Transcript of an oral interview with Bill Armentrout. He begins by describing making a living in south Texas during the Great Depression. He was married and had three children by 1941 and was finally drafted into the Navy in 1944 at 33 years old. When he finished boot camp in San Diego, he wa sassigend to the Amphibious Force and trained at Camp Bradford, Virginia. When Armentrout reached Pearl Harbor, he was assigned to LCT 1221 (Landing Craft, Tank). Armentrout describes always being seasick on his little LCI. He then speaks about landing at Okinawa in late April, 1945. Armentrout describes the role of his LCI - ferrying trucks full of supplies from merchant ships to the beaches. When the war ended, Armentrout was eligible for discharge and opted to go home. His LCI was ruined during a typhoon on Okinawa, so he rode home on a Navy freighter, arriving in Seattle in late October.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George William Ogden. Ogden joined the Navy in February of 1942. He completed Officer Candidate School, and trained with amphibious landing vehicles. Beginning in early 1943, he served as a Communications Officer aboard the USS LST-172. They traveled to Guantanamo Bay, Bora Bora, Samoa, New Hebrides, New Caledonia and Guadalcanal. They assisted the Marines in preparation for the Battle of Okinawa. He continued his service after the war ended, and was discharged in May of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Philip Nelson. Nelson enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and attended midshipmen's school at Northwestern University. There he learned Morse code and semaphore signaling. Upon completion, he received landing craft training at Camp Pendleton. In the Pacific, most of his duty was on LSTs and LSDs. Equipped with rockets at Kwajalein, a mechanical mishap resulted in his ship's friendly rocket fire on a nearby vessel. At the invasion of Guam, Nelson was assigned the first of many temporary duties on other ships. At Leyte, he evacuated wounded aboard USS Doyen (APA-1). At Okinawa, he ferried ammunition under blackout conditions aboard USS Casa Grande (LSD-13). At the end of the war, Nelson returned home earned a Master's degree on the GI Bill.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with EJ Robertson. Robertson joined the Navy at the age of 17 and received basic training at Great Lakes. In the summer of 1942 he was assigned to the USS Brooklyn (CL-40) as an apprentice seaman. At Casablanca, a victory over the French fleet was aided by the Free French. After providing long-range artillery support to the 45th Army Division throughout North Africa, his ship hit a mine in Sicily, temporarily paralyzing Robertson. In Anzio, he contracted malaria and was treated only with aspirin, which gave him stomach ulcers. At Monte Cassino, bombardment was prohibited in order to preserve a monastery, so the ship armed Poles with guns and grenades so that they could attack German forces. He was transferred to the USS Everett F. Larson (DDR-830) and led the first shore party to Yokosuka Naval Base, where he was surprised to find a pile of surrendered arms in a cave. After transporting Korean POWs off a Japanese island, Robertson returned home and was discharged in December 1945. He suffered recurring bouts of malaria throughout his life.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Cleatus A. LeBow. LeBow joined the Navy in 1943 and went from Lubbock, Texas to San Diego for recruit training. He shipped out to Pearl Harbor aboard an LST from San Francisco. At Pearl Harbor, he was assigned to a work detail aboard the USS Oklahoma, which had just been righted. Shortly thereafter, he boarded the USS Indianapolis to serve as a range finder operator on one of the gun turrets. Upon leaving Hawaii, the Indianapolis went to Tarawa and then the Marshall Islands. LeBow witnessed Japanese civilian suicides on Saipan. He also witnessed the flag-raising on Iwo Jima from his range finder position aboard ship. LeBow describes being hit by a kamekazi off Okinawa. He also discusses delivering atomic bomb components to Tinian and being torpedoed on the way to the Philippines. He describes abandoning ship, spending five days in the water, his faith in God, hallucinations, and being rescued and his recovery.

