The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alan Pilot. Pilot joined the Army in January 1943 and received basic training at Camp Howze. He received further training in Louisiana for the European Theater and then in California for the Pacific Theater. In January he left for Camp Old Gold at La Havre, where he served as a combat medic, supporting Companies E, G, and H of the 343rd Infantry, 86th Division. His unit relieved the 8th Division and fought in Cologne, where he was stationed at the top of the cathedral while it was being shelled. In the Ruhr Pocket a defective shell landed 10 feet away from him. He recalls seeing 100,000 Germans surrender there. He describes the Bavarian people as friendly as he passed through Austria on VE Day. He was then sent to the Pacific as part of Operation Coronet. VJ Day came while he was still crossing the Pacific. He spent the last five months of his service in the Philippines at a quiet outpost while the rest of his unit prepared the Philippines for independence. Pilot returned home and was discharged in January 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Trubach. Trubach was drafted into the Army in December of 1944. In March of 1945 he traveled to Luzon, Philippines. His job was to go out on reconnaissance missions into the hills of Luzon to locate any remaining Japanese soldiers in the caves. Trubach provides some detail of these missions and of jungle life. He then traveled to Fukaya, Japan to help clean up an ammunition storage area and destroy Japanese weapons. He was then transferred over to a medical detachment with the Army Air Forces. They traveled around Japan administering vaccinations and then he was placed into a communication detachment until early 1946. He then served as telephone operator, corresponding with other bases around Japan. Trubach was discharged in November of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Meacham. Meacham was born in Roanoke County, California in 1925. At the age of 17, he dropped out of high school and joined the Marine Corps. Upon completion of boot camp, he volunteered for the Marine Raiders. In 1943, Meacham was assigned to Company K, 3rd Marine Raider Battalion. He tells of serving in combat on Bougainville, Guam and Okinawa and the use of Navajo Code Talkers and war dogs during various operations. He suffered a debilitating injury that led to a lengthy hospitalization and a medical discharge in November 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Paul Simpson. Simpson joined the Army in December of 1944. After boot camp, he deployed to Saipan where he served on patrol. Simpson participated with the 147th Infantry Regiment through the Battle of Iwo Jima, where he was stationed when the war ended. He returned to the US and received his discharge around early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ken Coonrod. Coonrod joined the Navy in the fall of 1944. He served as an Electrician’s Mate Third Class in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. In late 1944, Coonrod was assigned to the Philippines. In mid-1945, he traveled to Okinawa, in preparation for the invasion of Japan. He was assigned to an LCVP just before the war ended. Coorod was transferred to Nagoya, Japan, and served with occupation forces aboard USS Littlehales (AGS-7). He returned to the US and received his discharge in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Galbraith. Galbraith joined the Marine Corps in February of 1942. He describes the training he received to become a pilot. Galbraith became a flight instructor and then trained on twin engine planes. He was sent to the Pacific and flew C-46 transport planes into Guam, Tinian, and Saipan. Galbraith discusses flying into Iwo Jima during the battle. He flew into Japan on several missions after the war had ended. Galbraith describes the damage he witnessed at Nagasaki and Yokohama. He also tells of how he weathered two typhoons on an airfield. Galbraith left the service after he returned to the US.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Walter Autry. Autry joined the Navy in 1941. In 1944, he traveled to New Guinea, serving aboard as a cook. He later worked as a Machinist Mate and Chief Engineer aboard an LCI. He participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the Philippines Campaigns. Autry served with occupation forces in Tientsin, China. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Stanley Holzhauer. Holzhauer joined the Navy in late 1943 and received basic training at Farragut. Upon completion of signal school, he was assigned to a beach party with the USS Hansford (APA-106), assisting the 27th Regiment of the 5th Marine Division. He was trained in hand-to-hand combat at Camp Pendleton before deploying to Iwo Jima, where he landed in the sixth wave. On the way in, a shell went through his tank and exploded in the water behind him. The volcanic ash on the beach made it so that his tank could not land, so Holzhauer exited into the water, losing all but his generator and signal lamp. The first message he relayed back to the ship was a request for Marston matting so that tanks could maneuver over the beach. His party suffered heavy casualties, immediately losing their two radiomen, doctor, and assistant beach master. Holzhauer survived and continued to serve aboard the Hansford until his discharge in April 1946. He attended school on the GI Bill and became the dean of students at a large high school. Before the war, his family had been so poor …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bernice Harriet Wallis George. George served with the US Navy Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) beginning October of 1942. She was trained for a highly secret project designed to crack the German Enigma encryption. She then was assigned to Washington, DC, where she worked on the prototype decryption devices called bombes. George continued her work through December of 1944.