The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Borchers. Borchers joined the Army in September 1944 and received training at Camp Hood and Fort Ord. His first combat duty was in the Luzon campaign, where he was stationed in the mountains north of Manila. There he was assigned to the 112th Cavalry Regiment. His platoon devised an alarm system out of barbed wire and tin cans to alert them to Japanese infiltration. They fired 15,000 rounds when a water buffalo stumbled into it. After the battle, Borchers was stricken with hepatitis and never was in action again. He arrived in Tokyo Bay on 1 September 1945 and camped at the Tateyama Air Base with a view of the surrender. He was part of the occupation forces and describes what he saw on his travels through Japan, including the rubble of Chiba. He joined the 649th Ordnance Ammunition Company, dumping ammunition, vehicles, and aircraft into the water near Shoshi. Borchers returned home and was discharged in November 1946 as a first sergeant, whereupon he joined the Naval Reserves and entered medical school. He resigned his commission in 1953.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents and oral interview with William Garbo. Garbo was born in Laurel, Mississippi on 10 November 1924. Drafted in 1942 he was sent to Camp Lee, Virginia for fourteen weeks of basic training. He recalls sparring with Joe Louis there. Upon completing basic he went to San Carlos, California and became a dog trainer. Upon completion, he was placed in the 26th Quartermaster Corps War Dog Platoon, composed of thirty men and sixty dogs. On 14 May 1944 the unit went to Papua, New Guinea. When they entered the combat zone, they were assigned to work with the 112th Cavalry. Garbo participated in the battle of the Driniumor River. He recalls missions and explains dog handling and patrolling with canines. Leaving the K-9 unit, he was assigned to the 112th Cavalry as assistant gunner with a machine gun squad. The unit boarded the Frederick Funston (APA-89) and landed during the invasion of Leyte. Recalling kamikaze attacks on the transports Garbo tells of one narrowly missing his ship. Garbo describes the sights and sounds of combat and tells of the loss of fellow soldiers and his hospitalization after being wounded. Not long after he …

Transcript of an oral interview with Cesar Fourzan, Jr. He enlisted in the Army in 1940 and was assigned to C Troop of the First Cavalry Division. He trained as a cavalry soldier at Fort Bliss, Texas. He was sent to Fort Riley, Kansas where he attended Officer Candidate School. He shares an anecdote about losing his accent in order to receive his commission. He was assigned to the 9th Cavalry and served as the squadron paymaster. He shares anecdotes about taking African American soldiers into Mexico for recreation and about taking aerial photos of Fort Clark, Texas. He participated in a horse march from Fort Ringgold, Texas to Alpine, Texas, when he was in the 112th Cavalry, Second Cavalry Division. He shares anecdotes about his trip to Australia aboard the USS Hermitage (AP-54); witnessing the landing of General McArthur on Leyte; adopting a puppy and interacting with children on Luzon; and his return trip to the United States. He also shares his recollection of eating ground grasshoppers. He spent twenty-nine years and seven months in the Army and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel.

