The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Don Woodard, Sr. Woodard joined the Navy in March 1944. He completed Yeoman School in San Diego. Beginning in August, he served as the captain’s yeoman aboard USS Bowie (APA-137). They transported troops and cargo throughout the Philippines and to Okinawa in May of 1945. After the war ended, they delivered occupation troops to Sasebo, Japan. He returned to the US in early 1946 and received his discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas Hendrix. Hendrix joined the Naval Reserve in 1940 and was commissioned in 1941. He started as an intelligence officer for the 11th Naval District at San Diego until he requested sea duty. Hendrix served on the USS Harris (APA-2) and was at sea during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He describes the damage he saw when his ship returned to Pearl Harbor. Hendrix was then assigned to CINCPAC as a coding officer. He discusses the arrival of Nimitz and his words to the staff. Hendrix describes the demeanor of Nimitz and how he treated the staff. He also talks about how Admiral Spruance interacted with the staff. Hendrix covers the nature of his work as a coder. He requested sea duty again and was transferred to the USS Mitchell (DE-43). Hendrix served as Navigation Officer as his ship escorted oil tankers as part of the At-Sea Logistics Support Group for the remainder of the year. He discusses how the mixed-race crew got along well. The Mitchell was decommissioned in December 1945 and Hendrix left the service in March 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Corbisiero. Corbisiero was a freshman on Notre Dame's national champion football team when he was drafted, in 1944. With draft board approval, he joined the Merchant Marine Officer Training School at Alameda, where he was welcomed by officers who would become professional football stars. After running the academy's football team, Corbisiero boarded the SS Clovis Victory (1944), in the spring of 1945. As an engineer cadet, he answered directional commands, maintained the engine log, and operated the captain's gig. At Okinawa, he laid smokescreens, ever alert to the sound of suicide boats. At times, Corbisiero assisted the gun crew in fending off kamikazes. When it seemed safe to go ashore, Corbisiero went on a souvenir-hunting exhibition but soon found himself under enemy fire. With the help of Marines, he made it safely to his ship and soon received orders to return to the academy, at the request of its football coaching staff.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harry Dallison. Dallison joined the Navy in 1944 and attended radio school at the University of Wisconsin. Upon completion, he went to submarine school in New London. He received radar training in Groton and went to sound school in San Diego. During his studies, he came down with a fever. By the time he recovered, the war had ended, so Dallison never made a war patrol. He was assigned for three months to USS Pintado (SS-387) and was discharged in April 1946. In his retirement he was an active ham radio enthusiast.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Anthony Geer. Geer was drafted into the Navy in 1943. He completed boot camp in San Diego, then served as a yeoman. He received additional training in aircraft recognition. He traveled to the Philippines aboard the USS Tazewell (APA-209), and worked on Samar Island until the atomic bombs were dropped, then transferred to Manila until the surrender of Japan. He traveled back to the U.S. aboard the USS Menard (APA-201). Geer was honorably discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Don Woodard, Sr. Woodard joined the Navy in March 1944. He completed Yeoman School in San Diego. Beginning in August, he served as the captain’s yeoman aboard USS Bowie (APA-137). They transported troops and cargo throughout the Philippines and to Okinawa in May of 1945. After the war ended, they delivered occupation troops to Sasebo, Japan. He returned to the US in early 1946 and received his discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Floyd John Schexnayder. Schexnayder was born in 1928. At the age of 16, he changed his birth certificate in order to join the Navy in mid-1944. He completed boot camp in San Diego, California. Beginning around February of 1945, he served as Seaman Second-Class in the gunnery department aboard the USS Terror (CM-5), loading 40mm quadruple antiaircraft guns. They transferred battle casualties to an Army hospital at Saipan, then traveled to Ulithi, where they serviced and supplied minecraft staging for the assault on Okinawa. In March, they arrived at Kerama Retto, serving as a flagship and tender for minecraft. Schexnayder worked hard protecting Terror and other U.S. ships from Japanese kamikaze planes. He describes their ship getting hit by one of these planes, and his participation in the events that unfolded. After the war ended, he was transferred to the USS Steady (AM-118), where they swept mines in the East China Sea. They returned to the U.S. in early 1946, and he received his discharge in August.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Roy Hughes. Hughes joined the National Guard and was called into active duty in September 1941. He was assigned to an artillery unit with the 45th Division in Algeria, preparing for the invasion of Sicily. In Salerno, he was wounded by shrapnel and almost left for dead when the medic was frightened by enemy shelling. Hughes’s best friend forced the company medic out of his hiding place, and Hughes recovered at a British hospital in Tripoli. Three months later, he returned to his unit for the invasion of Anzio. They fought in Southern France and finished the war while capturing Germans in Munich. Hughes returned home in June 1945. During his readjustment to civilian life, his nightmares were so debilitating that he was granted a full medical discharge. Over time, he made a full recovery.