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Price. Price joined the Navy in 1943 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Oakland (CL-95) as a first loader on a 40-milimeter. Standing beside the gun with no protective shield, he was vulnerable to enemy fire. After a year and a half, Price was transferred to the storekeepers division, where he maintained five storerooms of dry goods. When the kitchen placed an order, deckhands retrieved goods from Price and delivered them by hand. At the signing of the peace treaty, the Oakland was right beside the Missouri, and Price watched the Japanese delegation climb aboard. While on liberty, Price observed that Yokohama had been completely destroyed. After the war, there was pressure for storekeepers to remain in the service, but Price insisted on going home. He was discharged in December 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Anna Gatti, nee Cocchi. Gatti graduated from Boston University as a French major in 1942. While volunteering at a settlement house, she met her future husband, Corry, who was a student at Harvard. In 1942, Corry was drafted into the Army. In 1943, Gatti joined the Navy’s Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). She completed Meteorology School in New Jersey and served as Aerographer, Third Class on a base in California. By late 1943, she completed Midshipman’s School in Massachusetts, then went on to Officer Candidate School. Gatti was then assigned to the Office of Censorship in Miami, censoring national and international cables and radio messages, through mid-1945. From September, 1945 to January, 1946, she was assigned to the Gulf Sea Frontier as an Operations Officer, plotting ship and plane movements in the Gulf. Gatti finished her war service in March of 1946, as a Lieutenant j.g.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ken Coonrod. Coonrod joined the Navy in the fall of 1944. He served as an Electrician’s Mate Third Class in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. In late 1944, Coonrod was assigned to the Philippines. In mid-1945, he traveled to Okinawa, in preparation for the invasion of Japan. He was assigned to an LCVP just before the war ended. Coorod was transferred to Nagoya, Japan, and served with occupation forces aboard USS Littlehales (AGS-7). He returned to the US and received his discharge in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Leland Gwin. After Gwin's brother was captured on Corregidor, Gwin vowed to rescue him. In late 1944, when he turned 17, Gwin joined the Navy. Upon completion of amphibious training, he was assigned as an engineer to an LCVP attached to the USS Rockingham (APA-229). While landing troops at Okinawa, he rescued a crew whose landing gear failed and evacuated 150 wounded off a hospital ship that was attacked. Gwin was later assigned to pick up American POWs from Leyte, where he met someone who had been imprisoned with his brother. Gwin learned that although his brother survived the Bataan Death March, he had been worked to death in a coalmine. Gwin spent the next six months transporting soldiers home, making four round trips before by June 1946. He then received orders to Bikini Atoll but was granted leave to see his dying mother and was subsequently discharged. Several of the men who went in his place died soon after from exposure to radiation.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Felix Burrus. Burrus joined the Army Air Forces in August of 1944. He completed Airplane Mechanics School, and served as a B-29 mechanic with the 5th Bomb Group, 313th Bomb Wing. In early 1945, Burrus was assigned to Clark Field in the Philippines, where he worked through the end of the war. He received his discharge in November of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John McKelfresh. McKelfresh joined the Navy soon after the war began, leaving behind his career as a schoolteacher. Upon completion of officer training at Northwestern, he was assigned to the USS Hansford (APA-106) as assistant navigator and legal officer. In reviewing ingoing and outgoing mail, he consoled the many recipients of Dear John letters. He also had to let go of a highly skilled navigator who committed the indiscretion of broadcasting the ship's whereabouts via coded letters to family. At Okinawa, a young sailor was killed in an innocent but reckless competition to see who could unload their landing craft the quickest. McKelfresh chose to record the death as merely accidental, casting no blame on anyone. After the war ended, McKelfresh visited a holy site in Japan and was stunned by its beauty and tranquility. He returned home and was discharged soon after.