Oral history interview with Raymond W. Nyls

Collection

Identifier: SR1031

Staff Only

Oral history interview with Raymond W. Nyls

Go to file

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Raymond W. Nyls was conducted by Kathleen A. Mitchell in Salem, Philomath, and Portland, Oregon, from April 4 to September 12, 1992. The interview was conducted in six sessions. In the interview, Nyls discusses his family background and early life in Portland, including his memories of the amusement park at Jantzen Beach; in the sawmill towns of Wauna and Warrenton; and in Astoria. He talks about working for Boeing in Seattle, Washington, in the years before World War II, and describes his Air Force career, particularly his experiences during the Korean War and the Cold War, and his work as a UFO investigator.

Dates

Creation: 1992 April 4-September 12

Creator

Nyls, Raymond W. (Raymond Woodrow), 1920-2019 (Interviewee, Person)
Mitchell, Kathleen A. (Interviewer, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Biographical note

Raymond Woodrow Nyls, nee Suesens, was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1920. After his mother remarried, he took his step-father's name. He joined the Army Air Corps just after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1940, he and Lucile Katherine Tinker were married; they later divorced in 1945. That same year, Nyls and Laila “Peggy” Rose Garver were married. During the Korean War, Nyls served as an engineering officer and also flew missions as a fighter pilot. Some years later, Nyls and Peggy Nyls divorced, and he married Marjorie (her surname before marriage to Nyls is unknown). Nyls ultimately had three children. During the Cold War, he continued to serve in the U.S. Air Force, and for a time served as a UFO investigator. After his retirement, the Nyls family lived in Eugene. He died in 2019.

Extent

.1 Cubic Feet (13 audiocassettes (10 hr., 52 min., 15 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Raymond W. Nyls conducted by Kathleen A. Mitchell from April 4-September 12, 1992. Nyls discusses his family background and early life in Portland, Wauna, Warrenton, and Astoria, Oregon, as well as his service in the Army Air Corps and Air Force and his experiences during the Korean War.