Resource Type

Oral History Interview with Henry Jennings, April 12, 2016 transcript

Oral History Interview with Henry Jennings, April 12, 2016

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Henry Jennings. Jennings joined the Army Air Forces in September, 1942 and trained at Wichita Falls. He eventually became a flight engineer on B-26 bombers. Jennings recalls several anecdotes about his time in the service.
Date: April 12, 2016
Creator: Jennings, Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Floyd Mumme, April 12, 2002 transcript

Oral History Interview with Floyd Mumme, April 12, 2002

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Floyd Mumme. He discusses boot camp, being on Saipan, Japanese trying to steal food, working in the Army Medical Corps and treating wounds in combat.
Date: April 12, 2002
Creator: Mumme, Floyd C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Edwin LeBreton, February 12, 2007 transcript

Oral History Interview with Edwin LeBreton, February 12, 2007

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Edwin LeBreton. LeBreton was born in Louisiana and was in the Army National Guard stationed in Texas when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He served in an engineering outfit before entering military intelligence. After the war, LeBreton was sent to an engineer depot in Japan. After leaving Japan, he was stationed in France at another supply depot.
Date: February 12, 2007
Creator: LeBreton, Edwin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with William C. Smith, March 12, 2020 transcript

Oral History Interview with William C. Smith, March 12, 2020

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Smith. Smith joined the Marine Corps in April 1944. After basic training, Smith went to Sea School where he trained in 40mm antiaircraft gunnery. Upon completion, he was assigned to USS Iowa (BB-61).
Date: March 12, 2020
Creator: Smith, William C
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Otis Sumner, July 12, 2016 transcript

Oral History Interview with Otis Sumner, July 12, 2016

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Otis Sumner. Sumner was drafted into the Navy in November, 1943 and went to Samson for boot camp. Training completed, he was assigned to the USS Hodges (DE-231). He was aboard working as a water tender during the invasion of Luzon. Sumner was discharged in May 1946.
Date: July 12, 2016
Creator: Sumner, Otis
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John Dittmar, April 12, 2017 transcript

Oral History Interview with John Dittmar, April 12, 2017

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Dittmar. Dittmar joined the Navy in 1943 and trained at Great Lakes and shares a few anecdotes from those days. He served as an operating room technician aboard USS La Grange (APA-124) when he was assigned to the ship in mid-1944. He recalls his duties aboard and going to the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Date: April 12, 2017
Creator: Dittmar, John
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Jeanne Gardiner Lindsey, June 12, 2002 transcript

Oral History Interview with Jeanne Gardiner Lindsey, June 12, 2002

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jeanne Gardiner Lindsey. Lindsey went to Galveston Island, Texas, with her husband (Walter Lee Booth) in 1940, as Lee was assigned to Ft. Crockett. When her husband went overseas, she went to live with her mother on a plantation in Louisiana. She speaks of how rationing had little impact on them at the farm.
Date: June 12, 2002
Creator: Lindsey, Jeanne Gardiner
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Lois Burns, May 12, 2003 transcript

Oral History Interview with Lois Burns, May 12, 2003

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lois Burns. Burns joined the Women’s Army Corps in January of 1945. She completed training in Fort Des Moines, Iowa, and provides details of her uniform and living and working conditions. She was later transferred to Los Alamos, New Mexico, where she remained through the spring of 1946. Burns worked at the National Laboratory and at a Western Union office, as a switchboard and teletype operator. She was discharged in July of 1946.
Date: May 12, 2003
Creator: Burns, Lois
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with David Hoobler, September 12, 2011 transcript

Oral History Interview with David Hoobler, September 12, 2011

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.
Date: September 12, 2011
Creator: Hoobler, David
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Virgil Haley, March 12, 2014 transcript

Oral History Interview with Virgil Haley, March 12, 2014

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Virgil Haley. Haley joined the Navy in June 1944 and trained at San Diego. After training as a quartermaster and signalman, Haley joined the USS Williams (DE-372). His job aboard ship was to steer and work in the chart room. The Williams provided escort duty in the New Guinea and the Solomon Islands area. He also describes being caught in a typhoon. Haley returned to the US and was discharged in June, 1946.
Date: March 12, 2014
Creator: Haley, Virgil
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Richard Dirks, November 12, 2014 transcript

