The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clay Reeves. Reeves joined the Marine Corps in September 1942. As he enlisted, he signed his full name for the first time in his life, and he remembers how he accidentally signed a document on the wrong line. After joining his platoon, his first duty included answering the phones while guarding cookies in an office. After reassignment to Camp Pendleton, Reeves joined an anti-tank battalion. He first traveled overseas in February 1943 to protect New Zealand from potential Japanese invasion. As a corporal, he was a half-track gunner until returning to Camp Pendleton to join the 5th Marine Division. There he made buck sergeant with a 37mm anti-tank gun crew. Reeves injured his arm but was so eager to help his country that he feigned good health to engage in combat on Iwo Jima. As acting platoon leader, he shot two enemy soldiers and took a bullet to a leg, walking five miles to return to base. When his medical records revealed his prior arm injury, he was sent home before the war ended and was discharged shortly thereafter.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Stephen Boykin. Boykin joined the Marine Corps in August of 1940. In 1942, he was in the second wave entering the Guadalcanal Campaign, where he was severely wounded by a grenade. In early 1943, after being hospitalized, he was sent back to the US for one year of physical therapy. Boykin received a medical discharge in early 1944.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Whitney Jacobs. Born in 1922, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in January 1942. He was assigned to the First Division and sent to Wellington, New Zealand where they prepared to go to Guadalcanal. He mentions the dock workers strike. He describes his experiences as a machine gunner on Guadalcanal. He recounts his actions during the Battle of the Tenaru River for which he was awarded the Navy Cross. He shares an anecdote about the award ceremony in Australia. He also fought in the Battle of Cape Gloucester on the island of New Britain. He served in the Pacific for approximately two years and then transferred to assignments in the United States. He was discharged in October 1945. He used the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill) to attend Harvard University.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Peter Lecce. Lecce joined the Army Air Forces in December 1941 and received basic training in California. He washed out of flight training in Arizona. He volunteered for glider school and received training in Lubbock and Laurinburg-Maxton. Upon completion he was sent to England with the 310th Troop Carrier Squadron, 315th Troop Carrier Group. He was scheduled to participate in Operation Market Garden, but his mission was canceled due to poor weather. Lecce transported newly assembled CG-A4 gliders to Orleans and delivered supplies to stranded troops in Brussels. He was discharged just after V-E Day.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Norman Wilmeth. Wilmeth signed up for the Citizens’ Military Training Camp in 1937 and obtained his pilot’s license through the Civilian Pilot Training Program in 1940. He was called into active duty in 1942 and attended Officer Training School. He was transferred to the glider program and received CG-4A training in Lubbock. Upon completion, he joined the 91st Troop Carrier Squadron, 439th Troop Carrier Group. Wilmeth transported troops to the Normandy invasion in a Horsa glider and then returned to England. For his next mission, he brought a medical unit to the invasion of Southern France. He witnessed a beautiful candlelit parade in Casablanca on the day that Paris was liberated. In October he flew troops and heavy equipment to Holland amidst antiaircraft fire, relying on Dutch families to hide him after landings. He was transferred to a special combat control team and participated in Operation Varsity, communicating with the battlefield from General Ridgway’s headquarters. After the war he accepted the surrender of German flight crews and arranged for the evacuation of wounded GIs. He returned home and joined the Texas National Guard, later becoming a nuclear weapons …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ray Phillips. Phillips transferred to the Navy Department after working as a civilian stenographer in the Department of the Interior. He worked in Naval Intelligence for six months, focusing on Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. He was transferred to ACORN-14, stationed on Tarawa. There he worked for Captain Tate, a rough character who would ride his Jeep from island to island during low tide, never revealing what he was searching for. After a year, Phillips was transferred to Kwajalein, where he took dictation from an admiral and taught shorthand to a captain. Phillips returned home and upon discharge he enrolled in college. He was hired by the school as a stenographer soon after graduating.

