Oral History Interview with Everett Scarr, March 5, 2014 transcript

Oral History Interview with Everett Scarr, March 5, 2014

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Everett Scarr. Scarr joined the Navy in 1944. He served with the deck force aboard the USS Black (DD-666). He recalls his experiences through the battles of Leyte and Okinawa, and serving with occupation forces in Japan after the war. Scarr returned to the US and received his discharge in June of 1946.
Date: March 5, 2014
Creator: Scarr, Everett
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Chris Hutchinson, March 7, 2014 transcript

Oral History Interview with Chris Hutchinson, March 7, 2014

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Chris Hutchinson. Hutchinson joined the Navy Women's Reserve in 1944 and trained at Hunter College in the Bronx. Her first assignment was in communcations in Wahsington DC until the Navy realied she was not old enough to serve in the WAVES. She was discharged, but reenlisted in MArch 1945 when she was old enough and went to San Diego. She worked in the disbursing office. She also clerked in an office at Great Lakes training center.
Date: March 7, 2014
Creator: Hutchinson, Chris
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Cecil Groves, March 25, 2014 transcript

Oral History Interview with Cecil Groves, March 25, 2014

The National Museum of The Pacific War presents an oral interview with Cecil Groves. Groves was born in a small hamlet in Arkansas in 1920. He quit school in seventh grade to help his father make a living for a family of ten. Drafted in 1941, he underwent basic training at Miami Beach. He was sent to Fresno, California where he was assigned to the Signal Corps and attended telephone linesman school. Completing school, he was sent to New Guinea where he was assigned to the communication section in the 54th Troop Carrier Wing. He tells of being assigned to various bases including the Port Moresby Airfield Complex, Clark Field in the Philippines, and Tachikawa, Japan. He was discharged in 1945.
Date: March 25, 2014
Creator: Groves, Cecil
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Phyllis Mullins, March 11, 2014 transcript

Oral History Interview with Phyllis Mullins, March 11, 2014

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Phyllis Mullins. Mullins was born in Conneautville, Pennsylvania on 20 June 1921. She attended nursing school at the Episcopal Hospital in Philadelphia and graduated in 1942. In 1943, she joined the United States Army Air Forces Nursing unit as a first lieutenant and was sent to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia for basic training. Upon completion, she was sent to Orlando Army Air Base in Florida. She got married in 1943 and obtained her discharge in conjunction with her husband’s discharge from the Army Air Forces.
Date: March 11, 2014
Creator: Mullins, Phyllis
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Gilbert Esensee, March 25, 2014 transcript

Oral History Interview with Gilbert Esensee, March 25, 2014

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Gilbert Esensee. Esensee was born in Fredericksburg, Texas, on 6 August 1925, into a family of eight children. In 1944, he joined the Army and took basic training at Camp Roberts, California. He was then sent to La Havre, France, where he joined the 29th Infantry Division, 175th Infantry Regiment. Esensee was involved in combat action along the Roer River, where he was wounded. He also tells of German soldiers swimming the Elbe River, to avoid capture by Russian troops.
Date: March 25, 2014
Creator: Esensee, Gilbert
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Frank C. Smith, March 12, 2014 transcript

Oral History Interview with Frank C. Smith, March 12, 2014

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frank C. Smith. Smith was born in Houston, Texas on 7 August 1921. Graduating from high school in 1939, he enrolled in Williams College. After three years he transferred to and graduated from Caltech in 1944. Smith joined the Navy in 1944 and trained in electronics at several universities and Navy bases before being trained in electronic countermeasures, including the IFF (identification friend or foe) set. Just prior to concluding training at San Clemente Island, the Japanese surrendered. Upon completion of the advanced training he was shipped to Guam and assigned to CASU F-12. He went aboard Navy aircraft carriers to service the electronic equipment on various fighter planes that were on board.
Date: March 12, 2014
Creator: Smith, Frank C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Douglas Hubbard, Jr., March 6, 2014 transcript

Oral History Interview with Douglas Hubbard, Jr., March 6, 2014

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Douglas Hubbard, Jr. Hubbard was born on 1 April 1945. He joined the Naval Intelligence Command as a special agent of the Naval Investigative Service in March of 1968. He volunteered for service in Vietnam for 36 months. He later accepted an appointment as a training officer for the British South Africa police in Rhodesia. Additionally, Hubbard worked in security, mining and exploration industries. He has lived and worked extensively in Asia, Australia and Africa. His father, Doug Hubbard, was instrumental in establishing the National Museum of the Pacific War.
Date: March 6, 2014
Creator: Hubbard, Douglas, Jr.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Clint Morse, March 12, 2014 transcript

