The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Donihi. Donihi was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. He graduated from high school in 1934. During the Depression, he worked low wage jobs and lost his leg in an automobile accident while hitchhiking to Florida. His experiences influenced him to attend law school. He passed the Bar in 1941 and went to work in Tennessee. He was exempt from the draft, but was motivated to learn to fly under the Civil Air Patrol. He joined the Coast Guard Reserve during World War II and became a Seaman First Class, ferrying submarine chasers down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico for shakedown cruises. After the war, he met Tom Clark, President Truman’s Attorney General (and later Associate Supreme Court Justice). Clark offered Donihi a job in Tokyo and introduced him to Joseph B. Keenan, who had worked in President Roosevelt’s White House. Keenan was setting up an organization named Project K, which operated out of the Justice Department. Its purpose was to prosecute Emperor Hirohito and other suspected Japanese war criminals. In Tokyo he lived with Keenan and 15 other lawyers and judges. He attended several meetings …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Tom Stephens. Stephens was born 17 August 1916. He joined the Army and was assigned into the 33rd Infantry Division. After being a machine gun instructor, Stephens was selected for officer training. After receiving his commission at Fort Benning, Georgia he was assigned as a rifle platoon leader. He tells of the division arriving on Morotai, Indonesia on 18 December 1945 and although they conducted aggressive patrols, very little resistance was encountered. During February 1945 the division landed at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon. Stephens describes an incident of combat in which he received wounds that required hospitalization and two months of recovery. On 25 September the division landed on Honshu Island, Japan and after three months occupational duty he returned to the United States and was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Don Woodard, Sr. Woodard joined the Navy in March 1944. He completed Yeoman School in San Diego. Beginning in August, he served as the captain’s yeoman aboard USS Bowie (APA-137). They transported troops and cargo throughout the Philippines and to Okinawa in May of 1945. After the war ended, they delivered occupation troops to Sasebo, Japan. He returned to the US in early 1946 and received his discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Edmond Drake. Drake joined the Navy in April of 1943. Beginning early 1944, he served as Electrician’s Mate aboard USS President Adams (APA-19). They transported troops and supplies during the Battle of Guam, the invasion Luzon and the Battle of Iwo Jima. He returned to the US in April of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Gill. Gill was born in Pennsylvania 21 July 1920. He attended Pennsylvania State College and graduated in December 1942. He then reported to Ft Benning, Georgia to attend Infantry Officers Candidate School. Upon graduation in March 1943 he was commissioned and assigned to the 98th Infantry Division at Camp Breckenridge, Kentucky. While there he was assigned as an air-ground umpire during maneuvers and he explains the functions of those assigned to this position. In early 1944 the unit went to Camp Stoneman, California where they boarded the USS General W.M. Black (AP-135) where they joined the 304th Infantry Regiment for a trip to Honolulu. Upon their arrival, the unit maintained defensive positions among the islands. In 1945 after receiving advanced training for the invasion of Japan, they began loading the ships for the invasion. When the war ended, the division became part of Operation BLACKLIST and proceeded to Wakayana, Japan. Soon after his arrival, he was assigned to his regiment’s ordnance company to supervise the collection and destruction of Japanese weapons. In October, Gill reported to the US Army War Crimes Legal Section in Tokyo. He investigated …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Don Woodard, Sr. Woodard joined the Navy in March 1944. He completed Yeoman School in San Diego. Beginning in August, he served as the captain’s yeoman aboard USS Bowie (APA-137). They transported troops and cargo throughout the Philippines and to Okinawa in May of 1945. After the war ended, they delivered occupation troops to Sasebo, Japan. He returned to the US in early 1946 and received his discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Edmond Drake. Drake joined the Navy in April of 1943. Beginning early 1944, he served as Electrician’s Mate aboard USS President Adams (APA-19). They transported troops and supplies during the Battle of Guam, the invasion Luzon and the Battle of Iwo Jima. He returned to the US in April of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Donihi. Donihi was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. He graduated from high school in 1934. During the Depression, he worked low wage jobs and lost his leg in an automobile accident while hitchhiking to Florida. His experiences influenced him to attend law school. He passed the Bar in 1941 and went to work in Tennessee. He was exempt from the draft, but was motivated to learn to fly under the Civil Air Patrol. He joined the Coast Guard Reserve during World War II and became a Seaman First Class, ferrying submarine chasers down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico for shakedown cruises. After the war, he met Tom Clark, President Truman’s Attorney General (and later Associate Supreme Court Justice). Clark offered Donihi a job in Tokyo and introduced him to Joseph B. Keenan, who had worked in President Roosevelt’s White House. Keenan was setting up an organization named Project K, which operated out of the Justice Department. Its purpose was to prosecute Emperor Hirohito and other suspected Japanese war criminals. In Tokyo he lived with Keenan and 15 other lawyers and judges. He attended several meetings …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Delmar Oldenettel. Oldenettel was drafted into the Army and, after training, was shipped to a replacement depot in New Caledonia. In August, 1943, he was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division at Guadalcanal. From Guadalcanal, he went to Vella Lavella for the invasion. Afterwards, he went to New Zealand for rest with the rest of the division. Oldenettel then describes combat on Luzon when his unit landed at Lingayen Gulf in January, 1945. By October, 1945, Oldenettel had earned enough points to be rotated back to the US.