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The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack Brown. Born in 1919, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1941. He was sent to Pearl Harbor. He recounts his actions during the Japanese attack there. He was then assigned to the USS Indianapolis (CA-35). He describes his duties as the captain?s orderly. He talks about an encounter with fifteen Japanese twin-engine airplanes while escorting troop ships from the Coral Sea to Australia. He also discusses sinking Japanese supply ships in Alaska. After being hospitalized in San Francisco for tuberculosis, he joined the 1st Marine Division in Guadalcanal in late 1943. He shares an anecdote about the troops and quinine on Guadalcanal. He describes the Battle of Peleliu where he was a gun captain on a 105mm howitzer. When the war ended, he was transported on the USS Wharton (AP-7) to San Diego, California where Roy Rogers and Dale Evans greeted the troops with the song ?Happy Trails.? Shortly thereafter, he was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack Brown. Born in 1919, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1941. He was sent to Pearl Harbor. He recounts his actions during the Japanese attack there. He was then assigned to the USS Indianapolis (CA-35). He describes his duties as the captain?s orderly. He talks about an encounter with fifteen Japanese twin-engine airplanes while escorting troop ships from the Coral Sea to Australia. He also discusses sinking Japanese supply ships in Alaska. After being hospitalized in San Francisco for tuberculosis, he joined the 1st Marine Division in Guadalcanal in late 1943. He shares an anecdote about the troops and quinine on Guadalcanal. He describes the Battle of Peleliu where he was a gun captain on a 105mm howitzer. When the war ended, he was transported on the USS Wharton (AP-7) to San Diego, California where Roy Rogers and Dale Evans greeted the troops with the song ?Happy Trails.? Shortly thereafter, he was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with George Beard. He was born in 1924. In 1943, he joined the United States Army Air Forces. Upon completing basic training, he underwent pilot training and became a B-24 pilot. After spending time in Panama, he was sent to New Guinea where he underwent jungle training. He then went to Clark Field, Philippine Islands. There he flew missions over Japan and he tells of seeing smoke residue from the atomic bomb blast. Beard returned to the US after the war ended.

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The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Everett Ike McKay. McKay joined the Navy as a part of the V-7 program. He was commissioned as an ensign in July 1943. McKay was sent to minesweeper school and then assigned to the commissioning crew of the YMS-293. He discusses his duties as the executive officer. McKay also describes the operations, types of mines, and capabilities of the ship. He describes sweeping the invasion approaches. McKay discusses an incident where USS Mount Hood exploded, killing 3 men that he had just been with and severely damaging his ship. He describes going through a major typhoon, losing one engine, and all electric power. McKay also describes the role minesweepers played as a utility ship performing duties such as generating smoke and delivering mail. He was transferred back to the US and sent to demobilization school soon after he became a member of the inactive reserves.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clifford Ashby. Ashby was born in Effingham, Illinois on 11 June 1925. He became interested in amateur radio while in high school and joined the Merchant Marines in 1943. After passing tests related to radio operations he was assigned to the liberty ship, SS James B. Francis (1942) as a radio operator. He tells of the ship loaded with ammunition sitting in the harbor at Guadalcanal with hoses pumping water on the deck to keep it cool. He also observed Japanese air raids over the island of Morotai. Ashby’s ship also participated in the invasion of Luzon. Later, he was assigned to the SS Benjamin Grierson commenting on the excellent food served aboard Liberty ships. He comments on the excellent wages paid to Merchant seaman and the fact that the pay was doubled when the ship was within a war zone. He tells of the SS Grierson setting at Ulithi with 40 other merchant ships for three months following the Japanese surrender. After leaving the Merchant Marine he attended various colleges and he comments on his career prior to retirement.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Raymond Swingholm. Swingholm joined the Army Air Forces in early 1942. Beginning in March of 1944, he served as a top turret gunner and flight engineer aboard a B-25 with the 12th Air Force. Swingholm completed 64 bombing missions, over Northern Italy, Belgium and France.