The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Riddle. Riddle joined the Navy in March of 1943. He served as a Radarman, completing training in radio design, electronics, communications, and on a magnetic air detection system to locate submarines. Riddle was stationed in Florida, training pilots and other operators in radar systems. He was stationed in the US throughout the duration of the war, receiving a discharge in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Rubin Peterson. Peterson joined the Navy in June 1942 and received training at Iowa State College and the University of Georgia. He received training in instrument flying at Whiting Field and formation flying at Barron Field. Upon completion of dive bomber training in DeLand, he was assigned to a night fighter squadron aboard the USS Independence (CVL-22). On his first mission, he shot down a Betty bomber at Palau. He then bombed freighters near Leyte amidst antiaircraft fire. On his night missions, he used the 40-mile range of his radar to close in on planes until he had a visual on them. At the end of his tour, he witnessed a destroyer sunk by a typhoon. Peterson returned to the States in February 1945 and instructed pilots on using radar until he was discharged at the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Donald K Cradit. Cradit joined the Navy in November of 1939. He served as Boatswain’s Mate aboard the USS McCook (DD-496), participating in the Normandy invasions. Cradit later served aboard the USS Rogers (DD-876), where he witnessed the signing of the Peace Treaty in Tokyo Harbor. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard Rowe. Rowe was a gunnery officer aboard the USS Remey. His first combat experience was bombarding Vabelthaup in the Palau Group, then the ship assumed screening stations for landing troops on Angaur Island, before heading for Manus and the Admiralty Group where they met up with the 7th fleet to begin the Leyte Gulf assault. Rowe discusses making torpedo attacks on the Japanese in the Surigao Straits, setting smoke screens and picking up crews from downed planes. He ancedotes about watching a failed kamikaze attack on the Missouri, being able to see a Japanese pilot's grin with gold teeth as he passed close to Rowe's station, being in San Francisco for VJ Day, and a dog on his ship biting a Japanese pilot who came on board. He also talks about food on board ship and getting mail.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Hood of Indianapolis, Indiana. He discusses entering the U.S. Navy in September of 1942 without basic training as he was a college graduate. After being sworn in at Wabash College he was sent to Harvard Business School for Supply Corps for 4 months before being assigned to a ship in Pearl Harbor despite having no sailing training. Mr. hood was assigned to the Cummings DE643, he was supposed to be on the Samuel B. Roberts but the naval officer over him changed his mind last minute and 37 days later the Roberts sunk. While in Tulagi, Mr. Hood was involved in shooting down a Kamikaze plane, even receiving a ribbon for it after the war. He was also involved in the Battle of Okinawa and even saved two shells and years later had them signed by U.S. pilot Paul Tibbets. Mr. Hood was discharged from the Navy on February 28th, 1946, at Santa Ana, California as a Full Lieutenant. He was recalled to the Navy for the Korean War on March 2nd, 1951, and discharged for the final time on March 30th, 1953, as a Lieutenant Commander.

Transcript of an oral interview with Murven J. Witherel. He grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and graduated from Allegheny High School in 1939. He went to work for a untility company before being drafted into the Army in February 1942. He qualified for Officer Candidate School (OCS) after Basic Training at Fort McClellan, Alabama. He was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant at Fort Benning, Georgia in December 1942. He was then assigned as the leader of 3rd Platoon, Company E, 20th Infantry,6th Infantry Division and sent to the Mojave Desert to train anticipating a trip to North Africa. Instead, his unit went to New Guinea in January 1944. In June, his unit landed at Baffin Bay and assaulted Lone Tree Hill. Witherel was evetually wounded twice and received the new drug, penicillin at the Lae General Hospital. He was eventually shipped back to the USA. the conversatio then veers to cover such subjects as USO shows, friendly fire, the Red Cross, Tokyo Rose on the radio, morale in his outfit and a visit in the Lae General Hospital by Jack Benny.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ken Coonrod. Coonrod joined the Navy in the fall of 1944. He served as an Electrician’s Mate Third Class in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. In late 1944, Coonrod was assigned to the Philippines. In mid-1945, he traveled to Okinawa, in preparation for the invasion of Japan. He was assigned to an LCVP just before the war ended. Coorod was transferred to Nagoya, Japan, and served with occupation forces aboard USS Littlehales (AGS-7). He returned to the US and received his discharge in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Donald Morrison. Morrison was inducted into the Army in 1944 after he graduated high school. He was sent to the 2nd Infantry Division as a replacement in the winter of 1945. He suffered frostbite, scarlet fever, and mumps. He was knocked out by an artillery barrage and left behind by his advancing unit who believed he was dead. Morrison awoke and found his unit. He discovered a large shell fragment had been stopped by a pocket Bible, saving his life. Morrison discusses being shot at by a group of German boys aged 11 to 15. He eventually was sent to Czechoslovakia after the war had ended to guard German prisoners. Morrison was discharged in 1946.

