The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert McKinley. McKinley enlisted in the Navy in May 1941 and trained as an aircraft engine mechanic at Sand Point Naval Air Station. Assigned to the USS Saratoga (CV-3) as a third-class aviation machinist mate, he sailed to Pearl Harbor. He then boarded the USS Enterprise (CV-6) as a seaman, later assigned to an anti-aircraft gun. McKinley made a pact with a shipmate that if one of them died they'd visit the other's mother, and his shipmate was killed by a bomb that afternoon. McKinley followed through on his promise, which was the most difficult experience of his life. In October 1944, he joined a PBY squadron in Corpus Christi, where he stayed until 1947, making flight engineer and training cadets. McKinley stayed in the service for 21 years before retiring and later wrote a book about his experience.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Hay. Hay joined the Navy in 1943 and was assigned to a gun crew aboard USS Enterprise (CV-6). Hay was also coxswain of a whaleboat, transporting mail and officers, including Butch O'Hare. Hay was at a five-inch gun when the Enterprise was hit by a kamikaze. He diligently protected powder cans while the ship moved violently from the blast. While docked in Bremerton for repairs, Hay ran liberty parties ashore until the war ended. Afterward, he made three trips to Europe as part of the demobilization effort. Hay was discharged in February 1946 and embarked on a career shearing sheep and shoeing horses.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Smart. Upon graduating from junior college Smart joined the Naval Aviation Cadet Program. Having civilian pilot experience, he quickly advanced from platoon leader to company and battalion commander. Smart first joined the experienced VMSB-141 before joining VMSB-236 at Bougainville. His first combat experience involved bombing Rabaul. Smart then supported the Army in the Philippines by bombing assigned buildings and strafing enemy troops. Although Smart was fortunate enough never to encounter enemy aircraft, antiaircraft fire struck his plane in the oil cooler system, forcing a crash-landing on a guerrilla airstrip. There he was warmly received and gifted a homemade knife and scabbard by a headhunter. Later, during the Luzon campaign, Smart bombed Santo Tomas following the liberation of American prisoners and felt it was a privilege to do so. After war ended, Smart joined the Marines as a reserve pilot and had duty in Japan. He lived there with his wife and children and was amazed by how much the Japanese accepted them as allies, so soon after the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Al Kiracofe. Kiracofe was born in Gratis, Ohio in 1917 and graduated from high school in 1935. Entering the Navy in October 1942 he became a Commissioning Yeoman and participated in the forming of the Navy’s first five night-fighter units at Quonset Point, Rhode Island. He relates the experience of participating as a flying target for night-fighter pilots in training. He was assigned to Air Group 10 aboard the USS Intrepid (CV-11) in January 1945. Following the shakedown cruise the ship was deployed to Ulithi. Kiracofe tells of being on board the ship when it was hit by a Japanese suicide plane, which killed a number of sailors and heavily damaged the ship. The Intrepid returned to the United States for repairs and Kiracofe reported to the Oakland Naval Hospital. After receiving treatment for several months he received a medical discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with R. Bruce Porter. After a few years of college at the University of Southern California, Porter joined the Marines as an aviation cadet. After training on the F4F, Porter was assigned to Squadron 111 and shipped out on the USS Garfield to American Samoa. Porter mentions training with and talking with Joe Foss when his squadron passed through Apia. Porter then went to Turtle Bay, New Caledonia. He next flew F4F's in Guadalcanal in 1943. Their squadron then switched to the Corsair plane. Porter then started moving ""up the slot"" toward Japan gradually moving north with his squadron. Later, Porter returned to the states to train on F6F's and joined a night fighter squadron. He was assigned as a squadron commander in Okinawa. He discusses blowing up a plane with a ""baka"" bomb on it. Porter's record is an ace, with five official kills and one probable. Porter witnessed the surrender party preparing for the official surrender. He stayed in Japan for four months after the occupation.