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Hayes. Hayes joined the Navy in March 1943 and received basic training in Illinois and received further training with Navy commandos in San Francisco. Upon completion, he was assigned to CUB 7 as a rifleman and sent to Bougainville but instead diverted to Australia due to a storm. He was assigned to Gamadodo, a supply depot in New Guinea, where he refueled ships. During his year-long stay there, he was bombed daily until a P-38 base was installed nearby. His next assignment was in the Philippines. Hayes was then transferred to USS Waller (DD-466) where he was assigned to the engine room until the end of the war. He was onboard when the Waller destroyed a surfaced Japanese submarine, and provides graphic details of the fate of the crew. While patrolling the Yangtze River, the Waller hit a mine and was repaired in Shanghai. He recounts the poverty and destitution he witnessed in China. After the ship was repaired, Hayes returned home and was discharged in March 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Willford Burks. Burks joined the Army around 1942. He was assigned to the 99th Infantry Division. They deployed to England in September of 1944. He participated in the Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe Campaigns. Burks returned to the US and was discharged in 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with A J Dunn. Dunn joined the Navy in 1940 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Oglala (CM-4) at Pearl Harbor. On the morning of 7 December 1941, he was returning from liberty when the attack began. Unable to find his ship, he jumped aboard the USS Mugford (DD-389) just as it was getting underway. After seven days of patrols, he returned to the harbor and was transferred to the USS New Orleans (CA-32). While on convoy duty to Brisbane, the ship received a warm welcome from Australian citizens. But one evening, the ship was nearly subject to friendly fire when a cruiser from New Zealand mistook the New Orleans for a Japanese ship. Dunn was transferred to the USS Indiana (BB-58) with Task Force 58, bombarding islands in the Gilberts and Marshalls. As a gunner’s mate, his duties included testing small arms ammunition in a surveillance oven to see whether it had expired. He was transferred to the USS Botetourt (APA-136), operating out of the Philippines until the end of the war. He sailed past the USS Missouri (BB-63) …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Daniel Andrews. Andrews joined the United States Navy in 1941 where he became a SeaBee. Andrews was sent to Saipan to help build airfields and seaplane bases. He left Saipan in July of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dana Anderson. Anderson was born in Manhattan, Kansas on 30 November 1924 and joined the Navy on 2 December 1942. After completing boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Illinois he was sent to San Diego where he trained on the Diesel engines on LCMs. After the training was complete he was assigned to USS Ashland (LSD-1), which was capable of carrying 18 LCMs. After making practice landings in Hawaii with the 2nd Marine Division, the Ashland participated in the invasion of Tarawa. Anderson’s LCM was left on the beach as it was disabled by Japanese shellfire. He returned to the Ashland and later participated in the invasions of Eniwetok and Kwajalein. Returning to the United States, he was sent to Cleveland, Ohio where he received additional training with Diesel engines. He was then assigned to an ocean-going tug hauling concrete forms to the Philippines. This tug was pulling another ship back to the US when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Kenneth Doolittle. Doolittle was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1930. His father was a doctor at the Queen’s Medical Center. He was an 11-year-old boy, living with his family in Hawaii when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Doolittle shares details of his experiences through that fateful day, and his life in general living on the island before, during and after the war. He graduated high school in 1948 and served in the Army with the 101st Airborne Division.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William P Gattis. Gattis joined the Navy in May of 1941. Soon after joining, he was assigned to the USS Henderson (AP-1). Upon arriving at Pearl Harbor, Gattis volunteered to join the submarine forces. He was quickly assigned to the USS Sargo (SS-188). They departed Pearl Harbor in October of 1941, arrived in Manila in November, and were there when the Japanese attacked. He was later transferred off the Sargo to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station to complete Chief Commissary Steward School, and was then assigned to the USS Salmon (SS-182). In April of 1945, he was transferred to the USS Stickleback (SS-415). He was discharged in Mary of 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Raymond Carden. Carden was born in Oklahoma 15 September 1922. Upon graduating from high school in 1942 he joined the Navy. He was sent to boot camp in San Diego for six weeks before attending diesel engine school in Los Angeles for eight weeks. Upon graduating as a motor machinist mate he was assigned to the engine room aboard the USS Apache (AFT-67). He tells of participating in several invasions, including Guam, in which they assisted LSTs in withdrawing from the beaches. He tells of being attacked by Japanese planes during the invasion of Lingayen Gulf. The crew shot down three enemy planes. The ship returned to the United States prior to the surrender of Japan and Carden was discharged in September 1945.

