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Rutgers Oral History Archives

  • College/Year: RC '39
  • Links to Oral History Sessions: Runyan, Harry (March 30, 2006)
  • Conflict(s): World War II
  • Military Branch & Unit: Army Air Forces
  • Theater(s): European

Description:
Harry L. Runyan was born on March 13, 1918, in Trenton, New Jersey. His father worked as a civil engineer for the American Bridge Company up until the time of the Great Depression in 1929, when Harry was eleven years old.

Harry went to Rutgers University originally as a pre-med student and then changed to engineering. After graduating from Rutgers in 1939, Runyan worked for Pratt and Whitney for a short time before moving to California. There, he worked for the Civil Service inspecting airplanes and was there on the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Once the United States became involved in World War II, Harry enlisted and became an engineering officer for the Eleventh Combat Mapping Station and, later, the 30th Photo Recon Squadron for the Ninth Air Force with missions focusing on photo reconnaissance and airplane maintenance. By January of 1944, Runyan was sent overseas and became attached to the First Division, First Army, and served at places including Omaha Beach and Versailles.

After V-J Day, Runyan came back to Fort Dix to be discharged. He went on to receive his Master's in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Virginia and, later, his PhD.  Runyan continued to work at Langley NASA for about thirty years as a flutter expert before settling in Newport News, Virginia.

Targum Cover 11 22 1963a

 

"HERE IS A BULLETIN...": Memories of the Day Camelot Died

 

This month marks the 60th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas.

Images from that day and the events that followed remain etched in our collective consciousness—the open-top Presidential limo traveling down the people-lined streets of Dallas; President Lyndon Baines Johnson taking the oath of office on Air Force One beside a shaken First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy; John, Jr. saluting his father's passing casket at the funeral in DC.

Those who lived through that traumatic period can recall both their initial shock and the nuances of their reactions.

In "HERE IS A BULLETIN...": Memories of the Day Camelot Died, ROHA presents a sampling of stories related to the Kennedy tragedy, a touchstone event for multiple generations.

The Rutgers Targum (campus newspaper) cover from its November 22, 1963 issue. (Image courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.)

 

Voices of Veterans Banner 1

Voices of Veterans

 

Voices of Veterans is an online exhibit showcasing passages from oral history interviews of veterans who served in the Second World War and in wars in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan. ROHA created this exhibit in commemoration of Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT MORE ONLINE EXHIBITS 

 

 

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