Oral History Interview with Richard Dirks, November 12, 2014

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Richard Dirks. Dirks was drafted into the Navy in February 1944 and trained at San Diego. From there he went to a weather school. Once he got to the Aleutian Islands, he was assigned to a weather station. Because he could type, he was made a yeoman in Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher's Northern Pacific Command headquarters on Adak. He spent the war there but for a brief interlude in Japan during the surrender and was discharged in May 1946. Dirks resumed his education and graduated in 1947.
Date: November 12, 2014
Creator: Dirks, Richard
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Jodie Lander, October 12, 2015 transcript

Oral History Interview with Jodie Lander, October 12, 2015

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jodie Lander. Lander was born in December of 1923. In 1943 he was drafted into the Army, and volunteered for parachute training. Lander was assigned to the 508th Parachute Infantry, and transported to Belfast, Ireland. He describes some of the action encountered after landing during Operation Overlord in June of 1944, and Operation Market Garden in September.
Date: October 12, 2015
Creator: Lander, Jodie
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Olive White, July 12, 2004 transcript

Oral History Interview with Olive White, July 12, 2004

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Olive E. (Sally) White. White received her nursing degree in September of 1943 from Gary Methodist School of Nursing. In March of 1944 she was commissioned into the US Navy Nursing Corps, and stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Station. She achieved the rank of lieutenant (junior grade). She remained in the Reserves and was discharged in March of 1953.
Date: July 12, 2004
Creator: White, Olive
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Rudolph Schultz, August 12, 2003 transcript

Oral History Interview with Rudolph Schultz, August 12, 2003

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Rudolph Schultz. Schultz was drafted into the Army Air Forces in March, 1943. He received radar training in Florida and then served with the 13th Air Force. He installed a radar station at Noumea and trained men on its use. He also trained more men at Guadalcanal and the Admiralty Islands. Schultz was at Leyte when the war ended and soon went to Japan.
Date: August 12, 2003
Creator: Schultz, Rudolph H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John Joseph O'Malley, June 12, 2009 transcript

Oral History Interview with John Joseph O'Malley, June 12, 2009

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Joseph O???Malley. O???Malley was drafted into the Army in 1943. In March of 1944 he was sent for airborne training at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. He fought with the 84th Infantry Division in Germany and Belgium, pushing forward from Geilenkirchen, Germany in November, 1944 to Schnackenburg, Germany and ultimately contacting the Russian Army on the Elbe River in April, 1945. O'Malley spoke fluent German and served as an Army interpreter. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
Date: June 12, 2009
Creator: O'Malley, John Joseph
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Dorwin Lamkin, November 12, 2013 transcript

Oral History Interview with Dorwin Lamkin, November 12, 2013

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Dorwin Lamkin. Lamkin joined the Navy in 1940. He completed Hospital Corps Training School and served as a corpsman and hospital apprentice aboard the USS Nevada (BB-36), where he was stationed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Nevada was torpedoed and bombed during the surprise attack. Lamkin later served aboard the USS President Jackson (APA-18) and the USS San Francisco (CA-38). In early 1945, he was assigned to a Naval Hospital in the Philippines. He was discharged in 1946.
Date: November 12, 2013
Creator: Lamkin, Dorwin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Travis Smith, February 12, 2015 transcript

Oral History Interview with Travis Smith, February 12, 2015

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Travis Smith. Smith joined the Army Air Forces in September 1942. He qualified as a pilot trainee and began training in San Antonio. In May, 1944, he graduated and received his commission. Smith went overseas to the Philippines, arriving in March, 1945. Later, he moved to Okinawa and flew bomber escort for bombing missions to China and Japan. He flew over 50 combat missions before the war ended and then went to japan on occupation duty. Smith was discharged in 1946, but stayed in the reserves.
Date: February 12, 2015
Creator: Smith, Travis
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Lester Harrell, August 12, 2015 transcript

