The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Haggerty. Haggerty was employed as a civilian contractor with the US Army when WWII started. When his contract expired, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in December 1942. By June, 1943, Haggerty had been through basic training at Parris Island and was commissioned a second lieutenant after officer candidate school at Quantico. When Haggerty went overseas, he boarded the SS Extavia (1941) for a trip through the Panama Canal to New Caledonia. He was in charge of training a navy construction battalion at Noumea before he was assigned to the First Marine Division and left to join them at Pavuvu. When he arrived on Pavuvu, Chesty Puller assigned him to the 1st Regiment. There they trained for the Peleliu invasion. At Peleliu, Haggerty served as a platoon leader. He recalls the fighting on the day he landed and the Japanese counterattack with tanks and infantry near the airfield. Haggerty was wounded by a shell fragment and evacuated to a transport ship serving as a hospital. He recovered and returned to Peleliu the next day. After reducing a Japanese position, Haggerty was again wounded and evacuated. This time, …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with W. T. Appleton. He enlisted in the Navy at the age of sixteen in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor. He describes being transported to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on the USS Shasta (AE-6). He was transferred to the USS Smith (DD-378) where he served as a member of a 5-inch gun crew. He talks about the role of the USS Smith in protecting the aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise (CV-6). He describes the crashing of a Japanese torpedo plane into the Smith and its aftermath. While serving on the Smith, he went to New Guinea and participated in the bombardment of locations such as Port Moresby, Finschhafen, and Buna in preparation for Marine landings. He recounts an attack by Japanese Betty Bombers and the deployment of a smoke screen for cover. He also discusses the sinking of the USS Hornet (CV-8). He returned to the United States where he was assigned to the USS Hank (DD-702) and sent again to the Pacific Theater. He describes kamikaze attacks while on the USS Hank near Taiwan. He also describes being on patrol in Japan after the atomic bombs were …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bob Tizzard. Tizzard was born in Rochester, New York on 30 June 1916. He enlisted in the Army in 1940 and completed several courses of training, including Officer Candidate School after which he received his commission. He was sent to Honolulu as a member of the 184th Regiment, 7th Army Division which was training for the invasion of Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. His duties included company officer in charge of automatic weapons. By the time his regiment reached Kwajalein, most of the fighting was over and his company received orders to Truk on 5 January 1945. While enroute to Truk the ship was redirected to Okinawa where they arrived on Easter Sunday, 1945. He recalls that his unit was involved in combat at Shuri Castle and Yonaharu. He describes being in Okinawa on V-J Day in September 1945, after which, his unit was sent to Seoul, Korea to accept the surrender of Japanese forces in Korea. While in Korea, he resigned from the Army, volunteered for the Internantional Red Cross, and was sent to Qingdao, China for five years, assisting in the relocation of White Russians. Following his time …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dwayne K. Redman. He was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on 4 August 1928. