Transcript of an oral interview with Norman Apelt. He discusses his service in the US Army Air Corps as an airplane mechanic in Pampa, Texas. After the war ended, Apelt was assigned duty in occupied Japan.

Transcript of an oral interview with Nila Jackson Alderson. Born in 1925, Alderson describes life before and during the war in rural Texas as well as in the town of Burnet, Texas . Her husband, Joe Alderson, served in the military in Europe. They both discuss the mail service during the war. The interview includes information about her parents and siblings.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Kana. Kana joined the Navy in April of 1944. He served aboard the USS Dennis (DE-405). He visited the Marshall Islands and the Philippines. He provides vivid details of a battle off Samar. He was discharged in February of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Custer. Custer joined the Army Air Corps in December, 1942. He attended aerial gunnery school before shipping to England.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Marlin Dyer. Dyer joined the Navy in 1944. He completed training as a crewman on a landing craft, vehicle, personnel, LCVP or Higgins boat. He transported Marines to and from the shore during the Battle of Okinawa, and continued work on the island for 13 months. Dyer returned to the US and received his discharge in May of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dorothy Rufi. Mrs. Rufi’s maiden name is Roehning. She arrived in Washington D.C. to work at the Coast Guard headquarters in 1942. She was assigned to a secretarial pool of four women who worked for Rear Admiral Harvey F. Johnson. She mentions blackouts and an air raid drill. She returned to her home to Minnesota in 1944.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lyman Mereness. Mereness joined the Navy in May of 1942. He received his wings in March of 1943. He served with the 8th Bomb Squadron. Beginning August of 1943, they served as the air group aboard the USS Intrepid (CV-11). Mereness supported the invasion of Hollandia and the Philippines Campaign, completing 39 combat missions. He was discharged in September of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Nancy Tuznik. Tuznik was born in Aremark, Norway 30 October 1931. She tells of her life before the German occupation in 1940. The German Army occupied Norway and all farmers were required to furnish a certain percentage of what they raised to the Wehrmacht. She recalls that her father was involved with the underground resistance forces but has no knowledge of the extent of his involvement. She does remember various relatives fleeing the country. Soon after the end of the war, she met and married her husband. She immigrated to the United States in 1954 with him.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Alvin Orsland. Orsland joined the Marine Corps in June of 1944. He went to Hawaii in November of 1944, assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division. In February of 1945 they participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima, which Orsland provides details of his experiences as a rifleman through the battle. He was discharged in July of 1946 as a Corporal.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Edward Kozak. Kozak provides some details of his family’s history as professional musicians, including his experience on the piano, marimba, harp and drums. Kozak served as the head of the department in the Shreveport Symphony, and served as a music teacher at a number of schools, including Juilliard School of Music in New York. He joined the Navy in 1943. He graduated from the Washington D.C. School of Music and was assigned as a Coxswain on a Higgins boat. He served as a marimba soloist in a band that played for Admiral Chester Nimitz throughout the war.

Transcript of an oral interview with Frederick M. Bidwell. Bidwell joined the Army in 1940 at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was assigned to the 69th Infantry Division and headed for France in mid-1944. He eventually was attached to the 35th Infantry Division and fought in France at the Battle of St. Lo. He also briefly mentions the Battle of the Bulge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Hickey. Hickey joined the Army around mid-1944. He served with the 19th Infantry Regiment. In April of 1945, he participated in the Philippines Campaign in Davao on Mindanao, where he was wounded. Hickey served with occupation forces in Japan through mid-1946. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Anthony Giglio. Giglio joined the navy in September, 1942 and trained in Virginia. He was assigned to USS LST-454 just prior to commissioning and served as a gunner’s mate. He stayed aboard for 49 months and made 13 invasions. Giglio relates several experiences he had while aboard. He returned to the US after the war and was discharged in December, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Wicker. Wicker joined the Navy in mid-1944. He served with the ship repair crew aboard the USS Corregidor (CVE-58). They traveled to Eniwetok, Guam, Pearl Harbor, conducting anti-submarine patrol, providing air cover and qualifying pilots in carrier operations. Wicker returned to the US and received his discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Thomas Nixon. Nixon joined the Marine Corps shortly after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He trained at San Diego and was assigned as a ground crewman in Marine Bombing Squadron 611 (VMB-611). He went with the squadron to the Philippines and shares several anecdotes of his time among the pilots and crew, and of repairing aircraft.

The National Museum of the pacific War presents an oral interview with Eugene Volcik. Volcik grew up on a farm in Texas and was 13 when the war started. Volcik’s brothers served and urged him not to join the service too quickly as their mother needed help at home. Volcik was 17 when the war ended. After the war, he joined the Navy in February 1946 and recalls several experiences from his time in the post-war Navy aboard USS Huntington (CL-107).

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Russell J Judah. Judah joined the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, New York, in 1944. He graduated in August of 1945. He was immediately commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy, serving mostly in the Philippines and occupied Japan. He traveled aboard the SS Mission Loreto (1944), a type T2 tanker. Judah was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Leonard Kliff. Kliff enlisted in the Army Air Forces in August of 1943. He trained as a bombardier in the AT-7. After graduation he went to Biggs Field near El Paso for additional training in B-17s. He served as a flight officer. He was sent to an air base in Lincoln, Nebraska, and while at the base the war ended. In October of 1945 he went to Traux Field in Madison, Wisconsin and was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Frank Miller. Miller joined the Navy in 1942. He trained to work in the engine and boiler rooms, serving as Third Class Petty Officer aboard the USS Jarvis (DD-799). Miller participated in 8 engagements through Alaska and the Kurile Islands. After Japan’s surrender, he worked with occupation forces in Japan destroying military supplies. Miller was discharged in February of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Cross. Cross joined the Navy in August of 1944. He was trained as a yeoman. Cross served on a destroyer in the Atlantic. He describes how his ship screened convoys by disrupting an air attack by German planes and depth charging a suspected submarine. Cross also talks about his duties as a phone talker during general quarters and the type of work performed by a yeoman. He was discharged soon after he returned to the US.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Bob Goeser. Goeser joined the Marine Corps in October of 1942, and was assigned to the air arm. He completed Radio Navigation School. He served as an air crewman in the Philippines and China, completed over 50 combat missions and received the Distinguished Flying Cross, and a Silver Star. He was discharged in December of 1945.

Interview with with Norman Apelt, an airplane mechanic during World War II. He discusses his service in the US Army Air Corps as an airplane mechanic in Pampa, Texas. After the war ended, Apelt was assigned duty in occupied Japan.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Walden Franzen. Franzen joined the Navy in 1937. He became a plane captain with VB-3 and served on the USS Saratoga (CV-3) and the USS Ranger (CV-4). Franzen mentions life on board ship and the difference between the two carriers. He went on to serve as a crew chief on a PBY in the Caribbean and later as a maintenance supervisor for a utility squadron that served along the East Coast. Franzen remained in the Navy after the war, and retired in 1957.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Arquette. Arquette joined the Navy in February of 1942. He completed flight training, and was assigned to a fighter squadron. Beginning November of 1942, he served as a pilot aboard USS Lexington (CV-16). He participated in raids on Wake Island and the Gilbert Islands. He later transferred to USS Randolph (CV-15), participating in the Okinawa invasion. He returned to the US and was discharged in October of 1945. Arquette continued his service and retired in 1963.