The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Hardwick. Hardwick was born in Dallas, Texas on 5 December 1923. While in high school he joined the Texas National Guard, serving with the 112th Cavalry. He went on maneuvers in Louisiana with the horse cavalry. In December 1940 he joined the US Navy and was sent to San Diego for boot training. Upon graduation, he was selected to attend the Ford Motor Trade School at Rouge River in Dearborn, Michigan for four months. After completing the course, he was assigned to the USS Honolulu (CL-48) at Pear Harbor. He witnessed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1942, the ship accompanied the USS Birmingham (CL-62) to the Aleutian Islands and bombarded Kiska. During the fall of 1942 the Honolulu went to Noumea and Hardwick saw the USS San Francisco (CA-38), whose bow had been blown off. He recalls 30 November 1942 during which the ship participated in the Battle of Tassafaronga. He also was involved in battles at New Georgia, Peleliu and Leyte. While bombarding Leyte, the Honolulu was heavily damaged by a Japanese torpedo necessitating repairs being made at Manus Island before the ship returned …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Hardwick. Hardwick was born in Dallas, Texas on 5 December 1923. While in high school he joined the Texas National Guard, serving with the 112th Cavalry. He went on maneuvers in Louisiana with the horse cavalry. In December 1940 he joined the US Navy and was sent to San Diego for boot training. Upon graduation, he was selected to attend the Ford Motor Trade School at Rouge River in Dearborn, Michigan for four months. After completing the course, he was assigned to the USS Honolulu (CL-48) at Pear Harbor. He witnessed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1942, the ship accompanied the USS Birmingham (CL-62) to the Aleutian Islands and bombarded Kiska. During the fall of 1942 the Honolulu went to Noumea and Hardwick saw the USS San Francisco (CA-38), whose bow had been blown off. He recalls 30 November 1942 during which the ship participated in the Battle of Tassafaronga. He also was involved in battles at New Georgia, Peleliu and Leyte. While bombarding Leyte, the Honolulu was heavily damaged by a Japanese torpedo necessitating repairs being made at Manus Island before the ship returned …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Thomas Turner. Turner joined the Navy in 1943 and attended boot camp in Virginia with the Seabees. He shipped overseas in early 1944 and headed first for the Solomon Islands in time for the invasion of the Admiralty Islands with the 11th CBs. He was attached to the 71st CB in time for the invasion of Okinawa and went ashore on the first day. at both places, his outfit either built air bases or improved airfields. Turner recall souvenir hunting on Okinawa. He was there when the war ended and was discharge din early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Feltner. Feltner was born in Combs, Kentucky in 1921. He joined the Army in 1940 and completed basic training, then entered radio school. After a stint as a battalion communications chief, he was sent to Fort Drum, New York to set up a communications school followed by Officer Candidate School at Fort Hood, Texas. Commissioned in 1943, he was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia as a battalion communications officer. In 1944 he was sent to Mindanao as an infantry platoon leader with the 124th Infantry. Later, he was sent to Korea as a military advisor and was wounded. Feltner retired in 1961 as a lieutenant colonel.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lee White. White was born 14 August 1925, graduated high school in 1942, and joined the Army Air Forces in August 1943. He joined the Aviation Cadet Program. White completed pre-flight training in the summer of 1944, then basic flying training, and became a Flight Officer in March 1945. In the summer, he was assigned to glider training in North Carolina, where he was located when the war ended. White continued his service, and went on to have a career in the Air Force as an aviator and flight instructor, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1970.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Hector Mendieta. Mendieta was born in Laredo, Texas in 1924. After graduating from high school in 1941, he attended Texas A & M University until March 1943. When he was inducted into the Army he underwent nine weeks of basic training at Camp Roberts, Texas and was then sent to Camp Abbot, Oregon. In February 1944, he was selected to attend Officers Candidate School. Upon receiving his commission on 14 June 1944 he was sent to Camp Claiborne, Louisiana where he joined the 1326th Engineer General Service Brigade. The unit, composed primarily of African American soldiers, received training in various types of construction. On 12 February 1945 the regiment left Camp Kilmer, New Jersey for France. After landing at Le Havre, the unit moved to Marville. Mendieta’s unit converted a school into a hospital. Casualties from the 3rd Army arrived before reconstruction was completed. After Germany surrendered, his unit was sent to Mondorf les Bains, Belgium to convert a hotel into a prison for high ranking German officers. He saw Hermann Goering and Karl Doenitz arrive prior to the trials in Nuremburg. Afterward, the unit boarded the USS …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ray Murray. Murray joined the Army Air Forces. Upon completing flight training at Lubbock, Texas, he graduated as a twin-engine pilot and spent the next year as an instructor. Next, he went overseas to transport supplies in the European Theater. Operating first out of Scotland, he carried anything and everything, from overcoats and tomatoes to gasoline and mail. In the whole of his career, he was only ever taken off one flight, and that was to be a trip to Paris in stormy weather. The pilot that replaced him perished, along with all 16 men aboard, after the engine caught fire. After the war, Murray remained in the service, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel after the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Seay. Seay joined the Army in 1943 after beginning field artillery training through the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M. Upon completion, he was deployed to the China, Burma, India Theater to assist with opening the Burma Road. There he trained Chinese forces near Kunming on the use of pack artillery. He was then sent to radio school and coded communications so that he could teach this to the Chinese, as well. Although Chinese forces were often woefully underfunded and untrained due to warlords diverting their resources, Seay oversaw one particular guerilla group that was able to retain their funds and become properly trained. From Seay, they learned to harass Japanese troops traversing mountain passes. Seay was then recruited by headquarters to gather intelligence from local sources regarding the whereabouts of Japanese officers. Upon contracting hepatitis, he was sent to a field hospital in Kunming and was transferred to Calcutta as the war came to an end. Seay returned home and was discharged in December 1945, returning to Texas A&M and earning a degree in civil engineering.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Neil McBride. McBride was born in Crossingville, Pennsylvania on 20 November 1920. Graduating from high school in 1938, he attended the University of Oklahoma for two years before joining the Navy. After completing five weeks of boot training at Great Lakes Naval Training Station, Illinois he was sent to Pier 92 in New York City where he remained until the USS PC-470 was launched in June 1942. Following the shakedown cruise, the vessel went to the Banana River, Florida dry dock for repairs to the gun mounts. McBride recalls the crew’s attempts to locate a German submarine that had torpedoed a ship in an Atlantic convoy the PC-470 escorting. After spending thirty months based in Panama, PC-470 participated in the invasion of Leyte during which the boat was hit by shelling from a Japanese shore battery. There were several crewmembers wounded as a result. McBride returned to the United States on leave. He was then assigned to the landing craft repair ship USS Achelous (ARL-1), on which he continued to service until he was discharged November 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Paul Silber. Silber was born in 1925 and recalls life during the depression years. In June 1943, he was drafted into the Army and sent to Fort Hood, Texas for basic training. While there, he was accepted into air cadet training. The program was cancelled before he got started and he was sent to the 13th Armored Division at Camp Bowie, Texas. While there, he applied for Officer Candidate School and was accepted. After being commissioned, he was sent to Tacloban, where he was assigned as a platoon leader in G Company, 2nd Battalion, 34th Infantry. He recalls landing on Mindoro and describes some of the action that followed where he was severely wounded. Following a hospital stay in the Philippines he was put aboard USS Hope (AH-7) and then spent time in several Army hospitals, including Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center.