The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Steiger. Born in 1924, Steiger joined the Marines in 1943. He received artillery training as well as DUKW (also referred to as a Duck (an amphibios vehicle)), radio, and telephone training. He was an assistant gunner with the Fifth Marine Division. He describes his role in invasion of Iwo Jima as well as seeing the first American flag raised on Mount Suribachi. At the end of the war, he was sent to Sasebo, Japan as part of the occupation force. He discusses disarming kamikaze boats. He was transferred to the Second Marine Division stationed in Nagasaki, Japan. He describes the area that was hit by the atomic bomb as well as interactions with the local citizens. He returned to the United States in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Howard Hollinger. Hollinger joined the Coast Guard in 1941. He completed Radio School and High-Frequency Direction Finder training. Hollinger traveled to the Aleutian Islands, and was stationed at a High-Frequency Direction Finder station on a Navy base in Kodiak, Alaska. He tracked Navy planes that took off from Attu to bomb the Kuril Islands. Hollinger returned to the US and received a discharge around late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Herbert Cavness. Cavness was born in Mason County, Texas in 1924. He quit high school in his junior year and joined the Army Air Forces in 1942. After completing basic training at Wichita Falls, Texas he was sent to Las Vegas, Nevada for training in aerial gunnery. He then went to Sioux City, Iowa for additional training and assignment to an air group. He recalls the loss of air crews during training mission. In early 1943 he boarded the RMS Aquitania and sailed to England. Arriving at Sudbury, he was assigned to the 486th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force as a waist gunner on a B-17 bomber. He vividly describes his various actions and observations during various missions. He returned to the US and received his discharge in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Norman Riggsby. Riggsby was drafted into the Army in October of 1943. He served as a bugler at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. In January of 1944, he was deployed to Scotland, then England, and assigned to the 29th Infantry Division, 175th Infantry Regiment. Riggsby trained on the anti-aircraft guns. He participated in the invasion of Normandy, landing at Omaha Beach. He describes the events and combat of this day, and how he got wounded. In July, Riggsby and his division participated in the Battle of St. Lô, where he was struck by a German Tiger tank shell, spending several weeks in a coma. He woke up back in England. He earned two Purple Hearts. In late 1945, Riggsby was assigned to the 759th Military Police Battalion in France. He served during the Nuremberg Trials and left Berlin in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Rufus Johnson. He begins the interview with a summary of his life. Rufus Winfield Johnson was born in Montgomery County, Maryland in 1911. He was in the ROTC at Howard University. He earned his undergraduate degree in 1934 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Reserves. In 1939 he received his LLB degree from the Howard University School of Law. He shares stories from his time working in the White House as lifeguard and personal butler to Franklin Delano Roosevelt prior to entering the armed forces. He served in the 92nd Infantry Division. He shares an anecdote about receiving a ten thousand dollar reward for shooting a bandit that preyed on American sailors in North Africa. He describes the campaigns of Sicily and North Apennines. He recounts an altercation with General Almond after which he was transferred to the 442nd Infantry Division. He describes his role in rescuing Company K of the 71st Infantry. He also recounts his capture and escape from German soldiers. He discusses the treatment of African American soldiers. He also served during the Korean War. He retired from the Army Reserves …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Al Kiracofe. Kiracofe joined the Navy in 1942 and received yeoman training at Great Lakes. Upon completion, he was assigned to CASU-22 at Quonset Point, helping to prepare squadrons for overseas deployment. He was then assigned to Carrier Air Group 41, which was just beginning to use radar for night flying. One of his duties as yeoman was to send letters of regret to the parents of soldiers who were killed in action. The experience upset him to the point that he remembered the date of each letter for the rest of his life. He was transferred to Carrier Air Group 10 aboard the USS Intrepid (CV-11) and helped to set up squadrons in Alameda from January 1943 to September 1944. At Okinawa, a kamikaze hit caused the deaths of eight men on the Intrepid. When the ship returned to Alameda for repairs, Kiracofe was so shaken up that he was ordered to a US Naval hospital for treatment and received a medical discharge in July 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 interview with John Hejl. Hejl joined the Navy in September of 1942. He volunteered for the Submarine Service and completed Underwater Sound School and Radar School. Beginning January of 1945, Hejl served USS Moray (SS-300). They conducted lifeguard duty off the coast of Saipan, Midway and Japan, attacking a Japanese convoy off Kinkazan, Honshū. Hejl returned to the US and was discharged in early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George McColm. McColm was born on a farm in Kansas in 1911. In 1928, he was selected to go to Washington, DC where he met President Herbert Hoover and his wife. Graduating from Kansas