Transcript of an oral interview with Eugene George. He was born in 1922 in Wichita Falls, Texas. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Texas and worked for a contractor, doing plumbing work at Sheppard Field, Texas. He enlisted in the Air Force Reserve in 1942. After receiving training at various U.S. bases, he graduated from aviation school in 1944. He was sent to an Air Force Base in Goose Bay, Labrador. He describes landing at Bluie West 1 (BW-1), an airfield in Greenland. Stationed at Royal Air Force Station Tibenham, England, his first mission was a bombing raid in a B-24 bomber over the Orly Airfield, south of Paris, France. He recounts his experiences when his plane was shot down in the Kassel Mission. He parachuted from the burning airplane. After trying to make his way to Switzerland, he gave himself up to German soldiers in order to receive treatment for his injuries. He was sent to a Durchgangslager der Luftwaffe, or Dulag Luft, for interrogation before being sent to Stalag Luft I, a German POW camp near Barth, Western Pomerania, Germany. He describes his activities in the camp. After liberation from the camp, he returned …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack Homrighausen. Homrighausen joined the Army in November 1943 and received basic training at Camp Gordon. Upon completion, he was assigned to Cherbourg where he was a half-track driver in the 10th Armored Infantry Division. He arrived in September 1944 and went through France, liberating Trier along the way. By mid-December he was in the Ardennes with snow up to his hips. His unit functioned as a mobile reserve for foot troops, watching for flares and deploying wherever help was needed. On 10 March 1944, in Ettal, he was sniped by a Russian prisoner of war who was following the orders of an SS officer. His neck injury was treated at three different hospitals before Homrighausen arrived at the general hospital in Cherbourg. He returned to his outfit on V-E Day, his truck driver shooting a pistol into the air in celebration as he drove. Homrighausen saw the devastation of German cities, and his unit liberated Dachau and Birkenau. He was assigned to a mountain post in Austria, to be on the lookout for fugitives. His unit enjoyed hunting and relaxing by the cool streams during their duty …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Orel Douglass. Douglass finished high school in 1940 and immediately joined the Army Air Corps. He trained in San Antonio, then Colorado at the armament school. He was assigned as an armorer at a flight training school in Texas before being assigned tothe 49th Fighter Group and shipping to New Guinea in 1944. He stayed with the 49th for the remainder of the war and ended up in Japan during the occupation for a while. He shares several anecdotes about his time overseas, including an encounter he had with his brother.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Hall. Hall joined the marine Corps in mid-1943 and trained at San Diego. After basic training, Hall attended aviation radio school and gunnery school before being assigned to VMB-621 when they were still flying PBJ bombers. Hall eventually went to Emirau and then the Philippines. He also shares a few anecdotes about being in Australia on R and R. Hall elected to leave the service after the war and use the GI Bill to go to college.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Green Day. Day shares his memories of growing up during the Great Depression. He completed trade school to be a machinist. He joined the Navy around 1944. In May 1945 he was assigned to USS Halford DD-480, and they traveled to Pearl Harbor. They provided escort duty to Borneo, and Day served with the deck department helping to maintain the ship. In late 1945 Day experienced a typhoon aboard the ship. He was discharged in July of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Machaud. Machaud joined the Army Air Forces on 27 June 1946. He served as a control tower operator with the 128th Army Airways Communication System Squadron. He traveled throughout the Pacific, including Johnston Island, Wake Island, Kwajalein, Okinawa and into Tokyo by January of 1947, directing aircraft on new airstrips that had hastily been built during the war. He speaks of his experiences during his 2 years in occupied Japan. Machaud was discharged on 26 June 1949.

Transcript of an oral interview with Bobbie W. Noble. He joined the Navy at 17 shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor and was aboard the USS North Carolina in early 1942. Noble did not finish high school and he received all his training aboard ship. He was in New York City when the French liner Normandie caught fire and capsized. He served as a powder hoist operator in the center gun of the number 3 turret. The North Carolina, after her shakedown cruise, spent the winter anchored in Portland, Maine before heading through the Panama Canal on the way to Guadalcanal, where she was torpedoed. Noble goes on the describe heading for Pearl Harbor for repairs and the ship receiving updated anti-aircraft armaments. Noble goes on to discuss friendly fire, burials at sea, the rigors of battle at Iwo Jima, kamikazes at Okinawa and life aboard a battleship during World War II.