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ben Howden. Howden joined the Navy in 1942. He received preliminary flight training Wisconsin and Iowa and further training in Corpus Christi, Melbourne, and Vero Beach. Upon completion, he was assigned to VF(N)-106 and then transferred to a squadron aboard the USS Independence (CVL-22). He performed combat air patrols and anti-submarine patrols for three months in the Philippines. Howden traveled through a typhoon during his return to the States and was discharged when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Barton Dale Messler. Messler joined the Navy in January of 1940. He served as a Gunner’s Mate aboard USS Pennsylvania (BB-38). They were in Dry Dock No. 1 in Pearl Harbor undergoing a refit when the Japanese attacked. He was transferred to the USS Columbia (CL-56), and traveled to Guadalcanal. He also served aboard the USS Amsterdam (CL-101), traveling to Leyte, Okinawa and Tokyo Bay for the signing of the Peace Treaty. Messler participated in 9 major engagements.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harmon Harris. Harris joined the Navy in May of 1944. He served with the 141st Construction Battalion. They traveled to the Marshall Islands and Kwajalein, building airstrips, houses and defensive structures.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Rufus Dye. Dye joined the Army Air Corps in 1940 after finishing high school in Illinois. Dye finished radio operator school in Chicago before heading for flight training in California. Upon completion of flight training and earning his commission, Dye reported for duty with the 392nd Fighter Squadron, 367th Fighter Group in England where he flew combat missions in France prior to the Normandy landing. He flew a P-38 Lightning. He was in Frankfurt when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ben Howden. Howden joined the Navy in 1942. He received preliminary flight training Wisconsin and Iowa and further training in Corpus Christi, Melbourne, and Vero Beach. Upon completion, he was assigned to VF(N)-106 and then transferred to a squadron aboard the USS Independence (CVL-22). He performed combat air patrols and anti-submarine patrols for three months in the Philippines. Howden traveled through a typhoon during his return to the States and was discharged when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Evelyn Meehan. Meehan and her husband, who served in the Navy, were stationed at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack. At the time of the attack, her husband was at sea aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6). They remained in Hawaii after the attack, and Meehan continued working in the Office of Censorship in Honolulu. She speaks on general civilian life during World War II.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arthur Rees. Rees joined the Marine Corps in October 1941 and received basic training in San Diego. After training a few platoons as a drill instructor, he was transferred to Combat Engineers as a crane operator. He improved the airstrip at Guadalcanal and transferred supplies from LCTs to amphibious vehicles at Guam. He arrived at Iwo Jima just after D-Day and left for the States two weeks later. Although he was never on the frontlines, he was at the tail end of invasions and often operated under enemy shelling. Rees returned home and was discharged in October 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Raymond Swingholm. Swingholm joined the Army Air Forces in early 1942. Beginning in March of 1944, he served as a top turret gunner and flight engineer aboard a B-25 with the 12th Air Force. Swingholm completed 64 bombing missions, over Northern Italy, Belgium and France.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Betty Blalock. Blalock joined the Navy in 1945 and received basic training in Yonkers. She was assigned to the hospital corps and sent to the amputee ward at Quantico. Once a day, an airplane would arrive with amputees whom Blalock would visit and encourage. She remembers them as having good morale. After the war, she was discharged and married a tech sergeant, Hugh Blalock, who went on to serve in the Air Force for 30 years. She and her husband spent 10 years with Air America in Laos, Saigon, and Bangkok. While there she opened three kindergartens, taking a 12-hour train, a bicycle ride, and a boat taxi twice each week to teach classes. Blalock says that she’s led an interesting life and has gone around the world about five times.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Carrie Milan. Milan’s husband Joe served with the Army Engineers during World War II from around 1940 to 1945. He served in both the European and Pacific theaters, and was stationed in England, North Africa, Sicily, Corsica, Italy, Okinawa and Iwo Jima during his service. Milan shares that Joe was a Staff Sergeant in charge of supplies. Milan shares a number of Joe’s experiences while on Iwo Jima, including his work with fellow servicemen, casualties and attacks made by the Japanese. She speaks on how their mail correspondence between the two of them was censored, how Joe actively participated in combat throughout his service and his work procuring and dispersing supplies. Joe passed away on 3 August 2000 and Milan provides information about their children and grandchildren.