State College in Manhattan in 1935 he began studying terrain, weather and demand in crop growing. He tells of recognition and honors he received in the agricultural field. Soon after the war with Japan began, he was offered a commission in the US Navy to participate in a special classified project. At the time, he was in charge of crops at the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah. McColm shares many of his experiences with the Japanese internees and expresses his opinion of the people he worked with. Upon being inducted, he went to Tucson, Arizona for boot training and then to Princeton University Naval School of Military Government. Upon completion of the training he was sent to the Civil Affairs staging area at the Presidio of Monterey, California. Upon his arrival he was assigned to a Top Secret staff working on the plans for the invasion and occupation of Japan. He concludes the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joseph Finigan. Finigan joined the Navy in January 1941. He worked at a Navy radio station and then was sent to the USS Bootes (AK-99) to serve as a yeoman. Finigan describes his ship picking up wounded Marines at New Caledonia. The Bootes was then designated as an ammunition ship and operated out of New Guinea. He discusses what it was like to serve on an ammunition ship. Finigan traveled to the Philippines where the Bootes continued to distribute ammunition to the fleet. He tells of the Bootes shooting down 6 Japanese planes in one day including a close call with a kamikaze. Finigan returned to the US and was discharged for medical reasons in June 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Donald Hanlon. Hanlon was born and raised in Bronx, New York, and joined the Navy at age seventeen. Following boot camp, he served aboard USS Texas (BB-35) from December 1941 through May 1947. The Texas served as a support ship during the invasion of Normandy and Hanlon describes the death and destruction he observed at Omaha Beach. He also recalls the ship being damaged by shore artillery during the landing at Cherbourg. The ship then traveled to the Pacific where it participated in the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He recollects the attacks on the fleet by kamikazes and the recovery of an injured kamikaze pilot. Hanlon was discharged in 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Merle Hatch. Hatch grew up in El Paso, Texas, and was drafted into the Army in January, 1941. Hatch was eventually attached to the 77th Infantry Division after he had gone to Officer Candidate School and received his commission as an infantry officer. Hatch speaks briefly about invading Guam and comments on Japanese soldiers in general. Hatch was a platoon leader on Guam. He relates a story about using a flamethrower on Guam. Hatch also served on Ie Shima and Okinawa. After securing Okinawa, Hatch's unit went to Cebu, in the Philippines, where Hatch was wounded by a renegade Japanese soldier. He met his future wife, who was a nurse, in the hospital on Leyte. He also shares a story about arriving on Hokkaido for occupation duty.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Carnes. Carnes joined the Navy in 1944 before he finished high school. In the Navy, he became a signalman and was assigned to USS Norton Sound (AVM-1). Carnes was aboard when the ship went to Okinawa, where he describes being attacked by kamikaze aircraft. When the war ended, Carnes went to Japan briefly before returning to the US and receiving his discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lewis Walker. Walker was commissioned in January of 1942 from the Midshipman School at Northwestern University in Chicago. He served a total of 4 years with the Small Ship Navy. He describes how these small ships, including submarine chasers and patrol craft served the war effort. In the Pacific, Walker commanded the USS SC-1272, and he describes its function, equipment and participation in the war. They traveled to Iwo Jima, Leyte, Okinawa, the Philippines, Saipan and Pearl Harbor. He describes a number of their missions, including dodging attacks from torpedoes and airplanes, and escorting a group of damaged ships from Okinawa to Saipan. They were the first American ship to enter Nakagusuku Bay searching for midget submarines. He describes their maneuvers during a typhoon. He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Douglas Hubbard, Jr. Hubbard was born on 1 April 1945. He joined the Naval Intelligence Command as a special agent of the Naval Investigative Service in March of 1968. He volunteered for service in Vietnam for 36 months. He later accepted an appointment as a training officer for the British South Africa police in Rhodesia. Additionally, Hubbard worked in security, mining and exploration industries. He has lived and worked extensively in Asia, Australia and Africa. His father, Doug Hubbard, was instrumental in establishing the National Museum of the Pacific War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frank C. Smith. Smith was born in Houston, Texas on 7 August 1921. Graduating from high school in 1939, he enrolled in Williams College. After three years he transferred to and graduated from Caltech in 1944. Smith joined the Navy in 1944 and trained in electronics at several universities and Navy bases before being trained in electronic countermeasures, including the IFF (identification friend or foe) set. Just prior to concluding training at San Clemente Island, the Japanese surrendered. Upon completion of the advanced training he was shipped to Guam and assigned to CASU F-12. He went aboard Navy aircraft carriers to service the electronic equipment on various fighter planes that were on board.

