Payne, Eugene G., 1919-2010

Wright, Christina

Charlotte, North Carolina

J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

2005-02-24

1 audio file (1:13:24) : digital, MP3

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

Eugene Payne was an 86-year-old man at the time of interview, which took place in his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Charlotte in 1919. He was educated at Syracuse University, served in the Army Air Force, and was employed at an editorial cartoonist for the Charlotte Observer and WSOC-TV.

In this interview, Eugene Payne, former editorial cartoonist for the Charlotte Observer, recounts his family's long history in Charlotte and his military service during World War II. He discusses his educational background, including his time at military school, Syracuse University, and in the United States Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School. Mr. Payne describes the program and school, which was housed in the Prairie State, a converted battleship, and why he ultimately dropped out and returned to Charlotte. He enlisted in the Army Air Force after the United States entered World War II, and he describes his wartime experience as a pilot for navigator cadets at the Army Air Force Navigation School in Louisiana. Mr. Payne also discusses the last few months of the war, when he was transferred to a very heavy bombardment group and trained to fly B-24s and B-29s in the Pacific until the atomic bombs ended the war and his military career. Mr. Payne then discusses his mother's family history in Charlotte, including his great-grandfather Miles Wriston, a prominent local businessman during the mid-nineteenth century. He also discusses the Wristons' long connection to Blowing Rock, North Carolina, which was a favored vacation destination for several generations of the family. Mr. Payne ends by discussing his memories of growing up on South Tryon Street, and of Charlotte, during the 1920s.

MP3 access copy created on ingest from WAV preservation master. Interview originally recorded on minidisc and digitized using a Digidesign 003 rack.

Editorial cartoonists

Payne, Eugene G., 1919-2010

United States. Army Air Forces
United States. Army Air Forces. Training Command
Selman Field Navigation School (Monroe, La.)

World War (1939-1945)

Airplanes--Piloting
Military education
Air pilots, Military
Flight navigators
Airplanes, Military
Family vacations

North Carolina--Charlotte
North Carolina--Blowing Rock
Louisiana--Monroe

Interviews
Oral histories

1840-1950

Charlotte regional oral history

Living Charlotte : the postwar development of a New South city

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Digitization made possible by funding from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.

audio/mpeg

Eugene Payne oral history interview 2, 2005 March 24, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (https://goldmine.uncc.edu/islandora/object/uncc%3A236)

Eugene Payne cartoons, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (https://findingaids.uncc.edu/repositories/4/resources/33)

OH-PA0454