Transcript of an oral interview with Clinton Edward Stork. Stork joined the Navy in early 1943 and took basic training at San Diego. Upon completion of training, Stork was assigned to the USS Tennessee (BB-43), and joined her at Bremerton, Washington. Stork sailed with the Tennessee to the Aleutian Islands and patrolled there and in the Bering Sea. His job aboard the Tennessee was working on the shell deck. All the 16-inch shells were stored there and Stork's team hoisted them up to turret #1 to be fired. Stork mentions some of the action the Tennessee particpated in during its tour of the Pacific: the Palaus, the marshalls, the Philippines, etc. He also describes being a sideboy when Admiral Nimitz boarded the Tennessee at Pearl Harbor one day. Stork also describes the kamikaze attack on the Tennessee off Okinawa. He spotted the formation of planes coming in low first. Six of the seven were shot down, but the seventh struck the Tennessee. He also mentions going ashore briefly in Tokyo and Yokohama before cruising back to the US via Cape Town, South Africa.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Laudell Raper. Raper joined the Marine Corps in early 1942. In the summer, he deployed to New Zealand and served with the 8th Marine Regiment. Beginning in August of 1942 through August of 1944, Person served as a Corporal in a machine gun section during the battles of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian. Raper contracted malaria on Tinian and returned to the US in late 1944. He later completed Non-Commissioned Officer School and joined the 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, participating in combat on Guam. Raper was then assigned to duty at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas. He was discharged around late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harold Buell. While attending college in Iowa, Buell took advantage of the Civilian Pilot Training program and earned a pilot's license in 1940. He volunteered for the Navy and went to flight school at Pensacola, Florida, where he earned his wings and a commission in November, 1941. He was assigned to go aboard the USS Yorktown (CV-5) as a member of Scouting Squadron 5 (VS-5) and arrived in time for the Battle of the Coral Sea. His squadron suffered enough damage to be removed from the Yorktown prior to the Battle of Midway. Buell was assigned to the USS Saratoga (CV-3) and flew search and rescue missions from her during the Battle of Midway. After that battle, Buell was transferred to yet another carrier, the USS Enterprise (CV-6), prior to the invasion of Guadalcanal. While flying off the Enterprise, Buell and ten other pilots had to land on Guadalcanal at Henderson Field. They and their dive bombers then became members of the Cactus Air Force. Buell describes the living conditions on Guadalcanal as opposed to those aboard an aircraft carrier. His group finally got off Guadalcanal and returned …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lloyd Travis. Travis joined the Marine Corps in 1942 and received basic training at Parris Island and further training at Camp Lejeune. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 6th Marine Division and sent to the Pacific. He fought on the north end of Okinawa for more than two weeks. Rather than sleep in a wet foxhole, he stayed in caves that were used as burial sites in peacetime. He left the island on 21 June and awaited further orders on Guam. Travis finished his tour of duty in Tsingtao as recreation coordinator for his unit. He was discharged in 1946 and returned to his job as a geologist with Exxon Mobil. He worked there until 1981 and then ran his own consulting firm, retiring at the age of 88.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ray Essig. Essig joined the Army in 1943. He received basic training at Camp Hahn and advanced training in the Mojave Desert. He was pulled out of the Army Specialized Training Program early in 1944 and assigned to the 42nd Infantry Division. While fighting in Europe he was captured by Germans and sent to Stalag IVB, near Dresden. He found Kurt Vonnegut’s depiction of life as a prisoner of war to be extremely accurate. Essig returned home safely, but his time as a prisoner left him with lifelong PTSD. He felt that it was socially unacceptable to have been captured rather than killed; therefore, he never spoke openly about his experience or sought treatment.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Rural Boyd. Boyd joined the Navy in February 1942 and received basic training in San Diego. He attended aviation machinist school in Chicago. Upon completion, he was assigned to Corpus Christi and then United States. Navy. Carrier Air Service Unit 1 (CASU-1), where he took care of PB4Ys as they came in for landings. He went aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6) in January 1944 and worked in the pump room on the seventh deck down. He recalls feeling the walls vibrate when the Enterprise’s guns were firing on Kwajalein. Whenever a group of islands was secured, one would be set aside for R&R, and at Ulithi Boyd enjoyed a week on Mog Mog. He witnessed a gruesome kamikaze attack at Okinawa, and he recalls that the water used to put out the fire drowned the crew in the elevator pump room. He explains how the Marianas Turkey Shoot got its name: after pinpointing where and when the waves of Japanese planes were refueling, it was easy to shoot them on the ground or just as they were taking off. Boyd left the Enterprise the day Nagasaki was bombed. …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harry I. Tannehill. Tannehill was drafted into the Marine Corps in November, 1943. After basic training in San Diego, Tannehill moved to Hawaii and went through amphibious force training. Tannehill was attached to the 27th Marines, 5th Marine Division. Tannehill served as a crewmember aboard an LVT (Landing Vehicle, Tracked) and ferried Marines to the beaches at Iwo Jima. His LVT ran out of gas and sank on the first night. He was rescued from the water and resumed hauling supplies (food, water, ammunition) via LVT to the Marines on Iwo Jima the next day.