The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Manuel E. Quijas. He discusses his childhood growing up during the Great Depression and how he was drafted into the US Army. He describes his experiences during bootcamp and fighting in Europe and in the Battle of the Bulge during World War Two.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Art G. Anderson. He discusses his involvement as a Marine in the planning of and the actual landing on the Island of Iwo Jima during World War Two.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Manuel E. Quijas. He discusses his childhood growing up during the Great Depression and how he was drafted into the US Army. He describes his experiences during bootcamp and fighting in Europe and in the Battle of the Bulge during World War Two.

Transcript of an oral interview with Russell Milliken. He discusses being in the 82nd Airborne, parachuting into Normandy just after D-Day, being treated for frozen feet during the Battle of the Bulge and meeting a doctor he knew from home, serving on General Eisenhower's honor guard in Frankfurt, and coming home through New York and having to stay there for a Victory Parade before being allowed to go back to Texas.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Smith. Smith was raised on a farm with six brothers. He joined the US Navy in early 1944. He completed boot camp in San Diego and was then assigned as a deckhand aboard USS Bland (APA-134). He recalls transporting troops and supplies to Saipan. He served in the occupation of Japan, and shares stories of travels to Japan and China.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Emmett Prothero. Prothero joined the Citizen Military Training Camp in 1937 for basic flight training, and received his commission into the Army Air Corps in April of 1941. He graduated from Brooks Field with his pilot’s license as second lieutenant. Prothero joined the 2nd Bomb Group, and served as a test pilot, flying B-18s, B-23s, B-26s B-29s and LB-30s. He flew missions throughout the US, over the Atlantic, Australia, India, Panama, the Philippines and Kobe, Japan. He was discharged in June of 1946. He then served with the Naval Reserves until 1962.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Arlie Ray Horn. Horn was drafted into the Army in July 1943 and trained at Camp Wolters before being shipped overseas to England where he trained with the Special Forces and was attached to the 29th Infantry Division. He landed at Omaha Beach on 6 June 1944 (D-Day). Horn was wounded three different times. After the war ended, Horn returned to the US in October, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ollie Thomas Music. Music was born 10 January 1927. He joined the Army in April of 1945. By the time he finished boot training and traveled to Fort Ord, California for assignment, the war had ended. He was then stationed at Yokohama, Japan. Music shares details of his travels and his participation during the occupation of Japan. He was assigned to Hakodate and Sapporo. He took an Army incentive to discharge in Japan and reenlist for 18 more months, with his remaining service in the US From December of 1945 through June of 1947, Music was assigned to a clerical job with Headquarters Company of the 32nd Medical Battalion at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Seay. Seay joined the Army in 1943 after beginning field artillery training through the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M. Upon completion, he was deployed to the China, Burma, India Theater to assist with opening the Burma Road. There he trained Chinese forces near Kunming on the use of pack artillery. He was then sent to radio school and coded communications so that he could teach this to the Chinese, as well. Although Chinese forces were often woefully underfunded and untrained due to warlords diverting their resources, Seay oversaw one particular guerilla group that was able to retain their funds and become properly trained. From Seay, they learned to harass Japanese troops traversing mountain passes. Seay was then recruited by headquarters to gather intelligence from local sources regarding the whereabouts of Japanese officers. Upon contracting hepatitis, he was sent to a field hospital in Kunming and was transferred to Calcutta as the war came to an end. Seay returned home and was discharged in December 1945, returning to Texas A&M and earning a degree in civil engineering.