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Rowe. Rowe was born in Meridean, Wisconsin in 1926. He describes his family life during the Depression years. He joined the US Navy upon graduation from high school in 1944 and was sent to boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois. Upon graduation from boot camp, he was trained and graduated as a Watertender 3rd Class. He tells of his entire ship’s crew going to Portland, Oregon by train to board the newly constructed ship, USS Crockett (APA-14). He describes a number of missions in which the Crocket was engaged, including the invasion of Okinawa at which time the naval landing force was attacked by kamikazes. He tells of the elation felt by the crew members upon hearing of the atomic bomb followed by the news of the surrender of Japan. Upon his discharge in 1946, Rowe attended college under the provisions of the G.I. Bill followed by a career as an educator.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Albert Montague. Montague joined the Navy in August 1941 and went to boot camp at San Diego, California. He recalls being sent to the submarine base at Pearl Harbor and attending signal school. His first assignment was at the signal tower where incoming ships were assigned docking positions by the use of lights and signal flags. One of his frequent visitors was Admiral Chester Nimitz who would often take his daily walk in the area. His recollections of 7 December 1941 include returning from breakfast mess and seeing Japanese planes strafing. Montague describes the scene and tells of the actions he took. He went aboard the US Stingray (S-40) in 1943 and recollects the war missions they went on including mine laying, picking up downed flyers and a special mission to Luzon. He was transferred off the boat into the Shore Patrol and tells of his experiences. Montague returned to the United States in 1945 and was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Oliver. Oliver quit school at the age of sixteen and joined the Army in September 1939. He was sent to Hawaii, where he joined the 19th Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He attended cooks school in Honolulu for sixteen weeks then he drove trucks. He describes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and tells of clearing the beach area of vegetation and installing rolls of barbed wire in anticipation of a landing by Japanese forces. In June 1942 he was sent to Oklahoma where he spent two years working in Battalion Headquarters during the formation of a new Army infantry division. He was then sent to Fort Benning, Georgia where he was a non-jumper instructor at the parachute school. He was discharged in July 1945. Oliver concludes the interview by telling of his duties after being recalled into the Army during the Korean War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Neal Hachenberg. Hachenberg joined the Navy in June of 1941. He served as First Class Gunner’s Mate aboard USS Detroit (CL-8). They were moored at Pearl Harbor alongside the USS Raleigh (CL-7) and USS Utah (BB-31) when the Japanese attacked. They ran convoy duty from Pearl Harbor, transporting 9 short tons of gold evacuated from Corregidor, to the United States Treasury Department at San Francisco. In early 1945 they transported troops to Leyte Gulf and Okinawa. Hachenberg served aboard the Detroit through the end of the war. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James John. John joined the Navy in June of 1941. He operated the boilers in the engine room aboard the USS Case (DD-370). They were berthed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. He recalls dropping a depth charge on a Japanese midget submarine stuck in the mud 40 feet under water, and seeing it surface. After the attack they had patrol duty in the Harbor. From May to August of 1942, they patrolled off Kodiak, Alaska and participated in the pre-invasion bombardment of Kiska. They assisted with further engagements at Guadalcanal, the Marshall Islands, Truk Island, Iwo Jima and the Mariana Islands. He was later transferred to the USS Knight (DD-633), again serving with the Black Gang. John returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Howard Williams. Williams joined the Navy at 15 years old after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He joined the crew of the USS Cushing (DD-376). Williams describes picking up downed airmen after the Hornet was sunk at the Battle of Santa Cruz. He also discusses being blown over the side of his ship when it was critically hit during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Williams mentions seeing the Japanese shell Henderson Field and catching malaria while he was on Guadalcanal. He describes what happened when the Navy learned that he was under age and how he was assigned to shore duty. Williams was discharged when he had enough points in May 1945.