The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jim Wood. Wood joined the Marine Corps in January 1943 after graduating from the University of Illinois. Following special training near Camp Pendleton, Wood joined the 3rd Raider Battalion for further training in New Caledonia. His first campaign was Bougainville, where the dense jungle made it difficult to spot enemies until they were dangerously close. Wood, a rifleman, was permitted to carry a Thompson machinegun after his assistant squad leader was killed. On Guam, his platoon lost 15 men. He landed at Okinawa with little resistance but in his 15-mile walk across the island he came under heavy fire emanating from enormous caves. By this time, his unit had become part of the 4th Marines, and Wood was the last man standing in his platoon, with 21 kills and only a minor shell fragment wound. He finished the war as a squad leader at Yokosuka Naval Base as part of the occupation force and was personally saluted by Nimitz.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jim Wilcox. Wilcox joined the Marine Corps in 1940. Upon completion of basic training he deployed to Guantanamo for further training. Assigned to artillery, he forwarded targets to the control center. He returned to the States to be treated for appendicitis and was then assigned to the special weapons battery of the 1st Marine Division, 11th Marine Regiment. Wilcox then landed in the third wave at Guadalcanal, where his ship, the USS Hunter Liggett (APA-14), was sunk while being offloaded. After four months of battle, Wilcox sailed to Australia, contracted malaria, and returned to the States. There he joined the Fourth Division at Camp Pendleton, broke his thighbone and clavicle in a truck accident and was hospitalized for six months. His leg never fully healed, so when the war ended he was discharged with partial disability compensation.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard Matthews. Matthews was attending the University of Missouri when he joined the Navy in October 1941. He was called to active duty on 4 December and was trained as a dive bomber pilot. Upon arriving in Hawaii, he attended a party and was given a lift home by Admiral Nimitz. Matthews was assigned to Composite Squadron 26 (VC-26) on Guadalcanal, flying missions over Munda Point in a Dauntless SBD from land bases and from the USS Sangamon (CVE-26). After six months, he returned to the States and attended rocket school. He was then assigned to the West Coast as an instructor. There he flew a TBF but was still able to land on short runways, due to his precision carrier training. As a lieutenant, he treated his students as equals, sometimes flying them home to visit family. At his final station in Sand Point, the officer’s club was once visited by actor Robert Taylor, who introduced himself and sat down next to the prettiest girl in the room, Matthews’ wife. When the war ended, Matthews left the Navy, although he thoroughly enjoyed his time in the service.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jesse Dwain Holmes. Holmes joined the Navy in 1944 and attended boot camp in San Diego. Upon completion of gunnery school, he boarded the SS John T. McMillan (1943) as an armed guard. After joining a convoy at Leyte, the crew was at general quarters every hour for air raids. Whenever the ship laid smoke screens, Holmes didn’t fire a single round, for fear of engaging in friendly fire. He returned home briefly after 10 months at sea and redeployed to Okinawa, where he fired a 3-inch gun at kamikazes. He then served on Guam as a postman to enjoy some shore duty. Holmes sailed to Wake Island after the war ended and went ashore for its surrender. After being discharged in December 1945, he was grateful to return home unscathed despite the Naval Armed Guard's heavy casualty rates.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Tom Story. Story joined the Navy in October of 1934. Beginning September of 1936, he served as Quartermaster aboard USS Perkins (DD-377), operating out of San Diego. He was discharged in July, then re-enlisted and volunteered for submarine school. Story served aboard the USS S-45 (SS-156), completing antisubmarine warfare training. From early 1942 through early 1943, they completed war patrols in the Solomon Islands. Beginning April of 1943, Story was transferred to the USS Pargo (SS-264), completing war patrols in the East China Sea. Beginning early 1945, he served aboard the USS Chanticleer (ASR-7), completing war patrols in Port Darwin, Australia.