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Gerald Rehbein. Rehbein joined the Navy in April of 1944. He completed Radio School. In early 1945, he traveled aboard a troop transport ship to Guadalcanal. Rehbein speaks of the manual labor and living conditions while on the island. He was later transferred to Tulagi, loading and unloading supplies and ammunition. He was assigned as Radioman aboard the USS Fieberling (DE-640). They covered landings during the Battle of Okinawa, and operated on escort duty between Okinawa, Guam and Saipan until October of 1945. Rehbein returned to the US and received his discharge in early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Paul Simpson. Simpson joined the Army in December of 1944. After boot camp, he deployed to Saipan where he served on patrol. Simpson participated with the 147th Infantry Regiment through the Battle of Iwo Jima, where he was stationed when the war ended. He returned to the US and received his discharge around early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Trubach. Trubach was drafted into the Army in December of 1944. In March of 1945 he traveled to Luzon, Philippines. His job was to go out on reconnaissance missions into the hills of Luzon to locate any remaining Japanese soldiers in the caves. Trubach provides some detail of these missions and of jungle life. He then traveled to Fukaya, Japan to help clean up an ammunition storage area and destroy Japanese weapons. He was then transferred over to a medical detachment with the Army Air Forces. They traveled around Japan administering vaccinations and then he was placed into a communication detachment until early 1946. He then served as telephone operator, corresponding with other bases around Japan. Trubach was discharged in November of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Haddad. Haddad shares much about his family history and growing up in Brooklyn, New York in the 1930s. He joined the Army in May of 1944. He trained at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and served with the 7th Infantry Division as a gunner on a 155mm gun and a 105mm howitzer. In May of 1945, Haddad traveled to Okinawa aboard USS Leon (APA-48), then went ashore via a Higgins boat. He explains his experiences through the battle, ending in June. Haddad and his division traveled to Korea and served with the occupation of Japan, returning to the US in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Paul Harless. Harless dropped out of high school to join the Navy in 1939 and received basic training in Norfolk. Upon completion, he was assigned to the presidential yacht, the USS Potomac (AG-25) which brought the Roosevelts to visit Churchill, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and Princess Martha of Norway. In November 1942 Harless transferred to the USS John Rodgers (DD-574) and oversaw 59 sailors who had never been aboard a ship. Providing shore bombardment throughout the Pacific Theater, they did not lose a single man in their 12 battles. At Okinawa, Harless was credited with shooting down a kamikaze as captain of a twin 40mm gun. After the ship ran into a typhoon and nearly capsized, Harless attended the signing of the surrender in Tokyo Bay and returned home immediately thereafter, with special instructions from Admiral Halsey to prioritize the exemplary crew's discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Dean. Dean was born in Sapulpa, Oklahoma on 7 September 1924 and graduated from high school in 1942. Upon being drafted in 1943, he was sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for thirteen weeks of basic training. While there he was selected to attend the Army Specialized Training Program at Colorado State College at Fort Collins. Soon after he entered the program, it was discontinued and he joined the 80th Infantry Division and went to Fort Dix, New Jersey. There, the division boarded HMS Queen Mary bound for Scotland. Dean recalls landing at Normandy three weeks after the invasion and describes seeing wreckage and bodies that remained. The division joined the 8th Army and advanced across France. During December 1944 he was hospitalized for three weeks with a severe case of trench foot. Upon being released from the hospital, he was assigned to the 60th US Army Band. The band played during the funeral for General George Patton and he describes the formalities of the funeral. Dean returned to the United States in 1946 and was discharged soon thereafter.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Everett Campbell. Campbell joined the Navy around 1942. By 1943 he had completed flight school and received his wings. He served in the Pacific theater as a fighter pilot aboard the USS Kadashan Bay (CVE-76). In July of 1944 they traveled to Pearl Harbor to join a carrier division. They participated in the Battle of Peleliu in September and the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October. They returned to the US in April of 1945 and Campbell was discharged in September.

The National museum of the Pacific War presents an ortal interview with Eugene Ganske. Ganske attempted to join the Navy but wopund up in the Marine Corps instead in May 1944. He trained as an anti-aircraft gunner and eventually was sent to Tinian to guard B-29s. He also deployed to Okinawa after the invasion. After the war, Ganske went to CHina with the First Marine Division.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Elizabeth L. (Liz) Irvine. Irvine was born 5 July 1927 in Baguio, Philippine Islands, where her parents were teachers. They lived most of the time in Manila, until the outbreak of WWII, at which time they were imprisoned in 1942 by Japanese forces in Santo Tomas Internment Camp for the next three years, until liberation in early 1945. After the war ended in 1945, she and her parents moved to the United States. Liz shares intimate details of their experiences in the camp.