The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Martin Gonzales. Gonzales worked in an aircraft engine plant until he was drafted into the Army in 1943. He joined the 1st Cavalry Division in Australia and took part in the landings at the Admiralty Islands. Gonzales describes becoming a BAR man after the gunner was critically wounded. His unit was then sent to the Philippines and fought on Leyte and Luzon. Gonzales describes the living conditions and details fighting in Manila. He was in Tokyo Bay when the surrender ceremony took place and participated in the occupation for about a month. Gonzales returned to the US and was discharged soon afterwards. He joined a monastery a few years later and discusses his faith in detail.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clyde Combs. Combs was attending a vocational school when Pearl Harbor was attacked. During his senior year, he worked for a company that manufactured parts for military planes. He was then drafted into the Navy in March 1943 and sent to quartermaster school. Combs then had motor torpedo boat training to study their engines, radio, radar, and gunnery. Upon completion, he was assigned to PT-515 as a quartermaster stationed in Southern England. During the invasion of Normandy, his boat’s job was to protect the western flank of landing crafts from Schnell boats and also to assist ships with the rescue and recovery of wounded and deceased. In August 1944, while patrolling the French coast, the boat was by a Schnell boat. Combs waited in London for repairs, enduring buzz bombs and blackouts. He returned to the States in March 1945 and served as an instructor until his discharge in November. Combs finished college on the GI Bill and went on to a career in engineering.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with with William R. Sanchez. Born in Texas in 1918, Sanchez joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1938. He was drafted into the Army in 1940 and elected to serve in the Philippines. He was assigned to the 59th Regiment, Coast Artillery, Battery D and later Battery H at Fort Mills (Corregidor). He was then assigned to Army Intelligence in the Harbor Defense Headquarters. He recounts how the Army Intelligence at Corregidor provided advance notification of the Japanese force on its way to attack Pearl Harbor. He describes participating in the battle for Corregidor, being taken prisoner in the Malinta Tunnel, and his role in disposing of an American flag after the surrender to the Japanese. He discusses the treatment and living conditions he experienced as a prisoner of war. He was held captive at Bilibid Prison and Cabanatuan in the Philippines. He was transported aboard the Totorri Maru, a hell ship, to Formosa. He was then relocated to Camp Omori near Tokyo, Japan where he befriended Gregory “Pappy” Boyington and Louis Zamperini; was beaten by “the Wiley Bird” (Mutsuhiro Watanabe); and encountered Premier Tojo. He discusses his …

Transcript of an oral interview with John P. "J.P." Boswell. When Boswell finished high school in 1942, he went to work in a machine shop to help pay for college. He went to Notre Dame, where he joined the US Marine Corps in June, 1943. Boswell describes riding the train from his home to Parris Island, the drill instructors there and the training regimen. When he finished boot camp, Boswell was assigned to Drill Instructor School. Before long, Boswell went to Sea School and reported shortly thereafter to the USS Bennington (CV-20) at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He served as an anti-aircraft gunner aboard the ship. Boswell shares many anecdotes about life aboard ship: going through the Panama Canal, liberty on Mog Mog, the harbor at Ulithi, etc. Eventually, Boswell was assigned to shore duty. He rode a breeches bouy to a destroyer and then was delivered to Guam. There, he was assigned to the unit of Marines that served as Admiral Nimitz's bodyguards. Boswell was with Admiral Nimitz aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63) for the Japanese surrender.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Reverend J.B. Young. Young enlisted in the Army Air Corps in December 1936. He became a cook and then was trained as an airplane mechanic. Young was sent to Hickam Field in Hawaii to serve as a crew chief on a B-17. He describes the attack on 7 December and how he taxied his plane out of danger and the patrols that they flew in the immediate aftermath. Young was then sent to New Caledonia where his plane flew photo reconnaissance missions for three months. They traveled to Australia and flew missions against Rabaul and Japanese ships in the Coral Sea. Young describes some notable incidents from this time. He returned to the US after 66 missions and remained there until the end of the war. Young retired from the Air Force in 1959.

Transcript of an oral interview with William T. Carroll, Jr. Born in 1922, he volunteered for service in the Army in March, 1941. He was assigned to a Signal Corps company on the northern tip of Luzon in late 1941. He tells the story of the Japanese invasion, eluding the enemy, and surviving in the mountainous jungle for three years. He talks about contracting malaria and harrying Japanese forces. In May 1945 he was flown to Lingayen Gulf where he was processed following his ordeal. He returned to the U.S. and received additional training in instrument repair as well as teletype repair. After volunteering to serve in the paratroopers, he was assigned to the 11th Airborne Division in Sapporo, Japan. He was discharged in June, 1950. He used the GI Bill to attend college and became an educator.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Thomas. Thomas was drafted into the Army in November 1944 after receiving four deferments for working his mother’s farm. He describes how he worked with mules at Fort Sill to transport Pack 75mm artillery. Thomas was then sent to the Philippines where he served as an assistant driver on a two-and-a-half-ton truck. He then traveled to post war Japan for the occupation. Thomas discusses how he worked as a baker for his unit for the remainder of his service. He also describes the damage he observed in Tokyo. Thomas was discharged in November 1946.

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 David Hoobler. Hoobler joined the Army Air Forces in December, 1941 and trained as a bombardier. He was placed in a B-24 crew in the 458th Bomb Group and went to England in January, 1944. Hoobler describes his journey to England and also a few bombing missions over Germany. Hoobler flew 30 combat missions.

Transcript of an oral interview with Major General John R.D. Cleland. Cleland joined the Army after he finished high school in 1943 because he wanted to be a paratrooper. He took basic training at Fort Hood, Texas and discusses several aspects of it. He eventually was accepted into jump school and describes training to be a paratrooper. After jump school, Cleland went to Parachute demolition school. He graduated top of his class and then went to Officer Candidate School. In November, 1944, he graduated as a second lieutenant from OCS. He finally joined the 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team in June, 1945 in the Philippines. He got there aboard the USS Pondera (APA-191). Shortly after arriving on Negros, the Japanese surrendered and Cleland set up and command a prison camp for them. By October, all his prisoners had been shipped out and he went to Japan for occupation duty. While on occupation duty, Cleland was gathered surrendered weapons and demolished ammunition stockpiles. Cleland returned to the US in 1947 and stayed in the service. He describes his participation in the war in Korea. He served as a rifle company commander and was wounded in a night attack. He was evacuated …