Oral History Interview with Clint Morse, March 12, 2014

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Clint Morse. Morse was born in Berkeley, California on 16 June 1920 and entered the Navy in 1942. He was assigned to the Navy Supply Corps School at Harvard University and upon graduation, was assigned to the USS Mugford (DD-389) as the supply officer. Morse recalls the crew of the Mugford picking up survivors of an Australian hospital ship that had been sunk. His ship was based at Milne Bay, New Guinea and participated in troop landings on various islands. He tells of the ship being under attack on several occasions and the experience of losing one of the crew members as the result of an attack. He returned to Mare Island Navy Yard in 1946 and was assigned the job of ship liaison officer until his discharge.
Date: March 12, 2014
Creator: Morse, Clint
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Robert Fischman, March 13, 2014 transcript

Oral History Interview with Robert Fischman, March 13, 2014

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Fischman. Fischman was born in 1925 in Alexandria, Virginia. Dropping out of high school, he joined the Navy in 1942 and was sent to Newport, Rhode Island for boot camp. He was assigned to USS Texas (BB-35). He recalls the ship being involved in convoy duties prior to the invasion of North Africa. He also tells of being involved in Operation OVERLORD and his duties as a powder handler as well as being assigned to the captain’s gig. He describes evacuating the wounded from Point du Hoc at Normandy and the Texas being damaged by German shore batteries. He also recalls participation in the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He was discharged soon after the ship returned to the US in 1945.
Date: March 13, 2014
Creator: Fischman, Robert
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Donald Hanlon, March 14, 2014 transcript

Oral History Interview with Donald Hanlon, March 14, 2014

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Donald Hanlon. Hanlon was born and raised in Bronx, New York, and joined the Navy at age seventeen. Following boot camp, he served aboard USS Texas (BB-35) from December 1941 through May 1947. The Texas served as a support ship during the invasion of Normandy and Hanlon describes the death and destruction he observed at Omaha Beach. He also recalls the ship being damaged by shore artillery during the landing at Cherbourg. The ship then traveled to the Pacific where it participated in the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He recollects the attacks on the fleet by kamikazes and the recovery of an injured kamikaze pilot. Hanlon was discharged in 1947.
Date: March 14, 2014
Creator: Hanlon, Donald
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Charles Ira, March 14, 2014 transcript

Oral History Interview with Charles Ira, March 14, 2014

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Ira. Ira joined the Navy in 1943 at the age of 17. He completed boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Chicago. Ira served as a deckhand and gunner aboard USS Texas (BB-35). He tells of the ship accompanying convoys through the North Atlantic. He recalls his admiration for General Eisenhower who visited the ship prior to the Normandy Invasion and of the actions of the Texas during the invasion. This action was followed by participation in the Battle of Cherbourg. He relates his experiences there and tells of the damage to the Texas by German shore batteries. After returning to the States, the ship proceeded through the Panama Canal into the Pacific. There, the ship participated in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He returned to US in 1946 and received his discharge.
Date: March 14, 2014
Creator: Ira, Charles
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Howard Stoneley, March 14, 2014 transcript

Oral History Interview with Howard Stoneley, March 14, 2014

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Howard Stoneley. Stoneley joined the Navy around mid-1943. From 1943 through mid-1945, he served with the deck force aboard the USS Texas (BB-35). Stoneley shares his experiences through the Normandy Invasion, the Battle of Cherbourg, Operation Dragoon, the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa. He returned home after the war, and received his discharge around January of 1946.
Date: March 14, 2014
Creator: Stoneley, Howard
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Jack Nebelsick, March 7, 2014 transcript

Oral History Interview with Jack Nebelsick, March 7, 2014

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jack Nebelsick. Nebelsick joined the Navy in December 1942 and trained at Great Lakes. After basic training, he attended fire control school. Later in 1943, he was assigned to USS Wesson (DE-184). He was among the commissioning crew and was present for the shakedown cruise before heading for the Pacific. He discusses his role aboard ship as well as the ship's role in the fleet. Nebelsick recalls a few anecdotes from his time aboard. Nebelsick recalls the time a kamikaze struck his ship. Nebelsick was discharged in 1946.
Date: March 7, 2014
Creator: Nebelsick, Jack
System: The Portal to Texas History