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Craig. Craig was born in Freeport, Pennsylvania in 1918. Following graduation from high school he was employed by Allegheny Steel Corporation. He was drafted into the United States Army Air Forces in May 1942 and completed basic training at Miami Beach, Florida. He was then sent to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama as a clerk in an Army Airways Communications System (AACS) unit. He describes the unusual living accommodations during that period. He recalls being transferred to Casablanca, North Africa to the 4th AACS Wing in 1944. He returned to the United States during 1945 and was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dr. Daniel Jackson. Jackson grew up in Pennsylvania, went to medical school and was doing his internship when the war started. He completed his internship then joined the Army Medical Corps in June, 1942. His first assignment was as a medical officer at Elgin Air Force Base. Then he joined a unit that was forming (the 102nd Station Hospital) to go overseas. Jackson arrived on New Guinea at Lae in 1944. He did not treat casualties wounded in battle. Instead, he treated medical patients, those suffering from scrub typhus, malaria, dengue fever, etc. Out of boredom, Jackson decided to join the Alamo Scouts prior to the invasion of the Philippines. In his stint in the Army, Jackson served as a dermatologist and an anesthesiologist. Jackson also was stationed i nJapan after the war ended. He recalls attempting to drive up Mt. Fuji i na weapons carrier. He describes his return home on the train from Portland through Los Angeles and San Antonio to New Orleans. He was discharged in February, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Irving Butler. Butler joined the Navy in October of 1942. He completed Aviation Mechanic School in Memphis, Tennessee, and Gunnery School in Jacksonville, Florida. He was trained as an Air Crewman. In September of 1943 he went to Tarawa, Makin and Guam aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6). He was made Second Class and placed in charge of 62 men going to the Admiralty Islands. He was later assigned to USS Saginaw Bay (CVE-82) as a gunner in a torpedo plane. He was in Composite Squadron 787 (VC-78). Butler went through 14 battles. He remained in the reserves 2 years after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Sheron. Sheron joined the Navy in May 1944 and received basic training and learned to operate a Higgins boat at Camp Peary. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS President Jackson (APA-18), where he worked as a typist in the S Division, managing dry supplies and disbursements. At Iwo Jima, he served as a stretcher bearer, retrieving wounded Marines from the shore. He recalls doctors performing amputations in the mess hall while the ship was used as an overflow hospital. He saw the flag raised on Mount Suribachi and remembers hundreds of ships nearby blowing their whistles in celebration. He stayed aboard after the war as part of Operation Magic Carpet and was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer joined the Navy in June 1942 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Tappahannock (AO-43), where he encountered many close calls with Japanese bombers and one Kaiten. At the end of the war, Pfeiffer was treated for post-traumatic stress disorder because he was experiencing quiet sounds as though they were as loud as gunshots. His time in the service took him all over the Pacific: to the Aleutians, Tulagi, Guadalcanal, Espiritu Santo, Ulithi, and Japan. Pfeiffer survived a typhoon and was discharged at the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Harry Dallison. Dallison joined the Navy in 1944 and attended radio school at the University of Wisconsin. Upon completion, he went to submarine school in New London. He received radar training in Groton and went to sound school in San Diego. During his studies, he came down with a fever. By the time he recovered, the war had ended, so Dallison never made a war patrol. He was assigned for three months to USS Pintado (SS-387) and was discharged in April 1946. In his retirement he was an active ham radio enthusiast.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ralph Edgar. Edgar joined the Navy in October 1943 and received basic training in Norfolk. Upon completion, he was sent to Guadalcanal, where he joined a special construction battalion that specialized in moving cargo. In the Philippines, he unloaded ships and brought supplies to the frontlines. The work was dangerous, and he encountered kamikazes. After the war, he ran a motor pool in Japan, supervising 260 Japanese drivers. One of his drivers stole three Jeeps, sold them on the black market, and was subsequently imprisoned. After two years, Edgar was sent back to the States to be treated for rheumatic fever. He received a medical discharge but soon returned to the Navy, managing motor pools again, this time as a civilian employee.