Oral History Interview with John Thomas Maloney, June 26, 2012 transcript

Oral History Interview with John Thomas Maloney, June 26, 2012

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Thomas ""Tom"" Maloney. Maloney joined the Naval Air Reserve in Ocotber, 1941. Upon earning his wings, Maloney was assigned to Air Group 98 aboard the USS Princeton (CVL-23). He flew combat missions against targets all over New Guinea before being transferred to Air Group 6 aboard the USS Hancock (CV-19) in July, 1944. Aboard the Hancock, Maloney struck targets on Okinawa. He also sank a few Japanese ships near the home islands and earned two Navy Crosses.
Date: June 26, 2012
Creator: Maloney, John Thomas
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with William Merkel, June 26, 2014 (open access)

Oral History Interview with William Merkel, June 26, 2014

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Merkel. Merkel was born in San Antonio in 1926 and was drafted into the Navy in 1944 and sent to San Diego for boot camp. Soon after completing his training he was aboard a ship bound for Guam. At that time, he was assigned to a Naval Construction Battalion. Soon after his arrival he was assigned to a dredge ship. He tells of some of his experiences while aboard the vessel. He vividly recalls witnessing a kamikaze crashing into a hospital ship. He also remembers being aboard his ship during a typhoon in 1945.
Date: June 26, 2014
Creator: Merkel, William
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Gordon Whymark, June 26, 2006 (open access)

Oral History Interview with Gordon Whymark, June 26, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gordon Whymark. Whymark begins with discussing witnessing the Battle for Britain as he was a teenager living in a rural community outside London. When he was seventeen, he joined the Royal Marines and trained at Chatham in 1943. After training, he boarded a ship bound for Sri Lanka and more training. Upon completion of jungle training in Sri Lanka, Whymark was assigned to HMS Illustrious, an aircraft carrier assigned to raiding the Japanese installations on Java and Sumatra. In 1944, Illustrious joined the US Navy Task Force 57 and attacked targets on Formosa and Okinawa. Whymark describes the kamikaze attack on Illustrious that he witnessed. Whymark was reassigned from Illustrious to HMS Swiftsure (08), a cruiser. When the war ended, Whymark went to Hong Kong and Shanghai aboard Swiftsure. He also shares stories about the time he spent on occupation duty at the British Embassy in Tokyo after the war ended.
Date: June 26, 2006
Creator: Whymark, Gordon
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Bill Brown, June 26, 2000 transcript

Oral History Interview with Bill Brown, June 26, 2000

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Brown. Brown was studying at the University of Texas at El Paso whe nhe joined the Army Air Force in 1942. Brown discusses his flight training, which occurred throughout Texas. With training cmplete, Brown was sent to Hawaii where he continued training with the 45th Fighter Squadron, 7th Air Force. Soon his unit was shipped to Iwo Jima where they flew bomber escort for bombing missions over the home islands of Japan. Brown was shot down over Yokahama and bailed out over the Tokyo Bay, where he was resuced by the USS Pipefish (SS-388). Brown was taken to Hawaii to recover and was eventually shipped back to the US, where he was discharged in September, 1945.
Date: June 26, 2000
Creator: Brown, Bill
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Alvin Kendzora, June 26, 2008 transcript

Oral History Interview with Alvin Kendzora, June 26, 2008

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Alvin Kendzora. Kendzora enlisted in the Army Air Forces in April 1944 and trained at Sheppard Field in Texas. After basic training, he qualified to train as a radio operator. He departed for overseas in May 1945. He stopped at New Guinea for a month or two before heading for Leyte in the Philippines. He was attached to a headquarters squadron in the Fifth Air Force and was there when the war ended. He was tasked with hauling supplies to Japan and recalls some details of his experiences in Japan. He also managed to travel some in Shanghai as well as Korea. He shares several anecdotes about his experiences overseas and was discharged in May 1946.
Date: June 26, 2008
Creator: Kendzora, Alvin
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with William Merkel, June 26, 2014 transcript

Oral History Interview with William Merkel, June 26, 2014

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Merkel. Merkel was born in San Antonio in 1926 and was drafted into the Navy in 1944 and sent to San Diego for boot camp. Soon after completing his training he was aboard a ship bound for Guam. At that time, he was assigned to a Naval Construction Battalion. Soon after his arrival he was assigned to a dredge ship. He tells of some of his experiences while aboard the vessel. He vividly recalls witnessing a kamikaze crashing into a hospital ship. He also remembers being aboard his ship during a typhoon in 1945.
Date: June 26, 2014
Creator: Merkel, William
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Gordon Whymark, June 26, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with Gordon Whymark, June 26, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gordon Whymark. Whymark begins with discussing witnessing the Battle for Britain as he was a teenager living in a rural community outside London. When he was seventeen, he joined the Royal Marines and trained at Chatham in 1943. After training, he boarded a ship bound for Sri Lanka and more training. Upon completion of jungle training in Sri Lanka, Whymark was assigned to HMS Illustrious, an aircraft carrier assigned to raiding the Japanese installations on Java and Sumatra. In 1944, Illustrious joined the US Navy Task Force 57 and attacked targets on Formosa and Okinawa. Whymark describes the kamikaze attack on Illustrious that he witnessed. Whymark was reassigned from Illustrious to HMS Swiftsure (08), a cruiser. When the war ended, Whymark went to Hong Kong and Shanghai aboard Swiftsure. He also shares stories about the time he spent on occupation duty at the British Embassy in Tokyo after the war ended.
Date: June 26, 2006
Creator: Whymark, Gordon
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History