Interview with Cleatus A. LeBow, a serviceman in the U. S. Navy during World War II. LeBow joined the navy in 1943 and went from Lubbock, Texas to San Diego for recruit training. He shipped out to Pearl Harbor aboard an LST from San Francisco. At Pearl Harbor, he was assigned to a work detail aboard the USS Oklahoma, which had just been righted. Shortly thereafter, he boarded the USS Indianapolis to serve as a range finder operator on one of the gun turrets. Upon leaving Hawaii, the Indianapolis went to Tarawa and then the Marshall Islands. LeBow witnessed Japanese civilian suicides on Saipan. He also witnessed the flag-raising on Iwo Jima from his range finder position aboard the ship. LeBow describes being hit by a kamikaze off Okinawa. He also discusses delivering atomic bomb components to Tinian and being torpedoed on the way to the Philippines. He describes abandoning the ship and spending five days in the water, including his faith in God, hallucinations, rescue, and his recovery.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Placido Lozano. Lozano joined the Navy in October of 1943. He completed Radio School. He was assigned to a Landing Craft Infantry participating in the Battle of Saipan in June of 1944. He was later stationed aboard a carrier in the Pacific. Lozano was assigned as a radioman to a Douglas SBD Dauntless divebomber. The pilot taught Lozano how to fly and they flew cover for the carrier in the Philippine Sea. He also participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Brown. Brown joined the Navy and served as a Radarman with amphibious forces at Guadalcanal for one year. In 1942, Brown worked aboard submarines as a specialist in surface attacks using radar. Admiral Chester Nimitz appointed him the officer in charge to create the Pacific Fleet Radar School for Senior Officers, and to instruct them in radar techniques. Brown completed this work through late 1945. He continued his service after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Bast. Bast joined the Navy in January of 1942. He completed courses in seamanship, gunnery, navigation, and attended the Submarine Chaser Training Center in Miami. He was assigned to the USS Anoka (PC-571), of which he was a plank owner. He provides some details of this patrol craft. They were assigned to Port Townsend, Washington protecting the Bremerton Naval Base from enemy submarines. From the fall of 1942 to April of 1943 they were stationed in Alaska, participating in the Aleutian Island Campaigns. In January of 1944 he was assigned as Commanding Officer of the USS LST-677, which was converted into a supply ship and named the USS Yolo (APB-43). In April of 1945 they traveled with a convoy to Okinawa and provided supplies to hundreds of ships in the Philippine Sea. Bast describes the process of supplying these ships. He was discharged in November of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ted T. Yenari. He was born in Tacoma, Washington on 29 September 1919 to parents who had immigrated from Japan. His family was sent to Rohwer War Relocation Center in March 1942. In May 1943 he left the camp to volunteer for the Military Intelligence Service Language School at Camp Savage, Minnesota. In November 1944, following completion of his Japanese language studies, he was sent to Military Intelligence School in Alabama for basic training. He completed basic training in April 1945 and shipped out to Manila. He recounts several of his experiences while in Manila. Yenari then volunteered as a linguist for the US Army 11th Airborne and flew to Okinawa. From there he flew to Atsugi Airport, near Yokohama, Japan, following the surrender. He gives several anecdotes of his experiences in Yokohama and Tokyo interpreting for the Americans. He recalls that he returned to the States in May 1946 and was discharged from the Army.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Connelly. Connelly joined the Navy in early 1942. He served as a Radioman aboard the USS DuPage (APA-41). From January of 1944 through early 1945, they landed troops for the assaults on Kwajalein, Guam, Peleliu and the Philippines. Connelly was wounded and returned to the US, receiving a discharge in May of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Michael Giroski. Giroski was born Luplow, Pennsylvania in 1922 and graduated from high school in 1940. Joining the Army Air Forces 28 February 1943 he was sent to Miami, Florida for basic training. He qualified for flight training, but washed out due to a medical condition. Giroski was approved for flying status, however and went to Harlingen, Texas for gunnery training. He was then selected for radar training and went to Clovis, New Mexico and Harvard, Nebraska for training and practical application in B-17s and B-24s. His crew went to Kearney, Nebraska where they picked up a new B-29, which they flew for several weeks on shakedown missions to insure that all equipment was performing adequately. On 24 December 1944 they left March Field, California for Tinian with stopovers in Hawaii and Kwajalein. After their arrival they flew practice missions over Iwo Jima and Truk. Giroski flew thirty-three missions and recalls his first mission, a fire bombing over Kobe during which seven aircraft were lost. General Curtis LeMay flew with his crew on five occasions and complimented their abilities. He recalls one incident during which their B-29 flipped …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Thomas Nelson. Nelson joined the Navy in 1941 and served aboard the USS San Francisco (CA-38). He was on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and witnessed the Japanese attack. He provides details of this experience. He worked as a 1st Class Radio Operator aboard a TBF. On 26 October 1942 his plane was shot down during the Battle of Santa Cruz Island and he was captured by the Japanese. He shares stories of life in a Japanese POW camp, and sabotaging trains, barges and a metallurgy plant. In April of 1944 he was discovered alive by the Red Cross and released following the war.