Oral History Interview with O. H. Karl King, September 8, 2002

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with O.H. Karl King. King joined the Texas National Guard when he was 14 - an amiable captain fixed his age on paper. He enlisted in the Marine Corps when he was 15 during the Great Depression and was assigned to boot camp at San Diego, California. Upon completion, he shipped out for the Philippines and was at Cavite Naval Yard when the Japanese attacked. He saw General King on his way to surrender at Bataan and swam to Corregidor. After General Wainwright surrendered Corregidor, King went to Bilibid Prison in Manila. From there, he went to Cabanatuan, then Formosa and eventually wound up a prisoner in the electric shop at the naval yard at Yokohama, Japan. While there, he engaged in what sabotage operations he could against the Japanese. When the shipyard was destroyed by aerial bombardment, King was transferred to Omori Prison in Tokyo, from which he was liberated after the war ended