Transcript of an oral interview with William Richard Pendleton. Growing up in Utah, his family knew that of Captain Mervyn Bennion, USN (captain of the USS West Virginia (BB-48) awarded the Medal of Honor during the attack on Pearl Harbor). Due to that acquaintance, Pendleton decided to join the Navy in November 1942. He was sent to Farragut, Idaho for basic training. He qualified as an aviation machinist's mate and was assigned to a PBY crew in VP-44. Their job consisted of picking up downed airment, dropping supplies and patrolling for submarines around Truk, Rabaul and Bougainville. Pendleton shares several anecdotes about serving aboard PBY aircraft and being part of the crew. One in particular was a story about making sure one crewmember never fell asleep in the plane on a mission again. He describes everything from rescue missions to beer runs. When the war ended, Pendleton was discharged only to enlist in the US Air Force in time to serve in Korea as a maintenance officer.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Joseph O???Malley. O???Malley was drafted into the Army in 1943. In March of 1944 he was sent for airborne training at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. He fought with the 84th Infantry Division in Germany and Belgium, pushing forward from Geilenkirchen, Germany in November, 1944 to Schnackenburg, Germany and ultimately contacting the Russian Army on the Elbe River in April, 1945. O'Malley spoke fluent German and served as an Army interpreter. He was honorably discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Kenneth Schuck. Schuck joined the Army Corps of Engineers in 1943. He completed Officer Candidate School and was assigned to the Engineer Aviation Training Detachment. He learned how to build roads and airports. Schuck was a platoon commander in the 1902nd Engineer Aviation Battalion. In the spring of 1945 they traveled to Ie Shima and completed work on an airfield. Schuck describes his work and experiences on this island, as well as what he witnessed as the Battle of Okinawa began. After the war was over, they traveled to Japan and built an airfield there. His unit was disbanded and he was assigned to the 808th Engineer Battalion. They completed an airdrome on the west side of Tokyo Bay. He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harold Massey. Massey joined the Army Air Forces in January of 1942. In the summer of 1943 he worked as a B-24 flight instructor. He was transferred to Savannah, Georgia to work as a test pilot, and shares some stories of his experiences. Massey flew around 43 different models of military aircraft, which included a few civilian airplanes. He was discharged in June of 1946. He then completed an engine mechanics school, completed certification as a civilian flight instructor and worked as a mechanic at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo. He provides some details of the variations between the B-29, B-24 and B-17. Massey was recalled in August of 1948 and retired a Colonel from the US Air Force after 30 years of service.

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 C. Douglas Dillon where he discusses his childhood and education and what led him to join the Navy. He describes his career in the navy serving out of various ports across the US.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Sayles. Sayles joined the Navy in March 1944 and received basic training at Camp Farragut. Upon completion, he was shipped to Midway and assigned to the USS Pompon (SS-267), nicknamed “The Peaceful P” because it never found any targets. Sayles enjoyed rest camp on Guam. As punishment for using the officers’ pool, he patrolled Truk for four of the hottest weeks of summer, with no air conditioning and while short on rations. When the war ended, he was immediately shipped home. On the way, he stopped for liberty in Panama City. Once stateside, he joined the Air Force and was commissioned at Loyola University as a junior in the ROTC. Sayles took a compassionate discharge in 1951 to care for his wife after the birth of their third child.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Battifarano. Battifarano enlisted in the Navy during his senior year of high school in 1943. He served for 2 years as Signalman 3rd Class aboard the USS Guitarro (SS-363). They traveled to the Panama Canal operating with a destroyer and to the South Pacific. They made 4 successful war patrols, have 15 Japanese flags on their battle flag, laid 25 mines and recorded a 95-day war patrol. He discusses life aboard a submarine and their war patrol experiences. They traveled to Taiwan, Australia, the South China Sea, Philippines, Japan and Saipan. They participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He was discharged in 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Russ Mallonee. Mallonee joined the Army in 1942. He served with the 43rd Infantry Division, fighting in the Guadalcanal Campaign in early 1943. He provides vivid details of combat on the island, and how he was severely wounded by mortar fire. Mallonee returned to the US to recover in a San Antonio hospital, then he was shipped to Maryland to serve in an administrative role, issuing clothes and ammunition. He continued his service after the war ended, receiving his discharge in January 1946.