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 Howard Stearns. Stearns joined the Army in July of 1946. He served with the 1st Cavalry Division, 5th Cavalry Regiment. In December he traveled to Yokohama, Japan aboard the USS General W. M. Black (AP-135). Stearns was assigned to the 4th Replacement Depot in Japan, and worked as a non-commissioned officer, overseeing a supply room during the occupation of Japan. Stearns also transported war criminals by vehicle to the war crime trials, sat in on the trials, then escorted the criminals back to the Sugamo prison in Tokyo. He returned to the US and was discharged in November of 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ivan Haselby. Haselby joined the Army in July of 1944. He completed Officer Candidate School and served as a first lieutenant in the First Cavalry Division, Eighth Cavalry Regiment. He worked at Camp Wolters in Mineral Wells, Texas through May of 1945. Beginning in July, he was deployed to Japan and served with the occupation forces. He was stationed in the Chiba Prefecture, occupying and investigating schools. Haselby returned to the US and was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ernest Botard. Botard was born on a Texas ranch 28 December 1916. Graduating from high school in 1935, he attended Texas A&M University. He was called to active duty in February 1942, reporting to the Army’s 4th Calvary at Manhattan, Kansas where he received intensive training with horses. He was then sent to Fort Meade, South Dakota where his unit began training with vehicles. After spending six months training in the desert at Blithe, California the unit was sent to Camp Maxey at Paris, Texas. Here they prepared for overseas duty. Botard was placed in charge of D company and he describes the type of equipment the unit had. Departing the US in a large escorted convoy, they arrived in Portsmouth, England and began preparation for the invasion of Normandy. Botard landed at Utah Beach on 7 June 1944 and describes the problems getting the tanks and other equipment ashore. He describes in detail the battles in which he was involved and the difficulties presented by the hedgerows in the movement of his tanks. He recounts an incident where his column of tanks was proceeding down a road …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Upton Ruddock. Upton’s wife, Mary, assists with the interview. Ruddock was drafted into the Army in May 1944. He went to Fort Riley, Kansas for basic training. He trained on horseback. He was part of the 56th Cavalry Brigade. After training he went to war, leaving California November 1944. They landed at Bombay, India. He joined the 124th Cavalry Regiment of the MARS Task Force. They crossed India by train to Ledo, Burma. He took care of eight mules and two horses, utilizing them to help carry their food, supplies and equipment to the Burma Road. He discusses other experiences in Burma. He also served in Shanghai, China shoveling coal into the stove for a big hotel. He returned to the States and was discharged in February 1946. After he was discharged he worked on his father’s farm. He used his G.I. Bill to purchase a home and some land, and to further his work vaccinating chickens.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Gordon Hurd. Hurd joined the Army in January of 1944. He was assigned to the 124th Cavalry Regiment as a second lieutenant in the China India Burma campaign. They deployed to India in August of 1944, and operated as dismounted cavalry alongside Chinese troops. He participated in battles with the Japanese to recapture sections of the Burma Road, and helped train Chinese troops to take over after the Japanese surrendered. Hurd was discharged in September of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Dr. George Burnet. Burnet joined the Army on May 16, 1944. He studied chemical warfare, and was trained on the 4.2 inch mortar battalion. He served as a forward observer with the 99th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. Around mid-1944, they were deployed to the Philippines and participated in the Battle of Leyte. He recovered from malaria around June and July of 1945. Beginning in September, they served in the occupation of Japan, providing military support to the U.S. government and completing 8 months of demilitarization duties. In mid to late 1946, they occupied a Japanese military base in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture. He continued his service, and received his discharge in December of 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lin Williams. Williams joined the Army in November 1942 after spending a year in the Civilian Conservation Corps. He received basic training at Fort Meade and joined the 4th Cavalry. He was sent to California for desert training but sailed to England in February 1943. He landed on an island off the coast of Utah Beach before dawn on D-Day. There was no German opposition, but 19 men were killed and 55 injured by land mines. Williams was at Oppenheim on V-E Day and began preparing for deployment to the Pacific. When the war ended, Williams instead returned home and was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Thomas Killian. Killian joined the Army in April of 1945, at the young age of 14 years old. He was assigned to the 29th Regimental Combat Team, 10th Army. He traveled to Okinawa, arriving 26 June 1945, participating in the invasion of the island. They traveled south on the island, towards Naha, and helped with cleanup, and had some direct combat with the Japanese. By August the bombs had been dropped and the war was over. Killian remained on the island until 26 August. He returned to the US and was discharged in May of 1948. In August of 1949, Killian rejoined, and by June of 1950 he was back in Okinawa. From there, he participated in the Korean War with E Company, 7th Cavalry. He was wounded and discharged in July of 1951.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gordon Wilkinson. Wilkinson was drafted into the Army in January 1945. He completed basic training in Camp Wheeler, Georgia. He provides details of his experiences in training. He served in the Luzon, Philippines campaign. They first landed in Eniwetok and picked up a convoy then headed into the Philippines. He was a part of the fifth replacement and later the 43rd Infantry Division and Headquarters Company. They were set up in Cabanatuan. Then they traveled to Japan in September 1945. The 43rd Infantry Division was deactivated and Wilkinson joined the 1st Cavalry Division in Osaka, and he was assigned to the 302nd Recon. He provides detail of his time in Osaka. He left Japan in December 1945 and was shipped to Fort Stevens, Oregon where he re-enlisted. He attended Counter Intelligence School in Baltimore, Maryland. He was then stationed in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was in the service 29 years, and retired as Chief Warrant Officer Four.