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Wilbert Shanks. Shanks joined the Navy in December of 1940. He completed communication school, and became a signalman, operating Morse Code and semaphore flags. He served aboard the USS Helena (CL-50). His battle station was at emergency radio, providing communication within the ship. They were stationed at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, and Shanks describes his experiences before, during and after the attack, including the ship getting hit with a torpedo. After repairs were made to the Helena, they traveled to the Coral Sea where they assisted survivors of the sunken USS Wasp (CV-7). They participated in the Guadalcanal Campaign. In July of 1943 they provided artillery for the Marines at Kula Gulf, where the Helena was sunk. In February of 1944 Shanks was assigned to the USS Major (DE-796), running escort duty between Norfolk and Trinidad. He was in Tokyo Bay during the surrender in September of 1945 and was discharged in December of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lloyd Fulbright. Fulbright joined the Army in September 1943 and trained in the artillery branch. He went overseas in Fenruary 1944 first to New Caledonia, then to New Zeraland where he was assigned to the 169th Field Artillery Battalion, 43rd Infantry Division. He then went to Aitape, New Guinea with the division and the Philippines. Fulbright shares several anecdotes about his combat experiences and stories from his time in occupied Japan. While in Japan, he was part of a detail that guarded the Kirin Brewery in Yokohama. He returned tot he US in January, 1946 and opted for discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Dykstra. Dykstra joined the Navy in January of 1943, at the age of seventeen. He served as a Radarman aboard USS Lunga Point (CVE-94), and saw combat in the Pacific at Iwo Jima, Okinawa and the Philippines. In August of 1945, their ship conducted minesweeping operations west of Okinawa. Dykstra returned to the US in November of 1945 and was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with W W Norberg. Norberg joined the Navy in February of 1941. He completed Communications School, and served as a Yeoman Third-Class aboard USS Enterprise (CV-6) beginning mid-1941. Norberg remained on the ship through the end of the war. In April of 1942, they escorted USS Hornet (CV-8) on the Doolittle Raid. From June through November, they participated in the battles at Midway, the Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz and Guadalcanal. In June of 1944, they served in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Norberg continued his service after the war ended, receiving his discharge as Chief Yeoman in February of 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Milford. Milford joined the Royal Australian Air Force around mid-1942. He served as a wireless air gunner aboard a Wellington bomber in 205 Group, 150 Squadron, participating in campaigns in North Africa in early 1943 and Italy in December. He completed 38 missions, his last in June of 1944.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John V. Haselby. Haselby was born in Grass Creek, Indiana on 24 April 1919. Haselby had 4 brothers and 5 sisters. He and his brothers all served and survived their service to the war effort. Haselby attended flight training at Chickasha, Oklahoma and received his wings and commission in Victoria, Texas in April 1942. He was sent to Morocco aboard USS Chenango (ACV-28) which was transporting 78 P40 airplanes that had been hoisted onboard. He flew 78 missions from Morocco to Sicily protecting and defending ground troops as they moved. Haselby was awarded a Purple Heart for an injury received during a mission flying close to the ground. He also received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and 7 Oak Leaf Clusters. Haselby made a career out of the Air Force and retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1957.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frederick Chevalier. Chevalier grew up in Texas and was drafted into the Army Air Force in 1941. Once he finished training, he became an instructor. He was told he had a foot condition and offered to stay as an instructor. He turned down the offer. He boarded a tanker at San Francisco in 1944 and took it to New Guinea. From there, he went up to Biak and then Mindoro where he fly 15 missions with the Jolly Rogers. He did radar counter measures. His missions were mostly mid-level with some high enough to use oxygen. From Mindoro Chevalier moved to Luzon. He was part of the 5th Air Force, VBC, 5th Bomber Command. He describes how the teams would verify that they were jamming the signals of the Japaneses. Finally, he moved up to Okinawa. He boarded the Hobo Queen, a B-32, for the Tokyo mission.