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lloyd Bailey. Bailey was born in Kansas City, Missouri on 16 February 1922 and graduated from high school in Waco, Texas in 1940. After attending Texas A&M for one year, he enlisted in the Army. He went to Camp Wolters in Mineral Wells, Texas for basic training. While there, he was recruited by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents to participate in an internal security program. Following basic entered the Corps of Engineers Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. On 2 February 1943 he was commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to the 386th Engineer Battalion, an African American unit stationed at Camp Sutton, North Carolina. In 1943, the battalion boarded the SS Louis Pasteur and sailed to Casablanca where they cleaned up the dock area to facilitate unloading cargo. He tells of the unit traveling by rail to Iran. Soon after arriving in Iran the battalion sailed to Naples, Italy. His platoon was sent to Anzio and assigned the task of removing land mines. Three of his men were lost while doing this job. He was assigned to oversee the construction of the largest Butler Building ever …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Earl Tweed. Tweed joined the Army in November, 1941 and trained to be an officer at Fort Benning. He trained in an anti-tank unit and went to England in time to be attached to the 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division prior to landing at Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-Day. Tweed was wounded in November and evacuated. He returned to his unit in January, 1945. Tweed was on hand when Germany surrendered and came back to the US in June, 1946. He stayed in the Army for 13 years.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Bookbinder. Bookbinder was in ROTC at the University of Kentucky when the war started and was called to active duty in the Army in April, 1943 and trained at Camp Wolters, Texas before getting his commission at Fort Benning on October, 1944. He was assigned to the 86th Infantry Division and went to Europe with them. After fighting in Europe, his division went to the Philippines for occupation duty.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Daryl Haerther. Haerther joined the Army in 1944 and was assigned to the 96th Infantry Division a few days after the beginning of the invasion of Okinawa. He was assigned to A Company, 383rd Infantry Regiment. While there, Haerther qualified as a medic and shares several anecdotes from his combat experiences. Eventaully, Haerther was wounded and evacuated to Guam. He was still in the hospital when the war ended and Haerther elected to be discharged in December 1945. Haerther indicates he continues to struggle later in life as a result of some of his combat experiences.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert B. Mero. Born in 1924, he was drafted into the Army in New York in June 1943 at the age of eighteen. He went to basic training in Mineral Wells, Texas and from there to Army Specialized Training at the University of Missouri where he studied basic engineering. He shares an anecdote of meeting General Kramer while studying French at Camp Rucker, Alabama. He would meet the General again in the European Theatre at a later time. In 1944 he was transferred to Lyme Regis in the south of England. He shares a story of his brothers who were also stationed in England at the time. His division, the 66th, was then assigned to France where it would go on to assist in the Battle of the Bulge. He describes how his regiment was in a static position along the right side of the line and of his role in capturing a German soldier during night maneuvers. This would be his only combat. He was assigned to an occupation force in Germany then Austria following the war. He was a draftsman for Genreal Clark. He was discharged …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harold Dietz. Dietz joined the Army Air Forces in 1943. He served as a gunner aboard a B-24 with the 785th Bombardment Squadron, 466th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force in England. He completed 26 missions over Germany, Holland and France. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge, bombing bridges and railroad yards. Dietz returned to the US and received his discharge in November of 1945. In 2014, he received the French Medal of Honor for his assistance in driving the Germans out of France during World War II.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Warren Vickers. Vickers was born in 1923. He joined the Army in 1942, and served as a rifleman and a scout with the 36th Infantry Division. The Division landed in North Africa on 13 April 1943. They participated in operations in Italy, the south of France and Germany. Vickers was discharged around late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jack Maroney. Maroney joined the Marine Corps in early 1943. He served as a 20mm gunner aboard USS Enterprise (CV-6) through the end of the war. Maroney participated in 12 Naval engagements aboard the Enterprise, including the Gilbert and Marshall Islands Campaigns, the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He returned to the US and was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ralph Nelson Smith. Smith joined the Merchant Marines in the spring of 1945 at the age of 17. Upon completion of training at Catalina Island, which included hand-to-hand combat and jumping into flaming gasoline-covered water, he was assigned to the SS H. Weir Cook (1944) as a messman and