Oral History Interview with Lester Harrell, August 12, 2015

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lester Harrell. Harrell joined the Navy in 1942. In 1943, he completed Midshipman School. In 1944, Harrell served on the starboard anti-aircraft guns aboard USS New Mexico (BB-40). He later served as an ensign in the plotting room aboard USS Canberra (CA-70), where he was stationed when the ship was torpedoed in October of 1944. His next assignment was on a Landing Ship Medium (LSM). He returned to the US and received his discharge in 1946.
Date: August 12, 2015
Creator: Harrell, Lester
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Fred Marron, May 12, 2017 transcript

Oral History Interview with Fred Marron, May 12, 2017

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Fred Marron. Marron joined the Army in June 1943, volunteered for the Airborne, and went to Georgia for basic and airborne training. He went overseas to France and was assigned to the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division. He remained with the unit until the war in Europe ended, then volunteered to go to the Pacific. On the way to the US for more training, the war ended and Marron was among the first soldiers home from overseas after the war. He was discharged in December, 1945 and became a police officer in Utica, New York.
Date: May 12, 2017
Creator: Marron, Fred
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with James Tatum, October 12, 2017 transcript

Oral History Interview with James Tatum, October 12, 2017

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Tatum. Tatum joined the Navy in January 1942 and trained at Norfolk. He trained in aerial gunnery and as an airplane mechanic. In 1943, he was assigned to VT-37 and went aboard the USS Sangamon (CVE-26). One day, a plane crashed on the flight deck, seriously injuring Tatum and blowing him into the water. He stayed with the ship through the Battle of Leyte Gulf before being assigned to advanced mechanic school in Washington State, where he was when the war ended. He mustered out in December, 1945.
Date: October 12, 2017
Creator: Tatum, James
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Frank Chalke, April 12, 2018 transcript

Oral History Interview with Frank Chalke, April 12, 2018

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Frank Chalke. Chalke joined the Navy in June of 1944. Beginning in March of 1945, he was assigned as Radioman 3rd Class aboard the landing craft repair ship USS Pandemus (ARL-18). They traveled to Okinawa, Guam, Saipan, Philippine Islands and China servicing landing and small craft. They encountered kamikaze planes and a typhoon during their travels. They returned to the US in December of 1945. Chalke was discharged in May of 1946.
Date: April 12, 2018
Creator: Chalke, Frank
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Kathryn Ast Hatch, March 12, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with Kathryn Ast Hatch, March 12, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Kathryn Ast Hatch. Hatch grew up in Wisconsin and went to nursing school in Madison. She joined the Army in 1943. Once she was inducted and trained, she was assigned to the 44th General Hospital. Then, she shipped out for Australia, where she worked in a 2,000 bed hospital in Townsville. Hatch was in charge of a ward and cared for wounded soldiers and pilots from the New Guinea campaign. Eventually, she moved with her unit to New Guinea and then the Philippines. Hatch describes some of the infections she witnessed, such as malaria.
Date: March 12, 2006
Creator: Hatch, Kathryn Ast
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Willie Ray Snow, June 12, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with Willie Ray Snow, June 12, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Willie Ray Snow. Snow joined the Navy in May of 1943. He served as a Radio Technician Second Class, then a Petty Officer. In August of 1944 he traveled to New Guinea and Australia, and in January of 1945 he boarded the USS Flasher (SS-249). Snow participated in her sixth war patrol along the coast of Indochina. In February they sank a sea truck and a cargo ship with torpedoes. They completed patrols in April. Snow was discharged in December of 1945.
Date: June 12, 2006
Creator: Snow, Willie Ray
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Allen Ensor, September 12, 2006 transcript

Oral History Interview with Allen Ensor, September 12, 2006

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Allen Ensor. Ensor joined the Navy in 1940 and was assigned to USS Nashville (CL-43). He was aboard for the Doolittle Raid, some action in the Aleutian Islands and the Solomon Islands and New Guinea as part of Seventh Fleet. He was eventually transferred from the Nashville to shore duty in California training amphibious boat crews. Ensor shares anecdotes about piping General MacArthur aboard the Nashville, shore leave in Australia and training boat crews in California.
Date: September 12, 2006
Creator: Ensor, Allen
System: The Portal to Texas History