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an interview with Ed Spradling. Spradling grauated from high school and went to work for North American Aviation, building B-24s in Grand Prairie, Texas. When he was old enough, he joined the Merchant Marine. After training, he joined a ship in April, 1945 in San Francisco. Spradling discusses life abord a liberty ship and some of his experiences, including a trip to Manila.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Chris Hutchinson. Hutchinson joined the Navy Women's Reserve in 1944 and trained at Hunter College in the Bronx. Her first assignment was in communcations in Wahsington DC until the Navy realied she was not old enough to serve in the WAVES. She was discharged, but reenlisted in MArch 1945 when she was old enough and went to San Diego. She worked in the disbursing office. She also clerked in an office at Great Lakes training center.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Howard Wander. Wander joined the Army and received basic training at Camp Wheeler. He went on to Officer Candidate School and was commissioned in 1942. He then worked as a platoon leader all over the United States. He went as a replacement to the Americal Division, working beside Filipinos to capture Japanese holdouts. After the war ended, he was reassigned to the Eighth Army in Yokohama as head of military police. Wander returned home and was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Stewart Elder. Elder joined the Navy V-5 Program in 1942 and received his wings in November of 1944. He provides details of his flight training and the various of types of planes he flew. He was placed in a replacement squadron in Hawaii four months before the atomic bomb was dropped in Japan in August of 1945. They completed additional training exercises in Hawaii, and after the surrender he returned home. He completed over 1,000 hours of flying during operational training and additionally in the Ready Reserve. He was discharged around December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Leonard Lott. Initially exempted from the draft as a farmer, Lott was eventually drafted into the Army in October 1944. After basic training at Camp Fannin, he was assigned to the 6th Infantry Division in Manila. During the invasion at Lingayen Gulf, his unit suffered battle casualties and was plagued by dysentery. Armed with a rifle, Lott waited in foxholes for enemy advancement, at times manning a Thompson submachine gun and targeting snipers. Occasionally working alongside Filipino soldiers, Lott found them to be good fighters. While fighting in the mountains, Lott’s rations were airdropped and intercepted by the enemy. He soon contracted malaria and dengue fever, spending the remainder of the war in a hospital. He then served as a platoon sergeant in the Korean occupation, where his clothing and housing was inadequate for the cold weather. Lot was discharged into the reserves and retired as a warrant officer after 27 years of service.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joseph M. McDonough. He discusses his childhood growing up during the Great Depression, and what led him to join the Us Navy in 1943. He describes his experiences in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harmon Harris. Harris joined the Navy in May of 1944. He served with the 141st Construction Battalion. They traveled to the Marshall Islands and Kwajalein, building airstrips, houses and defensive structures.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Clint Morse. Morse was born in Berkeley, California on 16 June 1920 and entered the Navy in 1942. He was assigned to the Navy Supply Corps School at Harvard University and upon graduation, was assigned to the USS Mugford (DD-389) as the supply officer. Morse recalls the crew of the Mugford picking up survivors of an Australian hospital ship that had been sunk. His ship was based at Milne Bay, New Guinea and participated in troop landings on various islands. He tells of the ship being under attack on several occasions and the experience of losing one of the crew members as the result of an attack. He returned to Mare Island Navy Yard in 1946 and was assigned the job of ship liaison officer until his discharge.