The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Iliff Richardson. Richardson was commissioned in the Navy in 1940 and assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 as the executive officer of PT-34. After the loss of his boat in April 1942, he joined a band of Filipino guerrillas. Richardson tells of setting up radio transmitters and of the unusual features of the operations and equipment used. At the request of General Douglas MacArthur he plotted the Japanese mine fields in Leyte Gulf and he gives the details on how this was accomplished. Upon returning to the Philippines, General MacArthur met with Richardson on the USS Nashville (CL-43) and he describes the discussion. After returning to the United States, he had a seven hour meeting with Admiral Ernest J. King concerning pending court martial charges against him and tells of the outcome of the meeting. Richardson joined the Industrial Incentive Division of the Navy and he comments on his travels and speeches given to industry workers. [A copy of the manuscript written by Richardson during the war describing PT boat operations in the Philippines is in the archives of The National Museum of the Pacific War and …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Iliff Richardson. Richardson was commissioned in the Navy in 1940 and assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 as the executive officer of PT-34. After the loss of his boat in April 1942, he joined a band of Filipino guerrillas. Richardson tells of setting up radio transmitters and of the unusual features of the operations and equipment used. At the request of General Douglas MacArthur he plotted the Japanese mine fields in Leyte Gulf and he gives the details on how this was accomplished. Upon returning to the Philippines, General MacArthur met with Richardson on the USS Nashville (CL-43) and he describes the discussion. After returning to the United States, he had a seven hour meeting with Admiral Ernest J. King concerning pending court martial charges against him and tells of the outcome of the meeting. Richardson joined the Industrial Incentive Division of the Navy and he comments on his travels and speeches given to industry workers. [A copy of the manuscript written by Richardson during the war describing PT boat operations in the Philippines is in the archives of The National Museum of the Pacific War and …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Gordon Hurd. Hurd joined the Army in January of 1944. He was assigned to the 124th Cavalry Regiment as a second lieutenant in the China India Burma campaign. They deployed to India in August of 1944, and operated as dismounted cavalry alongside Chinese troops. He participated in battles with the Japanese to recapture sections of the Burma Road, and helped train Chinese troops to take over after the Japanese surrendered. Hurd was discharged in September of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Floyd C. Cox. He tells of organizing a group of volunteers to establish a formal oral history program. Cox also shares the growth of the program from an unorganized collection of less than 200 oral histories in 1999 to an organized and diversified collection of over 5000 stories in 2022. He tells of the progression from analog tape recordings to digital recordings and the advancement of making the collection available to the public through an online digital archive.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Marcel Bisson. Bisson joined the Marine Corps in 1944 and after training was assigned as a replacement to the 5th Marine Division just prior to invading Iwo Jima. On the twelfth day, Bisson was wounded and evacuated. After some stays in hospitals, he was medically discharged in July 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard Mosier. Mosier joined the Army in 1946, having been a high school student during the war, and was sent to Japan for occupation duty. Upon arrival, he was assigned to the International Military Tribunal for the Far East as a personal aide to the presiding justices. He was on friendly terms with all of them, and among the list of tasks he performed were repairing a family heirloom for Sir William Webb, playing bridge with Judge Bernard, picking out Christmas gifts for the Queen of Netherlands on behalf of Judge Röling, listening to General Zaryanov's jokes, and attending a special event at the Imperial Palace which no one outside the Imperial family had attended in over a century. After returning home from the tribunal one year later, Mosier visited Judge Higgins at the Massachusetts Superior Court and was invited to sit with him at the bench.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Dwayne Kendall Jose. Jose joined the Army Air Forces in 1942. He received his wings in 1943, and served as a B-26 bomber pilot with the 17th Bomb Group, 12th Air Force. Beginning in mid-1944, he traveled to North Africa, and completed 50 missions over Italy and Germany. They participated in the Italian Campaign and the Battle of the Bulge, bombing air fields, refineries and bridges. He shares vivid details of combat. Jose returned to the U.S. and received his discharge in 1945.

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 oral interview with J B Magers. Magers joined the Navy in 1943 and, after training, got assigned to USS Sanborn (APA-193). Once they arrived at Iwo Jima, they spent nine days unloading. Magers served on an LCVP and made several trips to the beach delivering supplies and removing wounded. When the war ended, the Sanborn transported soldiers and marines to various places all over the Pacific.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas Walton. Walton joined the Navy in December 1942 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion in August 1943, he was then assigned to USS Neches (AO-47) as a seaman. At Okinawa he saw an ammunition ship explode after a kamikaze hit. On the way back to the States, the Neches hit a mine that blew a 15-by-22-foot hole in the side of the ship. After it was repaired, Walton returned to sea until the end of the war. The Neches was in Tokyo Bay during the signing of the armistice, and Walton was close enough to see the Japanese boarding USS Missouri (BB-63). He recalls being treated well by Japanese civilians after the surrender. Walton returned home and was discharged in January 1946. There he finally met for the first time the woman with whom he had been corresponding during the war, and they were soon married.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Bartlett. Bartlett was drafted March 3, 1943 and went to Camp Roberts for basic infantry training. From there he went to Fort Benning, Georgia for parachute training. Eventually, they were shipped to Brisbane, Australia and after some additional training in Australia they were shipped to Port Moresby, New Guinea to join the 503rd Regimental Combat Team (RCT). The 503rd jumped (from C-47s) onto Corregidor but there were so many causalities that many went in by boat. Bartlett's one combat jump was onto Corregidor. Before Corregidor, the 503rd RCT went onto Mindoro Island by sea. After Corregidor, they went to Negros Island, Philippines as regular infantry. They were there, moving around into different areas, until the war ended. Bartlett describes the Japanese surrendering on the island at the end of the war. He came home in December 1945 and was discharged on Christmas Day.