Transcript of an oral interview with Claire Krizoy. Krizoy discusses her time in the Marine Corp Women's Reserve where she did secretarial work at Cherry Point, NC and Milledgeville, GA for aviation units stations on bases in each place.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Otto Lyons. Lyons joined the Army Air Forces around 1943. He served as a glider pilot and shares details of his flight training. In early 1944, he deployed to England, participating in Operation Market Garden. He completed additional missions over Paris, France, and participated with American ground troops in combat going into Germany. He returned to the US in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Leon Spencer. Spencer joined the Army Air Corps in October of 1940. He completed schooling in Aviation Medicine in 1941, working as a flight surgeon’s assistant through June of 1942. He graduated in mid-1943 from Advanced Glider Training in Lubbock, Texas and served as a Flight Officer. After surviving an aircraft accident in September, Spencer became a glider pilot instructor at Sedalia, Missouri and Blytheville, Arkansas. He continued his service after the war ended, retiring from the Air Force in 1964.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Boyle. Boyle joined the Army Air Forces in June of 1942. He served as a glider pilot and C-47 flight officer, and shares details of his flight training. He was assigned to ferry gliders from Stout Field, Indiana throughout the US. Around early 1944, Boyle was transferred to Calcutta, India. He served as the first glider replacement for Operation Thursday. Boyle completed 11 missions throughout Pakistan, India and Burma. He returned to the US in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Powell. Powell joined the Army Air Forces in August of 1940. He served as a glider pilot and radio operator. In August of 1943, Powell deployed to North Africa, where he assembled CG-4A gliders. He participated in Operation Market Garden, where he served as sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division. His plane went down during the Battle of the Bulge, and he sustained multiple injuries. He returned to the US in early 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Dan Judevine. Judevine joined the Army Air Forces in February of 1942. He served as a glider pilot and C-47 co-pilot, and shares details of his flight training. In 1943 he deployed to England, participating in the Allied invasion of southern France and in Operation Market Garden. Through the end of the war, Judevine conducted resupply missions for the American ground troops in Germany. He returned to the US in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Theis. Theis joined the Army Air Forces in 1942 and was placed in the reserves. While waiting to be called, he joined the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP). He graduated from advanced glider flight training in Lubbock, Texas on 15 September 1944. Theis served as a glider pilot with the 98th Troop Carrier Squadron, 440th Troop Carrier Group. They were shipped to England, and participated in re-supply missions during Operation VARSITY in March of 1945. After the war ended, he served in occupied Germany. Theis returned to the US in June of 1946 and received his discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clay Reeves. Reeves joined the Marine Corps in September 1942. As he enlisted, he signed his full name for the first time in his life, and he remembers how he accidentally signed a document on the wrong line. After joining his platoon, his first duty included answering the phones while guarding cookies in an office. After reassignment to Camp Pendleton, Reeves joined an anti-tank battalion. He first traveled overseas in February 1943 to protect New Zealand from potential Japanese invasion. As a corporal, he was a half-track gunner until returning to Camp Pendleton to join the 5th Marine Division. There he made buck sergeant with a 37mm anti-tank gun crew. Reeves injured his arm but was so eager to help his country that he feigned good health to engage in combat on Iwo Jima. As acting platoon leader, he shot two enemy soldiers and took a bullet to a leg, walking five miles to return to base. When his medical records revealed his prior arm injury, he was sent home before the war ended and was discharged shortly thereafter.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Whitney Jacobs. Born in 1922, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in January 1942. He was assigned to the First Division and sent to Wellington, New Zealand where they prepared to go to Guadalcanal. He mentions the dock workers strike. He describes his experiences as a machine gunner on Guadalcanal. He recounts his actions during the Battle of the Tenaru River for which he was awarded the Navy Cross. He shares an anecdote about the award ceremony in Australia. He also fought in the Battle of Cape Gloucester on the island of New Britain. He served in the Pacific for approximately two years and then transferred to assignments in the United States. He was discharged in October 1945. He used the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill) to attend Harvard University.