storekeeper. In August 1945, he sailed out of San Francisco in blackout conditions but soon learned of the Japanese surrender. Despite that, the ship was targeted by torpedoes that narrowly missed. One night, Smith awoke to find the ship engulfed in flames, which threatened to detonate their 690 tons of dynamite on board until the fire was put out. For his return to the States, Smith boarded a freighter packed with 5,280 men. Rather than waiting in the four-hour chow lines, Smith subsisted off peanuts and fruit, losing 20 pounds in two weeks. He was disappointed that although the Merchant Marines suffered such high casualties rates, survivors were essentially not considered true servicemen, receiving no benefits such as clothing, transportation, or medical care upon their return.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents a monologue by James Patterson. Patterson joined the Navy around 1936. He served with the medical department and deployed to Manila, Philippines in October of 1941. After the Japanese invaded Luzon, Patterson was captured and imprisoned at Camp O’Donnell, Cabanatuan and Bilibid until his liberation in the spring of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bern Ballard. Ballard joined the Army National Guard in November 1940 at Camp Mabry. He served as a truck driver in the Austin and San Antonio area and describes how he was injured during the Louisiana Maneuvers. Ballard describes driving a truck with the 36th Infantry Division in North Africa and Italy. He details having to pick up dead soldiers near the front and drive them back to cemeteries. Ballard describes taking part in the invasion of Southern France and his transfer to the 78th Division and reassignment as an infantryman. He discusses how he was wounded by mortar fire in the Hurtgen Forest and how he was treated. Ballard describes the combat conditions, in particular the cold and lack of food. He accepted the surrender of German soldiers at the end of the war. Ballard was discharged in July 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Cowden. Cowden joined the Navy in November 1944. He joined the crew of USS LST-1001 as a deck seaman. Cowden describes taking part in the second wave of the invasion of Okinawa and mentions seeing several attacks by kamikaze planes on nearby ships. He describes his battle station on a 40mm anti-aircraft gun and how it operated. Cowden also details his ship being severely damaged during two typhoons. He remained aboard until the ship was decommissioned in 1946 and he left the service a few months later.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Calloway Scott. Scott joined the Army in October 1943 and received medical training at Camp Grant. Upon completion, he was sent to Omaha Beach with the 9th Infantry Division, arriving eight days after D-Day. Although there should have been three medics assigned to each company, they were often short-staffed, with only one medic per several hundred men. Scott participated in house-to-house fighting in Cherbourg and pushed onward into Belgium and Germany. He recalls an evening when Germans parachuted behind American lines, creating a great deal of confusion in the morning, but the Germans were taken prisoner without incident. Scott celebrated the end of the war alongside dancing Russians and returned home in October 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with David Greathouse. During the war, Greathouse spent summers in the scouts and junior ROTC program. After making regimental commander at age 15, he became an unofficial member of the Texas State Guard, even providing marksmanship instruction. At home, food was in short supply and Greathouse worked various jobs to help support his family. He recalls the war effort went so far as to include propaganda printed on chewing gum wrappers. With the draft looming, Greathouse joined the Navy in February 1946. Following in the footsteps of his father, who was commanding officer at a Navy rifle range, Greathouse was designated as company commander, overseeing 180 men at boot camp. He went on to earn a Master's Degree in electrical engineering at the Naval Academy and retired after 26 years of service.

Transcript of an oral interview with Anton Frank Satsky. Born in 1918, he was drafted into the Army in 1942 where he was assigned to the Second Infantry Division. He went to Armored Assistance Specialist School. He also received baking and ski training. He describes landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day plus 1 as well as advancing up Hill 192. He recounts a narrow escape while on guard duty in Notre Dame. He also describes the Battle of the Bulge in which he was wounded. When he was wounded a second time, he was sent to McCloskey General Hospital in Temple, Texas. He shares anecdotes about the obtaining food while in the field in Europe; a fellow soldier obtaining soft drinks despite German snipers; and his experience with the Red Cross. He discusses the clothing and rifles that were issued to soldiers.