsma of Hague, ND conducted by phone on June 30, 2005 by Eleanor Rigby from the Fort Worden History Center. Mr. Nieuwsma served in the US Army at Fort Worden from 1951 to 1953. Here … Continue reading
Posted in Military
Tagged Butcher Shop at Fort Worden, Butchers, Fort Worden, Fort Worden Parade Ground, Lack of Adequate Clothing for Troops, Landing Craft Medium (LCMs), Lieutenant Colonel Fred W. McIlroy, Snow at Fort Worden
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Interview With John W. Singhose
From the interview with John W. Singhose of Port Angeles, WA conducted by Rick Martinez on May 10, 2002 at the Fort Worden History Center. Mr. Singhose served in the 369th Boat and Shore Regiment, later called the Engineer Amphibious … Continue reading
Posted in Military
Tagged 369th EBSR, 369thEASR, Army, Boot Camp, Cape George, Captain Gibbs, Discovery Bay, Firing Ranges, Fort Lewis, Fort Worden, Korean War, Shipping on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Target Practice, Targets
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Interview With Virginia H. Walter
From the interview with Virginia Hartman Walter conducted at the Fort Worden History Center on October 16, 2002 by Rick Martinez. Ms. Walter was the daughter of Major Hartman of the Coast Artillery stationed at Fort Worden in the late … Continue reading
Posted in Military
Tagged Army Brats, Army Families, Bachelor Officers Quarters at Fort Worden, Christobal High School, Coast Artillery, Colon Panama, Fort De Lesseps, Fort Sherman, Fort Worden, Major Hartman, Officers Row, Panama, Port Townsend High School, Socialization, Tennis Courts at Fort Worden
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Interview With William F. Gurley
From the interview with William F. Gurley of Kingston, WA conducted by Ken Brink at the Fort Worden History Center on July 2, 2002. Mr. Gurley’s father, Captain Franklin Chris Gurley of the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps, commanded A … Continue reading
Posted in Military
Tagged A Battery, Army, Artillery Hill, Captain Franklin C. Gurley, Charles Meyers jr, Children's Games, Coast Artillery, Colonel Pace, Fort Worden, Fort Worden Parade Ground, General James H. Cunningham, Major Charles Meyers, Officers Row, Officers' Jobs, Port Townsend, Post Security
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