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an oral history with Franklin Pomroy. Immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Pomroy, aged 17, joined the US Marine Corps. After completing boot camp he was sent to Camp Lejeune and assigned to H Company 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. He presents a riveting narrative of combat conditions, death, destruction, jungle diseases and man’s inhumanity to man that he witnessed on the islands of Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, and Peleliu. His wartime experiences were concluded by returning to the United States aboard the USS Comfort (AH-6) followed by extended stays in naval hospitals for wounds received in battle.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Tom Schicher. Schicher joined the Marine Corps in March of 1944. He served as a rifleman and mortarman, and deployed to Hawaii as a replacement. They traveled to the Russell Islands and Guadalcanal practicing maneuvers. He participated in the Battle of Okinawa. After the war ended, he was assigned to occupation duty in China. Schicher returned to the US and was discharged around 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Young. Upon completion of boot camp, Young was assigned to H company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He landed on Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942. He describes the slow progress through the jungle, the shortages of water and of being bombed, strafed and shelled every day. He describes the battle of the Tenaru River and the high casualties inflicted upon the Japanese as they made numerous banzai charges. Young relates the experience of being subjected to bombardment by Japanese ships. The unit went to Melbourne, Australia, after being relieved, for replacements and refitting. His unit then landed on Cape Gloucester and Young tells of contending with dense jungles, wind and rain. After a brief time on Pavuvu, where he describes the nuisance created by land crabs and rats they landed on Peleliu. He recalls various anecdotes involving the battle including the confusion, the damage incurred by enemy artillery, and the high casualties suffered by the landing force.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Verbon Houck. Houck joined the Army Air Corps in 1940, and served as a CG-4A glider pilot with the 94th Troop Carrier Squadron, 439th Troop Carrier Group, in the 9th Air Force. They traveled to England in September of 1944. In December, he piloted a re-supply mission for the 101st and 82nd airborne divisions in Bastogne, during the Battle of the Bulge. During this mission, his aircraft was shot down and Houck was captured by the Nazis He spent 5 months as a prisoner-of-war. He was liberated in May of 1945. He returned to the US and received his discharge in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Peter Lecce. Lecce joined the Army Air Forces in December 1941 and received basic training in California. He washed out of flight training in Arizona. He volunteered for glider school and received training in Lubbock and Laurinburg-Maxton. Upon completion he was sent to England with the 310th Troop Carrier Squadron, 315th Troop Carrier Group. He was scheduled to participate in Operation Market Garden, but his mission was canceled due to poor weather. Lecce transported newly assembled CG-A4 gliders to Orleans and delivered supplies to stranded troops in Brussels. He was discharged just after V-E Day.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Norman Wilmeth. Wilmeth signed up for the Citizens’ Military Training Camp in 1937 and obtained his pilot’s license through the Civilian Pilot Training Program in 1940. He was called into active duty in 1942 and attended Officer Training School. He was transferred to the glider program and received CG-4A training in Lubbock. Upon completion, he joined the 91st Troop Carrier Squadron, 439th Troop Carrier Group. Wilmeth transported troops to the Normandy invasion in a Horsa glider and then returned to England. For his next mission, he brought a medical unit to the invasion of Southern France. He witnessed a beautiful candlelit parade in Casablanca on the day that Paris was liberated. In October he flew troops and heavy equipment to Holland amidst antiaircraft fire, relying on Dutch families to hide him after landings. He was transferred to a special combat control team and participated in Operation Varsity, communicating with the battlefield from General Ridgway’s headquarters. After the war he accepted the surrender of German flight crews and arranged for the evacuation of wounded GIs. He returned home and joined the Texas National Guard, later becoming a nuclear weapons …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ray Phillips. Phillips transferred to the Navy Department after working as a civilian stenographer in the Department of the Interior. He worked in Naval Intelligence for six months, focusing on Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. He was transferred to ACORN-14, stationed on Tarawa. There he worked for Captain Tate, a rough character who would ride his Jeep from island to island during low tide, never revealing what he was searching for. After a year, Phillips was transferred to Kwajalein, where he took dictation from an admiral and taught shorthand to a captain. Phillips returned home and upon discharge he enrolled in college. He was hired by the school as a stenographer soon after graduating.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Stephen Boykin. Boykin joined the Marine Corps in August of 1940. In 1942, he was in the second wave entering the Guadalcanal Campaign, where he was severely wounded by a grenade. In early 1943, after being hospitalized, he was sent back to the US for one year of physical therapy. Boykin received a medical discharge in early 1944.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Boyle. Boyle joined the Army Air Forces in June of 1942. He served as a glider pilot and C-47 flight officer, and shares details of his flight training. He was assigned to ferry gliders from Stout Field, Indiana throughout the US. Around early 1944, Boyle was transferred to Calcutta, India. He served as the first glider replacement for Operation Thursday. Boyle completed 11 missions throughout Pakistan, India and Burma. He returned to the US in late 1945.