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Scholes. Scholes joined the U.S. Navy’s V-12 program in 1943, graduating with the rank of ensign from the Midshipman's School at Northwestern University in Chicago. Scholes trained in ordnance at the Washington Naval Gun Factory and Jacksonville Naval Air Station. He was assigned to the Aviation Construction Ordinance Repair Navy unit, ACORN-52, in Guam. The unit occupied the Japanese Naval Base at Truk Atoll, in the Pacific. They built an airstrip and repaired an airplane base once belonging to the Japanese. He served in the Navy for three years and was discharged in June of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Huffines. After graduating from high school, Huffines enlisted in the Marine Corps and was shipped to San Diego for boot camp. After boot camp, he went to telephone school at Camp Pendleton, then went into the 3rd Battalion, 13th Marines, 5th Marine Division. John trained for 7-8 months, then he was shipped out to the Hawaiian Islands, in Oahu from late 1944-early 1945. Upon arriving in Hawaii Huffines helped unload Coca Cola off ships for the entire Pacific area. They left from there to Iwo Jima. Once in Iwo Jima, they landed on Green Beach, at the foot of Mount Suribachi. His outfit supported the 28th Marines. Their 105mm Howitzers were set up at the bottom of Suribachi shooting into the caves. With the help of Rufus Taylor, he established a switchboard up to the front lines. He returned to Hawaii with the 20th Marines in late March. After his service he went to college.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Victor Erdahl. Erdahl joined the Army in 1942. He completed Parachute School. He served with the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment. In late 1943, Erdahl participated in the New Guinea Campaign. In February of 1945, he served in the Battle of Corregidor. He was discharged in January of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Gordon Hurd. Hurd joined the Army in January of 1944. He was assigned to the 124th Cavalry Regiment as a second lieutenant in the China India Burma campaign. They deployed to India in August of 1944, and operated as dismounted cavalry alongside Chinese troops. He participated in battles with the Japanese to recapture sections of the Burma Road, and helped train Chinese troops to take over after the Japanese surrendered. Hurd was discharged in September of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Clay. Clay joined the Army in 1940. Beginning August of 1941, he served with the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, serving in the Pacific Theater. In September of 1943, they participated in the New Guinea Campaign. Clay served until late 1943, early 1944. His discharge date is not noted.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Guy Lary. Lary enlisted in the Army in 1943. He discusses his training as a paratrooper at Fort Benning. Lary joined the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment as a replacement. He details the jump on Corregidor and the fighting that followed. Lary was then sent to Negros Island where he remained until the surrender of Japan. He went to Japan for the occupation duty and left the service soon after his return to the US.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Ahr. Ahr joined the Marine Corps at 16 years old in November, 1942. He lied about his age. After training, he went overseas and was assigned to the 9th Marine Regiment. He arrived in time for the invasion of Guam. Ahr also was at Iwo Jima and shares several impressions and anecdotes of the battle.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Gourley. Gourley joined the Navy in 1944. Once he finished boot camp, he was assigned to USS President Adams, (APA-19) bound for the invasion of the Philippines. When he arrived at Iwo Jima, Gourley went ashore for several days to help unload supplies. After the war, Gourley remained aboard and made several trips to Japan to haul troops back home. He took his discharge in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gilberto S. Trevino. He attended Texas A&M before serving in the Marine Corps. He was in the 28th Replacement Battalion when assigned to the 3d Marine Division and deployed to Iwo Jima. He discusses his first impressions of landing on the island: the sights and smells. He describes the constructed Japanese defenses on the island and the use of Japanese Nisei interpreters to convince defenders to surrender. He returned to Texas A&M where he was in the Corps of Cadets (ROTC) and accepted his commission in the Army in time to serve in Korea. He eventually earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine dgree from A&M and a PhD. in Pathology from Michigan State University. He retired from service in 1976 as a colonel.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Horton. Horton was born in Oklahoma 14 October 1920. Graduating from high school in 1939 he enlisted in the Army and was given a choice of joining a horse drawn artillery unit or the 4th Artillery Battalion, which was a pack mule outfit. Soon after joining the 4th Artillery, at Fort Bragg, he was selected to be a pitcher with the base baseball team. Having been selected, he never had basic training. He was transferred into the 79th Field Artillery and continued to play baseball. He was selected to be in the Instrument Survey Section and after two years he was promoted to Staff Sergeant. Soon after war was declared, he was selected to attend Officers Candidate School (OCS) at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He was commissioned 21 January 1942 and assigned as Athletic Officer for the 97th Division being organized at Camp Swift, Texas. Within six months he joined class number 51 at Fort Benning, Georgia and began parachute training. Horton graduated from jump school and was assigned to the 462nd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion. He describes the train trip to Camp Stoneman, and the ocean voyage …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Marcel Bisson. Bisson joined the Marine Corps in 1944 and after training was assigned as a replacement to the 5th Marine Division just prior to invading Iwo Jima. On the twelfth day, Bisson was wounded and evacuated. After some stays in hospitals, he was medically discharged in July 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Prevninger. Prevninger was drafted into the Army in June of 1944. He was trained as a tanker and eventually became a gunner on a Stuart tank and was later transferred to a Sherman tank. Prevninger describes crossing the Rhine and advancing across Germany. He discusses how they handled German prisoners at the end of the war. Prevninger served in the occupation and was eventually discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Donald Bentley. Bentley joined the Navy in 1942 and went through the V-12 program. He was assigned to the Seabees. Bentley was trained on ship loading and unloading and joined the 30th Special NCB stateside. He was transferred to the 4th Special NCB and traveled to Okinawa. Bentley describes the work that his unit performed and life on Okinawa at the end of the war. He left the service after four years in March 1946.