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Interviewee
Baumann, Richard
Document Type
Oral History
Date of Interview
12-17-2001
Abstract
Richard Baumann was born 26 June 1923 in St. Paul Park, Minnesota. He spent his youth there and graduated from St. Paul Park High School in June 1941. One year later, in September 1942, Richard enlisted in the US Navy; following Basic Training he volunteered for the Submarine Service. Trained as an Electrician, in 1943 Richard joined USS Greenling (SS-213), then in the Pacific. He remained on Greenling until the end of the war in August 1945 as a crew member on several war patrols throughout the Pacific. The Greenling's twelfth war patrol was also her last—on 24 January 1945, in the Nansei Shoto Islands, Greenling was attacked by Japanese escort vessels and damaged during a four-hour depth charge attack. The submarine steamed to Saipan for repairs, then to the US mainland. After overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the submarine was decommissioned in 1946. Richard Baumann was finally rotated back to the United States and discharged in January 1946 with the rate of Electrician 1st Class. As a member of the Naval Reserve, he was recalled to active duty and during 1950-51 served in Korea. Following World War II military service, Richard returned to Minnesota, attended school for electronics, and then worked several jobs in the Twin Cities area before moving to Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M Company) in 1955. He worked for the St. Paul-based company in various capacities until his retirement in 1982. In 1948 Richard married Donna (Stahl) Baumann; the couple moved to White Bear Lake, MN, in 1953, where they raised their five children. Richard was long active in the US Submarine Veterans of World War II
Copyright
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced without the written permission of Concordia University Library or Thomas Saylor, Department of History, Concordia University, St. Paul.
Recommended Citation
Saylor, Thomas, "Oral History Project World War II Years, 1941-1946 - Richard Baumann" (2001). Oral History Project: World War II Years, 1941-1946. 111.
https://digitalcommons.csp.edu/oral-history_ww2/111
PDF Transcript of Interview with Richard Baumann