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.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Wadsack. Wadsack joined the Army Air Corps in 1940 after graduating from Washington University, earning a commission through the ROTC Coast Artillery Corps. He was assigned to Chanute Field as a supply officer, providing planes and tools for mechanics in training. His 50-man crew retrieved and repaired damaged aircraft, and stayed up to date on technology so as to provide appropriate tech orders to the students. When the school was expanded to include other locations, Wadsack went to Seymour Johnson Field to conduct similar work. As the war wound down, his unit came under command of the First Air Force and Wadsack was promoted to director of supply for the entire field. In addition to warehouse inventory, he managed the distribution of gasoline rations to civilian employees. After a brief post at Lake Charles Army Air Force Base, he was discharged into the reserves in December 1945. In his sixties, he retired from the reserves as a captain.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Wareing. Wareing attended the Hawken School as a child, impressing upon him the value of discipline. He later joined the ROTC and the Kentucky National Guard. With war looming, he applied both to the Army Air Corps and Royal Canadian Air Force. Accepted by both, he chose the Air Corps, completing flight training in December 1941 as a second lieutenant. After two years as an instructor, he was appointed to oversee curriculum at various flight schools. By that time, he was a captain and he turned down a promotion to major in favor of attending B-29 school. He then joined the 500th Bombardment Group, flying exactly one mission, the final bombardment of Japan, days after the second atomic bomb was dropped. Under antiaircraft fire, Wareing risked being court-martialed to break formation and ensure proper targeting. Following the war, Wareing dropped supplies over POW camps in Formosa and China. When one of his flights was diverted, he came so close to crashing into a mountainside that he caught a leaf in his landing gear. In November 1945 he was discharged in order to see his dying mother. Wareing …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ruben Davis. Davis was born in Texas on 5 July 1926. In 1944 he was inducted into the Navy and sent to San Diego for boot training. Upon completing eight weeks of boot training he was assigned to amphibious training at Coronado Island, California. During training, he covered boat handling, semaphore and Morse code. While in training he developed pneumonia and was hospitalized. Upon recovering, he was assigned to USS LSM-171 as a coxswain. He recalls the ship laying smokescreen during the invasion of Okinawa and being under attack by kamikaze aircraft. He also remembers the ship being in a typhoon in 1945. Following the surrender of Japan the ship went to various islands and picked up and disposed of Japanese weaponry. Davis returned to the United States aboard the USS Wakefield (AP-21) and was discharged in April 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Paul Massier. Massier enrolled in the Army Specialized Training Program after two years of studying mechanical engineering. He was inducted in June 1943 and expected to finish school at Texas A&M. After basic training however, Massier was assigned to the 99th Infantry Division as a rifleman when the program was cut short. He was unhappy with this arrangement, as many of the officers were not well educated. After learning that he had osteoarthritis and torn ligaments, he was given a noncombat assignment at the Camp Swift medical depot. Sent to Okinawa in 1945, he sought refuge in the bottom of the ship when strafed by enemy planes. Unable to dig trenches on the hard beach, Massier slept on the ground and was frightened as anti-aircraft flak rained down around him. Although the northern part of islands were off limits to military personnel, Massier snuck through and discovered tombs as a well a tea plantation. After the war, Massier survived a major typhoon that destroyed the roof of their medical supply building. He returned home and was discharged in March 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Wayne Holtzman. Holtzman joined the NROTC at Northwestern and graduated in February 1944 with a degree in chemistry and a commission in the Navy. He then boarded the USS Iowa (BB-61) as an antiaircraft gunnery officer. After performing an intense but brief shore bombardment at Iwo Jima, he watched the invasion. At Okinawa, the Iowa unleashed tremendous fire power on kamikazes, almost running out of ammunition. An enemy plane broke through the curtain and nearly struck the Iowa before it was finally pulverized, falling to the ship as a pile of flaming debris. As with other gunnery officers, Holtzman lost his hearing, having spent so much time beside the guns, and was reassigned to communications as a coding officer. Receiving top-secret messages, he inferred the war would soon end and that something big would end it. After the bomb was dropped, Holtzman watched the signing of the peace treaty and went to conduct reconnaissance at Yokosuka. He traveled to Tokyo, which had been completely leveled. After returning home and being discharged into the Reserves in June 1946, Holtzman joined the Air Force as a researcher, studying the factors …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Muriel Usselman. Usselman was a child living in Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Her father worked as an electrician and the family lived on base. She recalls what she witnessed during the attack on 7 December as well as her experiences in the following days. She returned with her family to the Mainland in 1944.