Transcript of an oral interview with Ellsworth Handy. Born in 1914, he entered the Army in August, 1940. He was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Headquarters, 29th Quartermaster Regiment. In early 1942 he was sent to the Pacific Theater. He describes being transported from San Francisco, California to Australia aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth. He was responsible for running convoys of trucks in remote areas of the country. As Plans and Recreation Officer in Brisbane, he arranged entertainment in a local theater for soldiers on leave. He was sent to Milne Bay, New Guinea and the Philippines where he was responsible for trucking activities. He describes witnessing General MacArthur’s return to the Philippines. He shares an anecdote about a narrow escape during an air raid. He talks about not being rotated back to the U.S. as part of the normal two-year rotation. He left active duty in 1945. He served in the Reserves until 1981. The interview also contains information about his family during the Depression.

Transcript of an oral interview with Alvin Leos. Leos quit school in the seventh grade to work on a dairy farm to help the family earn money during the Great Depression. He entered the Army in 1940 and was stationed at Galveston, Texas in a coast artillery unit when war was declared in December, 1941. Before long, his unit was assigned to coastal defense on New Hebrides. In 1944, he was sent back to the US where he trained recruits at Tyler, Texas. He then volunteered for a combat assignment and was attached to the First Cavalry Division prior to the invasion of the Philippines. Leos then describes patrols and enemy encounters on Luzon. When the war ended, Leos had enough points to go home. He eventually got assigned to the Second Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas. Then, Leos discusses the time spent occupying Germany in the early 1950s. Leos moves back to discussing event that occurred while he was serving in the Philippines during WWII. He finishes by discussing visiting the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Zedic Colbert. Colbert worked with the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1940 working road construction and fighting forest fires. In August of that same year he joined the Army, assigned to a special weapons platoon in the 1st Cavalry Division. He provides vivid details of training as an infantryman, including working with horses. He traveled to Australia in July of 1943, and later to New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Philippines, sharing his combat experiences. He was wounded by shell fragments and received a Purple Heart. Colbert was discharged from the Army in August of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Morton Wood. Wood was studying Mechanical Engineering and serving in the ROTC unit at Virginia Tech when World War II began. He completed college, then Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Coast Artillery Corps beginning June of 1944. He was assigned to the 66th Infantry Division (the Black Panther Division), 264th Infantry Regiment and was given command of the 3rd Platoon. He traveled to England aboard a passenger liner converted to a troopship, the SS L???opoldville, on 24 December 1944. While sailing between Southampton and Cherbourg, the ship was torpedoed and sunk by the U-486. Wood describes this event, including the loss of 7 men from his platoon and their rescue by the HMS Brilliant (H84). With his division, Wood contained Germans in both Saint-Nazaire and Lorient in France. He was discharged in late 1945 and was recalled in 1951 for the Korean War. He describes this experience, including serving with the 1st Cavalry Division and getting wounded.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Frank Mendez. Mendez joined the Army in 1940. He joined the First Cavalry Division at Fort Bliss, Texas. In the spring of 1943 Mendez traveled to Brisbane, Australia, clearing eucalyptus forest and setting up camp for the division, where he remained for six months. In October they went to New Guinea for a few months training in jungle warfare, then on to the Admiralty Islands through October of 1944. He provides details of his living and food accommodations on the islands, and occasional intermittent fighting with the Japanese. They then participated in the Philippines Campaign, capturing Tacloban and Samar. He also served in rescuing civilian prisoners in the Santo Tomas Internment Camp. Mendez served in the Philippines from October of 1944 through August of 1945, then returned to the US for discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Chelly Mendoza. Mendoza was drafted into the Army in August, 1942. He was attached as a medic to the 1st Cavalry Division. He went overseas in May, 1943 and landed at Oro Bay, New Guinea. Mendoza served as a litter bearer hauling wounded from the battlefield. He drove an ambulance in the