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in June 1946 and was sent to Parris Island for basic training. He provides several anecdotes of his time at Parris Island. Prior to completing basic training, he was sent to Washington, DC and put up in a room at a hotel where the Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal, came to his room and told him that he needed a volunteer for special duty. Redman was particularly qualified due to his demonstrated physical endurance, night vision, some experience flying as a civilian and his military test results. He accepted the assignment and was transferred to Cherry Point, where he was assigned to a Marine Corps transport squadron and trained as a navigator and pilot in the R4D (USMC version of the C-47). Upon completing the training in April 1947, he was sent to Shanghai, China where was assigned to a civilian boss heading up a secret operation. He describes his duties as navigator in a modified R4D flying White Russian expatriates to various locations on the China/Russia border. …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Edgar Fulwider. He was born in San Francisco, California in 1927 and joined the Merchant Marines in 1944 at the age of 17. He attended the Maritime Academy at Catalina Island, California. In February 1945 he shipped out as a Fireman/Water Tender on a T2 Tanker carrying six million gallons of bunker fuel (black oil) and one million gallons of aviation gasoline. The ship arrived off the Philippines as the islands were being liberated, then sailed to Iwo Jima for the last three weeks of that campaign and then went to Okinawa for the invasion. He describes the ship colliding with a destroyer while refueling during a typhoon. They returned to San Francisco for repairs. Upon arrival Fulwider was transferred to the Army Transportation Corps (ATC) and made two more round trips to the Philippines on troop carriers returning men to the US. At the end of the war he enlisted in the Marine Corps in September 1945, attending basic training in San Diego. He was assigned to duty in China as an infantryman in the First Marine Division. He describes his duty as member of a machine …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Michael Bak. Bak was born in Garfield, New Jersey on 14 March 1923. He joined the US Navy Reserve in 1942 and went to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station for ten months. He then attended quartermaster school for four months. Upon graduating, he was assigned to the USS Franks (DD-554). The ship was assigned to Division 94 along with the USS Haggard (DD-555), USS Hailey (DD-556) and USS Johnston (DD-557). After training in bombardment, torpedo and depth charge launching, the division went to Pearl Harbor. Bak was involved in the invasions of Tarawa and Kwajalein, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He saw the USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56) get hit by a Japanese torpedo and recalls escorting the USS Washington (BB-56), damaged in a collision with the USS Indiana (BB-58), back to Pearl Harbor. The Franks was often designated a plane guard ship, assigned to rescue downed pilots. Bak describes the procedure. During the invasion of Okinawa, the Franks collided with the USS New Jersey (BB-62). The Franks’ captain died of injuries suffered during the accident and the ship went to Bremerton, Washington for major repairs. Bak …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Allen. Mr Allen went into the Marine Corps in September 1942, took boot camp in San Diego, and then was stationed in Santa Anna at the lighter-than-air base as a guard. In September 1943, he was sent to Noumea, New Caledonia and from there to New Guinea where he was put in the First Marine Division, HQ Company, 1st Battalion. His first introduction to combat was when they landed on the southern tip of New Britain. Allen provides a good description of the fighting and the conditions on New Britain; they were wet and in the swamps. It took them about four months to go through New Britain. They had a brief respite on Johnson Islands before they landed on Peleliu. Allen talks about shooting their 75mm guns, point-blank at the steel and concrete doors the Japanese had built. He states that Peleliu was real rough. After going to a camp on Pavuvu, they went to Okinawa. He describes the day that Lt Gen Buckner was killed, by a sniper. Allen also talks about the Japanese using women and children as shields. He states that Ernie Pyle …