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Virgil Cassel. Cassel joined the Navy in July of 1942. From September of 1942 through March of 1946 he served aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6) as an Apprentice Seaman and Chief Yeoman. Cassel signed up for extended duty and served in Berlin, Germany for two years beginning in March of 1946. He was assigned as the admiral’s secretary in the Office of Military Government for the U.S. Navy. They were disbanding the Germany Navy. Cassel assisted Admiral William Glassford in the analysis of the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. He provides some details of the trials he attended. He was discharged in November of 1947. He remained active in the Navy Reserves until joining the Air Force ROTC at the University of North Texas. Upon graduating in 1951 he received a commission in the Air Force as a second lieutenant and was called to active duty in the Korean War. Due to his number of hours in duty overseas, he remained at a base in Texas and completed the remainder of his Air Force career as an instructor in leadership in the Strategic Air Command Security School in Camp Carson, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Francis Shiner. Shiner joined the Navy in December 1942 and received basic training in Green Bay. Based on an aptitude test, he was sent to a university for electrician’s mate training. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Enterprise (CV-6), tasked with climbing 60-foot ladders to retrieve and recharge batteries from backup generators. It was heavy lifting for a man of his size, so he was reassigned to the power room, where he maintained fuses. He enjoyed his time walking along the deck and seeing porpoises swim alongside the ship. But it was tense during attacks, and he was dismayed to see the bodies of eight men who were killed by friendly fire after a kamikaze got between two ships. Shiner was aboard the Enterprise for every campaign from November 1943 until it took its last kamikaze hit off Okinawa. His friend was among the crew who drowned in the elevator pump room that day. Shiner returned to Bremerton with the Enterprise and made the acquaintance of a young woman. Five weeks later, on 9 August 1945, they were in a long line of soldiers and their …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ruben Peterson. Peterson grew up in Madrid, Iowa and attended Iowa State College under the Navy’s V-5 Aviation Program, where he enrolled in flight training. He was transferred to the University of Georgia in January 1943 where he continued flight training. After three months he was transferred to Pensacola where he received his wings. He trained in Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers, but he preferred fighter aircraft and volunteered to fly night fighters. In June 1943 Peterson was transferred to Quonset Point, Rhode Island, where the Navy established a base to train night flying on carriers in Grumman Hellcats. He qualified in carrier night flying and was transferred to Barbers Point, Hawaii. He embarked on the USS Independence (CVL-22) on 1 September 1943 and sailed to the South Pacific. While there, he shot down a Japanese bomber, and made bombing runs on freighters and ships near Leyte, flying only in daylight due to Admiral Halsey’s aversion to night carrier missions. Admiral Halsey’s relief had no such reluctance, and night flying became common. He remembers one close call at night in thick fog when he could not locate the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harry Colson. Colson joined the Navy in December of 1943. He served as Watertender Third-Class aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63). They participated in bombardment support for the invasion landings on Iwo Jima and throughout the Okinawa Campaign. Colson was aboard the Missouri on 2 September 1945 in Tokyo Bay, when the Instrument of Surrender was signed. Colson returned to the US aboard the ship, and was discharged in January of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Doane. Doane joined the Navy in December of 1942. He completed aviation ordnance school and gunnery school in Oklahoma. He served as a gunner with a night flying outfit in Quonset Point, Rhode Island. He also worked with the radio and radar aboard the plane. He provides some details of practicing in night flights to and from the USS Independence (CVL-22) in the Pacific. In 1944 they participated in the Palau operation and the Battle of the Philippines. Doane provides vivid details of their strike duties against targets in the Philippines and Japan. Doane was later transferred to train in a torpedo bomber. Doan was discharged shortly after the war ended.