Admiralty Islands during the campaign in 1944. In October, Mendoza went to Leyte during the invasion of the Philippines. Mendoza helped liberate the civilian internees from Santo Tomas in Manila, where he was wounded. He returned to the US and was discharged from the Army in December, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Fred Faiz. Faiz was raised on a ranch and had good relations with neighboring Japanese-American farmers before the war. In 1939, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, with whom he worked until being drafted into the Army in March 1941. He was assigned to the First Cavalry Division at Fort Bliss. When his unit phased out horse-drawn Howitzers and transitioned to driving jeeps, Faiz was sent to Louisiana, where he trained as a machine-gunner. Faiz saw his first combat in New Guinea and encountered banzai charges in the Admiralty Islands, with Los Negros defended by 10,000 elite Japanese Marines. In the jungle, Faiz and his unit set traps by staging their hammocks with makeshift dummies and watching from afar as Japanese soldiers approached. On Luzon, he participated in the liberation of Santo Tomas and fought inside Manila. Faiz returned home and was discharged in late 1945. Having contracted malaria, he experienced symptoms for another 10 years. Although he felt the war unfairly biased people against Japanese-Americans, he saw hostility towards them eventually subside.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Howard M. Heisler. Born in 1926, he ran away from home and joined the Army in 1942. He was underage and used an assumed name. He was assigned to a reconnaissance group in the 1st Cavalry Division and sent to Australia in the spring of 1943. He participated in the invasion of the Admiralty Islands, Leyte, and Luzon. He was injured by a mortar shell when his platoon was guarding a bridge outside of Manila. He was evacuated to a hospital ship and received further treatment at a general hospital in New Guinea. He rejoined his unit in Luzon where they were training for the invasion of Japan. They were sent to Tokyo after the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, but before the Japanese surrendered. He describes the city of Tokyo. He shares an anecdote about his parents learning of his whereabouts as the result of his being wounded. He was discharged under his real name in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Sam Harris. Harris joined the Army in February of 1942. He was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. He traveled to Australia in July of 1943, participating in the line defense at Brisbane. In early 1944, as part of the reconnaissance force, Harris was shipped to Ora Bay in New Guinea and made landings on the Admiralty Islands. In October he invaded the Philippine Islands, and ultimately helped in liberating Santo Tomas Internment Camp prisoners. He was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Skirvin. Skirvin was born on a farm in Iowa on 26 January 1922. He dropped out of school after the eighth grade to work on the farm. In 1942 he was drafted into the Army and spent six week of infantry basic training at Camp Robinson, Arkansas. He then went to Fort Bliss, Texas where he was assigned to the Troop G, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He recalls training as cavalry with horses until early 1943 when the horses were taken away and the unit became infantry. Trained as a Browning automatic rifle (BAR) operator, he boarded the USAT Maui with an advance detail bound for Brisbane, Australia. Upon their arrival they began four weeks of intensive jungle training. This was followed by four weeks of amphibious training. Skirvin’s unit went to New Guinea and the Admiralties where they were involved in combat. While there, Skirvin developed a severe case of Shingles, which hospitalized him for two weeks. Eventually, his unit boarded the USS La Salle (AGF-3) and landed on Leyte in October 1944. He recounts various experiences while there, including a banzai charge, loss …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Warren Wishnack. Wishnack joined the Army in August of 1942. He trained to serve as a radio operator. He joined the 6th Cavalry, a reconnaissance unit, and provides some details of their unique training. Wishnack was assigned to an M-8 armored car where he tapped out Morse Code to communicate with headquarters and also worked with an FM radio for short distances. He provides details of his radio training and the M-8 armored vehicle. He served in Ireland from October 1943 to June of 1944, conducting routine training missions and building a motor pool. They landed on Utah Beach July 9. They participated in five campaigns, including the Battle of the Bulge and attacking the Siegfried Line. Wishnack provides some details of the tanks and the battles he fought in. He also shares his encounters with the German civilians. He was discharged around December of 1945.