Guest artist recital performed at the UNT College of Music Winspear Performance Hall.

Concert presented at Winspear Hall at the Murchison Performing Arts Center.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Calhoun. Born in 1922, he joined the Army Air Corps when he was 18 years old. He completed armament school, where he received Bendix power turret training, before volunteering for Army paratroop training. In January 1944, after completing parachute school and Officer Candidate School (OCS), he joined Company F, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment in Port Moresby. He describes activities in Hollandia and Wewak. He also describes actions on Noemfoor, including an incident in which he was wounded. Upon his recovery, he returned to his platoon. They were sent to Leyte as well as Mindoro. At Mindoro, they were subjected to intense shelling by Japanese naval forces. He provides a detailed account of his experiences during the retaking of the fortress on Corregidor Island including parachuting from the airplane to Topside and battling the Japanese on the island at Wheeler Battery, Smith Battery, Grubbs Battery, and Way Battery. He recounts the actions of Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Lloyd G. McCarter. After Corregidor, he participated in operations to destroy Japanese positions on Negros and Murcia as well as to operate a patrol base out of the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas Ross. Ross was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in September 1922. After graduating from high school he played football at the University of Wisconsin in 1940 and 1941. While in college, he participated in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. Enlisting in the Naval Aviation cadet program in 1942 he began pre-flight training at Iowa City, Iowa. He then went to the Glennville Naval Air Station in Illinois. While there he requested a transfer into the air arm of the US Marine Corps. Upon being accepted he went to Cherry Point, North Carolina where he was assigned to VMSB-331 to pilot SBD dive bombers. The squadron traveled to San Diego where they were put on the USS Nassau (CVE-16) for deployment to Nukufetau Airfield. He was a member of a detachment of the squadron that spent several months on Tarawa where they were subjected to nightly bombings by Japanese aircraft. During June 1944, while on a mission over Maloelap, Ross was forced to ditch due to flak damage. He and his crewman were picked up by a PBY. In July, the squadron converted to F4Us with experienced Corsair pilots …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John Alison. Alsion was born in Florida in 1912 and graduated from the University of Florida. Soon after graduation he was accepted into the Army Flying School at Randolph Field, Texas. After competing primary flight training he moved to Kelly Field, Texas for advanced training and was selected to fly fighters. Upon receiving his wings in 1937 he was ordered to report to Langley Field, Virginia where he was assigned to the 8th Pursuit Group flying the PB2A pursuit plane. In 1940 the group moved to Mitchell, Field, New York and the 57th Pursuit Group was formed. Alison was named squadron commander of the 66th Pursuit Squadron. He was directed to demonstrate the Curtis P-40 fighter to General Claire Chennault and a group of Chinese generals. He describes his flight demonstration and the obvious satisfaction of shown by all concerned. In April 1941, he went to England with the Hubert Zemke to assist the Royal Air Force in the integration of the P-40 into the RAF. While there, he was selected to accompany American Ambassador Harry Hopkins as a military attaché of the US Embassy in Moscow. He …

Interview with Lewis R. Hopkins, a pilot during World War II. He describes growing up on a farm in Georgia, going to college at Berry, and working for Sears, Roebuck, and the Royal Typewriter Company before joining the U. S. Navy. He tells an anecdote about joining the navy so he could go to New York to see the World's Fair, since he had heard the Atlanta Reserve would be making a trip to the Fair. He began flight training in Florida in December 1940, finished the next September, then drove cross-country to San Francisco after the Pearl Harbor attack. He eventually joined the USS Enterprise in April 1942 and saw the B-25 bombers in the Doolittle Raid take off. He was part of Bombing Squadron Six and trained under Commander Best to learn how to do scouting flights, navigation, and dive bombing. He then describes his participation in the Battle of Midway, the hours before take-off, his first view of the Japanese fleet, and his bombing mission. He was later assigned to the USS Hornet and had to fly off to a little island so that planes from the USS Wasp could land on the Hornet after their ship …

Recital performed at UNT Murchison Performing Arts Center, Winspear Hall on April 25, 2004 at 7:00 pm.

Concert presented at Winspear Hall at the Murchison Performing Arts Center.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Albert Day. Day was born in Olney, Texas 23 September 1921 and graduated from high school in Vivian, Louisiana in 1942. Upon joining the Navy 4 June 1942, he was sent to The Great Lakes Naval Training Station for boot training. Afterwards, Day was assigned to the Amphibious Forces at Solomons, Maryland for training where he learned navigation and signal communications. Completing the course in October 1942 he went to Redwood City, California for further training. Assigned to LCT(5)-62, he describes the size, propulsion, crew compliment and purpose of the craft. Day tells of breaking the LCT into sections that were put aboard an AKA and sailing to New Caledonia arriving in December 1942. On a trip to Guadalcanal he witnessed a Japanese plane dropping a bomb on the USS De Haven (DD-469). He recalls a night trip to New Georgia when he saw St. Elmo’s fire on the railing of his ship. At Tulagi on 7 April 1943, Day personally shot down an attacking Japanese plane. He participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima and tells of being on the USS Estes (ACG-12) and describes an intense …

Ensemble concert performed at UNT College of Music Recital Hall.