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Buck Ward. Ward joined the Navy in 1944 and received basic training in San Diego. He received aviation communication and gunnery training on the West Coast. Upon completion, he was assigned to the USS Hornet (CV-12) where he served as a Helldiver radio gunman. He flew missions over Chichi Jima and the Philippines. After the war, Ward was stationed for R&R on Guam, where at night he heard Japanese holdouts sneaking into the camp to forage. He stayed aboard the Hornet for Operation Magic Carpet and was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jack Alldridge. Alldridge joined the Navy in May of 1944. He completed amphibious landing craft training, and served as Coxswain aboard the USS Kenton (APA-122). Alldridge made landings in the Marshall Islands, the Philippines and during the Battle of Okinawa, transporting troops from ship to shore. He returned to the US and received his discharge in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with David Lynch. Lynch joined the Marine Corps just after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and received basic training at Parris Island. He received further training at Camp Lejeune with the 1st Marine Division. Upon completion, he was sent to Guadalcanal, where he fought for five months and contracted malaria, despite taking Atabrine daily. He recalls that all the Marines were cheering for the Americans during an air fight at Henderson Field as though it were a football game. He then went to Cape Gloucester and Pavuvu. When securing Peleliu, he ran out of grenades and resorted to throwing rocks at the Japanese. He describes how challenging the Japanese style of combat was at Peleliu. On his way to Bloody Nose Ridge, his helmet was shot. Lynch fell to the ground and was knocked unconscious. He awoke two days later, on a hospital ship, and received medical treatment at a field hospital in the Admiralties. Lynch returned home and was discharged in 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Morrison. Morrison joined the Army Air Forces in December 1942 and was sent to Chicago to train with aviation cadets. He received further training in Santa Ana, Tucson, and Phoenix. His night-flying was done in the B-25, guided by a radar operator. The casualty rate was extremely high from crashing into unseen objects. Upon completion of his training, Morrison became an instructor in flying the BT-13 and the AT-6. He was then sent for training on the Northrop P-61 Black Widow. In preparation for the dropping of the atomic bomb, Morrison participated in experiments for radar-guided bombing in overcast conditions. His flying career ended when the atomic bomb was dropped. Morrison returned home and became a dentist. One of his longtime patients had manned a navigational hut in Arizona that Morrison routinely flew over during his training. When Morrison realized the connection during an appointment, he gave his old call signal, which caught the patient quite by surprise. Morrison went on to travel extensively and met Paul Tibbets and pilots from the Doolittle Raid, whom he describes as a rough bunch.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Orville Brauss. Brauss joined the Marine Corps in 1942, and was called for active duty in 1944. He completed officer training and joined the First Marine Division in Pavuvu, Solomon Islands. He participated in a combat training landing on Guadalcanal in January of 1945 and the Battle of Okinawa in April. After the war ended, Brauss served with the occupation troops in China, guarding supply trains, bridges and depots to keep food and coal moving into the cities. He returned to the US and received his discharge in early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lemar Hartman. Hartman joined the Navy in 1940 and received basic training at Great Lakes. Upon completion of radio school, he was assigned to the USS Selfridge (DD-357) at Pearl Harbor. During the attack, Hartman was on standby as a radioman, unable to answer messages, because the transmitting antennae had been shot down. Hartman witnessed the gruesome aftermath of The Battle of Vella Lavella and the Marianas campaigns, where he was tasked with installing radio communication infrastructure as soon as the islands were taken. He later returned home and was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ramon Laughter. Laughter joined the Army in March 1941 and received basic training at Fort Monmouth. Upon completion, he was sent to OCS and earned a commission in the Signal Corps. He was then assigned to Camp Pinedale for further electronics training before joining the 134th Signal Intelligence Company, intercepting Japanese command radio communications while stationed at Kadena. Remarkably, some men in his unit were able to learn Katakana in one day, but Laughter relied on the help of six Nisei interpreters. After the war, Laughter returned to the States and was assigned to Air Defense Command, where he developed AWAC techniques that he had experimented with during the war. He retired as a full colonel in 1966.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ollie Thomas Music. Music was born 10 January 1927. He joined the Army in April of 1945. By the time he finished boot training and traveled to Fort Ord, California for assignment, the war had ended. He was then stationed at Yokohama, Japan. Music shares details of his travels and his participation during the occupation of Japan. He was assigned to Hakodate and Sapporo. He took an Army incentive to discharge in Japan and reenlist for 18 more months, with his remaining service in the US From December of 1945 through June of 1947, Music was assigned to a clerical job with Headquarters Company of the 32nd Medical Battalion at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William T. Schauer. Schauer was born on 27 August 1928. He was in high school for the duration of World War II. He joined the Army Air Forces in June of 1946. He completed bootcamp, then was assigned to a fighter group on Okinawa and Guam, where he assisted in refueling planes. He notes Japanese soldiers coming out of caves and hiding, unaware that the war was over. He also notes his living conditions on the islands. Schauer was assigned as an automotive mechanic in charge of the motor pool. On 17 June 1949, Staff Sgt. William T. Schauer received his Honorable Discharge.